“I’ve got all the time in the world.” Kirk sat down on the couch.
Roxanne sat down on the sofa too, but not directly beside him.
“Roxanne woke up from the coma with a rare form of partial amnesia,” Jerry explained. “She’s blocked out eight years of her life, dating back to shortly before she met Frank Garrett. She doesn’t remember anything that happened during this time, or anyone she met…including Frankie.”
“Why are you hiding her recovery from everyone?” Kirk was trying desperately to understand.
“Roxanne was scared,” Jerry said simply. “She doesn’t remember anybody but Candy…and she only remembers her as a nineteen-year-old girl, not a twenty-seven-year-old woman. She has no recollection of anyone else that she’s met during the last eight years. Not even me or Jason.” He paused, wondering how he was going to explain this to Candy and Frank. “She doesn’t understand why she did what she did. And she can’t bear the thought of having to justify her actions to a family she can’t remember.”
“But you had no right…” Kirk’s voice trailed off in an quarrelsome tone. “You could have let them know she was okay.”
“And knowing that Roxanne was awake,” Jerry supposed. “Just how long do you think Frank would have stayed away?” He went silent briefly. “I’ll tell you…not very long. Not very long at all. There’d be no place on this earth she could hide.”
“They did it because I asked them to,” Roxanne said. “If anybody’s to blame here, it’s me.”
“Roxanne’s welfare is the most important factor in all of this,” Jerry said. “More than Frank or anybody else’s needs, for that matter.”
“You let me believe she was lying helplessly in a coma,” Kirk said solemnly. “You let her family think that, too. You let her son think that.”
“Under the circumstances, I think it’s probably best for Frankie this way, too.” Jerry gave his opinion.
“Don’t tell me about Frankie,” Kirk said. “I was there when he was born. Where were you?”
“You were there?” Roxanne asked.
“Remember,” Jerry quickly focused on her, “You and Frank were apart when you had Frankie.”
“Oh, yeah,” she said vaguely and then turned to Kirk. “You and I must have been really good friends then.”
“We were,” Kirk said. “We are.”
“Tell her the truth, Kirk,” Jerry insisted.
“The truth?” Roxanne’s tone matched the puzzling expression overtaking her face.
“The truth is,” Kirk said reluctantly. “I was in love with you.”
“And did I love you back?” she asked, curious.
The reality of Roxanne’s amnesia set in, and Kirk realized if she couldn’t remember Frank Garrett then she couldn’t possibly be in love with him. Suddenly Kirk had hope.
“You and I shared something really special,” he said, twisting reality to suit his needs. “Unfortunately, it was overshadowed by the fact that your son belongs to Frank Garrett.” Kirk had found a grand opportunity to make her believe she’d loved him instead of Frank.
“Kirk!” Jason stomped on his plan. “Aside from the fact that this whole thing is really none of your business, but you’ve chosen to stick your nose in where it does not belong...you will tell her the truth. The way it really happened.”
Kirk hesitated, striving to gain control over his mounting resentment toward Jason Fischer. He sucked in a breath and turned to Roxanne. “No,” he said with little enthusiasm. “You did not love me. You tried, but you could never love anybody but him.”
Jason blew out his frustration. Even though neither he nor Jerry thought Frank was the best thing for Roxanne, the last thing they needed or wanted was Kirk Bronson coming in and misleading her into believing something that was totally untrue. Roxanne was already confused enough.
“Kirk?” Roxanne said. “Would you come back down to the beach with me?”
“Sure.” Kirk nodded. Because whether Jason or Jerry liked it or not, he wasn’t about to give up hope that he could win Roxanne over this time. The way he saw it, he had the advantage now because she didn’t remember Frank Garrett.
Roxanne turned to Jason and Jerry. “I think that if I can just maybe talk to Kirk,” she said hopefully. “Maybe he can tell me something that might remind me of those lost years.”
“Well I guess it couldn’t hurt.” Jerry shrugged, but he knew Roxanne was grasping at straws. After all this time, it wasn’t likely that she’d ever recover her memory. Jerry had told her as much many times. “I just don’t want you getting your hopes up over something that’s not likely to happen. Remember? Recovery after all this time only happens in the movies.”
Still, she went with Kirk back down to the beach.
“What are we going to do now?” Jason asked after they’d left.
“We’re going to tell her that her time has run out,” Jerry said. “It had to happen sooner or later.”
“One thing’s for sure...if Frank goes to the hospital and raises enough hell...he’s going to find out she’s not there.”
“And when that happens….”
“We can give her until Sunday.” Jason made the decision on the spur of the moment. “Come Monday, she’s going to have to face them all…whether she likes it or not.”
“Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive,” Jerry quoted Sir Walter Scott.
“My friend—” Jason shook his head. “—We didn’t just weave the web...we’re all caught up in it.”
