“I promise, it’s not doing any harm.” James reassured Penny with a gentle smile, moving to curl his legs under himself some as they sat there. “It’s pieces of my past- me and you, I like seeing the pictures, hearing stories about things, about us.” Always hoping that it would spark something, that there would be a picture or story that would awake some memory that he had forgotten. Always wanting to grasp at anything about his past and who he used to be. He took the photo that was handed to him, looking down at himself in the driver seat of a car. So he used to drive. It was such a small detail, something that most people wouldn’t think twice about, the fact that they drove but it was something else that he simply didn’t remembering. Driving. But apparently he had done it pre injury.
He couldn’t help but laugh as he looked up from the picture as she told him about the adventures they got up to. “For some reason, putting soap into a fountain sounds like a very us thing to have done.” James grinned, having heard stories about how he had been a bit more outgoing and adventurous before everything had happened. He looked back down at the picture, brow furrowing some as Penny spoke once more. “One year sober chip?” A slight tilt of his head as he looked over at her. There was so much about Penny that he didn’t know, that he had known at one time but couldn’t recall now. And whatever she meant by sober chip, well, it was completely lost on James.
“Good. I just--I have to ask because that would be the last thing I wanted.” She smiled, happy to share her old memories with him. Penny hoped it’d spark something in his brain, but, if it didn’t, she could at least leave him with some old memories. “Also, if any of these photos of you you want to keep, please do. You are more than welcome to.” James had been the first person Penny could open up to that wasn’t her mother, and it still felt that way now. She could always trust him whether he remembered what they shared or not.
Penny giggled, remembering how she had tried to pull James into the soapy fountain that night. “I uh,” she said, her smile faltering. “I’m an addict. I had a bad injury a few years ago, and I refused to take time off from dancing. I was at the peak of my career, and I had summer auditions coming up. I started taking pain pills, and I couldn’t stop. Got in a nasty car wreck because i was too high to function.” She’d told the story to him once before, and it felt easier telling him again. Penny hadn’t talked about it to anyone outside of AA in years. “So I got a chip from AA for being sober. I’m going on five years now. They look like coins.