As Lorenzo left the hospital, he experienced feelings of mixed emotions. Although his amnesia was weakening, it still existed, and there were still so many unanswered questions in his life, which worried him. Alternatively, part of him was just happy to be alive and able to leave the hospital and make up for the last four months that he lost.
Lorenzo's neighbor, Robert, who found him unconscious at the time of the accident, was the only contact information the hospital had, so they had called him to pick up Lorenzo. Robert, despite having saved his life, barely knew Lorenzo or his wife, Barbara, who he knew was in Sicily at the time of the accident.
As Lorenzo entered his home, he felt that it provoked some memories, but not as many as he'd hoped for, which caused him to feel frustrated. He wondered if he would ever remember his life aside from the general information found on documents retrieved from his home. According to his records, he had been living in Miami for the last 16 years and did not understand why no one came looking for him. He wondered what type of person he was. He knew that he had a wife and a son whom he was trying to find, but had been unsuccessful.
Lorenzo knew he would not find all the answers in one day, but as he opened his refrigerator door and saw an empty refrigerator, his most immediate concern was to go to the supermarket. They passed one on the way back to his house, so he knew where to go.
As Lorenzo was shopping in the supermarket, a toddler boy was clumsily walking and knocked into him. His mother was running after him, shouting, "Renzo, come back here." The name automatically alerted Lorenzo, since it was so similar to his name. Little Renzo looked up at him and smiled. Shortly thereafter, his mother, Barbara, looked over and was shocked, certainly not smiling.
Barbara had changed her hair color, so that she was no longer a brunette but now a redhead. She had returned from Sicily about a week beforehand with her son due to a great opportunity at a law firm in Miami. Although she knew it was risky because she might see Lorenzo again, she decided to take the chance because of the title as a partner and the money that came with it, which would be great for not only her, but her dependents: her daughter in college and her small son. She never got around to changing her name or her son's name because she felt it wasn't needed. She had originally planned on staying in a very small, secluded village in Sicily. Now that she was back in Miami, she had planned on doing that, but after seeing Lorenzo, she realized it was too late.
Barbara walked over to Lorenzo, hoping he didn't recognize her, and quickly retrieved her son. She avoided eye contact with him but realized when he didn't say anything to her that he didn't recognize her, so she was relieved until he called out to her, "Excuse me." In that instant, she didn't want to turn around but felt that if she didn't, it would draw more attention to the situation.
When she turned around, she saw that Renzo had dropped his pacifier, and Lorenzo was just trying to return it to her. When she politely thanked him, he looked into her eyes, and Barbara tried to turn away, but his warm gaze was still hard for her to resist even after all they had been through together. Lorenzo was very taken with her beauty and felt drawn to her just like the first day they had met, jogging alongside each other on the beach. When she looked at him, the guilt that she had felt for leaving him in the hospital was about to manifest itself through tears, so she quickly turned her face and walked away.
As Barbara went to her car to unload the groceries, Lorenzo came by and said, "I think you're very beautiful, and I would like to take you out to dinner. I'm Lorenzo, but the way." He then smiled and asked her what her name was. She didn't want to say her real name, so she just said that her name was Belinda. Then Renzo said, "Hi, Lorenzo."
When she saw how her son smiled at him, she realized what she did was wrong because although Lorenzo and her had their differences, he really loved his son, so as an act of redemption, she gave him her number and accepted his dinner invitation. She figured it would be fair to see if he changed, especially after the amnesia. The dinner would be a test to see if there was anything salvageable from their marriage.
Barbara decided to meet Lorenzo at the restaurant. The waiter had offered them a selection of wines, but Lorenzo refused all of them. He explained to her that he didn't drink, and Barbara was shocked. Lorenzo had a terrible drinking problem, which was the demise of their marriage. Barbara began smiling because she couldn't contain how happy she was; they could actually have a future together.
Despite all of the rough times they had, they also had many happy times together, and Barbara still loved him; walking away from him was the hardest thing for her to do, but she could not enable his drunken behavior or financial problems due to unemployment anymore because she felt she deserved better. At dinner, she also found out that he was employed.
Robert hired him to work for his construction company. She remembered how, in the past, when he was unemployed, and they needed the money, she had told him about how Robert was hiring at his construction company, and Lorenzo's response was, "No, I'm not asking him about work, and besides, it's not even what I do. I'm a chef, and I'm applying for chef positions. Something will eventually come up. You don't believe in me, but I believe in myself."
As she recollected that conversation, she stared across the table at what appeared to be a different person inside her husband's body. She asked him if that was what he really wanted to do, and he responded:
"Belinda, I want to let you know something. I have amnesia, and every day I hope it gets better and that I find out more about myself, so I don't know if this is what I used to do, but I know I need to make money, and this is a job. Sadly, I'm just as much of a mystery to myself as I am to you right now."
After dinner, Lorenzo had asked Barbara to go back to his place, but she insisted that they go back to her place instead because she didn't want to run the risk of being noticed. She didn't want the night to end because she felt she had her husband back. They went back to her place and made passionate love, the way only former lovers who have found each other again could. Unfortunately, things became awkward thereafter.
Lorenzo returned from the bathroom and back into the bedroom with a serious expression. Barbara smiled and softly giggled as she said, "What's with the face?" He ignored her, and she became perplexed and nervous, so she proceeded to get dressed. Bad memories began to come back to her of when Lorenzo would drink and be stern like this, but this time he wasn't drunk, and he actually had a reason for this behavior.
Barbara asked Lorenzo to leave, and he said:
"This time I'll leave, Belinda, or should I say, Barbara? I had an inkling of who you were from the moment I smelled your scent, a scent of roses that I could never forget, and after we made love, my suspicions were confirmed. I guess some things you never forget when you love someone, even if you have amnesia. I don't know why you left me in such a state, and at this point, your excuses don't matter. I'm going to assume Renzo is my son, and I would like to see him. You'll be hearing from my lawyer."
This time, he left; hearing that door slam behind him was one of the harshest sounds Barbara ever heard. She sat there alone and began to cry.
After a good night's sleep, Barbara woke up ready to handle things and confront Lorenzo, rather than running away this time. She drove over to his house, her former home, and rang the doorbell. Lorenzo answered and asked her to come in because they needed to talk.
He started by apologizing for his behavior the night before, which left Barbara confused. He explained how after he left her house, he stopped by Robert's house to ask him if he knew why she would have left him like that, and Robert told him that he often heard fighting and saw her running out of the house and to the car with Renzo in a haste. Robert also added that he would frequently see Barbara alone in a coffee shop, looking sad or crying, and trying to hide it. He didn't think it was his place to ask if she was alright, since she seemed to be trying to conceal her emotions. After hearing this, Lorenzo understood why she left.
Lorenzo then asked Barbara if he ever hurt her physically, and she responded, "Physically, no, but you were not easy to live with. However, it was difficult to leave you because even while I hated you at times, I was still loving you at the same time." He then said, "Barbara, I never stopped loving you. Even amnesia couldn't make me forget you." Barbara took Lorenzo's hand and said, " Come on, follow me; I want to bring you somewhere."
Barbara and Lorenzo walked on Ocean Drive together and went to the exact place where they met. She sat down with him on a bench there, and as he looked at the ocean and smelled the salt water, he began to remember. He smiled and said to her, "I know this place. I remember it, and you are part of it." She responded by saying, "Yes, it's where we met, and I'm glad you remember it. We will make many more memories together."
Lorenzo reached over and kissed her. As they kissed passionately under the warm Miami sun, they knew that this time they would face the good times, the bad times, and everything in between together and never let anything separate them again.















