Maybe This Life

by Grider, J. P.

  Scott barreled in a few moments later with the same expression of disgust that his comrade had shown earlier. Pulling out the chair and spinning it around, Scott straddled the chair. "Tell me, Mr.," he looked down at the paper Rick wrote on, "Murphy, how'd you just happen to know that our victim was lying at the bottom of a stairwell?"

  Rick flinched; he hadn't known that's where they'd found Lena. "I didn't know where she was or how hurt she was, I only had a feeling that she was in troub..."

  "You had a feeling?" The officer mocked.

  "Yes. I have...a strong bond with Lena and...it was intuition, at best."

  "It was intuition," Scott parroted.

  Rick could not help but feel deflated. "Yes, sir, intuition." Rick sighed in defeat.

  "Then you called her father, who has never heard of you, though you say you have a strong bond with his daughter."

  "Yes, I do." Trying to contain himself, Rick took a few deep breaths, hoping to avoid an outburst.

  "Mr. Murphy, this sounds like hogwash to me. What do you know? Did you beat Miss Giordano and push her down the stairs?"

  "No. I did not."

  "You're lying."

  "No, I am not."

  "You are," Scott exclaimed, while at the same time, slamming his fist on the table.

  "No, Sir." Keeping his composure was becoming a challenge. "I assure you, I am not lying. I had a hunch that Lena was in danger, and I needed to alert someone, just in case. I live too far away to have checked on her myself."

  "Yet…here you are."

  This officer will be the death of Rick yet. Maintaining the dignity he so diligently tried to uphold, Rick responded slowly. "I got on my bike as soon as I realized, but it took me forty-five minutes to get here. It could have been too late."

  "Sir, you're either crazy or guilty. My guess is, you're both."

  "Really?" Rick was floored. How was he going to get through, to this ignorant officer, his innocence? "I don't know what else you want me to say, sir. I don't even know what happened. Until you just mentioned it, I had no idea she was even found at the bottom," sudden nausea caused Rick to pause at the words, "of the stairwell."

  "You live in Sparta, it says here."

  "Yes, sir."

  "Don't go leaving the state. Now get outta here."

  Rick left and headed for the hospital, realizing that he probably wouldn't be welcomed there either. Instead, he phoned Betty, filled her in on what had transpired, and asked if she could help him find out how Lena was doing.

  Betty met Rick at the hospital and escorted him in.

  "I appreciate your coming so quickly, Betty. I know how this must look to her family, but truly, it was just a hunch...that I happened to be right about."

  Betty patted Rick's shoulder. "So they found her at the bottom of her stairwell, beaten and unconscious?"

  "Yup. It had to be that no-good ex-fiancé of hers."

  "Ex-fiancé? I hadn't realized they'd broken up."

  "Really?" Rick was surprised Betty hadn't heard about it.

  "Well, remember, I haven't seen her much since she'd gotten that studio job. She keeps in touch with Lindsey still, I think, but, well, I hadn't heard," Betty confessed.

  "Oh," responded a sullen Rick.

  "Hi there." Betty approached the receptionist in the emergency room. "We're friends of Lena Giordano."

  "Okay." The woman took a minute to refer to her computer. "Actually, they're admitting her into Intensive Care right now. It'll be a while, but you'll have to go to the main entrance to see her."

  "Great, thank you," Betty responded and turning to leave, they saw Frank Giordano hurrying out the door.

  "Mr. Giordano?" It was crucial that Rick confront him, though he knew he'd be met with a stone expression and that familiar look of repulsion. "Is she all right?"

  Facing Rick square in the face, Frank opened his mouth. "I'd like to know one thing. If you weren't the one who did this, how did you know to call me?" Frank put his hand up, halting Rick's response. "And I don't believe that you just had a hunch."

  "But I did, sir. Your daughter may never have mentioned me, but we are good friends and there is a bond between us...I...just..." Rick trailed off, his explanation falling on deaf ears.

  Frank turned to Betty, maybe for affirmation, maybe not, but Betty replied, "Mr. Giordano, I'm also a friend of Lena's and a co-worker. We both are. Rick would not lie...and they are very good friends."

  A guttural sigh came from Frank, an apparent sign of exasperation of the whole ordeal. "She's in a coma. They're admitting her into ICU now, you might as well follow me over. We're just waiting."

