“How’s your memory?” Michael asked after they were comfortably seated in the spacious living room.
He and Reba sat at one end of an enormous semi-circular sofa while Robert and Dana sat at the other end. Michael’s dark brown eyes moved from Dana to Robert and back again.
Dana noted that her father-in-law looked tired. She noticed a few silver strands in his mostly jet black hair and the crow’s feet at the corner of his eyes looked prominent. She wondered if the ordeal of nearly losing his son and then having him awake from a coma with significant amnesia had aged him. It had probably aged her as well.
Robert’s eyes met hers briefly then slid across to his parents. He shrugged.
“Not a whole lot better. There are certain things I know how to do, without knowing how I learned.”
Dana added, “The doctor in Switzerland told us that’s called semantic memory. It’s the episodic memory, that is, the emotional aspects of his life, he’s having trouble with.” She said the last sentence quietly and swallowed back the sudden emotion that had accompanied that statement.
Robert continued, “This last week I’ve been looking at lots of photos and just walking through the house looking at our things and the children’s things. Some images have come to my mind, but they’ve been hazy.”
“Hazy?” Reba and Dana asked in unison with a hopefulness that was evident.
“Sometimes it feels like I’m trying to piece together a dream I’ve just awoken from. There are times it’s like déjà vu. Like I’ve done or said something similar before but can’t put my finger on it.”
Dana felt excitement surge through her body. She leaned forward and touched Robert’s arm.
“Bobby, you never shared any of this with me.”
He looked abashed for a few seconds.
“I didn’t want to get your hopes up until I had something more concrete.”
She shook her head. “Don’t worry about getting my hopes up. Please tell me if there’s anything more. No matter how slight. I’d like to know.”
Later, Dana helped Reba prepare dinner while Michael and Robert talked.
“How are you holding up, honey?” Reba asked as she pushed the roasting pan containing two well-seasoned chickens into the oven.
Dana cut the heads off of a bunch of broccoli and dropped them in the colander.
“I’m doing a whole lot better than I was a few weeks ago. It’s great to have Robert home. I feel like real healing can now begin.”
Reba set the oven timer and wiped her hands on her apron. She went over to where Dana stood and began to pare a carrot.
“How’re you coping with the memory loss? I’m his mother, and it’s hard for me. I can’t imagine what it’s like for you.”
“It’s difficult, but I’m trying to come to terms with it. I had many weeks in Switzerland to make peace with the reality that Robert doesn’t remember the kids or me. I’ve reached a place of acceptance where I try to focus on the positives. I’m not going to tell you I don’t have my bad days when I feel sorry for myself. On those days, I go for a long drive and chat with God. During those conversations, He reminds me that Robert is alive and physically doing great. Even his brain is healing at a miraculous rate. Did you just hear what he said in there about hazy memories?”
Reba nodded with a wistful smile.
“It’s hard not to be thankful in these circumstances, Reba.”
Reba pursed her lips for a moment, and her eyes grew misty.
“He’s so blessed to have you. I pray for the two of you, for your marriage, every day. I don’t know how he could have gotten through this without you by his side. God will see you through this challenge.”
“I know He will.”
“What about the kids? How is he relating to them?”
Dana paused as she picked up a tomato and looked off into space for an instant. She shook her head in wonder.
“That’s the most surprising part. I had expected him to be distant from them and feel no attachment. I was bracing myself for that. But from the moment he saw them it was like he just felt the connection. He has been so amazing with them, Reba. It’s like he remembers although I don’t think he does. I don’t think they know he doesn’t. The way he relates to them, they don’t feel like they’ve lost anything.”
“That’s not as surprising as you’d think. Robert has always been great with children. When he was in high school, he used to happily babysit Vincent’s kids. I don’t know if he ever told you, but he mentored and coached the boys at the St. Paul’s Orphan’s Home in football in his spare time. This would have been when he was still at Notre Dame and even while he was at film school. When he started getting film roles, he no longer had the time.”
Dana leaned her head to one side and watched Reba in wonder.
“No. I didn’t know any of that. Wow, he has a really big heart, doesn’t he?”
“Yes. He does.”
~*~*~*~
When Robert and Dana left Palisades Highlands, it was late in the night. The triplets had had a wonderful time. Vincent and his kids had dropped by just before dinner, and all seven children had been racing around the house playing. Not surprisingly, during the drive back to Crescent Drive, the kids fell asleep.
“They are going to be tall,” Robert commented as he watched them sleep. “They are the same height as Vincent’s 12-year-old.”
Dana sighed. “For the boys that’s great. For Alex, not so much.”
Robert gave her an incredulous look.
“You’re tall. Why would her being tall be a problem?”
“I’m taller than most women and quite a few men. Do you know how hard it was to find a guy who was my height or taller? It meant I couldn’t wear heels or I’d tower over my date. There were times when I wished I was average height.”
He smirked. “You know, most women would kill to be your height. Why do you think so many walk around in such ridiculous high-heeled shoes?”
