She curled her eyelashes and applied mascara, then paused as she remembered Trent’s words. He said she’d changed. What did he call her, a free spirit? Now she wore tan slacks, nice but thick for the weather, and a V-neck knit top, a rich blue that enhanced the color of her dark hair and brown eyes. Trent’s words stuck in her mind as she readied herself for dinner with Alicia and her husband. He’d told her, “She was your best friend four years ago. She’s dying to see you again, and this might spark a memory.” It was just what she was looking for, yet she almost wanted to back out of it. When Trent said “best friend,” she automatically thought of Karen Jenkins back in Redding, not a stranger named Alicia Nor. During the last four years, she’d avoided personal conversations because when people asked her about herself she had nothing to say. She’d spent the last four years mainly inside at her parents’ home, in contact with Karen and her parents. She spent two years getting to know Arnold and Ellen as her parents again and trying to remember her life.
