About Last Night...

by Michele Dunaway

  Blake’s Jacobsen-blue eyes clouded as a memory returned, and his fingers gripped the Bible a little tighter. “I did that with Kristina and—” he drew a sharp breath “—to an extent, I’ve made that exact same mistake with you.”

  At that admission, Blake scooted the plastic chair over and took a seat next to Shane and near Lindy’s bedside. He reached out and placed a comforting hand on his son’s shoulder. “As soon as Lindy wakes up, you be sure to tell her how you feel. Apologize. Kiss her. Hug her if they’ll let you. Right now don’t worry about things you have no control over. Those things take care of themselves. But you make sure she knows that you never want to almost lose her again.” Blake looked at Lindy. “I assume the baby’s okay?”

  His father removed his hand and it amazed Shane how effective his touch had been. The world seemed a bit brighter. “Her obstetrician came earlier this morning. Everything’s fine.”

  Pure relief crossed his father’s face. “Good. Your mother and I were worried about that. Speaking of, your mother will be in later to check on you. Since it’s the ICU, we decided to come in shifts.”

  Shane reached forward and stroked Lindy’s forehead. “Don’t you have a plane to catch? I thought you had to pack? Don’t you have revivals on the West Coast?”

  Blake shook his head, his peppery gray hair too short to fall into his eyes. “We pushed our flight back a day.”

  A silence fell between the men as Shane realized the implications of that. For once, his needs had come first. His parents had rearranged their schedule so that they could be there for him. His father had come to the ICU to simply be by Shane’s side. His father was here. It so overpowered him that “Thanks” was all he could manage.

  “So how are you holding up?” his dad asked.

  Shane toyed with Lindy’s fingers again. She loved it when he played with her fingers, and he again mentally willed her to move. But she remained still. “I’m fine.”

  “Which means that you haven’t slept much, eaten anything, or left her bedside for a moment,” Blake observed with a sympathetic smile.

  “Right,” Shane admitted.

  Blake rested his Bible on his left knee. “I tell you what, why don’t you go to the lounge and get some coffee, or better yet, go to the cafeteria and get yourself something to eat.”

  Shane looked at his father to see if he was actually serious. Seeing that Blake was, Shane panicked. “I can’t do that. What if she wakes up?”

  “I’ll be here,” Blake said. He patted his Bible with a simple, quiet authority. “Besides, it’ll give me some time alone to pray over her. Unless you’d like to stay, too.”

  “I—” Shane said, and then his voice faltered. At that moment he had never admired his father more, and Shane took a good hard look at him. His father had turned sixty-five that year. Lines creased his forehead and crow’s feet cornered his eyes and lips. But on Blake’s countenance rested an inner peace that Shane had never had. His father was indeed blessed. Shane stood. “I think I’ll take you up on your offer. I could use some food and freshening up.”

  “A good idea.”

  “I’m glad you’re here,” he told his father.

  His father caught Shane’s hand for a moment. Both men’s Jacobsen blues locked gazes. “I’m always here, son. Even when I forget what’s important, that doesn’t change how I feel. Always know that you are right here. Always right here.”

  Taking their linked hands, Blake touched his heart. Then he broke the connection and freed Shane’s hand. “Now go get yourself something to eat. Take your time. Let me have a little talk with the Man upstairs to see what he can do.”

  “I’ll have a little talk later with Him, too,” Shane said.

  Blake nodded and opened the Bible to the New Testament. “A very good idea. I’m sure He’d love to hear from you and there’s a chapel on the way back from the cafeteria if you don’t want to chance Lindy overhearing anything personal. Now go get some food in your body. The last thing you need would be to pass out from dehydration or malnutrition or whatever it is when Lindy finally wakes up.”

  “True.” Still standing, Shane stretched out some of his aching limbs before moving toward the door. He turned back to face his father one last time, the obvious written on his face.

  “I’ll send for you if she wakes up,” Blake said, answering Shane’s silent plea.

  “Thanks.”

