Vicky nodded her head, and then proceeded to tell her father about Samantha and the baby she helped deliver in Syria. She gave him all the details about the operation, because she knew he’d find that part of it fascinating. During the rescue Vicky was held at gunpoint by the father of the man that Aidan was holding hostage with a knife. The son and Samantha were married, at least in the son’s eyes, and she was carrying his child, although she believed the baby inside of her was dead. Vicky suddenly ended her story by telling her father that the standoff ended with both men dead, and the baby still alive, just barely.
“I’m so proud that you completed your mission so successfully, but honey, what’s bothering you? What did you leave out?”
“Oh Dad, you always could read me. And that always annoyed me as a child,” Vicky half-heartily chuckled.
“Don’t change the subject, honey. Sit down here and tell me what’s wrong. You don’t know, maybe I can help?”
“I don’t think anyone but Aidan can help with this one, Dad.” Vicky sat on the edge of the bed next to her father and explained about ‘the other woman’, Samantha, and her engagement to Aidan. She went into detail about how Aidan picked Samantha over her during the standoff, and then she explained that there was a difference and a distance between them now.
“Young lady, you look at me,” Vicky dutifully looked up at her father, “that was a very sound, strategic move Aidan made, and it probably saved your life. It wasn’t her picking that other woman over you, don’t you see, she was sacrificing herself so that you both would live. I must say, I’m very impressed with her quick thinking in such a highly pressured moment.”
“Oh my God, Dad, you’re right. I hadn’t thought of it that way, but it makes sense now. She stepped out away from the son so the father would shoot at her instead of me. She picked Samantha because she knew the husband would be upset by it. And she knew I would elbow the father in the ribs because that’s what I’ve done in the past. That’s when she threw her knife at him.” Vicky’s eyes misted over. How could I ever have doubted her!
Leonard added, “And you’ll see, Aidan will come around, she just needs time to get things sorted out.”
“I hope you’re right about that one too, Daddy,” I really hope you’re right.
“All I’m saying is just trust her and give her the space she needs. The rest will work its self out.”
*
“What’s going on, Sam?” Aidan walked into Samantha’s hospital room, and saw her sitting on the side of the bed, fully dressed, with a bag full of supplements beside her.
“They’re letting me go home now, only I don’t have any place to go. Isn’t that pathetic?”
“Sure you do. That’s what I came to tell you, you can stay at my apartment for as long as you need,” Aidan held up her apartment key, and handed it to her.
“What about you?”
“I think I should probably stay at a hotel, Sam. I talked with your doctor—”
“You talked to my doctor?”
“Yeah, you listed me as your medical proxy, remember? Anyway, he said the best thing for you right now is to rest, and get your strength back, and I would just be in the way.”
“No darling, you could never be in the way. Come with me.”
“Nah, Sam,” Aidan replied as casually as she could, “it’s not a good idea. I think it’s the best for all of us this way.”
“Afraid I’ll try to seduce you, again?” Samantha smiled, remembering back when Aidan first asked her to the USO show on base in Iraq. She had seen Aidan around the base several times, and was attracted to her. Not just because she was beautiful, no, her physical attributes were made even more desirable by her unapproachable attitude, and Samantha found herself wanting to see what was behind that attitude. The gossip around the motor pool was that Aidan was terribly shy, but Samantha didn’t believe that. Aidan was actually cocky and self-assured; she just didn’t like the drama most of the younger women were full of, so she avoided them as much as possible. When Aidan did finally notice Samantha, she was abstractedly drawn in by how much Samantha resembled Vicky, both in her demeanor and physique. She just didn’t realize the connection at the time.
The two women spent a fun evening together at the show, and then Aidan took her to a secluded area away from wondering eyes, so they could talk freely. Samantha thought it was a wonderful weekend, and wanted to make love to Aidan, right then and there. But Aidan brought her back to the barracks and kissed her goodnight on the cheek. It wasn’t until their third date that they became lovers, and after they consummated their relationship, they were inseparable.
“Or maybe it’s more you’re afraid you’ll try to seduce me?” Samantha closed the distance between them and said, “that would work too.”
