Megan was beside herself. An hour had passed and Hunter hadn’t returned. Was he gone for good? Where had he gone? She did her best to quiet herself down. He was probably just taking time to make sense of their conversation. He’d promised he wouldn’t just leave her like that – promised - and he wasn’t one to go back on his word. For days now the two of them had been inseparable. It might be good that he’d taken off for a while, Megan suddenly thought. Might give her time to sort things, too. But she couldn’t make sense of anything now, not without Hunter nearby. She’d grown so accustomed to having him at her side, she felt as if a part of her was missing. This won’t last forever, she told herself, soon he’ll be back and they’d talk everything over. She trusted that. She trusted him, no matter what anyone else said.
Megan couldn’t sit still for very long, though. She got up and paced back and forth in the living room, then went out to the front and watched the summer clouds drifting overhead without a care. When she was young she used to watch summer clouds, wonder where they came from, where they were going and what they would look like as the years went by. She never in her wildest dreams thought that these clouds would look down on her and someone like Hunter, see her as happy as she’d been these past weeks.
After a little while Megan turned inside. In a little while it would be lunch time. She’d grow hungry and Hunter would too. She prepared ice tea and tuna fish sandwiches for both of them, thinking he might be back in time.
Lunchtime came and Hunter wasn’t back. Megan waited for a couple of extra hours and then finally ate half of her sandwich alone. Then she got busy in the house, dusting, sorting, sweeping, waiting for him to return.
By the time late afternoon came, the day was growing cooler and the sun dimming in the sky.
Megan walked to the back glass wall as she often did at that time of day. She loved watching the light change during the magical space between late afternoon and evening, when a crack in the world seemed to open.
Today she stood there quietly, looking out. For a long while everything seemed same as usual. Then, slowly, at the far edge of the hill, she suddenly saw a figure approaching. At first she thought it might be Hunter, that he’d been roaming over the back hills. It was hard to make out, though. At this distance it just looked like a shadow spreading upwards over the field.
In a little while the figure grew clearer, had more substance. There was definitely someone walking up towards the house. Megan had no idea who it was. Her eyes narrowed as she went closer to the glass wall and peered into the sun. Whoever it was, it wasn’t Hunter, that much she was sure of. This person had a different gait, slower, almost ambling.
As the figure came closer the day got darker, seemed to be enveloped in a heavy cloud. Megan began to feel dizzy, as though her mind was playing tricks on her and she was imagining things. What she was seeing wasn’t possible.
Suddenly, Megan pressed herself up against the glass wall and her whole body froze into a block of ice. It was Kyle, in front of her eyes, walking to the back door as if he were expected home.
“Kyle,” she cried out, breathless with fear.
He didn’t seem to hear or see her. Was he even really there?
Megan’s eyes flew open as he took another step right up to the other side of the glass and stared inside.
“Kyle,” Megan shrieked once again, as she reeled backwards and let the darkness claim her as she swooned into a dead faint.
*
When Megan opened her eyes, Kyle was standing over her, slapping her face and splashing water over it.
“Wake up,” he said, looming large.
Megan couldn’t bear it. She closed her eyes again. The shock was too great.
“What’s the matter with you?” he poured more water over her. It dribbled down her neck, over her shoulders.
“You’re gone, you’re dead,” she could barely whisper.
“I’m alive, I’m here, speaking to you. Wake up!”
She didn’t want to. It was far too much.
She felt Kyle swoop his hand under her neck and lift her into a leaning position.
“I’m back, I’m here,” he said again, matter of factly.
“We had a vigil for you,” Megan could barely breathe. She opened her eyes.
His face was impassive and cold as if he wasn’t registering anything she said. Something had happened to him, Megan could see it right away, though she had no idea what.
“This is the greeting I get after all this time?” Kyle asked in a stilted tone.
What did he expect? She had no idea. Megan trembled and did her best to sit up on her own. She didn’t want his hands on her.
“There wasn’t a word from you all this time,” she said, “nothing.”
“I’m back and I get recriminations?” he asked.
Megan had no idea who this person was? He looked like Kyle, sounded like him, but she had buried Kyle months ago. She looked at him as if he were a perfect stranger now.
“You’re not happy to see me,” Kyle said sullenly.
Megan pulled herself together. There were so many questions to be answered.
“Where were you?” she asked, “what happened?”
“I don’t know what happened,” he said slowly. “I had amnesia, forgot who I was, where I was. Then it lifted. It all came back, you came back, the house, the family. I had a dream about Mallory. Where is she now?” His head darted around looking for her.
Megan closed her eyes. She knew she should be holding him, crying for joy, only she couldn’t.
“She’s with my parents.”
“Get her back here. I want to see her,” Kyle’s jaw was clenching.
At that very second, the front door opened and Megan heard footsteps, walking in.
“Megan, I’m back,” Hunter’s voice called out.
Oh my God, she thought, not now of all moments.
Hunter walked into the living room, and then stopped in his tracks, looking horrified.
Kyle stiffened up like a rod then and so did Megan.
“What’s going on?” Hunter demanded. “Who is this man? What’s he doing here?”
“My God, my God,” Megan began sobbing. “Kyle’s returned.”
Hunter’s jaw dropped.
“And who this?” Kyle’s eyes narrowed and his voice turned venomous.
“Hunter Clay Borden, the man I love,” Megan proclaimed.
Kyle and Hunter flinched at the very same moment.
“Gone a little over a year and you’re with someone new? That’s all our marriage meant?” Little spittle fell from Kyle’s mouth onto his chin.
“You left without a word,” Megan repeated. “Everyone thought you were dead. There was a vigil for you.”
Kyle’s hands turned into two tight fists. “You said that, already. I heard you.” His face grew ashen. “Is this the way you welcome home a sick husband?” Then he turned full on at Hunter. “This is my house and you get out of it, fast.”
