by Mike Ryan
“Talk? That’s it? Just talk?
“Well, I guess if you’re hungry you can help yourself to the fridge.”
“Are you always this difficult?”
“Mostly.”
Cain grabbed the remote off the coffee table and turned the TV on. He flipped channels until he came across a documentary on black ops on The History Channel. He intently watched the program for the next half hour as Heather tended to her nails in boredom. Once the show ended Cain sat up and looked at Heather.
“Oh, is it over now?” she sarcastically asked.
“Oh, you still here?” he replied as he took a sip of water. “So why do you do this?”
“Why not? I like to have sex and I get paid a lot of money.”
“Seems like you could be doing something more…”
“Dignified, maybe? More important? Like solving the world‘s hunger problem or finding a cure for cancer or something?” Heather interrupted.
“Maybe. You’re an attractive girl. I’m sure there’s a lot of other opportunities out there for you.”
“Oh, there is. I also work at a strip club.”
“You seem pretty proud of it.”
“Hey, it pays the bills.”
“So what’re you gonna do when the looks fade, and the dance moves are gone?” Cain wondered.
“By that time, hopefully I’ll have enough money saved where I won’t have to worry about it.”
“Is that what you’re doing with all your money, saving it?”
“Is it really any of your business?” she asked.
“You’re in my apartment, sitting on my couch, and watching my TV. If you don’t like the questions you can leave anytime you want.”
“Fine. My goal is to save up a couple hundred thousand and then leave this city. Move to the country somewhere, buy a nice little house, and start my own business,” she revealed to him.
“That’s a lot of money.”
“It is. I’ve still got a few years to go.”
“What kind of business?”
“I don’t know. Maybe something that involves the marketing degree I have.”
“How does a girl with a marketing degree wind up here?”
“A lot of debt.”
“Your parents approve of what you’re doing?” Cain wondered.
“My mother died when I was five. My father, if you can call him that, raised me until I was about seventeen. Then I left on my own.”
“Didn’t get along?”
“I was tired of the verbal assaults and physical beatings,” Heather replied.
“Sorry to hear that.”
“Yeah. Met a guy who wanted me to get into that kind of life, and like a sucker I wanted to please him. Then a few months later he ran off with another dancer. There I was, stuck.”
“Still could’ve left,” Cain said.
“Guess I didn’t know what else to do. Should’ve went with my sister.”
“You have a sister?”
“Four years younger than me. She went to school to become a teacher. Haven’t talked to her in a few years. She disapproved of my lifestyle,” she said.
“Where’s she at now?”
“I don’t even know.”
Cain sat there looking at Heather, nodding, with an approving look on his face. He liked that there seemed to be some substance to her and that she wasn’t just a pretty face with no ambition.
“How bout a drink?” Cain offered.
“Sure.”
Heather watched Cain head to the kitchen, actually admiring him now that he didn’t just jump all over her the moment he laid eyes to her. She put up the front with most men she came in contact with and pretended to love everything about what she did. She found most men offered extra tips when they thought she was really into them and all about the sex.
“Sorry, don’t have anything stronger,” Cain said with a wide grin, handing her a bottle of water.
Heather smiled, “that’ll be fine.”
Cain walked back around the coffee table, sitting on the couch across from Heather. He sat up at attention, eager to learn more of his companion.
“So what about you? How’d you end up working for Sanders?”
“I was in the military. I was on the verge of leaving and he offered me a job,” Cain said.
“So you like it?”
“Well, I just started.”
Cain sat back and stared at the ceiling, suddenly not feeling well. He wiped sweat off his forehead with his arm.
“Are you OK? You don’t look so good,” Heather asked.
Cain put his right hand up to his ear, hearing a loud ringing sound. He squinted his eyes as he couldn’t see with the bright lights shining in his eyes. A few seconds later his eyes closed entirely to block out the color streaks. Heather rushed over to the phone and called Sanders, as she was instructed to do in case there was an emergency with any of his guys. Sanders informed her when he first hired her that if things ever got out of hand in any manner that he was the first one to be called, and he would handle it, with no police or medical personnel involved.
“Hey, something’s wrong with your guy here,” she hurriedly screamed.
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know. He’s not looking good,” she replied, looking over at him.
“I’ll have someone there in ten minutes.”
“Oh my God,” she yelled as she watched him fall on his side.
“What now?”
“I think he just passed out.”
Sanders hung up and had a doctor rush over to Cain’s apartment. Heather ran over to Cain, who was now laying on his side on the couch. She lifted his eyelids open and checked his pulse. She really wasn’t sure what she was doing but it seemed like a good thing to do. She stood up and put her hands on her head, hastily trying to think of what else she could do. Two minutes later, Cain opened his eyes, not totally sure what was going on. He was breathing heavy, and quickly batting his eyelids, trying to get his wits about him.
“Are you OK?” Heather asked.
Cain slowly sat up and looked at her, unsure what had happened. Heather grabbed his arm to try and comfort him.