Aidan’s leg began its nervous twitch, “Listen, Sam, you don’t know the whole story. Things have changed in the past year. I think you should do your discharge papers while I run up and check on some friends, and then I’ll take you home, okay.”
Samantha wasn’t pleased with the suggestion, but Aidan didn’t stick around to find out. She bolted for the door as quickly as possible.
*
Aidan tapped on the door to Leonard’s hospital room, and entered when told to. She saw that Vicky was asleep in the chair beside her father’s bed, her jet lag finally getting the best of her. Aidan turned to leave, but Leonard stopped her.
“It’s okay Aidan, she’s out cold, poor thing.”
“I don’t want to disturb her; I just wanted to see if you needed anything, Pop.”
“No, I’m doing fine, thanks. But I think you should take Vicky home, and let her sleep in a real bed.”
Aidan looked at Vicky, so beautiful curled up in a fetal position, sleeping soundly. How am I going to do this? Take Vicky home, take Sam home, and check on Jerry. God, I’m so tired. “What about her mother?”
“I sent her home when Vicky insisted on staying.”
“Oh, uh…, if she insisted, then maybe I shouldn’t,” Aidan knew that if Vicky insisted on being by her father’s bedside, it would upset her to wake up and find that he wasn’t there. “I know these things make out into a bed, I’ll just go get a blanket for her, and she’ll be fine right here.” Before Leonard could protest, Aidan went to the closet and pulled out a pillow and blanket. Then she carefully pulled up the foot end of the chair so Vicky’s legs weren’t dangling over the end of it. Vicky didn’t move, so Aidan went to the head of the chair and slowly lowered it flat. Next she put the pillow down and gently tucked it under Vicky’s sleeping head. Finally she laid the blanket on top of her and tucked her in. Aidan was satisfied that she was comfortable. She bent over and kissed Vicky on her forehead, combing the hair from her face. Sweet dreams, baby.
Leonard watched Aidan, as she gently and lovingly cared for his daughter, and he smiled. He knew the truth. Aidan loved her with every fiber of her being. He just needed Vicky to be patient until Aidan could understand that herself.
“I think she’ll like it better sleeping here. Call it a hunch. Listen, I’m going to write down my cell phone number, please call me if you or Vicky need anything at all, okay?” Aidan wrote down her number and left it on his bedside table.
“What about you, Aidan, when are you going to get some sleep?”
“You know what they say, sir, no rest for the wicked,” Aidan sighed, feeling the real weight of that old saying.
“Do me a favor and remember one word, just one, okay?” he asked her with all sincerity.
“Sure, what is it?”
“Choice,” that’s all Leonard said. He hoped that it would eventually sink in as to what he meant by it, but Aidan didn’t understand it, and she was in too much of a hurry to get him to explain it to her.
“Uh, sure, Pop. Listen, I’m sorry, but I’ve got to run. I’ll check in a little later, okay.”
She made her way to the stairwell and went to the third floor where Jerry’s room was. Thanks to Vicky’s skilled hand at r
emoving the knife Samantha had stabbed him with; Jerry was healing quickly, and didn’t require surgery. In fact he was going to be discharged soon. Vicky offered to put him up in a hotel located on the hospital grounds, and after some cajoling, he accepted. Aidan was glad he was going to be around for a couple more days, as she had come to rely on his friendship.
Tapping on Jerry’s door, Aidan asked, “Hey Jerry, its Aidan, are ya decent?”
“No, but come in anyway.”
She grinned and opened the door, “How’s it going, man?”
“I’m bored silly and ready to get out of here.” Jerry was not a man for lying around in bed even for a few hours. There was too much life to be lived and he wanted to get out there and live it. That’s another reason why he volunteered to go with Aidan to Syria; he wanted to be where the action was. Well, that, and to get away from his domineering mother.
“You’re getting released tonight too? That’s great.”
“Yeah, Vicky set me up at the hotel next door, so I’m good to go.”
“I’m staying there too, so if you need anything, just call me, okay?”
