“Isn’t that a good thing, though? The waking up together part?”

Gretchen rolled her eyes. “It was until she read the papers and saw the part where I wanted full custody of Caleb.” She pulled on her seat belt forcefully. Amanda had yet to put the car in drive—she just stared at Gretchen, agape.

“Yeah, I know. Can you please take me home? I need to lie down.”

“If Mom was alive, she’d tell me to pray for you.”

“If Mom was alive, you wouldn’t be here.”

“Very true.”

“And she’d probably say my seizures and amnesia are punishment for whatever sins I’ve committed.”

“That’s terrible.”

Gretchen watched an ambulance pull in, its flashing lights bright to her tired eyes. “It’s true, though.” And then she wondered, could this be a higher power’s punishment?

Chapter Thirty-eight

Gretchen bounced her leg up and down, and the receptionist gave her a dirty look. She didn’t care. She was nervous. Her lawyer held the key to everything—he could tell her what exactly she was thinking when she decided to fight for full custody. She had messaged Jax seven times, asking her to come to the appointment with her, and then another four times just to beg for her to answer her. No messages came through, and Gretchen was starting to lose hope.

“Gretchen,” a man said from a nearby doorway. “It’s good to see you.”

She didn’t recognize him. “Are you Mark Goldmann?” He looked at her curiously and nodded. She realized her error as she stood and followed him into his office. “I’m sorry. I was in an accident and lost four years of my memories.” She said it so evenly that she felt proud of herself.

“Wow. I’m sorry to hear that. Was it an auto accident?” He held his burgundy tie as he took a seat. He motioned for Gretchen to sit as well. “Is that why you’re here?”

Gretchen shook her head. She probably looked like a walking, talking dollar sign to him. “I’m here because I have some questions for you.” She reached into her purse and pulled out the wrinkled paperwork. “Can you explain to me what happened with these?”

Mark took the papers and put on his glasses. He was silent for a moment while he read. “These are your divorce papers.”

“That I asked for?”

“Yes.”

“I asked for everything in there?”

“Yes.” He sat back. “You explained your situation to me, and I advised you.”

“Can you tell me what my situation was?”

His glasses hung on the tip of his long nose as he stared at Gretchen over the rims. “Let me get my notes.”