Jack's mouth twists for a moment as she expresses that quick clarification. Instead of getting back into the old argument, however, he simply gives her a soft "thanks."

"I don't either. One reason I've been thinking of having it done."

Not that he has much of a hope of ever forgetting. Most days it feels like he'll never be able to forget those twenty months, even for a minute; like the weight of it will weigh him down forever.

Sometimes, however, he can delude himself into thinking that maybe if he doesn't have to see the scars that he can pretend they're not there.