Defiant Heart (28 page)

“What about her memory?”

The doctor sat back and crossed his legs. “That’s the big unknown. This is one of the more severe cases I’ve encountered, though I’ve read of others like it.” He shrugged. “To tell you the truth, she may never get back the time she lost.”

“But she might.”

The doctor nodded. “I think there’s a chance she’ll recover some of it. It could come back in stages. A bit here, a bit there. Or, it could come back all at once. That’s less likely, I think, but it could happen.”

“Will she remember what happened to her the night she was hurt?”

“Possibly, though that’s even more of an unknown. Some research suggests that memory loss is, in part, a defense mechanism. Some events may be so painful or traumatic the mind simply represses them. That might be part of what’s going on here.”

“Is there anything we should or shouldn’t do? Could it be harmful for Mary to suddenly remember things?”

The doctor shook his head. “No. There’s no reason to hold back information. If her mind is suppressing memories in order to protect her, it’ll continue to do so until it’s time for her to remember. No reason, however, not to give it that opportunity. The best thing that can be done for Mary is simply for her to immerse herself in her old life. Let her experience things that might stimulate a recollection. A familiar event, a face, even a word can have a triggering effect. Particularly anything that sparks an emotional reaction. See that she gets back to her old routines. Let nature run its course.”

Dahlgren took a sip of coffee. There were seven weeks to go before the election. Though he’d been initially concerned when the doctors had told him Mary had lost the memory of an entire year of her life, he’d quickly recognized the pragmatic silver lining in that cloud. Most importantly, she had no memory of Jon Meyer. As long as that memory didn’t return, her relationship with the boy, whatever it was, couldn’t adversely impact Dahlgren’s chances of being elected. As an added bonus, the tension that had developed between Dahlgren and his daughter was gone. He certainly didn’t mind having that clean slate, and he wasn’t particularly interested in stimulating a recollection that would dredge up those painful moments.

“I understand,” he told the doctor.

#

Penny finished buttoning Mary’s sweater, stepped back, and appraised her.

“You look like a model,” she said, and Mary blushed.

“Oh, Penny, I can’t believe I won’t be seeing you. I mean, I’m happy to be going home, but I’ll miss you terribly.”

“Well, honey,” Penny said, gathering up the rest of Mary’s things and slipping them into the case the girl’s father had brought with him that morning, “we’re not going to be strangers. We’re going to keep in touch, and I’m going to come visit you in Jackson as soon as I get some time off. In the meantime, you have some catching up to do with your father. And something tells me there are a few folks back home who are anxious to see you.”

Mary gave an acknowledging nod.

“I’ll bet there’s a special guy, too, isn’t there?” Mary had never mentioned any boys, and Penny had been loathe to ask previously because she didn’t want Mary to dwell on her circumstances. But she felt certain a girl as smart and pretty as Mary had to have a beau.

Mary’s brow knitted, and she suddenly looked disoriented. Penny reached out a steadying hand. Mary was still vulnerable to moments of confusion.

“Mary?”

Mary looked away for a moment. Then she looked back, and, as she did, the lines on her forehead smoothed and her brilliant smile returned. “Yes?”

“Are you ok?”

Mary nodded. “Do you promise to come to Jackson?”

Penny put two hands on Mary’s shoulders and gave her a solemn look. “I do.”

Mary reached out her arms and they encircled Penny, drawing her close. “Thank you for everything,” she said, her head pressed firmly against Penny’s chest.

Penny put one hand on Mary’s back and the other she rested gently against the back of Mary’s head. “No, Mary,” Penny said with feeling, “thank you for being part of my life.”

After a long moment, they separated. Mary took a deep breath, picked up the small suitcase, and said with a mixture of excitement and trepidation, “Here we go.”

She walked to the door, where she stopped and turned back. A look of concern crossed her face. “Aren’t you coming?”

Penny shook her head. “No. This is where we say goodbye for now.”

Penny stepped across the room and stood in front of Mary. With her right hand, she made the sign of the cross in front of Mary’s face. Then she leaned over and kissed Mary gently on the forehead. “Travel safely, Mary. And I’ll see you soon.”

Tears welled in Mary’s eyes. She looked at Penny for a long moment. Then she nodded, turned, and walked out of the room.