Jerry looked at her, surprised, “Why?”
“Why am I staying at the hotel? I don’t know, I guess it seemed the safest way to go. Sam will be staying at my apartment, and Vicky’s mother is at her house, so that’s not a good idea. I’m sort of homeless again. At least this time I can afford the price of a hotel room.” Aidan referred to when she was a teenager living on the streets after she ran away from home. She had a really tough time as a teenager, and made some dumb mistakes, but she also got an education that most people would never have. She knew how to avoid the police, how to find food without stealing and how to street fight and stay alive.
“I’ve always wondered.., how did you make it on your own at such a young age?” Jerry noticed her questioning look and said, “Vicky told me some of it, I hope that was okay?”
“Sure, it’s cool. I never thought about how I made it on my own, I just knew I had to.”
“You had to? Why, what was driving you?”
“Jerry, you’re starting to sound like my shrink,” Aidan laughed, and then said, “I needed to make some money then I was going to send for…, damn, I’d forgotten about that,” Aidan’s memory still came and went at times, and the littlest thing could stir up a specific memory, usually trapping her inside it until she played it out in her mind. This memory was of her plan to save enough money to send for Vicky. That had been her plan for years, but first one thing and then another, got in the way of it, and when she didn’t hear from Vicky in all that time, she gave up hope. Then she met Samantha.
“Someday you’ll have to tell me the whole story.”
“Not writing a book are you, Jer?” they both laughed, and then Aidan continued, “Listen, if you can hang out a bit longer, I’ll get Sam set up at my apartment and come back, and then we can go to the hotel together.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Jerry replied.
“See you in a bit then.”
*
Aidan spent much of the rest of the night, seeing to other’s comfort, in spite of her own growing exhaustion. She drove Samantha across town to her apartment and showed her in, “It’s not much but the bed is comfortable. Here, let me shove these out of the way,” She had not checked her mail in months, so a small mountain of envelopes lay scattered on the floor in front of the door. Aidan thought they were advertisements and the sort, but what she would be surprise to learn was that they were fan letters and job offers.
“You have a nice apartment, Aidan,” Samantha looked around, not surprised by the sparseness of personal keepsakes or photographs. Aidan never was much for decorating her living quarters. In the Army she had one picture that she carried in her wallet. On occasion she would take it out and look at it, and Samantha knew when that happened, Aidan was in another place and time. She knew there was a huge hole in Aidan’s heart and she wanted desperately to fill it.
“Okay, here’s my cellphone number, and hotel room number,” Aidan scratched her information on a piece of scrap paper, “you call me if you need anything. I’m going to pick up Jerry from the hospital, and I won’t be back tonight. You should get some sleep. I’ll call you in the morning.”
“Will you come get me early please; I want to see my baby as soon as possible.”
“Sure, I’ll be happy too. Goodnight then.”
But Samantha wasn’t ready for her to go just yet, “Do you remember when we laid out under the stars on the shores of the Tigris River in Baghdad? It was such a beautiful night, and you were so dashing in your tight black jeans and t-shirt. You opened a bottle of wine, handed me a single rose, and made love to me under the stars.” Samantha slowly unbuttoned Aidan’s top button as she watched her lover lose herself in the memory, “You were so very gentle with me because it was our first encounter. I remember how strong your arms felt around me, as you caressed my aching breasts.”
Whether it was exhaustion or the sensation of a new memory fighting to be acknowledged, Aidan was not conscious of the fact that Samantha now had her shirt completely unbuttoned. It was as if she were transported back in time, actually living in the moment of her memories.
Samantha threw Aidan’s shirt on the floor and unbuttoned her own blouse, and threw it on the floor as well. She took Aidan’s hand and placed it on her already hardening breast. “Oh…,” Samantha groaned lustfully, as Aidan began massaging the breasts until the nipples darkened with desire. Samantha continued, “Remember the touch of my skin and how I begged you to release me of my orgasm? I’m begging you, Aidan, take me now.”
Aidan couldn’t help herself, she was lost in the moment, her eyes were glazed over, and her mind trapped in a wild state of desire. She threw Samantha down on the bed, and climbed on top of her.
