Forget to Remember

provocative striptease, which had left Paul bug-eyed. She knew about the mechanics of sex. Then she had gone into Cinderella mode and disappeared, leaving him wanting more.
    Yes, she was experienced. Once she had gained the upper hand and made up her mind to go for it, she hadn’t hesitated. It may have been partly the feeling she owed Paul something because of all he’d done for her, but she had to admit to herself she just plain liked sex. Yes, she must have been an interesting person.
    Her thoughts turned to Rigo. She had called him and told him her arrival time at LAX, hoping he would meet her. He had volunteered to do so. Rigo liked her. Maybe his feelings were stronger than that. She liked him, too. She knew she would have gladly jumped into bed with him after he saved her life. However, as long as they lived in the same house, especially with his parents, that was too much like incest.
    She had to be careful she didn’t use Rigo as a gofer and not give him anything in return. She would be his friend. Maybe she could do something for him, too, perhaps help him get a job. She wasn’t quite sure how she could do that, but she would work on it.
    ***
    Rigo gazed out the sliding glass door and windows, that covered the dining room wall, at the mountains still reflecting the setting sun while the flatlands below became sprinkled with some of the millions of lights that shone at night. The view made him glad to be alive as it always did, but today he had a special reason for exuberance. Carol had come back safe and sound.
    Even after he had found out where she was he worried about her. He had dreams at night in which he searched for her and couldn’t find her. He knew they were a manifestation of his fear that she would disappear and he’d never see her again. Frances, the people finder who was sitting across the table from him, wouldn’t be able to find her, either, because Carol wouldn’t leave a trace, not even some of her DNA.
    Although he barely admitted it to himself, Rigo had been relieved when he heard Carol wasn’t Cynthia Sakai. As Cynthia, she would have moved to North Carolina and lived the life of a princess. Rigo didn’t see any room for himself in that scenario. It would be as bad as if she had disappeared.
    Carol told him that while he was working the brunch shift at the restaurant, she had slept in and then taken a long walk to, as she phrased it, clear her head. She hadn’t told him much about what happened in North Carolina on their ride home from the airport yesterday. She said she would tell him when she had her thoughts collected. Whether she had to collect her thoughts or clear her head, he wanted to be a part of her life.
    Ernie and Tina had invited Frances over for Sunday dinner to celebrate Carol’s return and develop a further plan to find her identity, since she wasn’t an heiress. Rigo was glad he had the evening off.
    They were eating when Frances asked Rigo how his job hunt was going. This was beginning to be a sore point with him. He tried to sound confident and competent. “I’m still waiting to hear feedback from one interview. I have a couple of others scheduled. I’m looking into getting the training I need to fulfill the state requirements to be a licensed counselor, but that would take a while. The state has a long list of requirements.” He stopped talking, realizing how puny that answer was.
    Ernie said, “We offered to bring him into the business. We figured with his psychology, he might be good in sales. I remember when he was in high school, the tennis teams would hold car washes to help pay for their uniforms and everything. Rigo would stand in the street with a big sign and a corny costume and bring the customers in by the dozens.”
    Tina smirked at her husband from the other end of the table. “What I remember is it was the members of the girls’ team in their bikinis that brought the customers in—including you. But we do think Rigo could help us. He’s got a good mind and he can learn the business.”
    Rigo was about to explain for the umpteenth time why he didn’t want to go into the family business when Carol spoke. “Rigo will do fine, whatever he does. He should do something connected with computers. He can make them dance.”
    Rigo gave Carol an appreciative look as they segued into her problem.
    Frances took the floor. “I was able to get the testing service to give Carol’s DNA a high priority. The results are now online. I’ve placed