  In the waiting room, a middle-aged woman, a young woman about twenty-something, and four young men, ranging in age from mid-teens to mid-twenties, were quietly conversing. Dried tears evident in their eyes and on their cheeks. Frank broke the silent chatter. "This is my family. Family, these are Lena's friends."

  The polite, sullen family all stood to greet the newcomers.

  "Mrs. Giordano," Rick started. "I'm so sorry to meet you under these circumstances. I'm Rick Murphy." He held out his hand in greeting. "A co-worker and friend of Lena's."

  "Hello," the somber woman replied, shaking Rick's hand.

  "I'm Betty, also a co-worker and friend of your daughter." The two women also greeted each other with a handshake.

  "Hello, I'm sorry." Jules ran off, tissue to her eyes, toward the rest room.

  Francis, Katrina, Antonio, Nicholas and Christopher all greeted Betty and Rick, then dispersed back to their seats, with the exception of Katrina, who remained standing near Rick. Betty seemed to have read something on Katrina's face, because she suddenly left to get herself a cup of coffee.

  "Lena's mentioned you to me."

  Rick must have appeared as shocked as he felt, because Katrina chuckled a little.

  "She has?"

  "Yes. Just once. And only in passing, but...the way her eyes lit up when she said she was going to see a co-worker," Katrina made air quotes around the word co-worker, "perform at The Tavern, I just knew she'd call off her engagement."

  Gratitude filled every ounce of him. He was so happy and relieved to hear that. "You did, huh?"

  "Yup. I know my sister...better than I think she knows herself."

  "Hmmm. How do you know she was talking about me?" He had to be sure.

  Katrina found this amusing as well. "I asked who her co-worker was. She said, 'some guy named Rick Murphy.'

  "Yeah, that'd be me."

  "Mm-hmm." Katrina smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Rick Murphy, and whatever you did to get her away from Vince, thank you."

  "Mmm, I didn't get her away fast enough."

  "You mean before she got pregnant? Wait a minute...It's not yours is it?"

  "No, no, no, not at all, your sister and I haven't...no, never. But, yes, I mean I wish she got away before the pregnancy and, um, before...tonight."

  "Wait. You think Vince did this?"

  "Well, what do you all think?"

  "My dad thought you did it, but we just assumed someone broke in. Why would you think Vince would do something like this?"

  Rick did not want to betray Lena's trust, but her family needed to know. "Katrina, aside from this being the day they were supposed to get married, he is brutal to her. Maybe he's good at hiding it, but..." He wasn't sure he wanted to divulge this information, but he knew he should. "He rapes her, he beats her, he torments her."

  Katrina was clearly shocked. Speechless.

  "I'm sorry to tell you that."

  Katrina interrupted. "We already knew about his forcing himself on her, but...I don't think anyone knew he was beating her." Katrina looked crestfallen. "We only thought the forcing was, well, just a boyfriend/girlfriend thing, I don't think we realized he had been raping her repeatedly. I mean, my dad was furious as hell, but we really thought it had just been that one time. Oh my god."

  The darkness that fell across his heart, hearing it all out loud, was too much to
bear. "I'm sorry, Katrina, I need to leave for a minute." Rick ran out of the room, down the hall, down the elevator, and out of the hospital. He had never said those things out loud, nor did he ever hear them said. He ran to the nearest bush and vomited.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Over the next few days, Rick had gotten pretty close to the Giordano family. They accepted him as Lena's friend, while appreciating his honesty about Lena's relationship with Vince and the possibility that Vince could have been the one to have put Lena in this position. Once the Haledon Police were informed, the Battaglias were notified and Vince, questioned. Though the Battaglias tried to claim his innocence, and though advised not to speak without his lawyer present, Vince eventually cracked under the pressure of the policemen's questioning. Frank informed Rick and the rest of the Giordanos that, though Mr. Battaglia had tried to protect his son, Vince went crazy, admitting everything. The Haledon PD had Vince in a holding cell temporarily, but they were trying to get him admitted into a psychiatric ward until his arraignment.

  Meanwhile, Lena remained comatose in Intensive Care while Rick continually sat by her side. Jules stayed much of the time as well, leaving only to go home and sleep in her own bed.

