Until I Remember Characters

A guarded, cynical teacher who avoids love after a string of failed relationships and a painful family history. In 2022 she is Connor's younger sister and Grant's antagonistic acquaintance; in 2025 she wakes from a car accident with a traumatic brain injury and roughly a year of missing memory, including her marriage to Grant Hastings.

Arc: She moves from denying Grant and her lost year to slowly trusting him, falling in love with him again, regaining her memories after mentioning enchiladas, and choosing to remarry him. Six years later she is mother to Posie and CJ and co-runs the Kincaid-Hastings Foundation.

• Grant Hastings — her husband, whom she cannot remember marrying after the accident; she falls in love with him again
• Connor — her older brother, deceased; his death anniversary is her last memory before the lost year
• Rae — her mentor, boss, principal, and friend
• Nell — her hospital nurse and supportive friend
• Dr. Washington — her doctor and later foundation board member
• Rose — her sister-in-law, who calls her sister
• Caroline — her mother-in-law
• Lady Elizabeth Hastings — her grandmother-in-law, who tests her mettle
• Bernice — her elderly neighbor and friend
• Katya — her friend and community-center classmate
• Daisy — Katya's baby, whom Mercy babysits
• Posie Hastings — her daughter
• Connor James (CJ) — her son
• Kyle — her ex-boyfriend
• Marcus — her ex-boyfriend
• Jeremiah — her ex-boyfriend
• Drake — her ex-boyfriend

Connor's best friend and a wealthy Hastings heir who in 2022 avoids Mercy and resists discussing relationships. By 2025 he claims Mercy as his wife, stays at the hospital, and reveals their marriage of just shy of twelve months was about money, not love, though he loves her deeply.

Arc: He moves from hiding his feelings and giving Mercy space to confessing his love, leaving to avoid trapping her, and then reconnecting after she comes to him. He later becomes a father to Posie and CJ and works to parent differently from what he was taught.

• Mercy Kincaid — his wife, whom he married just shy of twelve months before her accident
• Connor — his best friend and Mercy's brother
• Rose — his sister
• Caroline — his mother
• Lady Elizabeth Hastings — his grandmother
• Grant's father — his father
• Imogen Beaufort — childhood friend and former intended marriage arrangement
• Bernice — his neighbor, who flirts with him
• Katya — his community-center student and friend
• Nell — Mercy's nurse
• Dr. Washington — Mercy's doctor and foundation board member
• Posie Hastings — his daughter
• Connor James (CJ) — his son

Mercy's older brother, ten years her senior, and Grant's best friend. He died from a blood clot in his brain before 2025; his funeral is where Mercy last remembers seeing Grant before the lost year.

Arc: Though deceased, his memory anchors Mercy's grief and Grant's confession; Grant speaks to his headstone at Forest View. He appears in memories and photos as someone who cared for Mercy and Grant.

• Mercy Kincaid — his younger sister
• Grant Hastings — his best friend

Mercy's mentor, boss, and the principal at the school where Mercy taught, and later a friend and colleague. She is sick with a plague going around the school early on, sends a card, and later texts and visits Mercy.

Arc: She supports Mercy from afar during the hospital stay, helps devise a plan for Mercy to return to school, and is present when Mercy goes back to her classroom.

• Mercy Kincaid — her friend, former mentee, and colleague
• Grant Hastings — spoke with him while Mercy was in the hospital

Grant's sister, enthusiastic and outspoken, who hugs Mercy and declares her a favorite and sister. She secretly knows Mercy lost her memory and urges her to be herself and push back. She helps present gifts, confronts Mercy about the deception, and later holds CJ.

Arc: She moves from welcoming family visitor to close sister-in-law and confidante, supporting both Grant and Mercy and accepting them as family.

• Grant Hastings — her brother
• Mercy Kincaid — her sister-in-law, whom she calls sister
• Caroline — her mother
• Lady Elizabeth Hastings — her grandmother
• Connor James (CJ) — her nephew
• Posie Hastings — her niece

Grant's mother, who greets Mercy formally at first, asks how she is feeling, and says Grant was a wreck before Mercy woke. She notices Mercy is quiet, tells her she is brave and good for Grant, and brings gifts. In the epilogue she is the mother at breakfast watching Posie charm her husband.

Arc: She moves from polite formality to warm acceptance, embracing Mercy and reassuring Grant about learning to love someone well.

• Grant Hastings — her son
• Rose — her daughter
• Mercy Kincaid — her daughter-in-law
• Lady Elizabeth Hastings — her mother-in-law
• Grant's father — her husband

Grant's grandmother, also called Lady Hastings or Grandmother, who arrives with cold gray eyes, criticizes Mercy's denim, and prefers a five-star suite. She insists on Hastings birthday traditions, tests Mercy's mettle, and warns Mercy to be honest if Grant is not a priority. Later she tells Grant 'Patience,' invites Mercy to London, and accepts her.

