Do You Remember?

Tess screams for Harry after seeing her long hair chopped short, with gray strands running through it, and a man who isn’t Harry opens the door to the bathroom. The man calmly, if sadly, explains that Harry doesn’t live there anymore and that he’s Graham, Tess’s husband. Back in the bedroom, Tess sees several pictures of her and this man, and he gives her a letter that she wrote to herself. She can’t understand what could’ve happened to Harry, the love of her life. Graham explains that the letter usually helps, and he goes to take a shower.

The letter explains that Tess was in an accident and sustained a brain injury that affected her memory. Sometimes, she remembers a little of what happened to her, though on bad days she can’t remember the last seven or eight years. The letter states that Graham is a good husband and that Harry isn’t part of her life anymore because he “did something unforgivable” (19). The letter concludes by noting that she’s in “good hands.” Graham returns, and she realizes how attractive he is. He tells her that the accident happened about a year ago. At one point, Tess notices a “flash of something” like anger in his eyes (22), but when it disappears a moment later, she thinks she may have imagined it.

In the bathroom, she notices many products sporting the logo of her business, My Home Spa, and she remembers how supportive Harry was when she wanted to start the company. Tess wonders what terrible thing he did. She gets in the shower and feels a long scar on her scalp, trying to convince herself to trust the letter. When she looks down at her body, she notices something written high on her thigh—two words—but she can only make out the first: “Find.” Tess realizes that she must have written it herself and that she did it in a spot that Graham wouldn’t see. She hopes that she can trust the letter she wrote to herself, but she isn’t sure.

Tess meets her dog, Ziggy, at the bottom of the steps and is surprised by how quickly she loves him, considering that she can’t remember her husband at all. Tess is shocked that she chose to call the dog Ziggy, which was the name of Harry’s pet finch. Graham reminds her that she said she was a fan of the Ziggy comic strip, and Tess realizes that she lied to her husband about this. He makes her bacon and eggs in their luxurious kitchen, but he burns them. When she feeds Ziggy some of her bacon, Graham chastises her. He eats his own burned breakfast, and despite how handsome he is, she doesn’t feel attracted to him at all.

Tess asks if she took Graham’s last name, which is Thurman, and he says she did because she liked the alliteration. The name isn’t an example of alliteration, but Tess concedes that it’s still pretty. He tells her she’s 36, though she feels 29. Graham is an accountant but has managed My Home Spa since Tess’s accident. When she asks how they met, he says that he pushed her out of the way when a speeding car nearly hit her; he describes their meeting as “fate.” Tess smiles at the story’s romance and is shocked when Ziggy growls at Graham. She’s more shocked when Graham brings her a glass of pomegranate juice and tells her that she loves it. She takes a sip and spits it out. Graham seems a little hurt, and he acknowledges that today is a “bad day,” as she’s not herself. He suggests a trip to the doctor, but Tess has hated the doctor since her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. She died when Tess was 10. Tess assures Graham that she’ll let him know if she continues to feel off, but she has no intention of doing so.

When Graham hands her an iPhone, she’s shocked, but he assures her that she always figures it out. She somehow knows how to use it and is heartened to find her father and Lucy in her contacts. Her only other contact is “Camila.” The doorbell rings, and Graham says Tess is about to meet her.

Ziggy scratches at the back door, and Tess realizes that it requires a key to open from the inside. She starts to panic when Graham calls her. He introduces the gorgeous Camila as someone who cleans the house, but it’s soon clear that she’s Tess’s babysitter. Graham says Camila can take Tess wherever she needs to go; Tess can’t drive due to her “seizures” and isn’t allowed to have a house key; she feels like a prisoner in her home. Camila reassures her that they’re friends, and Tess reminds herself of what she wrote in her letter. Still, she thinks it’s odd that she doesn’t know Graham, instantly loved Ziggy, and knew how to work her phone.

While Camila makes Tess some toast just the way she likes it, Tess wonders if Camila and Graham have slept together. Tess is comforted by how well Camila seems to know her. Suddenly, her phone buzzes, and she looks down to find a text message from an unknown sender who cautions her not to trust Graham.

Tess asks who the sender is, and she’s directed to meet them at a local dog park that afternoon. The sender says to tell Camila she wants to take Ziggy to the park before going grocery shopping, and Tess is shocked by how many details they seem to know about her life. When Tess asks if they can meet now, the sender says that she can’t leave her home. They tell her to write their phone number on her arm where no one can see it and then text when she’s leaving for the dog park. The sender says to tell no one and delete these messages. Somehow, Tess’s fingers remember how to do this, and she realizes that she has done it before. She tries to call Lucy and her father, leaving voicemails for both.

While Camila cleans upstairs, Tess watches The Price Is Right. It was Harry’s favorite show, and he was quite good at it. She googles My Home Spa and realizes that her little company has grown quite a bit. Tess tries calling her father again, but the call goes to voicemail. Suddenly, she feels a stabbing pain in her head, and the living room fades away; Tess is sitting at a desk in an office. Graham is there for a job interview, and he’s quite attractive, though Tess is engaged to Harry. Just as she asks Graham how he became an accountant, the office fades away, and Tess is back in the living room. Camila is standing over her and says she believes Tess had an “absence seizure.” However, the scene felt so real that Tess suspects it was a memory.

