by Lyn, K.
Leon closed his eyes and when he opened them Krissy noticed the tear on his cheek. Was that for effect? She wasn’t buying it.
“What is it now?”
“Krissy, I have been living for my father and for my father’s honor.”
Rolling her eyes in disbelief, Krissy tapped her foot on the floor. As Leon recounted the story of his father, the kindness in Krissy surfaced. She lowered her arms and began to feel bad for him, but a sad story did not justify what he had done to her.
“That’s too bad, Leon, but what does that have to do with me?”
“Don’t you see? For years I saw the hurt and betrayal in my father’s eyes. I still see it. I had to do something, somehow buy back his respect.”
Krissy slowly walked toward him and sat down beside him. “Do you know how crazy that is? Do you hear yourself? There is no way you can do that. Your father doesn’t care any longer. Why should you?”
“But he did care at one time and that’s what I witnessed, what I remember…his caring, his shame.”
“How is any of this about me, Leon?”
“You are I are not married, Krissy. I tricked you into coming here with me.”
“Drugged me, you mean, don’t you?”
In a whispered voice, he answered, “Yes.”
Krissy slapped him hard across the face. “You bastard. I thought I was having a heart attack that time when I was probably going into withdrawal.”
Leon looked straight ahead, no longer fearing what might come to him during his admission to Krissy.
“You were in no real danger, Krissy. The anti-seizure medication was at a higher dose to make you sleep. I knew your memory would return sooner or later.”
“And then what, huh? What was your grand plan then, doctor?”
“By then we would have been long gone. I would have convinced the government that I had invented the perfect combination to induce forgetfulness and that it was theirs to do with as they pleased…for the right amount of money, that is.”
“And what was your plan when they discovered the truth…that your worldly contribution did not prevent memory return?”
“I don’t know, Krissy.”
“Well, I know. You wanted revenge for how your father was treated. You didn’t want to make things right or clear his name. Hell, I know revenge when I see it.”
Silence filled the room as Leon tried to adjust to the truth. He had been living a lie for years and now here was the truth staring him in the face. Krissy was right. He wanted revenge for his father.
“Is your father happy? Are your parents still together?”
“Yes. They have always been happy.”
“Then let it go, Leon. I want to go home…to the States.” Krissy was tired but she needed to know one more thing. “Why me, Leon?”
“It was time and you were there. The situation was too perfect to pass up. The pieces all fell into place perfectly.”
Krissy got up, opened the bottle of champagne and drank it straight from the bottle. “This won’t kill me, will it?”
“Slow it down, Krissy.”
“Aw, come on, doc. You’re killing my buzz.”
“Set it down, Krissy.”
With one last big gulp, Krissy set the bottle down and flopped down on the bed.
“Krissy, you can’t come off of the medication cold turkey.”
“Or can I?”
“No, you cannot, but I can make it so you won’t sleep again like before. I promise. You will notice very little change as the substance leaves your system.”
“You would know. You are the ‘water down’ expert,” she snapped.
Following the weaker dose, Krissy felt a little drowsy but was able to stay awake.
“So, what was your plan for me when we left here? You and I are not married. You said so yourself. Were you planning on dropping me off on some deserted roadside somewhere?”
Leon lay down on the bed beside her. “No. I really didn’t have a plan for…after. But the time I have spent with you…”
“You love me, right? That’s crap!”
“I do like you…a lot, Krissy, and who knows…maybe one day…” His voice trailed off. He had no right to expect anything from this woman but hatred. Hell, she could turn him in, sue him for malpractice, and do any number of other things, and he would have damned well asked for it.
Krissy said nothing as she stared up at the ceiling, silently counting the number of revelations the gold trimmed ceiling fan made as it turned slowly. This entire ordeal seemed unreal. If only she had not had the accident. She and the doctor could have started fresh. It would have been a romance like no other. They would have married, had beautiful and smart children, and lived happily ever after. She would have written a book about their romance and their perfect life together. Damn him! It could have been perfect.
“Krissy?”
“Hmm?”
