Finding Carrie (5 page)

Isaac saw her move then. “Oh wait, Mom, she just woke up. I’ll call you back.” He hung up the phone and went for his wife’s hand. “Carrie, I knew you would come back to me.” He said as he grabbed her hand from her face then wiped at the tears that were streaming down her face. She looked at him. She didn’t know who he was, but he was holding her hand and crying with relief that she was awake. “I love you,” he whispered in her ear as he bent down to kiss her on the forehead. She flinched when he touched her and pulled her hand away, looking up at him with confusion. This man was a stranger to her. Why would he kiss her?

The nurse walked in at that moment and walked over to Carrie, who was now looking at the man with a strange look on her face. The nurse noticed. “Hello. Do you know your name?” Carrie shifted her gaze from Isaac to the nurse. She tried to speak, but nothing came out, so she just shook her head, she couldn’t remember what it was. In fact, she couldn’t remember anything. The nurse looked at Isaac at the same time Isaac looked at her for reassurance. “I’ll call the doctor.” She left the room.

“Oh God, you don’t know who I am, do you?” Isaac asked. She tried to speak again as she looked at this man in horror. She made a husky sound; she coughed to clear her throat.

“No,” she managed to get out. Her voice wasn’t all there yet, but she was beginning to talk slowly. Isaac bent down to kiss her hand. Leaning his forehead on it, he started to sob. He had his wife, she was alive, but she didn’t know who he was, and that was heartbreaking. Carrie didn’t say a word; she just sat there watching this man cry on her hand. She could feel hot tears running down her arm. Then the doctor ran in, she pulled her hand away.

She looked up at the doctor as he walked around the bed to examine her. Isaac stopped crying, wiped off his face with the back of his hand, and said, “She doesn’t know who I am, Doctor.” The doctor turned his head to look at Isaac, a disappointed look on his face, then turned back to ask Carrie a question.

“Do you know your name?” he asked.

“No,” Carrie said, shaking her head and looking around the room in puzzlement.

“Do you know where you are?” he asked.

“No, but it looks like a hospital,” she responded.

“Yes, it is. Your name is Carrie Walsch, and you are at Sierra View District Hospital in Porterville, California. Do you know how you got here?” he asked again.

“No, I don’t know,” she said. She looked up to ask a question of her own. “You said my name is Carrie. This man,” she said, turning to point at Isaac, “called me Carrie when I woke up.”

“Yes, you are Carrie,” he said, nodding in agreement. “Do you know who this man is?” the doctor asked.

“No, but he told me that he loved me.” She turned toward Isaac. “How can you love me if you don’t know me?” she asked.

“Well, Carrie, he is your husband,” the doctor answered for Isaac. “Mr. Walsch, can I speak to you for a moment?” the doctor asked, gesturing with his eyebrows to the hall. Isaac nodded and got out of the chair to follow the doctor out of the room.

“Mr. Walsch, I’m afraid she has amnesia.” The doctor sighed. “I’m not sure what kind it is, and I’m not sure how long it will last. Just stay with her and try to help her remember,” the doctor explained.

“What should I do?” he asked, looking in the room to check on Carrie, who was trying to sit up. “I don’t want to get her upset or anything.”

“Well, at this point, just talk to her,” the doctor said when Isaac looked back in the room again. The nurse had helped Carrie to a sitting position in the bed. The nurse was tucking blankets around her. The doctor grabbed Isaac by the arm. “By the way the room looked when you found her, she was thrown into the wall several times. Just love her and be there for her. She put up a good fight.”

Isaac turned to look at the doctor as he let go of his arm. “I would give my life for her. I would never leave her for not knowing who I am,” he said. The doctor nodded and walked away.

Isaac went into the room to sit down beside the bed in a chair. Carrie just stared at him, so he decided to try to talk to the woman who clearly didn’t know who he was. That hurt like hell. He tried to hold her hand, but she moved away just before he could get it. Instead, he just folded his hands together, leaning his arms on the bed. “My name is Isaac Walsch. I’m your husband.”