  "Rick, sweetie." Jules tapped the dozing man on his arm. "Why don't you go home and get some sleep? You've been here four straight days. Go. Take a shower, get some rest."

  "No. I'm fine, Mrs. G. As long as the nurses aren't kicking me out, I'm staying."

  Jules just stared at him.

  "What?" Rick asked.

  "Why hadn't Lena mentioned you?"

  "I imagine...she was embarrassed about having feelings for me, while only recently breaking up with her fiancé. I'm sure her family's opinion of her came into play."

  "Mmm. Well, we only always wanted what was best for her. I wish she knew that."

  "I think, Mrs. Giordano, she never really knew what was best for herself."

  "Mmm."

  Rick watched tears pool in Lena's mother's eyes. "Y'know." He stood to meet her eye to eye, "Lena will be all right. I feel it."

  Jules smiled. "One of your hunches?"

  "Yeah. One of my hunches."

  "I'll see you in the morning, Rick. Bring you coffee?"

  "Sure. Thanks."

  Rick sure hoped this hunch was correct. It wasn't a strong one, but it rippled through him like a gentle wave hitting the shore. He knelt by her bed and prayed…for what seemed like hours. While he was doing so, Lena's hand moved beneath his arm, the warm tickle alerting his senses. His head jerked up. "Lena?"

  Her eyes flickered.

  "Nurse, Nur..." But the nurse had already been notified by the monitor that was connected to the nurses' station, because she'd entered the room before he'd finished calling her. "She just..." Rick was dumbstruck.

  The nurse pushed a few buttons on the monitor and checked her pulse. "Her heart rate is picking up."

  Lena's eyes flickered again. This time, her eyelids actually opened half way. Rick ran to the other side and grabbed her hand. "Lena. Oh Lena, I'm right here." He kissed her hand, her forehead, her arm, relishing her warm skin beneath his lips.

  "Mr. Murphy," the nurse intoned. "Let me finish, please."

  "Oh, yeah, sure. Can I hold her hand?" A stirred Rick asked with unrestrained joy.

  "Yes."

  The light glistening off Lena's dark brown eyes was an answered prayer. She was awake. "Lena. You're awake," Rick announced.

  Lena only blinked.

  He felt the blood drain from his face.

  "Give her time," the nurse sympathized.

  "She can't talk?" His bubble burst.

  "I'm sure she can." The nurse kept her eyes on Lena. "Give her time." She picked up her phone. "This is Liz, call Doctor Olsen to Room 18. She's up."

  "Mr. Murphy, why don't you give us a few minutes, you can call her family."

  "Sure." His heart sunk heavily in his chest. What if she never returned back to normal? What if her brain was damaged?

  The phone picked up on the first ring. "Hello?" Jules asked nervously.

  "She's up..." Unable to finish his sentence, because Jules immediately hung up, Rick was hoping to at least fill her in, so as not to get her hopes too far up. Like his did.

  After about forty minutes, Doctor Olsen came out into the waiting area, where Rick, Jules, and Frank were pacing the room. "You can see her now. I just need to tell you, she's not one hundred percent yet. She's confused as to what year it is. A little disoriented, as well. But…she is awake and maybe, by seeing you, you'll trigger an awareness."

  The four of them silently approached Lena's room. Rick stood in the background to allow Lena's parents to reacquaint with their daughter. He stayed behind the curtain, uncertain of Lena's reaction to seeing him.

  "Lena, sweetie," Rick heard Jules cry.

  "Hey, Lena," Frank uttered quietly.

  "Hi," Lena breathed, causing a slight tear in Rick's heart. His Lena sounded so weak and fragile. But at least she was speaking.

  "Lena." Now Rick heard the Doctor speak up. "Do you know who these two people are?"

  "Yeeess." Her answer, still soft, seemed unsure. "Mmmma."

  "That's right, Lena," Doctor Olson responded. "Your mother. Do you recognize the man?"

  "Ddddaaaddd."

  "Yes, your father. Very good."

  "She can't speak?" Jules asked.

  "Yes," Doc Olson replied. "It'll just take her a while to remember how. She wasn't in a coma long, but her body was still only functioning at bare minimum. It'll take her a little bit to readjust."

