“Sure,” Gemma said. “That sounds great, Mom. Do you remember Alex?”

“Alex?” Nathalie’s face scrunched up in confusion. “Is that your father?”

“No, Mom, it’s not. That’s Alex.” Gemma motioned to where Alex stood next to the car. He’d gotten out after they parked, but Nathalie had been so focused on Gemma that she hadn’t even noticed him.

“No, I don’t know him.” Nathalie shook her head, then looked sadly at her daughter. “Should I?”

“Probably not,” Gemma said. “It’s been a really long time since you met him.”

Alex had moved in next door to them about a year before Nathalie’s accident. He’d been over to their house a number of times before she got hurt, and he’d even been over during her brief attempt at living at home after the accident.

But considering that Nathalie couldn’t remember her own husband anymore, it wasn’t surprising that she’d forgotten the boy next door.

“Hello, Mrs. Fisher.” Alex walked over to her and shook her hand. “It’s so nice to see you again.”

“Call me Nathalie.” She smiled at him and looped an arm around her daughter’s shoulders. As they walked toward the house, she whispered loudly, “He’s so cute, Gemma!”

“He sure is,” Gemma agreed, and Alex laughed nervously as he followed them inside.

The visit went really well, as far as visits with Nathalie went. She was very hyper, but she was in a good mood. She seemed especially excited to see Gemma, hugging her many times. Once or twice she got a little overly affectionate with Alex, hanging on him or holding his hand. Alex handled it well, and when Gemma reminded Nathalie that Alex was her boyfriend, Nathalie stopped what she was doing.

Nathalie even took a run at braiding Gemma’s hair. Unfortunately, Nathalie wasn’t so great at fine motor skills anymore, so it turned into a knotty mess. It was incredibly painful to endure as Nathalie yanked on her hair, but Gemma smiled through it.

When Gemma and Alex left, her hair was still tied up in a messy “braid.”

“How bad is it?” Gemma asked on the drive back home.

“It’s really … it’s really something.” Alex smirked as he glanced over at her.

“Thanks.” Gemma laughed and flipped down the visor mirror so she could admire it herself. “I think it’s sweet that she tried to do it. She hasn’t attempted to do my hair since I was about seven.”

“And you can pull it off. Not many other girls could wear a rat’s nest, but on you it works.”

“Too bad it hurts like heck.” Gemma flipped her visor back up and started pulling at the tangles and knots, trying to undo them. “I have to take this out before I get a migraine.”

“So when we get back to Capri, you just want to go home?” Alex asked.