#

Sam Parker pushed open the door to the diner and stepped inside. She saw Gwenda immediately and waved. Mr. Dahlgren, she could see, was seated across from Gwenda, his back to Sam. She made her way over to the table and slid into the booth next to Gwenda.

“Good morning,” she said.

“Good morning, Sam,” replied Mr. Dahlgren. Gwenda gave Sam’s hand a quick squeeze.

Sam was excited. Mary was finally home from the hospital, and Sam would see her for the first time in over five months. She had thought she might never see her friend again.

Mr. Dahlgren had contacted Sam and Gwenda the day before, after returning from Terre Haute. They’d been anxious to come over right away, but he’d suggested they wait until the next morning, to give Mary a chance to rest from the long trip. He’d asked them to meet him here at the diner before they came to the house.

Mr. Dahlgren took a sip of his coffee, then gave the girls a friendly smile. “Thank you for meeting me this morning. Before you see Mary, I just wanted to go over some things I discussed with her doctor yesterday.”

Sam nodded, as did Gwenda.

“One thing the doctor stressed,” Dahlgren went on, “was how vulnerable Mary is right now. Anything that might remind her of the accident must be avoided at all costs. You mustn’t say anything to her about what happened.”

Sam shrugged. “We don’t even know what happened.” She looked at Gwenda. For some reason, Gwenda looked away. Sam returned her attention to Mr. Dahlgren. “All we’ve heard was that she was supposedly attacked by Jon Meyer.”

“Exactly,” said Mr. Dahlgren. “I particularly need you to avoid any mention of Jon Meyer.”

“What if she asks us questions about Jon?” asked Gwenda.

“She won’t,” replied Mr. Dahlgren. “She doesn’t remember him at all.”

Sam was surprised. “At all?”

“At all. Girls, Mary has no memory of the past twelve months. In her mind, Jon Meyer doesn’t even exist. I want you to keep it that way.”

Sam tried to process the information. “She doesn’t remember any part of the past year?”

Mr. Dahlgren shook his head. “None of it.”

“Wow,” Sam said. And then, because she couldn’t think of anything else, she repeated, “Wow.”

“So,” Gwenda said slowly, “we can’t mention Jon, but we can talk about other things that happened?”

“I’d prefer you didn’t,” Mr. Dahlgren replied. “Anything about the past year could trigger a reminder of Jon Meyer, and that could be devastating.”

A thought occurred to Sam. “How is she going to avoid hearing about Jon from others? I mean, we can hold off saying anything about him, but there’s no way he isn’t going to come up.”

“Well, that’s one of the things I wanted to explain to you. For the next few weeks, Mary isn’t going to be seeing anyone other than the two of you. And me, of course. We’re going to keep her sequestered for a while. Just to give her time to become reacclimated.”

“She won’t be going to school?” Gwenda asked.

Mr. Dahlgren shook his head.

“She can’t go to parties?” asked Sam.

Again, Mr. Dahlgren shook his head.

“And how long is it going to be like this?” Sam asked.

“Just a few weeks,” Mr. Dahlgren said. He smiled. “Tell you what. The election is in early November. Why don’t we make that the cutoff? Until then, Mary will stay at the house. She can have the two of you as visitors, but no one else. Once the election is over, we’ll let her ease back into a more normal routine. Sound reasonable?”

Not really, Sam thought. But, then again, she wasn’t a doctor. If this is what the doctor wanted, she would go along with it for Mary’s sake. She nodded, as did Gwenda.

“Great. So, are you ready to see Mary?”

“Yes,” both girls said at once.

When they entered the Dahlgren house, Mr. Dahlgren said, “Mary should be on the sun porch. Why don’t you join her out there?”

With Gwenda in tow, Sam passed through the living room. At the steps leading out to the sun porch, she paused for a moment and took a deep breath. Then she stepped into the room.

Mary was sitting cross-legged on one of the chaise lounges, facing the door, a look of bright anticipation on her face. The moment they made eye contact, she jumped up and threw her arms open. Sam and Gwenda fell into them, and they hugged tightly.

#

Ben Wheeler pushed open the door to Dahlgren’s Hardware and stepped inside. Walt Gallagher was at the counter, and he called out, “Hey, Mr. Wheeler. Haven’t seen you in while.”

“Hello, Walt. It’s been some time, hasn’t it?”