“Do you need anything?” Heather asked again.
A dazed and confused look appeared in Cain’s eye, still hazy from passing out. He had no idea who the beautiful woman sitting next to him was.
“Who are you?” he asked.
“You don’t remember?”
“No,” he replied with a shake of his head. “What happened?”
“I don’t know. We were just talking and all of a sudden you just looked really bad and then slumped over.”
“I passed out?”
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
“Maybe two or three minutes. I called Sanders. He’s sending a doctor here to check you out.”
“Who’s Sanders?”
“Umm…your boss,” she responded, unsure of what else to say.
“Oh. Who are you again?”
“I’m Heather.”
“Do I know you?”
“We just met earlier,” she told him.
Cain leaned forward and attempted to get up but was met with resistance from Heather, who gently held him back.
“Just sit back until the doctor gets here,” Heather said. “What do you need? I’ll get it for you.”
“I’m thirsty.”
Heather grabbed the bottle of water from the coffee table and helped Cain take a sip of it. She laid him back down on the couch and kneeled down on the floor next to him, watching over him. A few minutes later they heard keys rattling in the doorknob, a second later the door opening to reveal Sanders, Lawson, and the doctor. The trio rushed into the apartment and immediately checked on Cain’s condition.
“I said give him a good time, Heather, I didn’t say kill him,” Sanders remarked.
Heather rolled her eyes, ignoring the comment, and watched as the doctor looked at Cain. Several minutes later the do
ctor got up and approached Heather, Sanders, and Lawson, who were standing in a circle.
“He had a seizure,” the doctor noted as he turned to look at his patient.
“I thought the drugs were supposed to stop that,” Sanders said.
“For most patients, the drugs will control them, but it doesn’t mean he can’t have additional seizures. The drugs also have side effects, including dizziness, nausea, vision problems, and memory issues.”
“So is this gonna be a frequent problem?” Sanders asked.
“He might have a few a year or he might never have another one. No one can say with any amount of certainty. Every body reacts differently.”
“Just great. Every time this guy’s out in the field we’re gonna be wondering if he collapses and falls off a cliff somewhere.”
“What do we do from here?” Lawson wondered.
“Well, I’d give him a couple of days to rest and recover. No strenuous activity,” the doctor replied. “After that he should be able to resume normal activities.”
“What about his memory, Dr.?” Heather asked.
“What about it?”
“Well when he woke up he didn’t know who I was or recognize Mr. Sanders name.”
“Oh, well, that’s quite normal. Often when someone has a seizure their mind is still cloudy and can’t recognize names or faces. It usually wears off within thirty minutes or an hour and he should be able to recognize anyone he knew before.”
They talked amongst themselves for the next few minutes trying to decide how to proceed. They didn’t feel comfortable leaving Cain by himself in case anything else happened.
“I guess I’ll stay here with him,” Lawson volunteered.
“No, you’re too valuable to stay here. You’ve got work to do and ten other agents to take care of. I can’t have you sitting here being a nurse maid,” Sanders responded.
“Who do you have in mind then? Who else is aware of his problem and will be able to stay with him?”
Sanders walked over to the window, looked down at the traffic below, and thought about who he could get.
“I could stay with him,” Heather blurted out.
Sanders raised his eyebrows, surprised at the stripper’s request. He turned around and locked eyes with Lawson, also shocked at Heather’s offer. Heather knew that as soon as she said it they would look at her strangely and wonder why she was making the offer. She wasn’t quite sure herself why, except it just seemed like the right thing to do. Sanders could tell by Lawson’s face that she was not in favor of it. He then walked over to Heather to discuss it further with her.
“Why would you wanna do that?” he asked.
“He seems like a nice guy.”
“Strange coming from you.”
“Sir, I really don’t think this is a good idea,” Lawson stated.
“Why not? Someone’s gotta look after him. Who else do you have in mind?”
“We can get someone at the office to swing by. One of the secretaries maybe.”
“And who’s gonna take their spot? There’s a lot of important work to be done. I’m not sure that’s the best and most productive use of time.”
“What does she know about taking care of someone? Plus, we can’t afford to have any information slip out by accident.”
“What of your other job?” Sanders asked.
“I’ll take a few days off,” Heather replied.
“Everything here is top secret information, you understand that? Any slips about his condition to the wrong people could mean his death. Or yours. Nothing leaves this room.”
“Who am I gonna tell?” Heather responded, incredulous that he suspected her of revealing anything. “I don’t even know anything other than you work for the government.”
“I’m just making sure we understand each other.”
“We do. Nobody will know of his condition.”
“I can’t reimburse you for your time, other than what you were already here for.”
“I’m not asking for anything.”
Sanders took a step back and paced back and forth for a few moments, deliberating and considering his options. It didn’t take long for him to come to a conclusion.
