by Anna Bell
‘I’m sorry,’ says the host, cutting him off. ‘We’ve got a lot of fans here and they all wanted to ask questions. I’m afraid we’ve got to keep it show specific, so unless you—’
‘Hey, man,’ says Evan Wilson, holding his hand in front of the host’s face. ‘I think I wanna hear what this guy’s got to say. Quartz might not have got his chance yet, but this guy could. What do all y’all think?’ he says to the audience in his thick Southern drawl.
There’s a faint ripple of applause and a few people shout out ‘Yeah!’, and the host reluctantly backs down and a steward helps Max onto the stage.
It’s a good job that the people behind me told me to sit down because I’m going weak at the knees seeing Max sheepishly walking across the stage in his costume. He hates dressing up and I can only imagine he’s feeling absolutely ridiculous.
I turn and look at the girls and none of them look surprised to see Max. Polly even gives me a thumbs-up, and I get the impression that this has something to do with our sudden daytrip to Comic Con.
‘Come on, man,’ says Evan, slapping him on the back when he gets to the front of the stage. He stands next to him and gives Max a reassuring nod.
‘Hello, everyone. Um, first up I should say to my wife that our daughter is with my mum, before she panics, as I’m supposed to be looking after her,’ he says, his voice getting shakier. He’s usually a good public speaker, but he’s so far out of his comfort zone and it shows. ‘I was just going to put my hand up and tell my wife that I was sorry and that I loved her. I hadn’t really planned a whole big speech.’
‘Tell it from the heart, man,’ says Evan, tapping his chest, causing his microphone to boom loudly round the room. ‘Tell us the story. We’re all rooting for you.’
‘OK,’ he says, letting out a deep breath and then giving one of his smiles that causes me to melt. ‘A few years ago, I was lucky enough to re-meet the most incredible woman and after we dated for a few months, I then felt like the luckiest man alive when she agreed to marry me. I didn’t exactly have a good track record with women beforehand and I kept thinking that I would somehow mess it up. But I didn’t and after we got married and had a baby, I almost patted myself on the back thinking I’d done so well. But then one night it went so horribly wrong. And I almost couldn’t live with knowing that if she found out, I’d have really hurt her, or worse I’d have disappointed her. But before she could find out, I experienced the ultimate plot twist life has ever dealt me – I lost my memory and I couldn’t remember us getting together or even our daughter.’
I rub my sweaty hands on my cape and look around the room. Everyone is transfixed by Max’s story, almost as much as they were when the cast of Dark Energy were talking.
‘And my wife, being the kind woman she is, very patiently taught me about my life and who I was, and who we were as a couple, and slowly, we fell back in love. Only when my memory came back, she found out the truth of my mistake and I lost her all over again.
‘I loved her before the memory loss, but what I feel for her now is so much more. It was like I’d underestimated how amazing she was.’
I gulp. I want to shout and tell him that I had, too – I had underestimated him as a partner and as a dad. But I don’t. Instead I’m rooted to my chair.
‘I came to Comic Con to show her that I love her. I even wrote her a list of all the favourite memories I have of her, which I would have told her about if the tables had been turned and she was the one who had lost her memory. It all sounds so cheesy now,’ he says and the crowd laugh.
‘I don’t even know what I’m doing up on this stage, but I guess I’ve got nothing left to lose. I want to shout it from the rooftops that I love her, and, well, I guess this is the best equivalent I’m going to get as she’s always loved these conventions. And there isn’t a better place to do so than right here. So Ellie, I know you’re out there somewhere…’
Helen cheers loudly and everyone turns to look round at me.
The people behind me suddenly start pushing for me to stand up and I shakily get to my feet.
Max spots me and he visibly relaxes; he holds my gaze and stares straight at me.
‘I love you, Ellie, more than you could possibly know.’
The audience snap their head back to me, waiting in anticipation for my reply. But before I can even open my mouth, an almighty scream sounds through the air and I turn around to see Anneka double over in pain and gripping the back of the seat in front of her.
‘I’m. So. Sorry,’ she says.
‘Shit, Anneka, are you OK?’ I say, sitting back down next to her.
