Remember to Forget Read Online Free

out in this world. You keep your money.”
    Just starting out in this world .
    Opal Sanchez couldn’t know how profound her words were. But they encouraged Maggie. “Thank you. I really appreciate the ride and everything.”
    “Don’t mention it again.” Opal steered the car into a parking place in front of the café and set the brake. She fumbled with her seat belt as though her fingers might be arthritic. She winced and rubbed her shoulder before reaching for the door handle.
    Maggie jumped out of the car and ran around to help Opal with the door.
    Exhilaration surged through her as she followed the old woman into the restaurant. How long had it been since she’d gone anywhere or done anything without Kevin’s first approving it? And if for some rare reason he didn’t come with her for an occasion, he tracked her every move, dictating who she could talk to and when she should be home.
    When they opened the door to the café, a bell rang somewhere overhead, announcing their arrival. Two law-enforcement officers with Saddle River patches on their sleeves turned to watch them from their perches on padded stools at the long counter.
    Maggie’s senses went on alert. Had Kevin sent them looking for her already? He hadn’t wasted any time.
    When the younger policeman turned to speak to his partner in low tones, Maggie murmured to Opal, “I have to go.” She brushed past her and made for the door.
    “Wait, honey,” Opal said. “Wait! Just a—”
    But the closing door cut off her words. Maggie jogged half a block before she stopped on the sidewalk, panning the street, calculating where she might hide if the officers pursued her.
    “Maggie? Wait!” Opal’s voice called from behind her.
    Maggie spun around. Opal hurried along the sidewalk toward her.
    The policemen were nowhere in sight.
    She waited for Opal to catch up. The old woman was wheezing and breathless.
    Maggie felt a stab of guilt. “I need to go.” She glanced over Opal’s shoulder to make sure the officers weren’t following. “I-I just remembered I have to meet my friends.”
    “Well, here.” Opal rummaged in her pocketbook. “I want to give you something.”
    Maggie fidgeted, anxious to get away from the diner. But she was curious too.
    Opal thrust a wad of rolled-up bills at her.
    “What’s this?”
    “I want you to have it.”
    “But why?”
    Opal chuckled and looked toward the sky. “Honey, when the Man upstairs tells you to do something, you don’t turn Him down and you don’t ask questions.”
    “The man up—” Maggie stopped. “Oh, you mean . . . ?” She let her gaze travel up to follow Opal’s.
    The woman smiled and patted Maggie’s hand—the one holding the cash. “Whatever you’re running from, whatever you’re searching for . . . maybe this will help you on your journey.”
    “But—”
    “Shhh. Just accept it. Maybe you can do the same for someone else when you’re an old woman like me.”
    Maggie didn’t know what to think. She needed the money. It might be the only thing that kept her from running back to Kevin. But she didn’t feel right accepting cash from a stranger. Besides, Opal had already given her a ride and offered to buy her breakfast.
    She let her gaze meet the woman’s rheumy brown eyes, questioning.
    “Please,” Opal said, “if it makes you feel better, I have plenty where that came from. My father left me well off.”
    Maggie made up her mind. She touched Opal’s veined hand. “Thank you so much. You don’t know what this means to me.”
    “I think I have some idea.” Opal smiled. “You go on now. And God bless you.”
    Maggie wanted to hug her, but somehow she couldn’t make herself reach out and embrace the frail woman. Too many times she’d made herself vulnerable, only to be rejected. “Thank you, Opal. God bless you too.”
    Maggie turned and ran up the street, not slowing until she veered into a side alley. She pivoted and started to jog backward, hoping to spot Opal.