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The summer heat hit me when I stepped out on the patio. I crossed to the chairs and took a seat on the lounge chair next to where Steve’s things were stacked. He was in the pool swimming laps. I squinted, scanning the oceanscape beyond the rock wall.
A tablet sat on the table between the chairs and I picked it up, swiping my finger across the screen like Valerie had with my chart. It came to life and I stared at all the icons, unsure of what to do next. None of the symbols meant anything to me and instead of trying to figure it out, I placed the tablet where I picked it up and lowered the back of the chair, closing my eyes in the warmth of the sunshine.
Pain gripped me and I sat up with my breath ripping at my chest. Steve pulled himself out of the pool, concern traced the lines in his face and his sharp gaze was locked on me. I glanced around the empty back yard with my heart pounding in my throat, not understanding the panic that overwhelmed me.
“Are you okay?” he asked, approaching me.
I shook my head, afraid to speak, my gaze continued to dart around, like I expected a monster to appear from the shadows.
“Just take a deep breath,” he said and sat on the end of the adjoining chair.
I did as he said and my head started to clear.
“Take another breath,” he said when I glanced at him.
Fragments of my dream surfaced and I winced, shrinking into the chair at the intensity.
“You fell asleep,” he said and I nodded.
“Nightmare,” I whispered in my broken way. The scratchy fear in my voice flipped the irritation switch. “I’m okay. Just thirsty,” I said, forcing my muscles to relax.
Steve reached over the side of his chair and opened a cooler. He handed me a bottle of chilled water and I sucked it down, the coolness quenching my thirst and calming my nerves.
“You might want to jump in the pool to cool off.”
I couldn’t argue with his offer and I drained the bottle before I approached the pristine water. The breeze ruffled through my hair and I closed my eyes, letting the wind dry the layer of sweat on my skin. Before I had a chance to jump in the pool, the sliders opened and a woman stepped out. The smile that formed warmed me. It took me a moment to place her name and then Steve filled in the blank without knowing it.
Jennifer. Steve’s wife and by default, my mother. She crossed the distance with a tentative gait and I turned toward her instead of the welcoming pool.
“I’m glad you’re home,” she said, looking up at me and then she stepped in and gave me a warm hug. “We’ve missed you,” she said and pulled away when I didn’t reciprocate the hug.
“Thank you,” I said and turned away, diving into the cool water. The chill of the water brought me to life and I surfaced, shaking my head and flipping my wet hair out of my face. It refreshed in a way that soothed my hot nerves.
I climbed the ladder to the edge of the pool just as the rest of the crew came rolling out the door. Tom gave me a wave and I sent a nod of acknowledgement in his direction. The quiet of the back yard erupted into activity and I found a towel, drying off before the chaos got to me. I excused myself and headed into the house.
“CJ?”
I stopped with my foot on the first step and glanced at the door. A man filled the doorway and I couldn’t recall his name, but he was the man Grace had run to at the hospital.
“I never got to say thank you,” he said.
I had no idea what to say, so I just nodded and headed upstairs without another word. In the bedroom, I slipped on dry shorts and turned on the laptop on the desk and picked up the piece of paper Valerie had given me just before I left the hospital. She had drawn the instructions of how to give her a call using the computer and I followed the pictures, plugging in the symbols on the keypad in the order they were drawn. The program buzzed and I waited.
When her picture filled the frame, I exhaled and closed my eyes, hanging my head with the overwhelming relief.
“Hey. Are you okay?” her tender voice caressed me.
“Yes,” I whispered and opened my eyes to her beautiful face. “I just miss you.”
She glanced down at the desk in front of her and then back at me. “I miss you, too,” she said and folded a notebook closed.
When she stretched, I just wanted to wrap my arms around her and I shut my eyes. When I opened them, I stood in the room right behind her. The image on the computer was an eerie version of me, with a layer of milky white over my naturally bright eyes. Even with my non-existent memory, I knew this was not normal.
Valerie turned towards me and stood, running her hands up my chest with eyes filled with wonder. She grinned and wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling me to her lips. The sweetness of the kiss drew my breath from my lungs and I was the one who broke free first. I traced her face with my fingertips and met her gaze.
“What the hell am I?” I whispered looking between her and her computer screen.
“You are a very special man.” She cupped my cheek, running her thumb gently over my lips before meeting my gaze.
I laughed softly. Special? This was more in the land of freak than I cared to understand.
“Whatever runs through your blood gave you the ability to recover. A normal human would not have come back from the amount of raw damage you were brought to me with. It scared the living daylights out of me. My magic healing infusions brought your body back from the edge of death, but you had such severe brain damage that none of the doctors thought you’d ever regain the ability for coherent thought, never mind the ability to speak again. I like to think I had a little to do with your being able to function, but I think it was more about your inherent gifts than mine.” She reached up on her tip toes and kissed me gently.
“Speaking is debatable,” I stuttered and she smiled.
“I’m on call right now, so you have to go back.” She pointed toward the computer monitor.
“How?” I didn’t even know how the hell I got there in the first place.
“Just release the connection. Let go.”
I hesitated and then dropped my arms, stepped back, and closed my eyes. The sensation of being pulled overtook me and I opened my eyes to my room and her smiling on the computer screen.
“Now, do you understand why I wasn’t as concerned as you about not being in Maine?”
I slowly nodded. “I can do that whenever we talk?”
She put her palm on the screen and I covered it with mine, staring into her swirling irises. “Not necessarily. Popping into a roomful of people wouldn’t be cool, so you have to wait until I give you the all clear, okay?”
I saw her point and nodded, dropping my gaze to the floor.
“Chris, no matter how much physical distance separates us, you can always step across it. You know why?”
I shook my head.
“Because we’re connected. Not only by this unnatural power we both possess, but by the depth of love in our hearts.”
I couldn’t help but smile. “That’s the corniest thing I’ve ever heard,” I said.
“Yeah, well, you’re a real mind fuck.” She grinned and for the first time since I woke up, I wasn’t worried about whether I would regain my memory or not, as long as I had her by my side.
The End
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