“I think you probably have transient global amnesia,” he said. “It doesn’t happen often, and lasts about six hours on average.”

“Six hours is a piece of cake,” I said. “I once took mushrooms as research for a story about a shaman and I was hallucinating all weekend, which was altogether too long. So it’s like that?”

“Except that you’re not hallucinating and you might regain your lost time. If you were anyone else I’d recommend an EEG and a CT, but your body heals itself.”

“No offense, but I really think you better stick to diagnosing animals. However, I’m willing to wait six hours.” That meant that I could recover in time for weekend clubbing once I got back to the City. “You want to tell me how I got here?”

“I told you, you drove, but you can’t drive back since you’ve had a period of unconsciousness. I hope Mercedes can pick you up, because you can’t stay here.”

I was glad I didn’t kiss him. “Oswald, you’re a little full of yourself, aren’t you? As you may recall, I was trying to leave here, not stay. I have a busy social calendar filled with people far more scintillating than some random veterinary assistant.”

“Yes, I know. There’s always a party somewhere.” He picked up his phone and made a call. In a second, he said, “Hi, Mercedes. It’s Oswald. Sorry to call you this early.” He paused. “She got here about an hour ago, and she can’t stay under any circumstances.”

He had a real attitude and I was relieved to learn that I hadn’t spent the night with him.

“She fell and hit her head and may have some memory loss. Of course, there’s the strong possibility that she’s faking it.”

“I’m not faking it,” I said loudly so Mercedes could hear me.

Oswald said, “She says that the last thing she remembers is getting ready to go to that party for Sebastian Beckett-Witherspoon.”

“My dear friend Sebastian!” I shouted.

Oswald shook his head and continued talking on the phone: “She’s even lying about that jerk. Anyway, there are two kinds of amnesia. One is caused by a head injury and the other’s more serious, caused by severe emotional distress, but disasters bounce off her like water off a duck, so—”

He stopped talking to listen to Mercedes, and I gazed out the window at a wisteria that was about to bloom. It must be wonderful to have so much space for gardening.

“What? Are you sure?” Oswald said and gave me a worried look. He listened longer, and I was sure she was telling him off for being so rude because he looked upset.

“Yes, of course,” he said. “I’ll do whatever is best for her.”

He held the phone to me and said in a kinder tone, “Mercedes wants to talk to you.”