The Lonely Hearts Guide by Lance Lansdale

At Ms. Broussard’s Home for Bountiful Beaus, even the unlovable can find a love story for the ages. That’s what Elliot Price was promised by Mother.

Elliot’s mind has been playing tricks on him. He can remember leaving Master Price’s home in a rush. He can remember the bus ride to Genevieve, Georgia. He remembers the a little life growing inside his stomach, though he doesn’t remember how it got there.
There’s something else, tucked away in the corner of his mind. A memory he wants to remember. A small flickering of something that feels a lot like hope. A late-night stroll across Sugarplum Island. Plum jam cookies. An adorable fieldmouse. A gentle kiss on a ferry dock with Mr. Alexander Davenport.

Elliot doesn’t know what the memories mean, but he knows they mean everything to him, and he’ll stop and nothing to find out why.