That's not to say I was even sure I could do the job. I hadn't told anyone, not even Jordan, but just thinking about picking out art made my palms sweat. Hours and hours of studying artistic styles and techniques in my room each day since I'd been released from the hospital had given me a small sense of confidence, but the real litmus test would be when I had to choose pieces for my first assignment.
I had a feeling Tristan had picked this suite as a simple job so I could ease myself back into things. As I scanned the over one thousand square foot area surrounding me, I tried not to feel intimidated. How couldn't I, though? The rooms rivaled the country house in beauty. The walls were painted to look like aged cream colored plaster, heavy white crown moldings typical of southern architecture framed the rooms, and the showstopper of the living room was a white cararra marble fireplace flanked by two French doors draped in that stunning burgundy color.
What could I add to all that?
All the ideas I'd had when I was searching at home felt wrong now that I was standing in the middle of this stunning suite. I wondered if maybe I should focus on something that would resonate with the local area instead of choosing something based on a certain style or color palette. I'd always loved the art at the Philly museums in part because it showcased the flavor of the local art scene. If I could find a piece or grouping that was not only beautiful but meaningful to Atlanta area instead of focusing on improving what the decorator had chosen, the room might actually be better because of the art.
At least that's what I tried to convince myself of as I stood there in the center of all that beauty.
I set off to the first bedroom to do some searching. Sitting legs folded on the bed, I tapped away on my laptop for information on artists right there in Atlanta. As I looked through page after page of artwork, none of them seemed right. They were all beautiful, but I was looking for something else—something that spoke to me—even if I wasn't sure what it was.
And then I saw that something. A local artist, Everett Shean, painted scenes of Cumberland Island, a barrier island off the coast of Georgia, and as I studied his oil paintings, I saw a turtle he'd created a series of paintings around. A few clicks to get to the series' page on his website and I found out the turtle was a loggerhead sea turtle that was an endangered species on Cumberland Island.
Déjà vu struck as I stared at that turtle and all of a sudden I realized I was having a memory from the past four years! The turtle looked like the turtle character from Finding Nemo, the one that sounded like a surfer and called everyone "Dude." The memory of watching that movie with one of my nieces hit me and out of the blue I had remembered that entire evening I'd babysat for Kim and Jeff!
I needed to tell someone, and since Tristan wasn't back from his meeting yet, I grabbed my cell phone and called my sister. She'd be so happy to hear my memory was finally coming back.
She answered, and I blurted out, "Kim, I remember that night I babysat and we watched Finding Nemo! Do you remember? You and Jeff went to dinner, and I babysat. Isn't it great?"
"Whoa! Slow down. What are you talking about, Nina? Are you okay? Where are you?"
I jumped off the bed and began to pace, my free arm flailing as I spoke. "I'm great! I'm in Atlanta with Tristan and as I was researching the art I wanted to show him for the suite, I saw this turtle that's endangered on one of the barrier islands off of Georgia. The turtle is the focus of a series by a local artist. He paints in oil, which is always so rich. You should see these paintings, Kim. They're gorgeous!"
"Baby, what turtle are you talking about? You're talking so fast I can't understand what you're saying."
"The one who calls everyone Dude, like he's a surfer."
"What?"
"In the movie," I explained in frustration. "What's the Finding Nemo turtle's name?"
"Nina, I have no idea what you're talking about. Who's Nero?" she asked, sounding almost as frustrated as I was.
"Nemo! You know. The fish. He's lost and his father has to find him. Oh, forget it! The point is that I remembered something from the past four years. My memory is coming back! Isn't that great?"
"It is, but I'm still not comfortable with you staying out at that house with someone you barely know, Nina."
Her voice had that condescending tone it got when she was chastising me for something. I hated that tone of voice. "Kim, Tristan isn't a stranger or someone I barely know. I was engaged to him before the accident. He's a good man, and I love him. Don't ruin this for me. I was so happy when I called you."