“Oh yes, that’s the Aidan I remember. Yes, honey, take me now,” Samantha desperately needed Aidan to remember what they had together. She felt that once Aidan remembered the taste of her, she wouldn’t want to leave. Samantha urged Aidan on, “That’s right lover, touch me there.”
Aidan was making her way down Samantha’s body toward her ultimate goal, but something didn’t feel quite right, and it began to creep in over her hunger. This was a memory, it was not who she was craving for, and when she realized it, she immediately broke free of her entrapment. Aidan looked up at Samantha, so beautiful lying there naked, inviting her in.
“Fuck me!” Aidan jerked back.
“I’m trying to, lover.”
“Wait, no. This is wrong. I can’t be here.” Aidan’s sexual fever broke, and she was beginning to sweat.
“No, Aidan, don’t leave me hurting like this.”
“I can’t Sam, I’m so sorry, but I just can’t.”
“Aidan, I’m too weak to finish what you started, please, help me.”
“I’m sorry, Sam,” Aidan grabbed her shirt and turned around, afraid that her lack of willpower, something that she had always prided herself in before, had now deserted her.
But Samantha wouldn’t let her go, “It was your face I kissed, not his,” she said as she began to masturbate, “It was you I saw when he fucked me.” When her orgasm released, she screamed in pleasure, drawing it out as long as possible.
“Oh shit! I can’t be here!” This was too much for Aidan; she grabbed her keys and ran for the door.
As she drove back to the hospital, Aidan’s mind was filled with jumbled thoughts floating chaotically through her head. What the fuck was I thinking! How could I do that to Vicky? How could I have done that to Sam? Aidan thought about Samantha in Syria, just trying to stay alive by any means possible. She became angry, as she visualized Samantha being forced to make love with that man, and to get through it, she thought of Aidan. Oh God, how can I make this right?
With just enough strength left to pick up Jerry from the hospital, Aidan drove to the hotel. She help Jerry settle into his room, then she went to her own room just across the hall, and immediately
laid down on the bed, still fully dressed, boots and all. She thought she’d fall asleep instantly, but instead something kept rolling around in her mind. Choice. What did he mean by that? Vicky believes that everything in life is a choice. We all have choices in life and it depends on what you choose as to what you get… right? Maybe that’s what he meant. Or maybe he meant I have no choice at all? Just as Aidan fell asleep, her phone rang. It was Leonard calling from his hospital room.
“Aidan help! I can’t get her to wake up. She keeps calling your name, but she won’t wake up.”
Aidan could tell he was pretty shaken up by it, and if it was the same dream Vicky had earlier, she could understand why. “I’ll be right there, don’t worry,” She didn’t wait for a reply; she was already running out the door and up the hill, toward the hospital.
Five minutes later, she barged into Leonard’s hospital room, and over to where Vicky lay, in the throes of a hellish nightmare. Aidan sat down beside her and held her hands, even though Vicky tried to fight her off.
“Baby, it’s me, it’s Aidan. You’re having a bad dream. Wake up, baby.”
Vicky was struggling so hard against the dream that Aidan laid down beside her, to try and calm her down.
Vicky screamed in her sleep, “Aidan, help me!” Vicky only saw the giant hand coming toward her.
Leonard was still hooked up to a heart monitor, and had an IV in his arm, so all he could do was lean over the bedrail and call to his daughter, “Vicky, wake up honey, come on, it’s your father, wake up now, sweetheart.”
Aidan repeated, “Come on, kid, wake up. You’re having a bad dream.”
Vicky fluttered her eyes open, fighting off her confusion, “Aidan, what are you doing here? Daddy?”
“I’m fine honey, but you were having a nightmare. Are you all right?” Leonard asked anxiously.
Vicky sat up and looked around, combing her hair out of her eyes, “I’m fine, it was just a dumb nightmare. I’m…, I’m sure it’s just because of the stress and exhaustion of the last few months.”
Remember, You Love Me: Little Girl Lost Page 4