Arc: She moves from judgmental inspector to supportive grandmother who trusts Grant's instincts and welcomes Mercy into the family.

• Grant Hastings — her grandson
• Mercy Kincaid — her granddaughter-in-law
• Rose — her granddaughter
• Caroline — her daughter-in-law
• Grant's father — her son
• Posie Hastings — her great-granddaughter

Mercy's doctor, who examines her after the car accident and explains that her traumatic brain injury may have caused memory loss and that she cannot say when or if memories will return. She notes Grant has been at the hospital all week and is visibly sad for Mercy. Later she appears by video and accepts a seat on the Kincaid-Hastings Foundation board.

Arc: She moves from treating Mercy's memory loss to joining the foundation Mercy and Grant run, impressed by its work.

• Mercy Kincaid — her patient and later foundation copresident
• Grant Hastings — notes he stayed at the hospital all week; later foundation copresident
• Fred — gives him a pointed look when he hugs Mercy

Mercy's nurse, who cuts off the argument between Mercy and Grant, helps Mercy back into bed, brings water, and updates Dr. Washington. She offers practical and emotional support, tells Mercy that Grant offered his blood, brings pajamas from Grant, braids Mercy's hair, and hugs her goodbye.

Arc: She remains a steady caregiver and supportive presence through Mercy's hospital stay, helping her face going home with Grant.

• Mercy Kincaid — her nurse and supportive friend
• Grant Hastings — warns him off when needed and knows his tea preference

Described as kind, funny, beautiful, and a musical prodigy, she was the woman Grant was expected to marry. They had no spark, and she let go of a love because her family threatened to cut her off. She did not meet Mercy when Mercy visited London because she was traveling.

Arc: She does not appear in the present story beyond being explained; she remains a former intended marriage arrangement rather than an antagonist.

• Grant Hastings — childhood friend and former intended marriage arrangement
• Mercy Kincaid — Grant's wife, whom she did not meet in London

Grant and Mercy's elderly neighbor, a terrible flirt who invents excuses to invite Grant into her house and once greeted him in a pink lace nightgown. She is terribly lonely; her fourth husband passed away about a year ago, and none of her children stayed nearby. Mercy and Grant help her organize her garage, and Mercy scolds her once for grabbing Grant's ass.

Arc: She begins as a flirtatious neighbor and becomes a friend the couple helps, with Grant saying Bernice adores Mercy.

• Grant Hastings — her neighbor, whom she flirts with and tries to make husband number five
• Mercy Kincaid — her neighbor and friend
• Cindy — her neighbor

A single mother in Grant's money-management class who rocks her baby Daisy and asks about her new job's 401(k). She negotiated an extra five dollars an hour with Grant's help. She is Mercy's friend, and her baby shower is one of the stories Grant tells.

Arc: She moves from student to friend of Grant and Mercy, trusting them to babysit Daisy.

• Daisy — her daughter
• Grant Hastings — her teacher and friend
• Mercy Kincaid — her friend
• Amara — classmate who helps with Daisy

Katya's baby daughter, rocked by Katya in class and later taken and rocked by Amara during Grant's class. Mercy and Grant babysit her when her day care worker gets sick, and seeing Grant hold her overwhelms Mercy.

Arc: She remains a baby but becomes part of the community and family life that draws Mercy and Grant together.

• Katya — her mother
• Amara — rocks her during class
• Mercy Kincaid — babysits her
• Grant Hastings — babysits her

A student in Grant's money-management class who takes Daisy from Katya and rocks her. She teases Mike about being Mercy's favorite and gives Grant an encouraging smile as he leaves the community center.

Arc: She remains a supportive classmate and friendly acquaintance to Mercy and Grant.

• Katya — classmate who helps with Daisy
• Daisy — rocks her during class
• Grant Hastings — her teacher
• Mercy Kincaid — friendly acquaintance

A student in Grant's money-management class who asks about IRAs and mentions his late wife Patricia, who died sixteen years ago and was good with finances. He greets Mercy when she arrives and leaves last with a teasing brow waggle.

Arc: He remains a grieving widower and friendly class member, showing the community Grant has built.

• Patricia — his late wife
• Grant Hastings — his teacher
• Mercy Kincaid — his teacher's wife

Mike's late wife, mentioned as having died sixteen years ago. Mike says she was good with finances and that banana bread was her favorite.

Arc: She does not appear alive; she is remembered by Mike in class.

• Mike — her late husband

Mercy's chatty neighbor with curly black hair and incredible veneers, married to a dentist. She asked about Grant and whether he could help Bernice with a spring clean-out.

Arc: She remains a minor neighbor in Mercy and Grant's daily life.

• Mercy Kincaid — her neighbor
• Bernice — neighbor she mentions

The elderly man in the hospital room next door to Mercy, who wanted to send her flowers. On discharge day he hugs her, pats her back too low, and winks before returning to his room.