  "Oh. You mentioned she's confused about the year?" Frank asked.

  "Lena, tell me what year it is."

  "Niiiinneteeen ssssev ssseventteeenn."

  Rick felt all his energy leave his body. He lost his balance, knocking into the table and causing a ruckus behind the curtain.

  "Oh, Rick," Frank called out, pulling the curtain back. "What are you doing back there? C'mon, come see her, you've been with her all this time."

  Rick moved at a slow pace toward Lena. "Hello, Lena," he said timidly.

  Her smile quickly spread across her face, almost reaching from ear to ear. "Rrriiichaaard. Yooou caaame baaaackk."

  His heavy heart smarted as he realized who she thought he was. "Hey there." Rick bent down and kissed her forehead. "How ya feel, sweetheart?"

  "Haapppy yooour baaackk fffrrromm wwwaaar."

  The walls began caving in on Rick as he tried to figure out how to explain things to Lena's parents. More importantly, how would he untangle Lena's raveled mind?

  "War?" Frank questioned the doctor. "I don't understand, why does she think it's nineteen seventeen and Rick is back from the war?"

  "I'm not sure, Mr. Giordano. It is common that a person just out of a coma is disoriented about time. But almost a hundred years off is, unfortunately, not commonplace. She could have been dreaming while comatose. She should regain her full memory soon, though."

  Rick's heart bled, watching her face crumple in confusion. "Rrrrichhaard? Wwwhaat isss wrrrongg?" Lena struggled with her question.

  Words were not finding their way... but tears were. Both Rick and Jules could not contain their own emotions, while Frank remained composed.

  "Rick, is that your full name? Richard?" Mr. Giordano asked.

  Still speechless, Rick could only shake his head.

  "Then who does Lena think you are?" Frank again questioned him.

  Rick knew it was too soon to mention reincarnation, Frank just got over thinking Rick was crazy for having an intuition about Lena's fall. What would her parents think about his past life experiences? Lena hadn't even believed it herself. Rick was between a rock and a hard place, with no idea how to get out. In the end, he just shrugged his shoulders in response to Frank's inquiry, pleading ignorance instead.

  The beeping on the heart monitor picked up pace. Hurrying into the room, the nurse ran to Lena's side and checked her vitals. After a few moments, she turned an au
stere eye on the visitors. "Lena's distressed right now, you need to allow her to rest. She will not heal effectively if she is disturbed." The nurse softened her tone. "Please, go get yourselves something to eat, a cup of coffee, something. Come back in a couple hours. She's scheduled for an MRI at 11. Come back after that."

  After all of them gave Lena a kiss on the forehead, they left the room. Jules and Frank went for coffee; Rick opted for the waiting area to think. Not ten minutes later, Lena's nurse came in to see Rick. "Mr. Murphy, Lena is asking for you and...well, she's insisting she see you."

  "Oh." Rick stood, eager to see her. "Sure."

  "Hey, Leen," he greeted her, pasting a smile on his face, even though it killed him to see her this way.

  "Lleeenna? Sssincce whennn?" Lena struggled again with her words.

  "Sorry...Angie. How's your head?"

  "Hurrtss."

  Rick turned his attention to the nurse. "Does she know what this is?" He asked, pointing to the television hanging from the wall. "She must be confused," he whispered.

  The nurse called Rick to the side of the room. "Yes, we asked her. It seems Lena is familiar with some things, but like I said, she's a bit disoriented."

  "So, she recognized her parents, but not...never mind." Rick wanted to say that she didn't remember him, at least not Patrick Murphy, anyway.

  He left the nurse and went back to Lena's side. Her hand reached for his, comforting him with her gentle squeeze. With a tender touch, he stroked her palm with his fingers.

  "Could you give us a moment?" Rick looked at the nurse. "I mean, I realize you need to supervise, but will you excuse our conversation?"

  With the nurse's nod, Rick took both Lena's hands, even her intravenous encumbered hand. "Sweetie, do you remember the conversation we had about past lives?"

  Her wide eyes and blank expression told Rick she didn't.

  "Sweetheart, I was Richard, but in a past life. You were Angie. We loved each other, but I got drafted into the war and never came back. I was killed. Do you remember that?"

  Rick noticed recognition flash through her mind. He saw it in her eyes.