“Ow!” Sam yelped as his knee slammed into the train door. He could have sworn he was maneuvering around it, but his leg apparently didn’t agree. “Jeez…”
Katie grabbed him by the arm as the two of them stepped onto the Central station platform.
“Um, are you alright?” she asked, as he rubbed at his knee.
“Oh I’m great. Apparently, my proprioception is next on the chopping block,” he mumbled. He grimaced, making eye contact with a befuddled Katie. “I’m gonna be a bit clumsy, in other words.”
“Well, we have a lot of stairs to climb, so watch your step,” she replied, grasping his hand. “Hold the railing, okay?”
“Yes, ma’am,” said Sam.
“So who is this guy we’re going to see?” Katie continued as they began their ascent to the street.
“I wish I could remember his name, but Yolanda needs to meet him so he can take her nursery rhymes and make them into songs. At least that’s what Ziggy thought was meant to happen…”
“Nursery rhymes?”
“Yeah, they’re pretty clever.” Sam paused, and opened up his bag, pulling out a notebook. He handed it to Katie, who began flipping through it.
“You could make these into songs, couldn’t you? Or is that music degree for nothin’?”
“I can’t stick around for that – Yolanda just needs a push in the right direction. I just have to connect the two of them, and the rest will work itself out once I’m gone. In theory.”
“Sounds easy,” she said, handing back the notebook. Sam chuckled.
“That’s what I thought, until I crossed the street.”
The siblings emerged onto the sidewalk, and Sam felt a sense of dread as his gaze landed on the stretch of road where the accident had happened.
Katie sensed him tensing up. “It’s okay, Sam. We’ll look both ways this time.”
Katie’s hand once again clutched at his, and she pulled him along like a parent leading a child. Sam vaguely recalled helping a very young Katie crossing the street when he was a child, and suddenly felt a little uncomfortable at the role reversal.
Together, they crossed the road without incident, and Sam glimpsed the grocery store in question.
Now, he thought, to remember the name of this guy. I wish Al was here. Where is he, anyway? —Wait, no, Al’s not coming. Not until I fix this.
Sam frowned, having caught that momentary memory lapse, and wondered how long it would be until he no longer caught them.
* * *
Sam stared at the busy store, eyes darting from employee to employee.
Come on, memory, give up the name already.
Normally, Sam’s memory would experience its swiss-cheese effect upon leaping, but he was able to retain anything new after that – perfectly, thanks to his photographic memory. But now, it seemed that anything could slip his mind at any moment, no matter how important. It was terrifying.
“So, uh, what now?” asked Katie, watching him.
“Well, I know it’s a man we’re looking for. That’s a start, right? How many male employees can there be?”
Katie frowned. “You don’t even know if he’s working today, do you?”
“Nope.”
“Well that’s just great…”
Sam stroked his chin. “Okay, how about we wander around, taking note of the name tags of each staff member, and I’ll see if one rings a bell?”
“Sure— it’s better than standing here, getting our toes run over,” Katie said, smirking as she flattened herself against the wall to avoid an oncoming shopping cart.
They set about traversing the aisles. Katie grabbed a basket, and used the cover of collecting canned goods to get a close look at a few name badges of workers she encountered.
“Greg?”
“I don’t think that’s it.”
“Herbert?”
“No…”
“Doug?”
“Definitely not.”
“Do you remember the letter it starts with? Or anything else that might help?”
Sam wracked his brain.
“I think it was… one syllable. Short and sharp. Like ‘Jack,’ except it wasn’t Jack. At least I don’t think it was Jack. Maybe it was? No. It doesn’t sound right.”
“Alright, well that kinda helps,” Katie said, pressing her lips together as she scanned the store. “I think it’s just the cashiers left.”
Katie led him to the checkouts, setting down her basket, which was full of heavy cans, and grabbing a pack of gum from the impulse section by the registers. She passed a Hershey’s bar to Sam.
“You take that guy, I’ll take this guy,” she said, pointing respectively at the two men working the checkouts.
Sam nodded, and stood in line. As he was served, he caught sight of the name tag: ‘Zachary.’
Three syllables… he thought, disappointed.
He paid for his candy bar, and sighed as he began to stroll away from the register.
“Hey, Zach, you got a break in five!” came the voice of a supervisor, and Sam froze in his tracks.
Wait, that’s the name. ‘Zach.’ God, I can’t believe I nearly walked away.
He caught Katie’s eye and waved her over.
“Did you find him?” she asked as she approached. “The guy over there was called Walter, by the way.”
“It’s this guy,” Sam said with palpable relief, gesturing to the young cashier, who looked around twenty years of age. “Zach. Zachary… Fuh—uh, Fer—”
He snapped his fingers. “Zachary Fernandez! That’s the name.”
He laughed with triumph as he finally grasped the memory that had eluded him. “Oh boy… that felt like giving birth.”
Katie grinned. “Okay, now what do we do?”
“I suppose… I go introduce myself.”