Never the Same
By Emily Eileen
Part One
The melancholy trio filtered into their sister's hospital room quietly. She appeared to be sleeping peacefully but that was mainly due to the large amounts of medications being pumped into her IV to help ease the pain.
"I love you", one spoke, tears flowing freely down her cheeks.
"Come on, sweetie", another sister urged; "show me that fighting spirit of yours."
"We're here, baby", the last one promised, clutching her injured sister's limp hand. "We're not going anywhere."
No one had been paying strict enough attention to the truck heading toward them in the opposite direction; that is, until it was too late. He had been drinking and was in no condition to drive that night. The impact of the stranger's decision to get behind the wheel combined with the guilt of the Sorelli sister in the driver's seat, caused a single car crash in which four young women's lives-sisters-would be forever changed.
Her father arrived quickly to see her once he heard the tragic news of the accident.
"Oh, god!" he cried out of the immediate fear he felt seeing one of his beautiful daughters lying there-weak, bruised, broken…and in a coma.
"It's an induced coma", the doctor explained; "to counteract the swelling in the brain."
The Sorelli family practically lived at the hospital for a long time after that, each one spending one on one time with their beloved sister, daughter. She was not doing well and at one point it looked as if her life would be unfairly taken too soon; much sooner than it was supposed to end. It didn't seem fair that while her sisters had managed to escape with only minor cuts and bruises, one was lying in a hospital bed with a potentially serious brain injury that could end up being more of a permanent setback than a temporary one.
"When you were a little girl, honey", Joe reminded his sleeping daughter as he sat by her bedside holding her hand. "You were such a handful, Marjee. Believe it or not you still are; and stranger still it is what I miss most about you. You are your own person, Marjee; you always have been and we all need that right now. We need you in our lives again, sweetheart. You've got to come back to me, your sisters…" he trailed.
"I miss you so much, Marjee", Rose revealed while visiting her big sister. "I need you. You have to come back because nobody tells me what to do like you do; nobody annoys me like you do; and nobody loves me like you do", she wailed. "Please, Marjee, please wake up!" she pleaded.
Ginnie entered the room just as Rose was wiping away her latest tears.
"Ginnie?" she cried in question.
"Yes, baby?" Ginnie asked, rushing to comfort her baby sister.
"She'll be okay, right?" Rose wanted to know; I mean, she'll come out of this?" she kept asking.
Ginnie nodded, uncertain.
"If I know Marjee, sweetie", she assured a still teary Rose; "she'll be back with us before you know it. We just have to believe."
Rose gave Ginnie a long tight hug before leaving the room to allow her sister her own time with Marjee.
Ginnie sat down on the edge of the bed.
"I'm sorry, baby-it's all my fault", she admitted, her lower lip beginning to tremble.
"I should be lying here, Marjee, not you. I knew I shouldn't have learned to drive again. If I hadn't been so stupid, Marjee, if I'd been paying more attention, you'd be fine right now", she sniffed, brushing the tears from her cheeks. "I'm so sorry."
Just as Ginnie turned away she could see Anne standing in the far right corner of the room. She stepped toward her sisters.
"This is not your fault, Ginnie", Anne stated firmly. "Do you hear me? This is not your fault. It is the drunk driver's fault and nobody blames you; not me, not Rose, and not Marjee. This is not your fault", she reiterated.
Ginnie shook her head. "Yes it is, Anne."
"No it's not", she answered, glancing at Marjee lying so still in her hospital bed.
"You don't know how Marjee feels", Ginnie told Anne, pointing in Marjee's direction. "I did this to her Anne; it's all my fault!" she screamed.
Anne grabbed Ginnie by the shoulders, shaking her.
"Ginnie, stop this! I won't let you beat yourself up like this, do you hear me? She is going to be okay; we have to believe that. Isn't that what you just told Rose?"
Ginnie sniffed a little.
"Come here", Anne encouraged her older sister, steering her back to face Marjee.
