The building of Bart and Mary’s house took much longer than expected. Heavy snowfalls and blizzards impeded their progress. Connor and Silver and all the other volunteers worked on it whenever they were able to, but the severe winter weather had not cooperated with their plan to have the house finished in three months.

“Thankfully we’re heading toward spring,” Silver told Connor while working on the roof.

“Yes, let’s hope the better weather continues for a while.”

Silver flashed Connor a grin and continued to hammer. He felt quite comfortable doing this type of work because it was as if he’d done it all before. His memory before Connor rescued him was still a complete blank. No flashbacks, no inkling of who he really was. It was as if his memory banks had been wiped clean.

In a way he didn’t care, because he was perfectly content and happy. Since Christmas, Connor’s and his relationship had bloomed and they couldn’t be more in love. So in a way, getting his memory back was a frightening prospect. Yet, he didn’t feel whole. He felt incomplete.

Bart and Ana had tried several spells, but those hadn’t restored his memory. Silver was now at a point where he just wanted to forget he ever had a past and pretend he’d been born the day Connor had taken him into his home. But in many ways it was a huge nuisance. He couldn’t get a license, couldn’t open a bank account because he had no identification of any kind, so it was almost as if he didn’t exist, as if he’d been dropped on planet Earth by aliens. Maybe I’m some kind of android. He chuckled and stuck his hammer into his tool belt.

“What’s tickled your funny bone?” Connor asked. “Time to quit, Sil. I’m starving. The others have already gone home.”

“I was thinking maybe I’m an android dropped here by aliens.”

“Goof! Let’s go. Mom’s got dinner waiting for us.” He climbed down the ladder followed soon after by Silver.

“I bet your mother will be glad when she’s got the house to herself again,” Silver said while putting his tools in the toolbox and placing it on the tractor. “A vehicle would be nice instead of this slow as molasses contraption!”

“Mm, what do you call this except transportation? When I was living alone, I didn’t have need of a car, but now you’re with me I guess I should buy an SUV. Also didn’t count on building another house so soon and having to make daily trips into town.”

“Roof will be done tomorrow. Forecast is for good weather all month,” Silver said. “And this old thing is a piece of farm equipment. It’s slow, it’s noisy, and cold and wet in winter.”

“That’s enough whining. It’ll get you nowhere.”

Silver grinned. “I can try, can’t I?”

“Looks like we’ll be doing most of the work on our own from now on. The farmers are all getting their fields ready for their crops.”

“Everyone did pitch in whenever they could, and the whole town donated toward this project,” Silver said. “What surprised me most, Bart is an accountant, but yet his house insurance was far below what it should have been.”

Connor was quiet for a few minutes. “Most people probably think like me. Something like that could never happen to my house. I haven’t got insurance on the cabin. Never occurred to me. I guess it would be a good idea to get it. You never know what could happen.”

“Yup. Do some research on the net. The siding on this house is almost done, too. Now that it’s in lockup stage, we can soon start on the interior. If we work every day, I expect we’ll be finished in a month.”

“I fucking well hope so. I haven’t sold a painting in months and haven’t written any articles. My savings are depleting at a fast rate.”

“Connor, I feel guilty. Not knowing who I am, or if I’ve got any money, I can’t contribute. After the house is finished, I’ll look for a job. Maybe your father will hire me.”

“We need you to get your memory back.”

“Bart’s tried everything and so has Ana. Without going to a regular doctor or specialist, I don’t have a hope in hell.”

“We can’t risk it. You know that. They’ll draw blood and all, probe and prod you, take x-rays, and there’ll be thousands of questions. I’ve gone through hundreds of missing person photos on the Internet, and found nothing. I don’t know anymore, Silver. Maybe your memory will slowly come back one day.”

“That doesn’t help us right now.”

They’d arrived at the cabin. It was still chilly in the evenings, so Connor quickly built a fire while Silver showered first, and within minutes crackling flames started to warm up the place. Silver stood under the warm stream and felt his muscles relax and the tiredness slowly washing away. He thought about the past months and how happy he was, yet there was something missing. Not in their relationship. It was almost perfect, as good as a relationship between two lovers could ever be. They were perfectly synced, both as lovers and as friends. He couldn’t imagine life without Connor anymore. But always there was that little nagging fear deep within his heart, the angst that somehow they’d be torn apart, that his past could hurt their happiness.

“Any hot water left for me?” Connor interrupted his thoughts.

“Sorry, Con. I was daydreaming. I’m done.”

Before he could step out of the cubicle, Connor joined him. His strong hands massaged Silver’s shoulders and his neck.

“You’re fucking tense. What’s wrong, baby?” Connor asked.

“Nothing. I’m just tired. Climbing on that roof all day did me in, I guess.”

“Bullshit. Something’s bothering you. I feel it. Talk to me?”