“Can I ask you a question?” Roxanne asked Kirk, as they walked across the sand and back toward her blanket.
“Sure,” Kirk said.
“Do you think I was crazy?” She couldn’t look at him. “When you knew me back then?”
“Well,” he said hesitantly. “If I told you there was nothing wrong with you back then...I’d be lying.”
“Tell me the truth…” she requested. “Did he dominate my thoughts and my life? Even when we were apart?”
Kirk thought about what Roxanne had been like back then. The way she never really knew where she was at times. The way she always thought Frank was somewhere nearby, waiting to have lunch with her or something. And when she was in touch with reality, she was always worried that Frank was going to find her and punish her.
“Not that I am an expert or anything,” Kirk finally said. “But I suppose he did.”
“Do you have any idea why I did this to myself?”
“No.” He assumed she was talking about the rumored attempted suicide. “You’re going to have to face them, sooner or later.”
“I’m afraid to.”
“Why?”
“Because, I don’t know them,” she confessed. “And considering what I’ve heard about this Frank Garrett, I don’t think I want to know him either.” She paused with a heavy sigh. “And as for my son…the thing is, I don’t remember ever wanting to be a mother. Maybe he’s better off without me.”
“What about Candy?” Kirk asked. “You remember her. Why don’t you want to see her?”
“Well aside from the fact that I’m thoroughly ashamed of myself...I would love to see Candy. But if I see her, then I’ll have to see the rest of them.”
“They’re worried about you,” Kirk said. “It’s not right to let them think you’re still in a coma. And facing them won’t be as bad as you think.”
“That’s easy for you to say.” She rolled her eyes.
“You faced me.”
“That’s different.”
“Why?” he questioned her with a slight smile. “Because you don’t owe me any explanations?”
“I know I should see them. But every time I think about it, I get so scared.” A chill rushed over Roxanne. She shivered.
“Well I guess you don’t have to see them if you really don’t want to,” he said. “But just let them know you’re okay.”
“If I promise to let them know I’m okay,” she said in a bargaining way. “Would y
ou promise to not lecture me about it anymore? And give me at least a few days to prepare myself for this?”
“Deal.”
Roxanne looked at Kirk, overwhelmed with feelings of admiration. “You will stay with me, won’t you?”
“I’ll stay with you as long as you want me to.”
As confused as Roxanne was about those lost years, she thought she saw something in Kirk. Something she’d never seen before. All the while, losing sight of the fact that there must be a reason why she’d never fell in love with him in the first place.
Roxanne never considered for a second that Frank Garrett might be that reason. He was no longer of importance to her. After all, she couldn’t remember him.
Jason and Jerry were at their wit’s end trying to figure out how to tell Roxanne that her time had run out because Frank was intent upon seeing her. As the weekend passed, they realized Roxanne wasn’t the only one running out of time. They too were in the same predicament. Whether they looked forward to it or not, they had to tell her. But like a gift from the heavens she brought up the subject first.
Finding Jason in his library, Roxanne paused in the doorway. “Are you busy?”
“No.” He backed away from his desk. “Come on in.”
“I wanted to talk to you about Candy…and the others,” she added, feeling a little uncomfortable talking about people she had no memory of.
“I’ve been meaning to talk to you about them, too. I’m sorry but we’re going to have to tell them,” he said reluctantly. “It seems your son has been having dreams about you. He insists that you aren’t in the hospital. He claims you’re at the beach.” He gave her time to let that sink in. “Frank is determined to show him differently.”
An anxious feeling swept through Roxanne. “My son has been dreaming that I’m at the beach?”
“Yes,” Jason answered.
“That’s very odd.”
“Frankie’s very attached to you,” Jason told her. “I know how you feel right now…but you and Frankie have a very special bond. And he misses you very much.”
Roxanne couldn’t remember the slightest thing about Frankie, but still, she felt guilty for depriving him of his mother. “I need to see him,” she finally said. “Hell, I’ll probably spend the rest of my life never remembering a damned thing about the last eight years,” she added compliantly. “But that doesn’t change the fact that I do have a son out there, and I guess it’s time for me to accept my grown-up responsibility.”
Jason blew his relief out in a sigh. “I’ll get us a flight out tomorrow.”
“Hmm…I’m not so sure I like that idea.” She grumbled. “I was thinking more along the lines of them coming here?”
“If you’re more comfortable with that,” Jason said. “I don’t mind.”
“I know I have to go back to my son.” She hesitated. “But I’m not so sure I want to go back to the marriage.” The thought chafed her like a bad sunburn.