"I don't want to ruin anything for you. I just think you're too naive and get yourself into things you don't understand."
My chest tightened as tears welled in my eyes. I couldn't help get emotional. All I'd wanted to do was share my wonderful news and now I had to defend myself once again to my sister, whose opinion of my life I didn't give a damn about.
"Why? Because I don't keep myself all closed off and guarded? Because I give people a chance? I know that people like you think that makes me stupid or idiotic, but it's who I am. I can't change that, and I don't want to. I like being open to new things, and that includes new people. If I was like you, I would have never gotten to know Tristan."
"How would you know, Nina? You can't even remember. For all you know, he manipulated you into this whole thing. You don't know everything about him."
"Thanks, Kim."
I jammed my fingertip onto the screen of my phone and hung up on her. Throwing the phone on the bed, I let the tears come as I stood there with my shoulders hunched from the weight of her negativity.
I should have known better. Why didn't I call Jordan?
A noise behind me made me turn around and I saw Tristan standing there looking as beaten down as I felt. His tie was loosened, his suit looking like it hung from a body exhausted from dealing with the world all day. I wiped the tears from my cheeks and forced a smile.
"Hey, you look as bad as I feel."
"What happened? Did someone come by the room?" he asked in a voice filled with worry.
Shaking my head, I tried not to think of Kim's words, but I couldn't help it. I'd been so happy just minutes earlier and now sadness that my only family member left couldn't find any joy in my news made my heart heavy. "No. I was just on the phone with my sister."
Just as he had in the hospital, Tristan grew stiff at the mere mention of Kim. "What did she say? I hope you aren't listening to her, Nina."
"I'm not. I just called her with good news and she was so negative. All I wanted was to share something that had made me really happy, and she didn't care."
Tristan walked toward me and stopped just inches away. Leaning down, he kissed me and stroked the pad of his thumb over my damp cheek. "I'm here now, so you can tell me."
I leaned into his hand, loving the strength of it beneath my head. Looking up at the concern etched into his features, I smiled, hoping to ease some of his worry. "I remembered something. It's not much, but it's something."
His expression changed to one of surprise, but I sensed his concern wasn't abated. Brown eyes that said so much about how he was feeling looked intently into mine as he spoke. "What did you remember?"
"Babysitting my nieces one night. It's nothing important."
Pulling me close, he held me tight as he kissed the top of my head, whispering low, "Don't say that. It's very important. You're beginning to remember things."
I loved the feel of his arms around me, protecting me from even the unkind words of my sister. I wished I could do the same for him. As strong as he was, I knew whatever he'd been dealing with had worn him down.
"Thank you. That's all I wanted to hear when I called her, but instead she just harped on how stupid she thinks I am. She thinks you're manipulating me into doing things I shouldn't be doing." I looked up at him and smiled. "As if falling in love is something I shouldn't do."
He cradled my face and shook his head. "Don't listen to her. Falling in love with me was exactly what you should do. I should know. I fell in love with you first."
I tapped his chin with my finger. "This time. I'm still convinced when I remember everything that I'm going to find out that I was crazy about you long before you loved me."
A shadow crossed his face and then it was gone and he was smirking at me like I was acting silly. From anyone else in the world, that kind of smirk would have irritated the hell out of me, but from Tristan, it was just too cute.
"So would you like to see the art I think would work here?"
"Sure."
"Righteous, dude," I joked as I headed over to the bed.
"Righteous, dude?" he asked as he raised his eyebrows in disbelief.
I motioned to him to come sit next to me as I browsed through Everett Shean's website. When I finally found the turtle pictures, I turned my laptop toward him. "These are loggerhead sea turtles and they're an endangered species on a barrier island off of Georgia's coast. I know they aren't fancy or the kind of art you would normally see in a hotel suite like this, but I think they'd work. He blends vivid colors on the turtle backs that I think might look nice here against the effect your designer created on the neutral color walls."
"And these are, what did you call them? Righteous?" he asked as he leaned in to examine the paintings.