“Well, I don’t think we have very many alternatives to Ms. Lloyd’s request. I think we should be appreciative of her being a good samaritan. So considering that, I think it’d be in our best interest to accept her kind offer,” Sanders noted.
Lawson slightly opened her mouth, ready to continue fighting against the notion, but she thought better of it. She rarely went against Sanders’ wishes, and when she did, it was something she really believed in fighting for. She wasn’t sure this was a big enough deal to go against him. She sighed in disapproval, looking her up and down in her revealing outfit, but didn’t fight the directive any further. Although she disagreed with his decision, she understood.
“Well, we have other matters to attend to, so we’re gonna get going,” Sanders said. “Anything happens, anything you need, you call me.”
“I will,” Heather said.
As the trio of officials got to the door, Sanders stopped and looked back at Heather.
“Remember what the doctor said, no strenuous activity,” Sanders sarcastically remarked
“I heard,” she shot back.
She walked back over to the couch and placed her hand on Cain’s forehead. She then helped him take another sip of water and then sat on the sofa across from him. About a half hour later the fuzziness began wearing off and he finally recognized the woman in his apartment. He started to ask more questions but Heather wanted to make sure he just took it easy the rest of the night. Cain continued to lay there, lethargic for the next couple of hours, as the two of them watched TV. Heather watched him fall asleep as the midnight hour approached. She went into the bedroom, grabbed a blanket off the bed, and placed it over him. She fell asleep on the sofa a short time later.
Cain woke up the next morning much more alert, the cloudiness seemingly gone from his head. He actually felt pretty good as he laid there looking up at the ceiling, waiting for the sleepiness to wear off. Something smelled pretty good, encouraging him to finally get up. He walked over to the kitchen to find Heather making breakfast.
“So you can cook too, huh?” Cain asked, smiling.
“I’ve been known to cook a few things,” she smiled back. “It’s only eggs and bacon. It’s kinda hard to mess that up.”
“I’ve known people that could mess up peanut butter and jelly.”
Heather let out a good laugh, “I’m sure you have.”
“Smells really good,” Cain admitted.
“Sit down. It’s almost ready.”
Cain sat down at the table and noticed that Heather seemed to be wearing a man’s shirt. Most likely his. He couldn’t complain too much since it did look pretty good on her. It only covered a third of her thigh, but he certainly had no qualms about looking at her nicely tanned legs.
“Nice shirt,” he blurted out. “Something looks familiar about it.”
“Oh. Yeah. Sorry about that,” she sheepishly smiled. “I wasn’t planning on being here more than a few hours last night so I had no other clothes. Hope you don’t mind.”
“No, I don’t mind. Can’t say it doesn’t look good on you. Probably looks better on you than me,” he teased.
A wide smile overtook her face as she was pleased to hear him say something that sounded like he was attracted to her. She finished making breakfast and brought their plates over to the table.
“So how are you feeling?” Heather wondered.
“Pretty good right now.”
“You gave me a pretty good scare last night.”
“Probably gave myself a bigger one,” he laughed.
“So do you have many of them?”
“That was the first one. Hopefully it’s the last.”
“Do you know why it happened?”
“I was shot in the head,” Cain bluntly explained.
“Oh my God
.”
“Yeah.”
“What happened?” she asked, putting her hand on his arm.
“I can’t really say. I don’t remember anything about it. One day I just woke up in an army hospital with a bandage on my head and people telling me how lucky I was to survive.”
“I can’t even imagine what it was like. You seem like everything is fine though.”
“For the most part it is. I feel healthy. My memory is gone though. I can’t remember anything about my past. Names, faces, dates…it’s all gone. I can’t tell you anything about where I’ve been or what I’ve done before I woke up in that hospital,” Cain explained, his eyes swelling up with tears. He wiped his eyes with the sleeves of his shirt to prevent him from crying.
“That’s terrible. I feel so bad for you,” Heather gushed. “Isn’t there anything you can do to get your memory back?”
“Not that I know of. They say it might just come back one day out of the blue,” he replied. “Or it might never come back again.”
“Can’t they bring in a family member or something? I’ve heard seeing a familiar face sometimes jogs people’s memories.”
“There isn’t anybody.”
“Nobody?”
“Well, I saw my file and it seems I’m all there is. Parents were killed and I have no other family to speak of.”
“I’m so sorry,” Heather expressed, rubbing his arm.
He gave her a warm smile that seemed to thank her for the comforting wishes without him saying a word. They continued talking as they ate, Heather feeling more connected to the man sitting next to her with each sentence he spoke. Even though she proclaimed she liked what she did, and the money was too good to pass up, she really yearned for a serious relationship. It was something she figured she’d never find in her line of work, at least not one really worth having. She’d had a few boyfriends, but she knew they were mostly interested in her for the sex, and they thought it was cool to have a stripper for a girlfriend. Not hardly the type of guys you brought home to mother. She could tell Cain was a different type of guy. One with standards and morals. That was obvious since he didn’t ravage her the night before.