“What do you want?”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you want to start fresh? I know I have no right to ask, but I am asking. I’m not a bad person, Krissy. Sure, I did some awful things for reasons I cannot possibly justify, and I definitely don’t deserve you.”
Krissy turned onto her side. “No, you don’t deserve me. But who decides?”
“Who decides what?”
“Who decides who deserves what or who?”
“Krissy, I think that’s the medication talking.”
“No, this is Krissy talking,” she whispered in an eerie voice.
Leon laughed uneasily. Was this some kind of payback?
“Why don’t we wait and see. Try it like real people…from the start… dining out, snuggling at home, and moving on to you staying over.”
It was when she smiled that Leon truly heard the sincerity in her words. “Let’s go home, Krissy.”
“What are you going to do with the ‘stuff’? If you get caught attempting to leave the country with it, you’ll never get out of here. I’m surprised you got into the country with it, but I don’t even want to know how you did it.”
“I’ll flush it.” He gathered it all and poured it into the toilet, flushed it several times, and then they were gone.
At the airport, Leon looked around suspiciously, even at Krissy. Not all of the medication had been flushed. Two vials of the solution were carefully tucked into his briefcase. It was his creation and he planned to patent it. It had promise and a valuable place in modern medicine. Some patients could not tolerate the stronger anti-seizure meds and this diluted dose had a market just waiting for it.
Krissy whispered, “Are you okay? Why so nervous?”
“Just anxious to go home, I guess.”
Leon took a deep breath and was pretty certain that he had not exhaled completely until they were safely in the air. He had paid a fortune for the first class seats, as they were the only ones left on the overbooked flight, since the original tickets had been for a one way flight. Plans had changed so quickly that Leon was beginning to understand how Krissy felt.
“Leon, where are you? I’ve been trying to get your attention for a while now.”
“Oh, sorry. Just tired, I guess.”
His smile was unconvincing and Krissy feared the plane was not headed for home as he had promised. He could have worked out some kind of plan with the airline to feed her a lie.
“Where is this plane going, Leon?”
“Shh, keep it down. We are on our way to the States. Ask anyone.”
Krissy excused herself, claiming to need to use the bathroom, and walked to the back of the plane. “Excuse me,” she said to the flight attendant.
“Yes?”
“Um, what time will we be landing at JFK?” That would clear it up. If they weren’t going to New York, the attendant would tell her exactly where they were going. Krissy feared that if she asked straight out where they were going, the attendant may think her insane.
“You must be mistaken. Portland, Oregon is our destination… our only destinati
on.”
“Oh, that’s right.” With a laugh, Krissy added, “I travel so much, I don’t know where I am half the time. You must know how that feels.”
The woman smiled but eyed her suspiciously, wondering if she had somehow snuck onto the plane. She followed her to her seat and asked to check their tickets.
“Certainly,” Leon said, and pulled out the tickets.
“Thank you, sir.”
Krissy took her seat and Leon took her hand. He knew what she had done. “You will never trust me, will you?”
“No, Leon. I guess there are times when we cannot start over.”
Krissy never let go of his hand until they had landed in Portland. They said very little as they claimed their bags and while Leon drove Krissy to her apartment.
Dr. Chen’s absence from the hospital was barely noticed. When asked about his vacation, he claimed a long awaited trip to Canada to visit his grandparents. It was a lie, but it had always been a dream of his to see them. In his mind and in the recounts he told of his vacation, he and his grandparents had done everything together, making up for years apart, and after telling the same storyline several times, Leon began to believe his own lies. It was when Krissy returned to the hospital after ‘recuperating’ from her head injury that he began to worry. He immediately sought her out and took her aside.
“We need to get our stories straight.”
“I had a wreck. I’m recovered, or recovering. That’s my story. Wherever you have been is your problem… not mine.”
“You’re serious?”
“Yes, Leon. Stop being paranoid and get on with your life.” She walked away, leaving him standing alone.
As Leon watched her walk away, he wondered if he would ever have a future free of what he called his demons.
~K. Lyn~