“That is what everyone keeps telling me,” she said, getting annoyed. She had asked the nurse and she told her that he was her husband too. She just wasn’t sure. She sighed and turned her head and scratched the back of her hand; it was more out of irritation than it actually itched.

“Well, I am,” he said, leaning back in the chair as he looked down to the floor.

“If you are my husband, then how long have we been married?” she asked, looking back at him, trying to get his attention.

“Six months,” he replied.

“That’s all? How long have you known me?” she asked.

“We just celebrated our two-year anniversary,” he said. He reached forward with one hand as he lifted the pendant off her neck to show her. She took it out of his hand to look at it and noticed the ring on her finger.

“It’s beautiful,” she said, looking at both the pendant and the ring. “And so is this ring. Hey, look, it matches,” she said, draping the pendant over her fingers. Her ring had two blue stones on either side of a large diamond. “Is this my wedding ring?”

Isaac nodded and took her hand. “Yes, it is.” He kissed her knuckles. She just stared at him. “These blue stones are for your daughters, and the diamond is for you,” he said, kissing her knuckles again. “Do you remember me telling you this when I gave it to you?” he asked, hopeful.

“No, I’m sorry I don’t.” She shook her head. She pulled her hand away, wiping it off, and then she looked at him. “I have daughters?” she asked with her head tilted to the side and her eyes slightly squinted.

“Yes, you have twin daughters, Sabrina and Sierra. They are in the waiting room with Lee Lee. Would you like to see them?” he asked, looking toward the door.

“Um no,” she said, shaking her head. She was a little dizzy. Bringing her hands up to her head, she felt something covering her face. “No, I don’t want to see anyone. Who is Lee Lee?”

“Okay. That’s okay, and Lee Lee is my sister,” he explained, pulling her hand back and pushing the call button to get a nurse.

“Oh, your sister,” she said, letting him take her hand away from her head. She didn’t know why she felt at ease with him near her; they kept saying that he was her husband, but she didn’t have any idea who he was, and she didn’t trust him.

“I called your mother. She’s going to be here tomorrow,” Isaac said, hoping that it would help her.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t want to see anyone,” she said, shaking her achy head again.

“I know, but you have a day to prepare,” he said, stroking her face with his finger; he was surprised when she pulled her face away. “Um, I’m sorry,” he said with a frown on his face. “I’m going to tell my sister to take the girls home, and I’ll be right back,” he said, getting up. He averted his face because he didn’t want her to see the hurt on his face. He had to remember that she didn’t know who he was.

When he got to the waiting room where the twins and his sister were watching him walk down the hall, he took the tissue that Lee Lee was holding up and wiped off his face. He didn’t notice that his eyes were flowing like a waterfall. “What is it? Did she wake up?” Lee Lee asked.

“She’s awake,” he said, wiping his eyelids again. The twins both jumped up and ran over to him, tugging on his shirt.

“We want to see her,” they said at the same time.

“Well, the thing is, she doesn’t remember anything. She didn’t know who I was,” he said, looking at his sister.

“Oh no,” she said, wrapping her arms around him.

“And she doesn’t want to see anyone,” he said with his head on his sister’s shoulder, looking at the twin girls, who looked close to tears. “I’m not sure she wants me in there.”

He stepped back from his sister and went to the girls to comfort them. “Girls,” he said, looking back and forth from their faces. “Don’t worry. She’s had a terrible head injury, all right, but she loves you. You know she does,” he said, hugging and kissing each girl.

“But I want to see her. I haven’t seen her in a week; I want to see her now,” Sabrina said, looking up at Isaac.

“Well, let’s try something, okay,” he said, taking the twins’ hands and leading them to their mother’s room. He then stopped to whisper, “I’ll take you both in, but remember, she doesn’t remember you, so don’t take anything she says to heart. I’m hoping that you two will strike her memory.” He pulled the girls behind him as he went through the door.