Hunter looked at Megan. “Is this true? He’s your husband?”
“He was my husband,” Megan cried.
“Oh my God,” Kyle uttered.
“Stay, Hunter, please,” Megan pleaded, “don’t go.”
“Get out,” yelled Kyle. “This is my home. This is my wife.”
Hunter took small steps backwards.
Megan felt as if she were going to faint again. He’s not my husband anymore, she wanted to cry out. You’re my husband, he’s a stranger.
“I can’t stay here like this,” Hunter said, finally backing out the door.
“Hunter,” Megan called out after him, desperate.
Kyle laughed in Megan’s face.
“The man you love so much, just runs out on you?”
“He didn’t run out,” said Megan. “You threw him out, said it was your home.”
“Well it is, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know,” said Megan.
“Still, he ran right out on you. Who’s he anyway? Some riff raff you picked up?”
Megan saw Kyle taking pleasure, seeing her suffer.
“He’s respecting your property,” Megan defended Hunter. If anyone was riff raff here, it wasn’t Hunter.
“And how about you? You’re my property, too, aren’t you?” Kyle smirked.
“What happened to you, Kyle? What really happened?” Megan stared him down.
“I told you already,” he answered irritated.
Whatever had happened to him, this wasn’t the Kyle Megan had known. He was tight, cold and nasty. Had probably been through a hell of his own.
“I’m not the woman I was before you left, Kyle,” Megan said simply. “You’re not the man I know, either.”
“Time will tell about that,” Kyle quipped.
Megan was filled with horror, confusion and terrible loneliness as she heard Hunter’s pickup truck start up again outside and take off down the road. She was frightened too, being alone with Kyle, had no idea what effect his illness had on him. She needed help and needed it now.
Slowly Megan backed away from Kyle, got to the telephone and surreptitiously dialed the police.
Peter picked up immediately.
Megan spun around and gasped into the phone. “Get here right away. Kyle’s returned. There’s terrible danger.”
Then she hung up.
*
Kyle stood in the middle of the living room, still hovering over Megan, as a bunch of squad cars pulled up to the house. Peter and a bunch of cops then all stormed in together.
Kyle jumped back like a cornered animal and stared them all down.
Peter looked as pale as Megan felt. It was hard for anyone to say anything, or break the impasse that had formed.
“Okay, let’s all sit down,” Peter said finally, motioning to a chair in the corner for Megan.
“Megan can sit over there.”
She breathed deeply then, thankful to be breaking loose of Kyle and going to the chair.
“Kyle, sit over here,” Peter continued, motioning to a chair on the other side of the room.
“You’re telling me where to sit in my own home?” Kyle said.
“We’re not looking for trouble,” Peter continued, “just have to find out what’s going on.”
“I came home,” said Kyle, “that’s what’s going on.”
Peter caught Megan’s eye. She was grateful he was here, helping.
“This is the reception a guy gets?” Kyle went on. “My own wife faints when she sees me, and then I have to come face to face with the guy she’s been shacking up with. He walked right into my house and asks what I’m doing there.”
“Where is he now?” Peter asked.
“I kicked him right out,” said Kyle.
Megan saw Peter breathe a sigh of relief.
“Took a lover just like that,” Kyle went on.
Megan grew silent and frozen again.
“Don’t jump to conclusions, Kyle,” Peter said. “People do all kinds of crazy things when they’re under too much pressure.”
“I don’t need pretty talk,” Kyle shot back. “You’re my friend, or at least, you once were.”
“Where were you, Kyle?” Peter changed the focus fast. “The county used a lot of resources searching for you.”
Kyle leaned over and rubbed his hands along his face.
“I don’t know where I was. I had amnesia,” he said, “couldn’t remember anything. Then, one day it came back to me. So, I came back home.”
The cops looked at each other. Megan could see they weren’t buying it so fast.
“Just like that? If you could find your way back here, you must have some memory of where you found your way back from?” Peter wasn’t taking this laying down.
“Don’t have much memory about anything,” Kyle said.
“You remember that Megan is your wife, though?” Peter said.
Kyle smiled an odd, distorted smile. “That much I’m sure of,” he said, “and that she’s been with someone else while I was gone.”
Peter didn’t like that much. “This is not about Megan,” he said. “You were gone over a year and no one heard a thing. Megan waited a long time, went through hell. She spent months searching for you, too, contacting every police station around. After that she had a right to do whatever she felt.”
It was hard to believe Peter was saying this. Megan would always be eternally grateful to him.
“A guy doesn’t just disappear and then come back from nowhere,” Peter continued. “We need to take you in for more questioning, and a medical examination. Amnesia is a serious affair.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” said Kyle, bitterly.
“It’s not a matter of if you’re going or not,” Peter said more slowly. “There’s answers we need, and that Megan deserves, too. And you also need medical care, if what you’re saying is true.”
Kyle didn’t like that one bit. He didn’t have any choice though. Peter got up and took him by the elbow.
“You can come back home later on today,” Peter said, “if things are in order.”
Kyle turned and stared at Megan then.
“Will she be here when I return?” he asked.
“That’s up to her,” Peter said.
“I’ll be here,” Megan said slowly. This was her home too, no need for her to run. Kyle was trying to make her look worse, as if she’d run out on a sick husband, but she wouldn’t play along.
“And how about Mallory?” Kyle asked.
“I’ll have her come home, too,” Megan said calmly.
“I want to see my daughter right away,” Kyle demanded.
“When did you remember you had a daughter?” Peter quickly asked.
Kyle looked confused. “What do you mean?” he had no answer for that.
“Thought you said you had amnesia,” Peter remarked. “Amnesia is amnesia. A person usually forgets everything.”