  But even two hours later, when Blake finally left the ICU, Lindy remained unconscious. Shane glanced at his watch. Twelve-fifteen. He rested his elbows on his knees and put his head in his hands, weaving his fingers into the blond locks around his ears. He needed a haircut. Worse, he needed a shave. Even though his father would have waited while he shaved, Shane hadn’t wanted to be away from Lindy any longer. Another nurse came and went, smiling sympathetically as she checked the machine and performed the tests that were now routine.

  Shane glanced at his watch again. Thirty-eight minutes after twelve. Time certainly wasn’t flying. He dropped his head into his hands again and closed his eyes.

  Although not soundly, he slept.

  A slight rustling sound woke him, and not recognizing it, Shane frowned. Blinking, he raised his head. Lindy’s arm was moving, her fingers sliding across the bed sheet as if feeling its texture.

  Sleepiness vanished and Shane jumped to his feet and leaned over Lindy. Her eyelids fluttered softly, as if trying to open but instead finding the light too harsh. Her lips attempted a word.

  “Lindy!” Shane calmed his voice. “Hey, Lindy. I’m right here, my darling. Lindy, can you hear me?”

  Her eyelids fluttered open, and she blinked rapidly as she tried to adjust to her surroundings. “Shh…”

  She was calling his name, and he moved so that she could see him. His new body position also blocked some of the overhead light. “I’m right here, Lindy. I’m here.”

  Hope continued to fill him even though her eyelids fluttered closed again. A nurse came into the room.

  “She’s coming around,” Shane said.

  “Wonderful,” the nurse said, and Shane watched as the nurse did a quick exam before making a note of the time on her chart. “I’ll get her doctor.”

  “Shane.” The full word finally escaped from Lindy’s lips.

  “I’m here.” Now that the nurse was out of the way, Shane leaned over and stroked Lindy’s forehead. He took her hand in his. Her brown eyes opened fully and she stared up at him. “Hey, gorgeous. Did I ever tell you how beautiful your eyes are?”

  With her eyes wide she looked like a doe caught in the headlights, but to Shane Lindy had never been more beautiful. “What happened? Where am I? I hurt.”

  Shane pushed her hair back away from her face and stroked her forehead. “Hey, honey. I know you hurt. You’re at St. Louis University medical center. You were in a car accident and have been unconscious since last night.”

  “Oh,” Lindy said. She closed her eyes again for a brief moment. She opened them again, as if the thought had just registered. “A car accident?”

  “Yes,” he said. Lindy frowned, her brow furrowing into lines that immediately caused Shane worry. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  Her voice was one notch above a whisper. “I don’t remember.”

  At first Shane barely comprehended what she’d said. “You don’t remember? You don’t remember the accident?”

  “No.” Lindy tried to turn her head but winced instead. “My head hurts.”

  “Stay still,” Shane soothed. “You have internal bruising. That’s why you’ve been unconscious.”

  “The baby…”

  “The baby’s fine,” Shane answered her. A doctor entered the room. He smiled at Lindy. “Hello, Lindy, I’m Doctor Wheeler. It’s good to finally have you awake.” He moved over to Lindy’s bedside. “Now let me get a look at you.”

  Shane watched as the doctor checked Lindy’s chart and then talked to her so that he could assess her level of alertness. “She doesn’t remember the acc
ident,” Shane said.

  The doctor didn’t look too surprised. “That’s not unusual.” He smiled at Lindy. “What’s the last thing you remember?”

  “Driving to work,” Lindy said. She winced again, as if trying to recall the memory hurt.

  “But you know this guy here?”

  “He’s my husband.”

  “Well, that’s good because that’s what he’s been telling us. We wouldn’t want some strange man in here.” The doctor grinned at his joke. “Well, Lindy, it seems like you have a case of retrograde amnesia. This can be fairly common with the type of head trauma you incurred. In most cases, full memory returns, although it’d only be a guess to say how long yours might take.”

  The doctor then proceeded to ask Lindy a few more questions. Shane watched as she correctly identified the President of the United States, where she worked, where she’d gone to high school, and the name of her best friend. The questions confirmed that her memory was only missing the events of the day of the accident.

