His eyes glistened and he turned away. Mercedes could be stern, but he was a big baby.

I grabbed the phone and said, “Hey, sweetie pie, come get me!”

She said, “Are you faking this? Just say yes, and I won’t tell Oswald.”

“No, and I’m deeply crushed by your accusation, mujer. What kind of nitwit would fake amnesia? It’s not as if I have a habit of crazy antics. I’m a serious and sincere woman.” I glanced toward Oswald to see if he was convinced of my value as a human being and a potential girlfriend.

Mercedes said, “Milagro, I need you to stay where you are until you get better. Oswald will take care of you.”

“I know you don’t think that I work, but I have to go do a shift at the nursery. They’re getting in a shipment of dahlia tubers and need me to do the bin display. There is, after all, the matter of paying my rent.”

“I’ll take care of those things. Stay there, promise me.”

“You are making a big deal out of it. I feel perfectly fine. What day is it?”

“It’s Saturday.”

“Saturday! That means I’ve lost two whole days! The nursery may have fired me and that doesn’t even begin to explain how or when I got Lasik.”

“This is not the time to worry about those things. Now, if you really aren’t faking this, Milagro—”

“Why doesn’t anyone believe me?”

“Okay, I believe you. You need to stay there until you get your memory back. Oswald and his family will take care of you.”

“I can call Nancy to come get me, or take the bus back to the City.”

“No, you can’t, Milagro. Try to listen to me for a minute. You’re safe there. That’s why you went to the ranch, because you needed a safe place to stay.”

“You’re leaving me in the hands of a veterinary tech?”

“He’s a real doctor, Milagro,” she said. “If you need to call me, use this line until we figure things out. Don’t call any of your friends or leave the ranch.”

“But—”

“Milagro, this is absolutely critical. Promise me. Either you stay where you are and do as Oswald says, or our friendship is over.”

Mercedes didn’t bullshit, and she was so serious that I said, “Okay. I’ll wait to get my memory back. But I think you’re overreacting. Where am I exactly?”

She told me that I was just north of Nancy’s favorite, overpriced wine country town. Well, I’d never had the opportunity to relax in the country before.

I handed the phone back to Oswald and he said good-bye to Mercedes and hung up. His expression was dolorous, I guess because he’d wanted to get rid of me.

“So I just came here this morning? You don’t know where I was?”