"We're here, Marj", Anne began, her eyes brimming with tears. "We know you're in there, sweetie and although you may not be quite ready to come back to us, we're ready for you. You need to knock some sense into Ginnie here. In your time, whenever you're ready; we're here", Anne finished, softly stroking Marjee's cheek with one hand and grasping Ginnie's arm with the other.
It would be another long night at the hospital again.
Part Two
"Good morning, Marjee!" Anne announced cheerfully, waking up in the chair beside her sister's bed. She stretched a bit, rubbing her sore neck before she stood up by the bed.
"You look better today, hon", Anne told her sister; "but your hair looks like it's a little worse for the wear, let me fix it for you."
Anne softly ran her fingers like a comb through Marjee's tangled mane, being extra careful to avoid the bandages wrapped around the top half of her head.
"There", she announced, once she was satisfied with her handiwork. She stared at Marjee's blank face and bit her lip to prevent her true emotions from coming out.
"Marjee", she whispered, crawling into bed next to her; "Marjee, I love you", she told her sister, giving her a small kiss on her forehead before laying her head on her sister's chest.
As Anne listened to her sister's steady heartbeat she prayed a silent prayer, hoping that Marjee would wake up soon before she drifted off to sleep again.
Anne awoke later to the sound of Marjee's door creaking open and footsteps entering the room. Anne wiped the sleep from her eyes and turned to see her father and sisters standing there solemnly.
"What's wrong?" she asked, her voice shaking.
Marjee's doctor entered the room a moment later.
"What is it?" Anne repeated, hugging Marjee. "She's okay, right?"
The doctor nodded.
"They're going to reverse the coma", Joe explained; "she's waking up today, Annie."
Anne leapt from the bed, ecstatic as Ginnie and Rose enveloped her in a giant hug.
"I told you!" Anne cried happily, taking her sister's hands. "Do you hear that, Marjee; you're coming back to us today!"
Joe soon joined the group as the doctor began to wake Marjee.
Her still sleepy eyes soon fluttered open as she awoke to the four curious faces staring at her, waiting for a positive reaction.
"Hi, sweetheart", Joe whispered, the first one to speak.
"Baby", Ginnie whispered; "you're back."
"Hi, Marjee; remember me?" Rose joked.
"Of course she does", Anne answered Rose matter of factly; "say something funny, Marjee", she pressed.
Marjee's face, however, showed nothing but confusion as she slowly took into account her surroundings.
"Who are you?" she asked seriously, studying the faces around her.
Part Three
"You're joking, right?" Rose asked her sister, wishing her assumption were true. "It's me, Rose."
Ginnie and Anne exchanged worried glances with their father.
"Rose?" Marjee questioned her voice uncertain and cracking a bit.
"I'm your little sister", Rose told her, frightened that Marjee didn't seem to remember her.
"How did you get that scrape on your arm?" Marjee asked Ginnie, turning to her. "It looks like it hurts", she noted; "who are you by the way?" she continued, not missing a beat.
Ginnie choked back a sob. "I'm your sister, baby. I'm Ginnie and this is your sister, Anne", she started, introducing her other sister.
"And who are you?" Marjee inquired, pointing to her father.
"I'm your father, princess", Joe explained; "and we are so happy to have you back."
"Do I have any more sisters? Brothers?" she chuckled; before noticing her medical bracelet on her left wrist.
"Marjee Sorelli", she read aloud. "That's me?"
"Yes it is", Anne confirmed.
"Okay, so let me get this straight", she began, reaching for a glass of water on the table by her bed.
"Here you go, honey", Joe offered, handing her the glass.
"Thanks", she said, pausing to think for a minute; "Dad. So…I have three sisters and a father, huh? Where's my mother?" she wondered.
Rose looked to Anne who looked to Ginnie who looked to Joe then back at Marjee.
"Our mom died, baby", she explained, reaching to clasp Marjee's hand; "it was fifteen years ago."
"Oh", Marjee stated, emotionless; "that's too bad."