  The doctor made a notation on the chart. “You’ll be in the ICU for a few more hours and then we’ll transfer you to a med/surg floor for observation. The good news is that while you’ll still be monitored, the nurses won’t have to poke and prod at you as much. Now, if all goes well, we’ll be able to send you home in one to two days.”

  The moment the doctor left the room, Shane took Lindy’s hand in his like he’d been doing all day. The moment had finally arrived. He took a deep breath. “There’s something I need to tell you,” he said.

  Lindy looked at him expectantly.

  “I love you,” Shane said. Her mouth fell open slightly, but before she could speak the door to Lindy’s room opened. “Time to remove your catheter,” a nurse said, “and freshen you up.”

  THE NURSE’S INTERRUPTION was as welcome as it was unwelcome. Having a few less things stuck in her body was a good thing, but yet the nurse’s arrival prevented any further conversation with Shane.

  Shane loved her? Since when? The thought had been consuming her since she’d said the words and Lindy tried to concentrate on Shane’s earnest declaration as the hospital staff moved her to a gurney and then wheeled her toward the elevators.

  She wished her memory wasn’t so black. Shane loved her?

  He’d been telling her ever since she’d come around, but instinctively Lindy knew something wasn’t right.

  But what wasn’t right about it escaped her. She knew that the near death of loved ones often made people confess things that normally they wouldn’t confess. But Lindy remembered that she’d gone to bed saying she loved Shane, but that he hadn’t returned the words. Perhaps her accident had made him realize that he needed to say the words out loud. But concentration for too long hurt, and Lindy let the thought drift away as the hospital staff transferred her to a new bed on a med-surg floor.

  Shane was beside her immediately. “Hey,” he said. “Comfortable?”

  She smiled at him. He certainly did look loving, and she’d waited to see that look on his face for far too long. “As good as it gets.”

  “Can I adjust anything? Plump anything?”

  He was so sweet that despite her headache, Lindy felt better. “No.”

  He planted a kiss on her forehead. “You heard what I said, didn’t you?”

  “Every time you’ve said it,” Lindy said.

  “Good. You’ll be hearing it often.”

  “I’d like that,” Lindy said. She couldn’t help but smile at him. He did look so scruffy with his face unshaven and his shirtsleeves rolled up. Before she’d left the ICU, the nurse who had helped her to the bathroom had told Lindy that Shane had been there all night. He’d been so sweet to stay with her, so devoted.

  “My father visited earlier. He gave good advice. They pushed their trip back to be with me.”

  Lindy had enough of a memory to know how important that was to Shane. “I’m glad.”

  “I was so worried about you,” Shane said.

  “I know,” Lindy said, for somehow she did know. But at that moment, Grandpa Joe and Henrietta arrived and any further conversation with Shane had to wait.

  But by the time Grandpa Joe and Henrietta left, Lindy had tired. Shane kissed her good-night, told her that he loved her, and Lindy drifted off into a contented sleep knowing that should she awaken, he’d be right there in the chair beside her bed.

  “I’M TIRED of hospital food,” Lindy said the next afternoon as she spooned a bite of green gelatin into her mouth. At least lime-flavored was her favorite, and the chicken broth hadn’t been too tasteless.

  Shane grinned at her. “Well, if all goes well, you get to leave tomorrow. At home Marni will fix you all your favorites.”

  “Home,” Lindy said. She leaned back against her pillow. “That would be nice. And I’ve got to get back to work. I’ve missed so much.”

  Shane shook his head. “Work doesn’t matter. You’re to follow the doctor’s orders, and if he says to rest, that’s exactly what you are going to do. You have to let your bruising heal.”

  “Yes, boss,” Lindy said. “And maybe I’ll get my memory back.” Even though her head didn’t ache as much, her memory still hadn’t returned, even after Shane had described her day to her.

  “You had lunch with Tina, worked, and went home,” he had said. “The man broadsided you.” But even his explanation hadn’t jogged her missing memory into returning.

  But actually, she didn’t care. Shane loved her. He’d told her he’d realized it the day after their lovemaking, that was when he’d figured it out.

  “Lindy!”