‘I don’t think they’re Braxton Hicks,’ says Helen, looking alarmed.
One of the stewards rushes over and starts speaking into their walkie-talkie and we manage to get Anneka out of our row. I scan for Max, but the host has seized the opportunity to regain control and is now thanking the guests, with the audience giving them a very noisy standing ovation.
The steward starts to usher us through a fire exit and along a corridor and I desperately search for Max. It’s then I spot him running towards us, with Robin, Batgirl and Catwoman in his wake. I do a double take before I recognise them as Owen, Rach and Gaby.
Max looks at me, like he’s about to swoop me up into his arms. ‘No time for that now. Anneka’s in labour,’ I shout, and his face changes.
‘Shit, is that even safe?’ he says.
‘She’s just hit the thirty-seven week mark, so hopefully it’ll be OK,’ I say, beckoning for them to follow us into the corridor. Gaby surges forward to take Polly’s place supporting Anneka.
‘I’m Ellie’s friend, I’m a GP. How long have you been having contractions?’
‘I guess since last night.’
‘Anneka,’ Helen shouts.
‘But my waters haven’t broken or anything. This isn’t real labour.’
‘Waters don’t always break at the start,’ says Gaby. She sits her down and takes her pulse, whilst there’s still more furious walkie-talkie action from the steward. ‘You’re in labour.’
‘No, I’m not. I’m not due to have my C-section for another two weeks.’
‘You realise that the baby doesn’t know that, right?’ says Gaby. ‘Let’s time this and see when your next one is.’
‘Whoa, that baby’s not coming right here, right now, is it?’ says Evan Wilson, walking over to us.
I’m in actual shock. Evan Wilson is here. Max hangs up the phone call he’s on, and he walks over and greets Evan like a long-lost pal.
‘I got hold of Anneka’s George,’ says Max. ‘He’s playing golf in Richmond, so he’s going to meet us at the hospital as he said we’ll get there first; apparently we’re not far away’
‘No, we’re not,’ says Anneka, ‘that’s the only reason that he let me come up here.’
‘Have you got the driver’s number? He can come and get us,’ says Polly.
‘He’s not due back for hours,’ says Anneka. ‘Goodness knows where he’ll be.’
‘You need a ride?’ says Evan. ‘I was just heading out. I’ve got a car outside. I can drop you at a hospital. Come on,’ he beckons.
Before we get a chance, Anneka has another contraction, and poor Owen, who just happened to be closest, takes the brunt of it as she grabs hold of him.
‘Yeah, we definitely need to leave now,’ says Gaby, as Anneka recovers.
Evan signals for a suited man to follow him and we’re off.
Rach grabs hold of my arm, pointing at Evan. ‘Ohmigodohmigodohmigod,’ she babbles incomprehensibly.
‘I know,’ I say, as we all race after him.
We’re halfway out of the building when Anneka stops walking. ‘I can’t go to hospital,’ she says in a panic. ‘What if they make me give birth naturally?’
‘You mean, like women having been doing since the dawn of time?’ says Helen.
‘Don’t think about that,’ says Gaby. ‘The doctors will help you decide what’s best for you and you
r baby. The most important thing right now is focusing on keeping you both safe, and giving birth in a conference centre surrounded by people dressed up as comic-book heroes isn’t really ideal.’
‘But you might get free tickets for Comic Con for life,’ says Rach, a goofy grin on her face.
‘Trust you to say that,’ says Gaby, rolling her eyes and laughing.
‘Let’s go,’ says Evan and there’s something about his strong confident voice that makes Anneka start walking again.
Max and Owen help support Anneka and we head out of an exit, finding ourselves at the back of the building.
‘Hang on. We won’t all be to fit in the car,’ I say, realising that, with the arrival of the Batman cast, there are now eight of us.
‘Sure we can,’ says Evan. ‘Y’all didn’t think I’d have one of your little British cars, did you?’
A Hummer limo appears as if on cue and stops in front of us.
‘Plenty of room for everyone,’ he says. The driver opens the door and our motley crew pile in.