I'm just going to step outside to talk to the doctor, then", Joe sigh, interrupting the short silence.
"I'll come with you", Rose said quickly, still unsure how to react to Marjee's apparent amnesia.
As soon as the two departed from the room, Marjee sat up a bit more and looked at her older sisters with obvious concern.
"What happened to me?" she asked, starting to cry; "Why don't I remember you? Why don't I remember me? What happened?" she screamed, pounding her fists on the bed.
"Ssh, it's okay, honey; come here", Anne cooed, pulling her into a hug.
"Marjee, we're right here and we're going to make it better, don't worry about a thing" Ginnie promised, joining the hug.
"Daddy, why can't she remember any of us?" Rose shrilled, burying her head in her father's chest. "Why?"
"I don't know, Rosie but I'm sure it's temporary", Joe wished.
"And what if it's not?" Rose bawled; "what if we never get Marjee back?"
"I won't let that happen, Rosie; I won't. We are going to get some answers right now", he told his crying daughter. "Let's go find the doctor."
Part Four
"I'm sorry, Dad;" Rose began, "I know you don't know why this happened, it's just-", she paused; "I'm scared."
Joe nodded. "I know, Rosie; I think we all are but we need to be strong;" he insisted. "For Marjee."
"It's okay to cry, honey", Ginnie told Marjee as she and Anne broke away from the hug.
Marjee sniffed a little. "How come I don't remember you?" she asked again. "I don't remember anything; not even you guys", she sigh, her voice beginning to falter.
"It's going to be okay. We're not going to leave you, sweetie", Anne promised.
"Promise?" Marjee repeated in question.
"We promise", Ginnie and Anne agreed.
Marjee took a deep breath and asked her question a third time.
"What happened?"
Ginnie swallowed the large lump that was beginning to form in her throat and began to explain the events leading up to her sister's amnesia.
"We were going out, honey", she started; "you, Annie, Rosie, and I, you know, to have a girls night out."
"It was your idea", Anne interjected; "you're the fun one."
Marjee smiled. "I am?"
Anne nodded as Ginnie went on with the story.
"We decided to take mine and Bob's car and-"
"Who's Bob?" Marjee interrupted, curious.
"He's my husband", Ginnie stated.
"You're married?" Marjee asked; "when did you get married?"
"It was a couple of years ago", Ginnie told her sister.
"You're the oldest, huh? Then you", Marjee said, pointing to Anne, "then me, then Rose?" she guessed.
"That's right", Anne smiled.
"There was an accident, baby", Ginnie told Marjee, carefully studying her sister's expression.
Anne looked at Ginnie and took over finishing the story.
"A drunk driver crashed into us, Marjee. You were hurt during the crash. You had the most severe injuries so the doctors put you in an induced coma for a few days."
Marjee patted her head gingerly. "Oh", she sigh. "But you were hurt, too", she said, pointing out the deep cut on Ginnie's arm and the bruises on Anne's face.
"Are you okay?" she asked, concerned; "And Rose, is she okay, too? She's coming back later?" Marjee inquired.
"I'm sure she'll be in to see you later", Anne assured her.
Marjee nodded, satisfied with her sister's reply.
"Don't you worry about any of us", Ginnie told Marjee; "we're fine and we're here to worry about you."
"Thank you." Marjee said, stifling a yawn.
"I think we'd better let you get some sleep", Anne said, getting up from the bed. "I love you", she smiled, giving Marjee a soft kiss on the cheek."
"We'll see you a little later, okay sweetie", Ginnie told her.
"Later", Marjee began, "Will you tell me more about you….about all of you…and me. Will you tell me about me?" she inquired.
"Sure thing, baby, now get some sleep, okay?" Anne told her sister as she and Ginnie pulled the covers up to Marjee's chin and she snuggled beneath the sheets.
"Night", Marjee whispered as she watched Ginnie and Anne leave the room.
The two eldest Sorelli sisters walked down the hallway to see their father and Rose talking to the doctor.
