Shipwrecked

It was summer on the island when they met. Jenna was fresh out of college, eager to start nursing school in the fall. Her last minute decision to ditch the summer internship she had been consumed with landing for her entire college career and instead spend the time working in her uncle’s small town pharmacy had lifted an invisible weight from her shoulders she hadn’t been aware she was even carrying. She felt free to finally be herself for the first time that she could remember. When she left the house that day, she was blissfully unaware that the next person she met, would alter everything she knew about life in ways she could never have imagined.

Jake Nolan wasn’t normally the forgetful type. He remembered friend’s birthdays, anniversaries and who had the best batting average in game seven of The World Series in 1992. But for some reason, that day, he could barely remember his own name or how to tie his shoes. He didn’t know what was wrong with him. He was on a walk trying to clear his head when he saw her. The most intriguing woman he had ever seen. He immediately needed to know everything about her. She was sitting at a table inside the pharmacy/soda shop, reading a book and tapping her nails on the table. She had headphones on and was lightly tapping her foot along with the beat. Every few seconds she would blow a bubble with her gum and he couldn’t decide if it was childishly annoying or endearingly cute. He had to know more. He opened the door and the bell above his head rang so sharply it made him jump. He looked around and saw they were the only two people in there. She sprang to attention like her drill sergeant had just walked in the room and as she stepped behind the counter, she removed her headphones and set them under the counter with her book so gracefully you would question if you had even seen them at all. He noted her name tag said Jenna.

“Hi, how can I help you”? Jenna asked.

“I..uhh…” Jake suddenly felt like he had lost his voice. “Do you have any ginkgo biloba? I hear it helps with your memory” he finally managed to stammer out. “YOU IDIOT” he silently scolded himself.

Jenna gave him a half crooked smile with a knowing glint in her eye. “Sure, but you’ll need a prescription” He looked confused. “Yeah, we’ve had a real problem down here with all the retirees moving in. They come in and clean us out trying to hold onto the memories of their youth and we just can’t control it so we had to start sending people to the local clinic for a prescription”. By this point she couldn’t even stop the giggle that crept up her throat and erupted from between her lips like a beautiful melody.

Jake was smitten. He couldn’t form a thought. He looked desperately around the room for some sort of clue as to what in the heck he had come in there for. His gaze finally settled on the coffee pot sitting on the warmer in the corner, steaming with promise and hope.

“I’ll just have a cup of black coffee please” Jake smiled at her. She smiled back as she turned to pour the coffee. Jake took it from her outstretched hand and took a seat at the long L shaped counter that wrapped the room. He took a deep breath and before he even knew what he was going, he couldn’t shut himself up. “I’m Jake, I’m new in town. If I wanted to take a pretty girl out to dinner tonight, where would you recommend?

“Hi Jake, nice to meet you. I’m Jenna”, she gestured to her name tag, I’m new in town too. I’m just here for the summer helping my uncle here in his pharmacy and enjoying life before I go back to school in the fall”

Jake laughed, “Well, dang. Here I thought I was going to use you showing me around town as an excuse to get you to spend the day with me”. Suddenly, for no reason she could explain, Jenna wanted nothing more than to spend every moment with this complete stranger. The strangest sense of deja vu washed over her.

“Well, Jake, It’s your lucky day. I’m off in 15 minutes and I have nothing planned today. We could explore the town together?” Jenna felt shy suddenly. Jake was maybe too enthusiastic.

“Absolutely” He had never felt happier.

They spent the entire day together. Exploring the town, talking like lifelong friends instead of strangers. They walked the beach at sunset and fell in love next to a bonfire they built in the sand. As dawn approached, Jenna lay curled into Jake’s side as they sat listening to the hypnotic rhythm of the waves. Jake leaned to Jenna’s ear and whispered, “You see that ship out there on the horizon?” Jenna nodded her head in response, “I was supposed to be on it” he kissed her cheek and pulled her closer.

“What a strange thing to say” Jenna thought as she finally drifted off to sleep.

Jenna woke a few minutes later but Jake was nowhere to be found. There was no trace of him. Not the food he ate at their picnic, a cup, a dent in the sand where he had sat, nothing. She sat there on that blanket all day waiting for him to come back but she never saw him again. She was left wondering for the rest of her life if that entire day had been a dream? A hallucination? It had all seemed so real and so perfect. Nothing would ever quite be the same for Jenna again. And what of Jake Nolan? Who was he? Had he ever even really existed? Will we ever know?