  Lindy glanced at the doorway. Tina stood there, a big green potted plant in her hands. “I just got the message. I’ve been in Las Vegas. We had a layover and so a group of us stayed to gamble. How are you? Oh, dumb question. Lindy! I’ve been so worried about you! As soon as I got home I got the message and I—” Tina stopped midstream, as if realizing she was babbling.

  Lindy pushed the rolling bedside table away. “I’m better. Come and talk to me. Thanks for the plant.”

  “Yeah, well it’s tacky to come to these places empty-handed.”

  Tina’s nervousness showed and Lindy made a gesture. “You can put the plant over on the windowsill with all the others. I’ve got quite a collection. Everyone in Shane’s family sent something.”

  Tina suddenly seemed to notice Shane. She stared at him. “Hello, Shane,” Tina said as she put her plant down.

  “Tina,” Shane acknowledged.

  Feeling the evident tension between the two, Lindy gave Shane her best beguiling smile. “Shane, be a dear and see if the gift shop or cafeteria is open. I’d love some Ho Ho’s and as of today, no one said I can’t eat what I want.”

  Shane stared at her. “You want Ho Ho’s?”

  Lindy patted her stomach. “The baby does. He was deprived of chocolate while I was unconscious.”

  “Ho Ho’s,” Shane repeated. “If that’s really what you want.”

  “I do.”

  Shane came and kissed Lindy on the forehead. She noticed that he didn’t look too happy about being dismissed. “I’ll be right back,” he said.

  “Okay.” She watched him leave before she spoke to Tina. “There. I’ve sent him away so we can have a few minutes alone.”

  “You didn’t have to do that,” Tina said. She sat down in the chair Shane had vacated.

  Lindy sighed. “Yes, I did. You know, one of these days I hope the two of you can both get along.”

  Tina fingered the hem of her shorts. “We might, when he finally treats you right.”

  Lindy’s expression turned quizzical. “What do you mean, treats me right? He’s been so sweet to me through all this. Before his mother flew out West this afternoon, she came by and told me that Shane hasn’t left the hospital since the accident happened. She confirmed what the nurse told me.”

  Tina looked skeptical, and for a moment she refused to meet Lindy’s gaze. Finally she looked up. “Okay, maybe he does rea
lly care for you. Maybe it’s not just guilt.”

  Lindy’s headache began to return. Tina’s words hurt. Lindy rubbed her temples. “Of course Shane cares. He’s even told me he loves me. In fact, he won’t stop saying it.”

  “He loves you? But that’s impossible! I mean, I’ve heard of accidents bringing out the true feelings of people, but he was so insistent.”

  Lindy adjusted her blanket. “Tina, what are you talking about?”

  Tina leaned forward, her worry evident. “Lindy, don’t you remember? We met the day of the accident because you’d told Shane you loved him and he didn’t say the words back. You were quite distraught about the whole thing.”

  “Oh.” Lindy rubbed her temples again. The pain was sharpening. “Actually, I don’t remember even having lunch with you. My memory of everything between driving to work that day to waking up in the ICU is totally gone. The doctor called it retrograde amnesia. He says I’ll get my memory back, but he isn’t sure exactly when. No one is, except that it should be soon.”

  Tina stood and came over to Lindy’s bedside. “Lindy, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. And I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  Although her head still hurt, Lindy managed a smile. “I’m not upset. My head’s starting to hurt for some reason. That’s all.”

  “I should go get a nurse.”

  “No. My headaches come and go. I have bruising on my brain or something like that. It’s a term I can’t pronounce. Anyway, I’m still a little fuzzy about everything the doctor explained to me, but Shane can tell you. He’s got it down pat.”

  “So he’s really been here the whole time?” Lindy noticed a bit of awe in Tina’s voice.

  “All of it. I think my having the accident made him realize how much I really mean to him.”

  Tina managed a smile. “A knock on his head would have been easier than you getting one on yours.”

  “True. But he loves me.” Lindy’s head now really pounded. Maybe she should call the nurse. Something was wrong.

  Tina gripped Lindy’s hand. “I shouldn’t be a naysayer, not at a time like this. I’m sorry. If you’re sure he loves you, then I’ll be sure, too.”