"Rose", Anne called, motioning her over to them.
Rose turned to her sisters and excused herself from Joe and Marjee's doctor.
"Hi", Rose said, trying to sound cheerful but failing miserably.
"What did the doctor say?" Ginnie wanted to know.
"It's temporary amnesia, right?" Anne added, hopeful.
Rose shrugged. "I don't think he knows yet."
Ginnie and Anne exchanged worried glances.
"He said it could be because Marjee's trying to block the memory of the accident from her subconscious." Rose explained.
"That makes sense", Anne agreed.
"Or", Rose sigh, "It could have adversely affected the part of the brain that deals with long term memory. She may never remember!" she cried, falling into Ginnie's arms.
"Oh, Rosie", Ginnie sigh, rubbing her baby sister's back.
Anne looked past her sisters to see their father finish his conversation with Marjee's doctor.
"Rosie told you", Joe guessed from his daughters' shared expressions of worry and fear.
Anne nodded, giving her father a tight hug.
"We'll get through this, girls", Joe told them seriously; "I know we will."
Part Five
So", Marjee smiled at Rose; "am I a good big sister?" she asked.
"The best", Rose assured her.
"Better than Ginnie and Anne?" Marjee pressed, grinning.
Now it was Rose's turn to smile. "Yeah, but don't tell them I told you."
Marjee put her finger to her lips. "Your secret's safe with me."
"You're looking better", Rose told her sister. "How do you feel?"
"I feel okay, I guess, considering", Marjee explained.
"Good", Rose said, relieved.
"How do you play this card game?" Marjee asked, her face wrinkled in confusion; "there are no real rules. This is very confusing", she admitted.
Rose laughed. "We always play. Don't worry, you'll catch on quick. Just wait until Ginnie and Anne get here."
"How do you know they're coming now? Marjee wondered.
"I started a phone chain", Rose told her, forgetting that Marjee had no clue as to what she was talking about.
"What's a phone chain?" Marjee shrugged.
"Oh, uh, it's how we call each other", Rose began; "usually it starts with Ginnie, then Anne, then you, then me-it is completed when I call Ginnie back to tell her the chain is complete."
"That's cool", Marjee chuckled; "how often is there a phone chain?"
"Nearly every day", Rose told her; "sometimes more than once a day."
"Seriously?" Marjee said, astonished. "We all must be really close then?" she figured.
Rose nodded. "We are, sometimes too close", she admitted.
Marjee simply smiled as Ginnie and Anne entered the room.
"Well, kiddo," Ginnie grinned; "looks like somebody is able to go home tomorrow."
"Really?" Majee asked excitedly.
"That's the rumor", Anne added happily. "I cleaned up my entire apartment last night-it's all ready for you. I even made your bed."
"I live with you?" Marjee asked.
"Uh, huh", Anne confirmed; "and you're a major slob so I expect the apartment to remain in just the condition I left it today", she joked.
"I am not a sob!" Marjee defended.
Ginnie and Rose shared a smile and a laugh.
"Yes you are", they said in unison.
"Well, I don't remember being a slob so-", Marjee began; "what else you got?"
"You are the funniest person I know", Rose told her. "Some of the things you say, Marjee-, she trailed.
"What-what do I say?" she asked eagerly.
"Assboobies", Anne giggled.
"Assboobies? Come on, that's not even a real word", Marjee clarified.
"I believe you like to make up your own words. Remember the term vomitous?" Ginnie asked her sisters.
Marjee shook her head. "What does that mean?"
"The state of being about to vomit all of the time without the sweet, sweet release of actually spewing", Anne quoted.
Marjee laughed. "I am funny", she agreed.
"What about the time she stole Trish's dog", Ginnie recalled.
"Trish is, uh, was, your boss. You don't like her very much", Anne explained.
"Why don't I like her?" Marjee asked.
"It's a long story, Marjee, just trust us on this", Rose told her.
Marjee shrugged. "Okay."