It’s been such a rush with everything so far that Max and I haven’t even had a chance to speak yet, and any hope of talking to him discreetly in the limo is dashed when I find myself wedged between Polly and Rach.
‘Oh, here we go again,’ says Anneka. She squeezes one of Polly’s hands whilst she leans on Gaby, her body rippling with her contraction. After a minute she takes a deep breath and smiles sweetly.
‘See, I told you, nothing to worry about,’ she says.
‘Whoa, you’re one tough cookie,’ says Evan. ‘Do you know if it’s a boy or girl?’
‘We wanted it to be a surprise,’ she says.
‘Well, you know if you’re stuck for names, Evan is a nice solid one, or I guess Eva if it’s a girl, that works too.’
‘Or you could call her Persephone,’ says Rach. ‘That’s pretty cool, seeing as you nearly gave birth in the Dark Energy panel.’
We all keep chipping away with Comic Con-inspired names until the next contraction.
‘Right,’ says Gaby, looking at her phone. ‘The contractions are getting closer.’ She engages with the driver, enquiring how far we are from the hospital.
‘About a mile. Should take us about ten minutes in this traffic in this beast,’ the driver says through the intercom.
‘Shit, we could walk there quicker than that,’ says Max. ‘We could carry you, couldn’t we, Owen?’
‘You know you’re not actually Batman and Robin, don’t you?’ says Rach, laughing.
‘Besides, she’s probably got a few hours left yet,’ says Gaby. ‘Ten minutes is fine. I just wanted to get her there as quickly as possible so she could be comfortable.’
When we finally pull up outside the hospital, I don’t know who’s more relieved that she’s not given birth in the limo – Anneka or Evan’s driver.
‘Wait,’ I say, staring at the hospital that seems oddly familiar. ‘Is this where the Royals have their babies?’
‘If it’s good enough for a princess,’ she says with a wink before she leans over and gives Evan a big hug and thanks him for the lift.
‘Don’t forget to @ me on Twitter so that I can see the little one,’ he says.
We all thank him profusely as we slide out of the car onto the pavement.
‘Good luck, you two,’ he says, giving Max and me a fist bump as we pass.
‘Did that just happen?’ I say, stunned. ‘Evan Wilson just fist bumped me.’
‘And now this day will be remembered for that forever, my grand gesture speech forgotten about.’
‘Oh, about that—’ I say, but Owen bounds up to us.
‘Right, Batman,’ he says, hands on his hips. ‘Let’s get this woman to a doctor.’
‘To the maternity ward,’ says Max, giving me a look of longing before he turns and helps Anneka up the hospital stairs where they buzz the intercom.
When the doors open, Max and Owen help her down the corridor, with Gaby following close behind, and as they pass through, there just so happens to be a blast of heat that blows through their capes, lifting the back of them up, as if they were real superheroes, making us laugh.
The rest of us hang back, wanting to give them some space. I find myself next to Rach.
‘So, what did you think of Max’s speech?’ she says, her eyebrow raised.
‘Did you know he was going to do it?’ I ask her.
‘I don’t think he knew he was going to do it,’ she laughs. ‘He told me that he’d roped the girls into bringing you, and Gaby and I thought it would be fun to tag along.’
‘I’m glad you did. You and Gaby seem more relaxed today – does that mean that you’ve sorted things out?’
Rach breaks out into a big smile.
‘Yeah, I took your advice and talked to Gaby, again. She told me that she was scared of everything too, even if she had all the answers. She said it’s completely normal to feel overwhelmed.’
‘And you’re not alone in that.’
‘I know. We’ve decided that from now on we’re going to do the whole thing together, like a team. So,’ she says, making an excited face, ‘Gaby is going to use her eggs for the IVF treatment and then I’m going to have them implanted. We’ll be both involved in the pregnancy then.’
‘That’s great news,’ I say, rubbing her arm.
‘Yeah, except,’ she says, not looking quite so sure, ‘seeing what Anneka’s going through, maybe I’ll see if Gaby will want to swap roles.’
And we both laugh.
