I caste a weary glance around the restaurant and my eyes land on the table to our left. Sure enough, Damien’s bodyguard from this morning is sitting there. He’s eating his meal and suddenly he looks up at me. I’m pretty certain that he knows who I am because if he is a bodyguard worth his salt, then he would’ve definitely looked into me by now, especially considering Gabe specifically asked him to keep an eye out for me. He gives me an imperceptible nod and concentrates back on his food.

“Sorry, Aaliya. We are ignoring you,” Gabe gives me a woeful look. “Let’s order dinner.”

Damien summons the waiter for the menus. When I take my time looking at the menu, he prompts me, “Try the beef linguine. It’s delicious.”

“Um, no... I don’t eat beef. I’ll take the chicken ravioli.”

He frowns. “Why no beef?”

“It’s a religious thing.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

My lips quiver and I drink a sip of wine to compose myself. It pains me to clarify this question because we’ve had this discussion years ago and now he remembers nothing about it or me. However, I soldier on. “Well, I’m a Hindu and many of us don’t eat beef because the cow is considered sacred.”

He rubs his temple. “Yes, I recall something about a particular God. Shiva isn’t it? The cow or is it the bull that is his mode of transport?”

I can’t speak and I stare at him with my lips parted. Just when I thought that he doesn’t remember anything at all, he tells me this tidbit. It’s something I had explained to him years ago during this exact same discussion.

Gabe interjects. “Wow! You know your Indian mythology, Damien.”

He rubs his temple again. “I guess I must’ve read it somewhere at some time.”

A tiny flicker of joy flares inside my chest. First the wine and now this. Does some small part deep within his mind intrinsically recognize me?

I hope that being with me is triggering memories from his past. My eyes blur and I rip my gaze away from him blinking back the tears. This man holds my heart in his hands and he doesn’t even know it.

Damien