Just then Marjee's doctor arrived with Joe at his heels.
"You ready to go home, sweetheart?" Joe asked as the doctor handed Marjee her release papers.
"Absolutely", she smiled. "I live with Anne", she announced, as if her father didn't know.
After Marjee had been given a clean bill of health and signed for her release, Joe spoke about taking Marjee home with him instead.
"But I want to stay with Anne", Marjee whined sadly.
"It's okay, Dad; she'll be fine", Anne assured her father. "I'll take good care of her."
Joe turned to see a very happy Marjee laughing with Ginnie and Rose.
"Okay", he relented. "You call me if she needs me", he insisted.
"You know I will, Dad; don't worry", Anne repeated.
Part Six
Once Anne and Marjee had been dropped off at Anne's apartment and Rose returned to NYU, Ginnie was heading home herself when all of her buried emotions began bubbling to the surface.
"Hi, Darling", Bob greeted his wife as Ginnie walked into the house.
"Hi", she answered solemnly.
"How's Marjee? Bob asked, concerned.
"She's home with Anne; they released her today", Ginnie told him.
"That's good news", Bob replied. "Ginnie?"
Ginnie sat down on the couch in defeat. "You're right, Bob", she began, "Marjee's home but she's not Marjee. She doesn't remember anything, Bob. She doesn't even really know herself!" she cried.
Bob pulled his wife into a tight embrace. "Ginnie, don't do this", he begged.
"Don't do what? Don't blame myself? Why shouldn't I? It's my fault, Bob. I did this to Marjee!" Ginnie screamed.
"No, Ginnie", Bob whispered.
"I know you don't think so, and Anne doesn't think so, and my Dad, or Rosie; I don't care what any of you say. I was driving, Bob, and I should've been watching that other driver. I think we were listening to an old song on the radio, she remembered; I turned for probably just a second or two but I should have been watching. I shouldn't have let the car get hit. I shouldn't have let Marjee be hurt!" she bawled, collapsing into her husband's arms.
"Ginnie he was drunk", Bob explained, holding his wife tightly as she sobbed.
"The car was hit and I must have blacked out", she cried. "I could hear screaming but I couldn't get up, I couldn't move. I thought it wasn't real."
"Ssh", Bob whispered.
"It was Rosie", Ginnie stated sadly, once she'd regained some of her composure. It was Rosie screaming. Poor baby; she must've been so scared", she continued. "Anne told me she was unconscious the whole time. She told me that she held her in her arms until the EMT's arrived…I should've done that", she trailed.
"Ginnie you were disoriented, you had lost consciousness yourself; there was nothing you could have done", Bob insisted.
"I should've insisted that we take the subway", Ginnie said suddenly; "but no, I wanted to drive. I'm sorry, Marjee…so sorry", she moaned.
"And this is your room", Anne explained, leading Marjee around the apartment.
"Cool", Marjee said, smiling.
"Do you want me to make you something to eat?" Anne offered.
"Sure, what?" Marjee asked.
"How about homemade macaroni and cheese and chocolate milkshakes", Anne suggested.
"Yummy! Do you want me to help?" Marjee wondered.
Anne paused, remembering that Marjee had no idea what an awful cook she is. "No, Hon, I got it; why don't you see what's on TV?" she suggested.
Marjee nodded and began flipping through the channels when the phone rang.
"I'll get it!" Marjee shouted. "Hello?"
"Who is it?" Anne asked.
"It's Dad", Marjee told her sister. "I'm doing great", she told her father. "Anne's making me dinner and then we're going to watch TV or something", she explained.
Once Marjee had hung up from Joe, she and Anne sat down to eat.
"This is amazing", Marjee complimented; "thank you."
"You're very welcome", Anne smiled. "It's an old family recipe of Mom's", she told her sister.
"What was my Mom like?" Marjee asked, taking a sip of her shake.
Anne got up from the table and took an old photo album from one of her drawers.
