Chapter/Scene 2 - The Park; a encounter of the confusing kind.
"So,
Phoebe, do you see him yet?" Paige asked before rubbing her
hands together -- attempting to warm them up.
"Honestly? No.
But that doesn't mean we should give up," she looked around,
frantic. Where is he? she thought to herself.
"That
doesn't mean we should freeze either, Pheebes. Listen, I'm going to
walk the block and see if there aren't any coffee vendors around,
okay?"
"Yeah, okay. Ohh! Don't forget to get me a vente
mocha latte!" Phoebe called after her sister. Paige looked
backed and waved a hand at her as if to say 'yeah, yeah. I got it, I
got it.' Once Paige was out of sight Phoebe let out a heavy
sigh.
"Feeling let down?" a man's voice asked from
behind her. She spun around. "Hi there."
"H-hi!"
Phoebe said, stunned. It was the single dad she had been looking
for.
"You looked disappointed there for a minute, did
something happen?" He stepped closer to her and looked around to
check for Paige.
"N-no! I mean.. not really, just freezing is
all," she lied.
"Is your friend coming back anytime
soon? I was hoping she'd leave so I'd get the opportunity to talk to
you alone," he smiled friendly.
"Oh, well, to be honest
I really couldn't say. She's on a mission," Phoebe smiled back
at the man. "I'm Phoebe, by the way."
"Oh, sorry,
it slipped my mind. I'm Rhett," he put his hand out, as if to
shake hers.
"Rhett? Like from Gone with the Wind?"
She extended her hand and was about to take it when she heard a
all-too familiar voice.
"Cody! Cody come back here!" a
man yelled. In a nearby area of the park a dog barked repeatitively
and wagged it's tail. The man approached it and off it ran again,
this time heading right towards Phoebe and Rhett. "Cody!"
The
moment she saw the man chasing the dog her hand fell to her side and
she turned to stare, slight horror shown in her eyes and a stunned
expression was frozen on her face as she watched as another person
emerged from over the hill where the dog and he had just come.
A
woman was laughing and running after the man and the dog. "Get
'em Cole!" She laughed. "Show him who's boss!" She
nearly fell over in a fit of giggles when the man - Cole - who had
been chasing the dog tripped over his own leg and tumbled to the wet
grass. The dog came up beside Phoebe and barked.
She starred down
at it and then turned back to watch as Cole approached. No.. it
can't be him she thought. And as he came closer, the details of
his face became clearer and clearer. She knew them so well, they were
etched into her memories - and into her heart. Her knees felt weak.
"Oh my god..." she whispered to herself.
"Excuse
me!" He called to her, not moving any closer. "I'm sorry to
bother you but would you mind grabbing him so that he doesn't run off
again when I come near?"
Phoebe opened her mouth and found no
words. She grasped the dog's collar and held him, waiting and
watching as Cole came nearer and the woman did as well.
"Thank
you! I've been chasing this dog all over the park for about an hour
now," he smiled gratefully and clicked the leash onto Cody's
collar. The woman had joined his side by then and was out of breath
from all the laughing she had just done. "There, I've got him,
are you satisfied dear?" he asked, adding mockery on the
final word 'dear.'
"It doesn't count, this woman helped you.
You couldn't do it yourself," she giggled again. The laugh
itself was making Phoebe nauseous - aside from the fact that Cole was
with her. Cole was actually flirting with another woman right infront
of her!
"It counts, you just won't accept defeat," he
grinned. That smile! Phoebe's pulse raced. "Anyways,
thank you again Ms., I'm sorry that this rascal scared off your
friend."
"Oh!" she finally realized that Rhett was
no longer beside her. "I hadn't even realized!"
"He's
just that damn handsome, isn't he?" the woman poked Cole's side
and he almost dropped the leash. She winked jokingly at Phoebe.
"I'm
sure she doesn't think that Melanie, do you Ms., ah... I'm sorry!
I've completely forgotten my self-taught manners," he winked at
Melanie. "I'm Cole. Cole Turner, and you are?"
"Phoebe.
Phoebe Halliwell?" She hadn't meant for it to come out as a
question but when he looked at her as though they'd never met before,
she wasn't quite sure herself who she really was. At the moment she
wanted to scream out "Your Ex-wife!" but had restrained
herself to see just what was what.
"Well, it's great to meet
you Ms. Halliwell. This animal-neglecting woman is Melanie Bishop, my
fiancee."
"Your fiancee!" She had forced the words
out too much in anger, she realized. His expression was confusion and
he looked at her strangely. Melanie looked nervous.
"Yeah, my
fiancee, why?" His expression was blank, but his eyes shown true
concern. Looking into them it was uncertain to Phoebe just who
exactly he was concerned for - and why.
"Cole... you-"
she paused. "You don't remember me?"
"No... should
I?" his eyes had softened and now it appeared he was thinking
about a rather depressing thought. My memory... he thought to
himself. All I remember about my life... is my time as a district
attorney.. and even parts of that are fuzzy.
"Cole.. it's
Phoebe.. you know, your ex-wife?" she choked on the last words,
tears brimmed her eyes but she forced them back.
"Ah, I
don't.. I don't know what you're talking about. But I think it's time
that Melanie and I left," he said. Melanie looked at her with
complete curiousity now. She knew - of course - about Cole's lack of
memory.
"Cole! Don't you even want to know if she really is?
I mean, she could help you get your memory back," Melanie said,
looking at Phoebe.
"For all we know-" Cole started.
"For
all you know your idea of what 'we' could know is wrong,"
Melanie said, her voice final.
"I.." Phoebe couldn't
speak. It was her move, and she had no proof on her. She had locked
him in the past and threw away the key. "Well, I can't prove it
right this second.."
"Well, I guess you were right
Cole," Melanie said.
"As usual. Listen, Ms. Halliwell, I
think you should go home, get some rest, and try and work on a new
day tomorrow. Ah.. me and Melanie will be leaving now, I'm sorry,"
he said, taking Melanie's hand and pulling her off, Cody tagging
along. Once out of ear-shot Cole whispered to Melanie. "Don't
encourage people like that Melanie. It was obvious that the woman was
completely deluded! I mean, not even noticing her friend was
gone?"
Phoebe stood, frozen to the spot and her heart ached.
She felt weak all over and couldn't fight back the tears any longer.
Where did Rhett go? she thought one moment. How can Cole
not remember me? Remember us? she had thought the next
moment.
"Cole, wait!" Phoebe ran after him. "I can
prove it, just not right this second! Um, if you could just meet me
at the coffee shop on main, I'd bring you proof."
"Cole.."
Melanie said, putting her hand on his arm. "Please consider it.
It would be great if you could remember who you are."
Cole
sighed. "One meeting, one chance Ms. Halliwell."
"Phoebe."
she said.
"Excuse me?"
"I'd appreciate it if
you'd call me Phoebe."
"Phoebe, fine. But one chance,
and one chance only. When would you like me to meet you there?"
She
smiled.
