The Other Side

Paul smiled to himself as he strode down the street, half-recognizing the people in the stores. He was close to home now, he knew it. It was only a matter of time now before someone recognized him and then he'd find out where he belonged.

A small boarding house was set up just beyond the main street, and Paul selected that as his destination. The people at the shop he'd talked to had told him that it would be the best place to stay. He liked this town already. The people were friendly and considerate, and the town was certainly pretty.

Paul noted the "room for rent" sign on the boarding house and strode cheerfully up the walkway to the door. He reached to ring the bell, whistling slightly to himself as he waited for an answer.

Just then the door swung open sharply and he had to step back to avoid being hit. A thin, dark haired woman stepped out, carrying a suitcase and several odd-shaped boxes.

"I'm sorry Mama, but I ain't comin' back!" she shouted back towards the house. Paul turned to see an old woman with gray hair standing in the doorway.

"Monica, please," the old woman was saying, but the younger female didn't hear her.

"I ain't gonna marry that man, no matter what Daddy wants from me. It would mean giving up everything I worked for," she said, pausing in the walkway and dropping her packages. "I gotta be myself, Momma, and Daddy ain't never gonna let me - oh!"

The woman, who was not much older than Paul himself, (though he wasn't quite certain how old that was) had chosen that moment to notice the traveler she had nearly whacked by slamming open the door. She gasped in surprise when she saw him, and Paul couldn't help staring himself.

"I'm sorry," the old woman said to Paul. "Can I help you?" She smiled sweetly and apologetically.

"Um, maybe I'd better come back later," Paul mumbled, turning to leave.

"Nonsense," the older woman told him. "You must have come for a reason. Tell me what it is."

"Oh, well, I was just coming about the room for rent," he managed to say. He pointed helplessly at the sign in the window as proof of his claim.

"That's just fabulous," the old woman said. She stepped aside and motioned for him to come inside the building. "Monica, come in for a moment and help me get this young man settled."

Paul followed the old woman in with Monica trailing behind them as they entered the boarding house. It was a large, yellow, Victorian style house that with many windows. The two women and Paul walked down a narrow corridor that opened up into a small but brightly lit kitchen.

"You're just in time for breakfast," the old woman informed him with a smile. She ordered him to sit down and then placed a stack of pancakes in front of him, and another plateful before Maria. She then poured them each a cup of coffee and placed cream, sugar, and syrup in the middle of the table.

"Thank you. I don't know when I've had such a good breakfast," Paul replied sincerely between bites. "I'm Paul, by the way," he added, almost as an afterthought, remembering that they had yet to be introduced.

"I'm Janet," the older woman replied. "And, as you might have guessed, Monica is my daughter." She gestured towards the younger woman across the table from him.

"Nice place, this is," Paul commented casually. "I'm looking for a place to stay. And a job, if there are any around here."

"Some of the stores might be lookin' for help," Monica informed him. "I don't know what kinda work you're lookin' for, though."

"I'll do anything as long as it pays money," he replied with a grin.

Janet chuckled. "Within limits, I hope," she added sensibly, and Paul nodded, blushing slightly. Ahe laughed again. "As soon as you've washed up a bit, I'll show you the room. Are you planning to stay long?"

"I don't know," he replied. "I'm kind of.. looking for someone."

Janet looked confused, but she waited for him to finish cleaning his hands at the sink. "Who are you looking for?" she asked when he was no longer sticky with syrup. She handed him a towel. "Maybe I could help you find them."

"That's just the trouble," Paul replied, taking the towel. He dried his hands. "I don't remember."

"Amnesia?" Monica asked suddenly. "You've got amnesia?"

Paul looked startled a moment. "Yes," he replied.

Monica nodded. "I'll help you find whereever you come from. I'm in the need of excitement around here!" she declared.

"Well, thanks," he replied.

"I'll get Louise and Maggie and Mike and Tommy to help," she decided. "We'll put up fliers and ask people and find someone who's missing someone who looks like you." Monica was halfway out the door, and her voice came back to them through the hallways of the boarding house.

Janet looked at Paul to see his reaction. But the amnesiac had become lost in his own thoughts for a moment. Some of the names Monica had rattled off had sounded familiar to him.

"Paul?" Janet asked, after a few seconds had gone by. Paul shook his head, snapping out of it.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "Just thinking. Let's go see that room, okay?" He picked up his suitcase and followed her down the narrow hallways.

Back to main page

Back to part twenty

On to part twenty two.