"This was Mom, sweetie", she told her, pointing out a picture of their mother on her last Thanksgiving.
"She's beautiful", Marjee sigh, as she touched the photo gingerly.
"She loved us very much, Marj", Anne told her sister; "and even if you never remember anything, remember me telling you this. Mom loved you and all of us. She told Ginnie and me to look after you and Rosie before she died."
"I wish I could remember", Marjee whispered.
"Oh, honey", Anne sigh, why don't we sit here and I'll explain all of these pictures to you one at a time."
"I'd like that", Marjee agreed.
The sisters sat together for the next few hours burying themselves with the comfort of old memories before falling asleep beside each other on the couch.
Anne awoke to the sound of her cell phone ringing loudly the following morning.
"Hello", she moaned, still half asleep.
"Hello, Anne, is that you?" Ginnie asked.
"You called my cell, Ginnie, who else would it be?" Anne whispered, careful not to wake Marjee.
"Listen", Ginnie instructed; "this is a phone chain. I need you to call Marjee then-"
"I know how the phone chain works, Ginnie, what's up?" Anne asked, still annoyed.
"Rose had this great idea about how to help Marjee", Ginnie started to explain.
"I'm listening", Anne told her sister.
"Rosie suggested doing a recap of all of the important milestones in Marjee's life-you know, to help trigger her memory. She was studying the idea in drama class and-", Ginnie blurted; "today's the day!"
"That might not be such a good idea, Gin", Anne warned, bursting her big sister's bubble. "Sometimes with amnesia patients you just have to let nature take its course; by bombarding her with too many memories, well, that might make her feel worse about what she doesn't remember plus; it's not like it's a sure thing."
"Yeah, but we could give it a shot", Ginnie half begged, still hopeful.
Anne quickly caved in. "Okay, fine; but if you think that I'm going to rehash the time Grandma found Marjee having sex in the bathroom, you're on your own."
"Annie!" Ginnie scolded, very much the big sister.
"That's a milestone", Anne joked; "a dirty milestone."
Ginnie pretended to ignore her sister's last comment. "Ok, so I need you to call Marjee-", Ginnie started.
"Marjee's here, Ginnie", Anne reminded her sister.
"I know, I know", Ginnie insisted; "but I need you to have Marjee call Rosie and I need you to pick up some of Marjee's favorite ice cream at Brigham's."
"What can't you do it? What are you doing?" Anne wondered.
"Come on, Annie, we all have a job to do", Ginnie told her.
"What's your job?" Anne asked.
"My job was starting the phone chain-now just do it, please", Ginnie pleaded.
"Ok, fine", Anne sigh, "I'll tell Marjee to call Rose."
"And you'll pick up the ice cream?" Ginnie pressed.
"Fine, Ginnie", Anne replied;" your wish is my command.
"See you soon"
"See ya."
Marjee awoke soon after the phone call ended to hear Anne's keys rattling.
"You going out?" she asked.
"Oh, yeah, just for a quick errand. You'll be okay?" Anne asked.
"Fine", Marjee shrugged.
Just as Anne was ready to leave she remembered the phone chain.
"Oh, Marjee; I almost forgot. Ginnie started a phone chain. She wants you to call Rose and have her here in a half hour. I'll be right back okay?" she told her sister quickly before leaving for the store.
Marjee nodded and picked up the phone before she realized she hadn't asked Anne an important question…..
Part Seven
By the time Anne arrived back at her apartment, she noticed Ginnie heading there from the opposite direction.
"Ginnie!" Anne called.
Ginnie drew closer and as the sisters met, Anne could see that Ginnie did not look happy.
"Is Rose here?" she asked.
"I don't know; why?" Anne shrugged.
"She didn't complete the chain; she didn't call me."
As the sisters headed into the apartment building, they could hear muffled sobbing coming from inside. The sisters stared at one another for a minute.
"Marjee!" they cried in unison, racing up to the apartment in a collective panic. Anne fumbled for her keys but once the door was opened, they faced what was inside together.