“Because the grass is always greener on the other side, that’s why. Seriously, do you know how intimidating people find me?”
“It may not be your height as much as how gorgeous you are. There is something that happens when you walk into a room. It happened at that restaurant in Zurich. Every guy stops what he’s doing and gapes at you. It must make other women instantly feel inadequate. It doesn’t help that you also look fierce. Practice smiling a little more. It might put women at ease.”
“Hey, are you saying I don’t have a pleasant countenance?”
“You can look a little serious on occasion. It can be scary.”
She swatted his arm.
“So you think that most men aren’t in awe of you?”
He shook his head.
“In awe of me? What for? I’m totally approachable. Guy-next-door approachable.”
“Guy-next-door, huh? Sexiest Man Alive three years in a row. Plus two Oscars, so you’re clearly not all looks. Which guy next door are you talking about?”
“Sexiest Man Alive? Seriously?”
Dana threw back her head and laughed.
“Interesting that you’d refer to that and not to the academy awards.”
He shrugged.
“I knew about those. They’re on display in our home, remember? I didn’t know about the whole Sexiest Man Alive thing. I’ve always found that title about as strange as the World’s Most Beautiful Woman title. After all, it’s not like they look at pics of all the men and women in the world to come up with those designations.”
“Fair enough. Although my personal, unbiased opinion is that even if they did you would still have won. Hands down.”
Ahem. Was his wife flirting with him? Robert rubbed the back of his neck.
“I don’t know if I agree with you there,” he said.
“Oh, come on. Don’t be so modest. You’ve always been a female magnate from what I hear,” she teased as she squeezed his forearm.
“Who told you that?” Robert said as he tried to ignore his
body’s response to her touch.
“Your friends.”
“Friends, huh? Some friends. Nah…I mean, sure, women come on to me often, mostly because of my fame I imagine, but I’ve always been a one-woman man. I’ve never been one to hop from bed to bed. That’s not the example I had. I don’t know if I ever told you but I’ve only had about four girlfriends my whole life, and that includes you.”
She looked surprised.
“Really?
“Yeah. At Notre Dame I went with this girl called Tami and then after graduation she went to college in Georgia, and we soon drifted apart. A few months later, Corey introduced me to his then girlfriend’s sister at a party and we went out for about a year before we broke up. Then, about a year and a half later I met an actress on a movie I was doing, and we got together. Less than a year later we broke up.”
“That actress, was she Liselle Adams?”
He nodded.
“Do you still have feelings for her?”
He was silent for a short time.
“I can hardly even remember what she looks like. I know when I was in the hospital I asked if I was married to her. You may have misinterpreted that. Even if I hadn’t met you, we would not have gotten back together.”
“Why not?”
“Why are we having a discussion about a woman who is history?” he asked, folding his arms across his chest and leaning further back in his seat.
“I’m just trying to understand you better, Robert, that’s all. You haven’t forgotten Liselle Adams, have you? Yet, you forgot me. So I’m just curious about what made her so special.”
“Dana…”
“You know what? Forget it. I shouldn’t have asked.”
“Liselle was clingy and possessive. She seemed to be very insecure. Because we met on a movie set, she seemed to view my next co-star as a potential threat. I tried to reassure her, but eventually, I gave up. There was no point. She clearly had issues that were beyond my help, so I broke up with her.”
“Okay.”
Robert observed how Dana looked at her hands and decided to change the subject.
“To go back to your point about your looks, though. I just want you to know that you’re not alone. Despite my comments about the guy-next-door thing, I’m very familiar with being defined by my looks. When I first started out, I was offered so many dumb all brawn and no brain roles, like people thought that all I was good for was to be eye candy on screen. I had to fight to kill that stereotype. It meant turning down roles flat and holding out for the right part even when I wasn’t getting work. I was professionally trained. I went to the University of California acting school in San Diego. I take my craft very seriously. It riled me when casting agents would turn me down for roles because I was too good looking. Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful for my physical attributes. Let’s be honest here. I’d much rather be attractive than not, and in the end, it has paved the way for a career as a leading man. But in so many ways it’s been alienating. It has meant that I’ve had to prove over and over again that I’m not just a pretty face.”
“It did get better.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. Those two Oscars were for roles that did not make you the most attractive. In the one, Moby Dick, you were hardly recognizable as a heartthrob and in the other, War Stupid, you played a Vietnam vet who’d lost both legs. You weren’t at your sexiest there either. You got those roles because you are a phenomenal actor.”
There was silence as Robert digested this. He breathed deeply as he realized that he had so much to thank God for. Ironically, achieving his dreams had led him away from God. Yet God had been so patient and so merciful.
He eventually turned to Dana with a smile.
“That’s great. And you…I don’t know if I’ve told you this before but what makes you amazing is not your looks, it’s your heart, your personality. When I first saw you in my hospital room I was initially blown away by your looks, but what really drew me in and what keeps me wanting more is how compassionate you are and selfless and intelligent and…” when her mouth dropped open, he wondered if he’d said something wrong.