“I’ll tell you something. Roxanne,” Jason’s tone turned serious. “While it’s true that I’ve never been a big fan of Frank Garrett’s…you need to consider the facts. During five years of separation, you were never able to get over him. You didn’t move forward because you couldn’t. You should give a lot of time to a lot of thought before you make any decisions regarding your marriage.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” But no matter what the past had been, the truth of the matter was that now Roxanne had no memories or recollections of Frank Garrett. Husband or not. At present, she had no feelings toward him whatsoever, one way or another.
Neither Jason nor Jerry looked forward to facing Frank or Candy, but they’d started this thing together and it was only fitting that they finish it that way too. Patiently they stood at the door of Roxanne’s home, waiting for Jameson to answer the bell.
Promptly, the butler opened the door and smiled pleasantly when he saw them. After his short, formal greeting, he moved aside letting them in.
Ever since Jason’s telephone call, Frank had been pacing the living room. He had a terrible feeling that something wasn’t quite right. Jason had said to get Candy and Rich over because he and Jerry would be at the house within half an hour. The possibilities of why they were being called together invaded Frank’s comfort zone, threatening his well-being.
Jason and Jerry entered the living room. Neither of them took seats. That made Frank nervous.
“Frank.” Jason spoke first. It was always a bad sign when that fruitcake Jerry let anybody else do the talking. “Maybe you should sit down.”
Frank stuck his finger in Jason’s face. “Don’t you tell me she’s dead. Do you hear me?” Fear and doubt raged inside Frank, but mostly fear. “Don’t you dare tell me that!”
“On the contrary,” Jerry said. “Roxanne is very much alive. And she’s out of the coma.”
“She is?” Hope chased Frank’s fear away.
“Thank God.” For a brief moment, Candy closed her eyes.
“But there is a problem,” Jerry said.
“How can there be a problem?” Frank said dismissively. “She’s awake. She’s okay. That’s all that matters.”
“Well she’s not really okay.” Reluctance lit Jerry’s face.
“What do you mean she’s not okay?” Frank’s fear threatened to turn around on his hope.
“Roxanne is suffering from a rare form of partial amnesia,” Jerry explained. “She’s basically lost the last eight years.”
“What?” Frank didn’t fully understand what that meant.
“She doesn’t remember you, Frank.” Jerry sounded happy to tell Frank that bit of news. “She doesn’t remember her career. She doesn’t remember her son.” But he didn’t seem to like delivering the last two pieces at all.
“What are you saying?” Candy asked nervously.
“The only familiar thing about the life Roxanne has now… is you, Candy.” Jerry gave her a slight, remorseful nod. “But she doesn’t remember you as you are now. Her memory of you is that of a nineteen-year-old girl.”
“How can that be?” Candy didn’t hide her confusion.
“Well I can only theorize,” Jerry turned to look at Frank. “The last few months before she overdosed took such a toll on her mental instability that she just wanted out.” He paused, making no attempt to hide his condemnation of Frank. “When that didn’t happen her brain took over. Seems it’s decided to wipe out the memory and existence of what troubled her so.”
That much was true, and Frank knew it. She was so disgusted with him, rather than coming back home to the same old scene, she chose to block him out entirely. Unfortunately, that also meant she’d blocked out Frankie. Silently, Frank ridiculed himself for that.
“I’m going to see her.” Frank decided at that precise instant. “I’ll tell her how much I love her and she’ll remember. She’ll remember me and she’ll remember Frankie. And everything’ll be fine.”
Frank spun around, but before he was two steps toward the door Jason had grabbed his arm. “You’d better hear what I have to say first.”
“Who cares what you have to say.” Frank gave a dismissive shrug.
“You will,” Jason said. “Once you’ve heard it.”
“Make it quick will you. I’ve gotta get to Roxie.”
“Roxanne has a problem with the fact that she tried to kill herself,” Jason said. “She’s also having trouble with the notion that she has a family she can’t remember. And why I don’t know, but she’s convinced herself she’s incapable of being a good mother.”
“Well I can understand that she’s scared, since she can’t remember us,” Frank said. “But I’ll fix it. I’ll fix everything.”
“Just like you fixed it when you married her?” Jerry’s snide tone bit at Frank.
He paused to collect himself after that blow. While the supposition was true, Frank didn’t deserve it as much as he thought he did. Well this Frank didn’t. The Frank standing before them right now was not the same man who plotted,
planned, and acted to drive Roxanne over the edge. The man standing before them now wanted nothing more than to prove himself to his wife. He only wanted to win her back. And he really had his work cut out for him.
“Are you through?” Frank asked Jason, ignoring Jerry.
“No, I’m not,” Jason said. “Roxanne is not in the hospital. She’s at my beach house in Jamaica.”
Beach house. She’s at the beach? “Oh, no…” Frank said aloud. Had Frankie been right all along? “Just how long has she been at your beach house?”
Jason sighed heavily. “About seven months.”
Crazy For You Page 31