Arc: He remains a minor comic presence in Mercy's hospital stay.

• Mercy Kincaid — fellow patient who hugs her goodbye
• Dr. Washington — she gives him a pointed look

Mercy and Grant's five-year-old daughter, who refuses a brush, insists on making breakfast, and dictates that no one add milk to their cereal until she says so. She asks her grandfather to teach her about the 'bullshit market' and goes off with him to work.

Arc: She appears only in the epilogue, showing the family Mercy and Grant built; she is ambitious, straightforward, and stubborn.

• Grant Hastings — her father
• Mercy Kincaid — her mother
• Connor James (CJ) — her baby brother
• Grant's father — her grandfather, who calls her poppet
• Lady Elizabeth Hastings — her great-grandmother
• Rose — her aunt

Mercy and Grant's one-year-old son, who shrieks and wiggles in Rose's grasp, shoves a handful of her hair in his mouth, and is handed between family members at breakfast.

Arc: He appears only in the epilogue as part of the family Mercy and Grant have made.

• Grant Hastings — his father
• Mercy Kincaid — his mother
• Posie Hastings — his older sister
• Rose — his aunt

Grant's father, who appears in the epilogue at the family breakfast. He lowers his newspaper at Posie climbing on the table, eats dry cereal under silent pressure from his wife, corrects Posie's 'bullshit market' to 'bull market,' and carries her off to teach her about stocks, savings accounts, and investments.

Arc: He appears only in the epilogue as a grandfather embracing the family Mercy and Grant have built.

• Grant Hastings — his son
• Mercy Kincaid — his daughter-in-law
• Caroline — his wife
• Posie Hastings — his granddaughter, whom he calls poppet
• Lady Elizabeth Hastings — his mother
• Connor James (CJ) — his grandson

Mercy's ex-boyfriend who told her he loved her after three weeks, which contributed to their breakup. He is part of Connor's recap of Mercy's failed relationships and part of why she is guarded about love.

Arc: He appears only in recap and does not change.

• Mercy Kincaid — her ex-boyfriend

Mercy's ex-boyfriend who wanted her to meet his parents too soon. He is mentioned in Connor's recap of her failed relationships.

Arc: He appears only in recap and does not change.

• Mercy Kincaid — her ex-boyfriend

Mercy's ex-boyfriend; the reason for their breakup is forgotten. He is mentioned in Connor's recap of her failed relationships.

Arc: He appears only in recap and does not change.

• Mercy Kincaid — her ex-boyfriend

Mercy's ex-boyfriend from a football game, described as nice, funny, and having a good job. He is mentioned in Connor's recap of her failed relationships.

Arc: He appears only in recap and does not change.

• Mercy Kincaid — her ex-boyfriend

Mercy's former student, who greets her at school with natural, longer hair instead of blue braids. She beams when Mercy tells her she loves it.

Arc: She appears in the return-to-school scene, showing Mercy's students welcoming her back.

• Mercy Kincaid — her former student

Mercy's former student, who has read the books Mercy suggested and chatters to her about the last book in the series, which angered him with its ending.

Arc: He appears in the return-to-school scene, showing Mercy's students welcoming her back.

• Mercy Kincaid — her former student

Mercy's former student, who has made the soccer team and grown at least four inches. He wears a jersey with his name on the back and grins at Mercy.

Arc: He appears in the return-to-school scene, showing Mercy's students welcoming her back.

• Mercy Kincaid — her former student

Mercy's student, who holds a sign saying he set the record for detentions in the first trimester. When Mercy asks, he says he has none now because she scared him into acting right, and he rubs a fist under his eye as he cries.

Arc: He appears in the return-to-school scene, showing Mercy's impact on her students.

• Mercy Kincaid — her student

Mercy's student, who holds a sign saying she always helps clean up after snack. She skips across the room and gives Mercy a box of tissues; the class had tissues ready in case Mercy cried.

Arc: She appears in the return-to-school scene, showing Mercy's students welcoming her back.

• Mercy Kincaid — her student

Mercy's student, who holds a sign saying he is Mercy's favorite. He groans that he told the class making her cry was a bad idea.

Arc: He appears in the return-to-school scene, showing Mercy's students welcoming her back.

• Mercy Kincaid — her student

Mercy's student, who holds a sign reading that he is the class clown. He is among the students welcoming Mercy back to the classroom.

Arc: He appears in the return-to-school scene, showing Mercy's students welcoming her back.

• Mercy Kincaid — her student

Mercy's student, who holds a sign reading that she is the rule follower. She is among the students welcoming Mercy back to the classroom.

Arc: She appears in the return-to-school scene, showing Mercy's students welcoming her back.

• Mercy Kincaid — her student

Mercy's student, who holds a sign saying he had to do fifteen push-ups every time he called Mercy 'bro.' He is among the students welcoming her back.

Arc: He appears in the return-to-school scene, showing Mercy's students welcoming her back.

• Mercy Kincaid — her student