Utopia (5): Truth with Caren

We're entering the Baldoria - which is nice and large ground level pub where wood is dominating as interior material. Paul showed me our table and while we are moving closer I can recognize some people thanks to the materials found with the computer.
- "Seven out of ... well there aren't all sixteen of them," I noticed.
- "Well, that's not that bad after all... still Brian and Bob is missing," Paul replied.
- "Gosh, I'm sure I'd knew them!" I was exaggerating.
- "Yeah, I bet," confirmed Paul with irony in his voice.

- "Hello people," called Paul to outvoice ambient noise.
- "Hi all," added me.
- "Hey," Paul pointed at free place next to... well, I identified her as Caren candidate. "You hold place for us, great!"
- "Well, Paul - hard to deny such a claim!" but she smiles at us both.
Paul signed me to sit next to girl and he sat down around the table corner at my right side.
- "So..." started the girl, "what's up, Gavin? Fever?"
- "Oh yes, the Friday one. :-)"
- "Ah, you needed all day of preparation for the night, I see."
I turned to Paul: "Should I tell her?"
- "I bet you should, Gavin," Paul winked at her. "Does Gavin keep any secrets from you?"
- "Why?" girl looked a little bit confused. "I don't think so!" added she with smile.
I asked Paul: "Caren, right?"
- "Right. :-)"
- "Ok, Caren," I turned back to her. "Actually I have a problem. I remember all my life living in completely different world til this night. This morning I woke up in a house I've never seen before in a stranger's bad and so... I can say, that I'm not Gavin, but after some talk with Paul I feel like I have no other option than to be Gavin for the time being."
Caren is looking at me for a while and then she's saying to Paul: "Strange joke, isn't it?"
- "Well, it might be," tittered Paul. "But - believe it or not - I believed him. Or... he's playing it perfectly for the last couple of hours."
Caren was took aback for a little longer.

- "So you're not Gavin?"
- "Not really, but I'd like to be, believe me."
- "Hm," she was thinking about something a minute. "Well, I really don't know what I should think about this."
- "Neither do I, really," I shrugged.
- "Because if you're not Gavin, as you both claim, I should miss you somehow, but it's simply not that simple when I can see you right in front of me!"
- "I bet it's confusing."
- "And now I also don't know what to do with you... we can talk, of course. I guess you'll be working with us when you wanna merge here as Gavin..."
- "Indeed."
- "But..." she smiled and looked more relaxed suddenly. "Well, I'll see... So you simply don't remember anything from Gavin's life."
- "Nothing, really."
- "That's strange from my perspective," said she... and I started to have a feeling like I'm missing something.
- "Eh... was something between us two?" asked I. Now I can imagine how is it to experience real amnesia.
Caren and Paul looked at each other and I noticed that man next to Caren (it might be Brian Carter) was listening too and he chuckled shortly.
- "Yes, we're pretty good friends at least," said Caren. "Well, at least we were with the proper Gavin guy, you know."
- "Aha... friends at least."
- "You can say that we've had closer relationship."
- "Closer... are you Gavin's partner?"

Paul stepped in with grin: "How can you be Gavin and talk about him in third person?"
- "Well, I feel that in this case the difference between me and Gavin is kinda essential."
- "That's valid point," agreed Caren. "And no, I have stable partner next to Gavin."
- "Well, in that case it isn't so serious. :-)"
- "Well, it was for me. :-)"
I stopped for a while.
- "Now I don't know if I should ask..."
- "What you wanna know?" Caren smiled at me.
Now I'm thinking if it's appropriate to ask directly about slight possibility that we were something like lovers. But I don't know customs in this society. Although it looks pretty open - in communication at least. So I decided to risk a little and to be open too.
- "Ok, some sex involved?"
- "Yeah," Caren looked at Paul. "He's playing it really good. Too good. :-)" Then she continued to me: "I prefer 'making love', but Gavin somehow liked to mark it with that sterile word. Although it's still better to have good sex than nothing, right? :-)"
- "I guess so."
- "But since you're not Gavin, I should reconsider. Don't worry - no problem at work and we can stay friends because I believe you that from your point it's best to BE Gavin in - for you strange - Gavin's world."
- "Ok," I grins. "No sex in near future, I see. :-)"
- "I'm not so sure about this," Caren is obviously in a good mood - perhaps too good for such news. "After all you have that attractive body." She swatted me gently on my arm. "But generally yes, we should rather start at the level of good friendship."

And so I knew Caren and clarified my relationship with her just from the start. ;-)