When they walked into the room, Carrie was laying on her side with the covers bunched up in her hands near her face. When she heard someone coming in, she turned to look. She saw three faces looking down at her. “I thought I told you I didn’t want to see anyone,” she said, studying the two girls’ faces that looked exactly the same.

“You did, but I thought that maybe when you saw the twins, you would remember,” he said with shame in his voice.

“Well, I don’t,” she said, shifting so she could look at them better. “I don’t know any of you. I told you that.” She was nearly in tears.

Isaac’s face dropped, and he looked at each girl. They wanted to cry, he could tell, but they were trying to be strong enough not to. “Well, I’ll take them out. I’ll be right back,” he said, taking them out of the room. “I’m sorry, girls.”

“I can’t believe she didn’t remember us,” Sierra said sounding upset and terrified.

“What does her face look like without those bandages?” Sabrina asked.

“She’s got two cuts on her face, one by her mouth and one above her eye. The doctors say that she will not have huge scars, just tiny ones,” he explained. Sabrina just nodded and looked at the floor. “Lee Lee, can you take the girls to Dad’s and stay with them? Could you also pick up Carrie’s family from the airport tomorrow? They should be in at noon. I don’t want to leave her, though I think she would rather that I did. I know she doesn’t remember me, but I’m not about to leave.”

Lee Lee put her hand up on Isaac’s cheek. “Of course. I’ll bring you some fresh clothes tomorrow too,” she said and leaned over to kiss Isaac’s cheek.

“Thank you,” he said. He watched the three of them get on the elevator. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, running his fingers through his hair to smooth it down, then turned to head back to his wife’s room.

Chapter 6

C
arrie woke up the next day, lying on her side curled up in a ball. Her hair was swept in front of her face like a curtain. She heard the man from the day before talking to someone. It must have been the doctor again, but she wasn’t sure. She was startled by someone pushing hair out of her face. She rolled over to see the man who was supposed to be her husband. He was looking down at her; his eyes were swollen red. He must have been crying.
He seems to do that a lot
, she thought to herself.

Isaac looked down at his wife. He had been crying all morning, worried about her. He loved her with every ounce of his soul. “Do you remember me?” he asked Carrie.

“Yes,” she said. He sighed with relief and hoped that she remembered everything. “I met you yesterday, didn’t I?”

“Oh, you don’t remember anything before yesterday?” he asked, disappointed.

“I only remember yesterday,” she responded, pushing herself to a sitting position, wincing from the pain in her side. She didn’t remember anything but the day before, which was frustrating to her. She wanted to remember. She felt lost and empty. Most of all, she wanted to help this man, Isaac, to rid the pain from his eyes. She didn’t know why she felt sorry for him. She didn’t even know who he was.

“I am going to release her from the hospital tomorrow. Take her home and try to live normally. Maybe she will remember something if she is in her own home,” the doctor suggested.

Isaac turned to look at the doctor. “And what if she doesn’t?” Isaac asked.

“Well, wait a few days, and if she remembers nothing, try taking her down memory lane. Give it a try only if living normally doesn’t work,” the doctor said, leaving the room. Isaac sat in the chair next to the bed.

“Your family is here,” Isaac said, holding Carrie’s hand.

“My family?” she asked, pulling her hand away from him. He looked at her with sad eyes.

“Yes, they are waiting in the waiting room. I had them wait until you woke up. I’m hoping that they will help you remember,” he said.

“Okay, let’s try it,” she said, looking toward the door. She thought maybe if she agreed to meet these people he was so adamant for her to meet, he would stop asking. Although she would rather be left alone, he didn’t seem to be going anywhere. Isaac got up and went out to the waiting room.

When he got there, Carrie’s whole family stood up to greet him. “She has agreed to meet you all, but I don’t want her to be upset.”

“Of course not,” Carrie’s mother said. “I just hope we can help her.”

“Okay, follow me,” Isaac said, turning back toward the room. As they walked, everyone was silent. Isaac was the first to enter the room. Carrie sat as still as she could, watching people pour into the room, and when the last person was in, she looked out the door for more.