Ben walked over to the counter, and took out a piece of paper from his pocket. “I need to pick up a few things, and I’m hoping I can special order a part.” He set the paper on the counter and pointed to the last item on the list he’d made. It was a length of hose he needed for the fuel line on the Cessna.

Walt looked at it for a moment, then said, “Is this for one of your airplanes?”

Ben nodded. “Yep.”

Walt studied it further. Then he turned around and ran a finger along the spines of the catalogues on the shelf behind him, finally pulling out the one he’d been looking for. “Should be in here,” he said. He put it down on the counter and started riffling through the pages.

Ben turned and started down one of the aisles. As he did, he called back over his shoulder, “Any update on Mary’s condition?” The last Ben had heard, Mary had emerged from her coma and was making progress toward a recovery. Thank God. He’d sent Jon a letter letting him know the news as soon as he had heard. Jon had replied, begging for details, but Ben had none to provide.

“She’s home.”

Ben turned and walked back to the counter. “Really?”

Walt nodded. “She came home about a week ago.”

“Have you seen her?”

“No. The boss says she needs to rest, on account of her coma and everything.”

Ben thought for a moment. Then he asked, “Is Mr. Dahlgren here today?”

“Uh huh,” Walt said. “He’s in his office,” and he tipped his head upwards.

“Do you think he’d mind if I stopped in and said hi?”

“Heck, no,” Walt replied, immediately. “Go on up. I’ll get the things on your list together for you.”

“Thanks, Walt.”

Ben walked over to the narrow staircase and climbed the steps. At the top, he tapped on the door. He heard a voice call out, opened the door and peered in.

Jim Dahlgren was on the phone. When he saw Ben, he gave him a startled look, but then waved for him to enter. Ben stepped into the office and, when Dahlgren pointed to one of the guest chairs, took a seat and waited patiently for the man to finish his call.

Dahlgren was obviously talking about plans for a rally and fundraiser. The election would be about six weeks from now. Dahlgren, Ben knew, had raised his profile substantially in the past several months. The newspaper was reporting that he had pulled into a dead heat with the incumbent, John Barker, quite a feat for a small town mayor.

Dahlgren wrapped up his call and put the receiver down. He half stood, leaned over the desk, and held out a hand. “Ben, this is a pleasant surprise.”

Ben accepted the proffered handshake and said, “Jim, it’s good to see you. It’s been some time. I see you’re in full campaign mode.”

Dahlgren nodded, settling back in his chair. “We’re coming down the home stretch. Things are looking good, knock on wood,” and he rapped a knuckle on the top of the desk.

“So I’ve heard. Good for you.”

“Can I count on your vote?” Dahlgren asked with a smile.

“Absolutely.”

“Well, now that we’ve got the most important thing out of the way, what brings you by?”

Ben gave a wave of his hand. “I was picking up a few things, and Walt happened to mention that Mary was home.”

Dahlgren nodded happily. “She is. I brought her back from the hospital last week.”

“How’s she doing?”

“She’s well. Thanks for asking. A little weak still, but gaining strength every day. The doctors think she’ll make a full recovery.”

“Thank God for that.”

“Amen,” agreed Dahlgren.

“You know, Jim, I got a chance to get to know Jon Meyer pretty well. I’ve been corresponding with him. I know he’s anxious to hear from Mary, and I imagine she’s pretty anxious to hear from him.”

A palpable change came over Dahlgren’s face at the mention of Jon’s name. His lips pursed and there was a tension around his eyes that hadn’t been there before. He did not respond immediately. Instead, he glanced away, seeming to gather his thoughts. After a long moment, he looked back and said, “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Ben.”

Ben was surprised. “Why not?”

“That was a difficult thing Mary went through. She’s in a fragile state right now. The mention of Jon Meyer brings back painful memories that she doesn’t want to have to re-live.” He leaned forward and fixed Ben with an intent gaze. “Ben, you need to tell the boy that she’s fine, but she’s moved on.”

Ben was stunned, and it took him a long moment to formulate a response. Finally, he said, “That doesn’t sound like Mary.”

There was brief confusion on Dahlgren’s face. Then he took a deep breath. “As well as you may think you know Mary, I guarantee you don’t know her as well as I do.”

Ben gave a nod of acknowledgement.

“As I said,” Dahlgren continued, “she went through a traumatic experience. You can’t possibly imagine what that was like for her. She wants to get on with her life. I’m sorry, but that’s the way it’s going to have to be.”