Helen turns around to ask what we’re laughing about when a man rushes past us dressed in chinos and a polo shirt, and we can’t help but follow him with our eyes, our jaws dropping.
He looks like he could be Hugh Jackman’s older brother. He’s quite possibly one of the most handsome men I’ve seen in real life.
‘Annie, Annie,’ he shouts a little breathlessly and Anneka beams up at him, holding her arms out to him.
‘It’s time, darling, I’m so pleased you made it.’
Helen, Polly and I all stare at him open mouthed.
‘That’s George?’ I say.
‘Bloody hell. I thought she was dating some kind of coffin dodger by the way she talked about him,’ says Helen.
‘I know, and look at the way he’s squeezing her hand and she’s stroking his cheek. It’s so cute,’ says Polly, beaming.
We watch them whisper to each other before an orderly comes over and sits her in a wheelchair.
Anneka points over to us and George nods and makes a quick phone call before he walks over smiling.
‘It’s so lovely to meet you all, finally, and I wish I could get to know you better, but it looks like I’m going to be a bit busy,’ he says with a huge grin. ‘Listen, I’ve called the car you had this morning and he’s coming to collect you. Plus, the driver I had is waiting outside, so use both cars, go back to the convention centre or wherever you want to go. Quite frankly, they’re both paid for until this evening, so fill your boots. I’m going to have a baby!’ he says, his face lighting up.
‘Congratulations,’ we all chant.
‘Now go and be with your wife,’ I say.
‘I shall,’ he says before he stops briefly to thank Gaby as she walks back towards us.
‘Is that the husband?’ asks Owen as him and Max walk up to us.
‘Uh-huh, he’s a divorce lawyer.’
‘I wonder if he breaks up the marriages beforehand,’ says Helen, fanning her cheeks.
Max gives me an uneasy look at the mention of the word ‘divorce’.
‘Do you mind if we have a quick word?’ he asks, pulling me to one side. ‘Perhaps we could go outside?’
I nod and we walk out onto the steps. I’m pretty sure we’re lowering the tone somewhat dressed as Wonder Woman and Batman.
‘Your costume,’ I say, looking him up and down in wonder.
‘It’s very fetching, don’t you think? Especially with my pecs,’ says Max, looking down at it.
‘You do know that I know they’re padded, right?’
‘I still feel a bit proud of them,’ he says and we laugh.
‘I can’t believe you dressed up. You hate dressing up.’
‘But you don’t. One of the many things I learnt through the memory loss is that I haven’t done enough of what you wanted to do over the years.’
He’s looking at me with such intensity that my heart starts to race.
‘What was on your list of memories?’
‘Do you really want to hear them? Wasn’t that speech enough?’ he says, screwing his face up.
‘It might have been, but humour me with the list too.’
He smiles and pulls out a folded list from his utility belt.
‘Number one,’ he says, clearing his throat. ‘The weekend we spent watching Game of Thrones in bed.’
‘I don’t think we watched a whole episode through.’
‘I know,’ says Max, ‘but we had a very memorable time.
‘Number two – the mini-break we had in Seville, finding that food market where we spent the whole day eating different tapas and drinking that great beer.
‘Number three – the time we went paddle boarding on the coast.’
‘It took me forever to get good at it,’ I say, folding my arms.
‘I know, but for once I enjoyed being able to help you with something,’ he says with a smile.
‘Number four – the moment the midwife handed me Sasha and then I handed her to you. What you went through, it was incredible; you were incredible.’
He coughs a little loudly and I’m sure I can see a little tear in his eye.
‘Number five – the day we originally went to Comic Con.’
‘Seriously? Comic Con? You looked scared out of your mind. You didn’t dress up. You were uncomfortable for the entire day.’
He shrugs.
‘I felt uncomfortable because I knew when I got there I should have made the effort and dressed up, but that day when you were completely in your element, that was the moment that I knew that I’d fallen in love with you and that you were the woman I was going to marry.’
‘You did?’
He nods.
‘You know,’ I say, ‘one of the things I’ve learnt from this whole situation of you losing your memory is that we spend too much time not only taking our memories for granted, but also lazily living on our memories so that we don’t have to put the effort in.