“What? What did I say?”
She gulped. “It’s just that you said something similar when we first met, that’s all.”
He thought about that for a few minutes. “I don’t remember, but that’s clearly confirmation.”
Robert glanced out the window and realized that the driver had stopped outside their home. Soon they were driving through the gates. He glanced back at Dana. She was watching the sleeping trio and gave a soft chuckle.
“In the early days when this happened…” she began.
“…I’d take them in one at a time and lug them upstairs,” he finished her sentence, grinning at the memory.
At about the same time it dawned on them what had just happened. Their heads spun around to look at each other in shock.
Dana grasped his forearm.
“Robert,” she breathed, “You remembered. You remembered.”
Robert observed Dana’s eyes fill with pools of tears. A second later, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his.
It was like a reflex action. Her touch was what he’d been craving for so long that he didn’t think. He grasped the back of her head and deepened the kiss. She melted in his embrace.
When they eventually came up for air, she pushed gently against him, pressed a hand to her lips and averted her gaze.
“Um…let’s wake them.”
They woke the three drowsy children and led them up the stairs and into each of their rooms and tucked them into bed.
~*~*~*~
Once inside the master bedroom suite, Dana departed to the bathroom to take a shower. She used the time to gather her composure.
That kiss had unnerved her. It had unleashed so much emotion and so much feeling. The physical reaction to her husband had been almost instantaneous. Her body had missed his touch and even now still cried out for it. Yet, she didn’t feel ready to take that step with him. Not in the knowledge that he still didn’t remember their marriage. He’d recalled something about the kids, and that was great; so promising. But what about her, what about the two of them? She hadn’t been kidding about Liselle. It still bothered her that he could remember a woman he was with for less than a year and yet couldn’t remember the mother of his children whom he’d been with for almost twelve years.
When Dana emerged from the bathroom, Robert was nowhere in sight. She was relieved and used the opportunity to quickly slide beneath the bedcovers. She didn’t fall asleep right away. Eventually, she began to get concerned as thirty minutes ticked by and there was still no Robert. What was going on? Had he moved back into the guest bedroom or something? Had she done something to offend him?
She lay in bed for another ten minutes and then decided to go in search of her husband.
He wasn’t in the guest room or on the upstairs patio. She found him in the family room. He was lying on the sectional with his eyes closed, listening to the Bible being read.
Dana sat beside him.
“Hi,” she said when his eyes opened at the movement.
He reached out and paused the sound on the tablet then turned back to her.
“Hi,” he said.
“Why are you down here?”
“I wanted to hear the Bible, and I didn’t want to disturb you.”
“There are these nifty things called earphones, you know.”
“Right. Didn’t think of that.”
He closed his eyes again.
She allowed her eyes to freely roam over his face. He was such a handsome man. She had never gotten used to how gorgeous he was, and she didn’t think she ever would. There had been times when they were at a function and would become separated as they greeted other guests. Then, their eyes would meet across the crowded room, and he would give her that slow, sexy smile, causing her heart to miss several beats. At those times, she’d felt such joy and pride that this gorgeous, talented
man was all hers. That had been before she discovered and began to resent the fact that he really wasn’t all hers. He belonged to the movie-viewing public too.
Watching him now set her heart aflutter anew.
Before she could stop herself, Dana’s hand followed her gaze and traced the outline of Robert’s cheek, ran lightly over his lips and down his chin. He took in a sharp breath and reached out and grasped her wrist. He didn’t open his eyes, but he said in a voice thick with emotion, “Don’t start anything you can’t finish, Dana.”
She gasped but made no motion to move. Eventually, his eyes opened, and desire raced through her as she saw that his dark brown eyes were hazy with passion. They never left hers as he drew her hand back to his face and brought her hand to his lips and kissed the palm. A shiver ran up her spine at the feel of his lips. He pulled her down to his mouth, and she went willingly.
Robert’s hand traveled to the back of Dana’s head, and he freed her hair of its ponytail and ran his eager fingers through its thick strands as they passionately kissed. But when Robert began to push the straps of the nightgown off her shoulders Dana stiffened. She was being pulled back to reality with the knowledge of where this was headed and the realization that she really wasn’t ready for that level of intimacy. Not yet. She drew her arms up between them and pushed against Robert’s chest. He didn’t relent. He continued to kiss her and turned with her in his arms so that their positions were suddenly reversed. He dropped his head to deliver a series of kisses to her neck and down to her shoulder. She moaned lightly, feeling herself melting once again. When he began to lift the hem of her nighty, her head sharply intervened.
“No,” she said as his lips met hers again. “No! Stop.”
Reluctantly, he stopped. His espresso-colored eyes held confusion and passion as his chest heaved.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I…I can’t. Not yet.”
He watched her in silence for a long time before he gave a short nod and took a ragged breath. “Sure. Okay.”
Second Chance: A Christian Romance (Royals Book 2) Page 19