Camila lets Ziggy and Tess into the backyard, and Tess recalls more memories of Harry. She sees the hot tub, and the thought of sharing it with Graham nauseates her. She examines the gigantic fence that now encircles the backyard and the padlocked gate. When Graham calls, she confronts him about locking her in. He offers to come home, but she doesn’t want that, because she needs to get to the dog park. Graham says that he hates locking her in, but Tess got out last month, and there were negative consequences. He promises that he’ll come home early and, together, they can watch Tess’s favorite movie, The Princess Bride, for the “jillionth” time. She remembers that it’s her comfort movie and thinks Graham is a good guy. When she quotes a key line from the film, however, he doesn’t understand. This is odd, considering how many times he claims to have watched it with her.

Camila makes turkey sandwiches for lunch and says that Tess rarely remembers Graham. Tess asks if Camila knows why she and Harry broke up, but Camila “averts her eyes” and says she doesn’t know (70). Tess suspects that Camila is lying. Camila shows her a picture of the two of them, smiling, and Tess looks happy in the photo. She texts the mystery man that they’re leaving for the dog park soon.

Graham calls Camila to tell Tess that he’ll be home early and will take Tess and Ziggy to the dog park later. Tess and Camila just go to the grocery store, and when Tess asks if she and Ziggy can go to the dog park while Camila shops, Camila says it isn’t safe. They get into Camila’s car, driving past the park. When a man looks up at the car, Tess feels him staring at her and thinks it’s Harry. She feels relieved, knowing he’d never abandon her. When Tess and Camila arrive at the grocery store, Camila tells Tess to meet her at checkout in 15 minutes. Tess texts the mystery man that she’s at the store and will leave now for the park, but the texter says she won’t make it, instructing her to delete these messages. She does. Tess heads toward the exit, but a male voice stops her.

The security guard, Pete, grips her hard. He calls Camila over the speaker to the front of the store, and Camila and Pete exchange looks when Tess insists that she can leave the store if she wants. Camila says that Tess wandered off before and got lost; she explains that Graham is her legal guardian. If Tess leaves, Camila will call the police, and they’ll take her home. She says that Tess is easily confused now, even imagining that Harry has been texting and asking to meet. Camila says that Harry doesn’t live in New York anymore and is remarried. Tess pushes up her sleeve to reveal the phone number scrawled on her arm, and she types it into the phone. Tess texts the mystery man, but he doesn’t respond. Camila asks where they were supposed to meet, and Tess says the dog park. Camila is sympathetic, and Tess begins to cry. She recalls meeting Harry, finding it odd that she remembers so much about him but nothing about Graham.

Camila drives Tess to the dog park, and Tess again texts the mystery man but receives no response. When they arrive, Harry isn’t there, and she wonders how many messages she imagined from Harry in the past year.

Graham meets them there, and he and Tess have a great time with Ziggy, but Graham explains that Ziggy doesn’t like men. Tess asks him about their wedding and if they ever have sex. He describes the day and says they sometimes have sex when she remembers him. Tess suddenly feels lucky to have Graham.

After they go home, Lucy calls. Tess is shocked that she works for My Home Spa, considering how Lucy discouraged her from starting the business in the first place. Lucy didn’t like Harry. She reassures Tess of Graham’s love, saying he’s far superior to Harry. Tess wants to know what happened with Harry, and Lucy says they “grew apart.” Tess called off the marriage six months after getting engaged. When Tess mentions how Graham saved her life, Lucy laughs and says he was an accountant she hired at My Home Spa. Tess begins to doubt her memory of what Graham told her earlier and is unsure whether she can trust her memories or herself. She decides to see what’s in the bedroom that she and Harry intended for their children.

The room is Graham’s den. She finds a locked drawer in his desk, and he catches her. He says it’s work papers he doesn’t want anyone stealing, and she asks if he lied about how they met. He admits that he did, that he was hoping it would make her like him; he says it’s hard to see her crying over “some guy who treated her like shit” every day (106). He promises not to lie again, and she feels some attraction to him. They kiss, but his phone rings, and he must call in to a meeting for work. Tess is somewhat relieved, as she still feels engaged to Harry.

That night at dinner, Graham asks for Tess’s phone. He explains that she gets confused late in the evening. If he lets her keep it, she won’t remember where it is. Tess is reluctant to hand it over, especially since she’s locked in the house. Graham suggests that he won’t let her have the phone if it’s going to cause arguments, so she hands it over. Graham goes to the kitchen for drinks, and when he returns, Ziggy barks and growls at him. Graham sets the glasses down and orders the dog outside, yelling at Ziggy and Tess. They eat, and Graham calms down, even apologizing for taking her phone. Suddenly, Tess gets incredibly dizzy and tired, and her speech grows slurred. She drinks more water, hoping to clear her head, but it gets harder to swallow. Graham takes her hand, and she feels lucky to have him. Then she notices a white film on the bottom of her glass and realizes that she has been drugged.

Tess vaguely remembers telling someone that Graham was drugging her. She looks at him and sees concern in his eyes as well as something ominous. She realizes that the texts were real and runs to the kitchen to look for her phone, saying she wants more water. Graham follows her. Tess grabs a pen, runs into the bathroom, and closes the door. She knows she needs to leave herself a message that Graham won’t see, and she writes on her thigh, hoping that she’ll see the note in the morning. Just as she pulls her pants back up, Graham comes in.