"Baby", Anne whispered, seeing Marjee curled up on her bed in a fetal position, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Honey, what's wrong; are you hurt?" Ginnie asked, pulling her close to her.
Anne joined her two sisters on the bed. "Marjee what is it?" she asked, wiping her sister's tears away.
Marjee sniffed a little. "I'm sorry; it's all my fault. I ruined the phone chain. Rose told me all about it and I was so glad that Ginnie started one so I could play but when I went to call Rose-", she paused to wipe away some still forming tears; "I don't know her phone number. I can't remember it! She wailed.
"Oh, honey", Anne cried; "it's not your fault. It's my fault I didn't even think-", she apologized.
"No, it's my fault", Ginnie stated strongly. "I should've told you about the phone chain myself."
"Can someone call her?" Marjee asked, her lower lip quivering.
"Sure, baby", Anne promised, reaching for her cell.
"She'll be right here, Marjee, it's okay", Ginnie repeated over and over, rocking her little sister in her arms.
"Rosie, make it quick, please", Anne asked her; "Marjee needs us."
"Is she okay?" Rose asked, suddenly alarmed.
"She's ok, Rosie", Anne assured her; "well, physically anyway", she nodded. "Just get here."
Rose arrived at her sister's apartment about twenty minutes later, her face filled with fear.
"Marjee", she whispered as soon as Anne opened the door.
Anne took Rose's hand and led her to Marjee's room where Ginnie was still holding her tightly and softly rubbing her back comfortingly.
"Marjee", Rose whispered again.
Marjee held her arms out wide as her little sister rushed into her hug.
"Rose I didn't have your number", Marjee said sadly; "for the phone chain. You said I had to call you but I didn't remember your phone number. I'm sorry. I'm trying so hard but I just can't! she cried.
"I didn't remember to give it to you, Marjee, it's my fault", Rose told her sister.
"I just want to remember so badly", Marjee continued. I just-I have to remember. I can't do this anymore!" she yelled.
Marjee gazed from sister to sister, feeling their love and seeing their concern which only made her feel more vulnerable.
"You shouldn't have to worry about me so much", she told them.
"Marjee, we always worry about each other. We're sisters; we worry, we interfere, we support", Ginnie said and then paused; "we love."
"Even if you never remember, Marjee, we'll never stop being here for you", Anne added.
"But it'll come back to you soon, I just know it", Rose told her.
"I hope so", Marjee sigh uncertainly." Thank you."
The sisters eventually regained their composure and began to work on their "help Marjee remember" experiment. It didn't seem to be helping any.
"Can we stop now?" Marjee asked after a couple of hours had drifted by without Marjee being able to recall much of anything.
Ginnie could tell that perhaps Anne's assumptions of the situation could be right; perhaps this was making Marjee feel worse instead of better.
"Sure, Hon", Ginnie agreed.
Her three sisters watched sadly as Marjee got up from her seat on the couch and headed to her room in silence.
Part Eight
"This was a rotten idea", Rose sigh glumly. "Sorry", she apologized to Ginnie and Anne.
"It's not your fault, Rose; "you were just trying to help", her sisters assured her.
Marjee flopped on her bed in defeat, her concentration focused on the goings on of the NY city street outside her bedroom window. As she lay there for a few quiet moments she tried to remember all of the things her sisters had shared with her. Try as she might, she couldn't seem to remember any of it. She couldn't recall the story of her sister getting married, her father's wedding either. She had no clue who all of Anne's boyfriends were, no idea as to when Rose had dyed her hair blue. She had no memory of loving her boss's boyfriend and despising her boss. She couldn't recall her life up until this point; she couldn't remember her mother….
And then it happened: Marjee was jolted from her thoughts by the sounds of an ambulance racing down the street. She looked downward toward the street below and could see the accident; her accident.
"Ginnie!" Rose screamed a few seconds late as the drunk driver slammed into Ginnie and Bob's Toyota Highlander.
Marjee jumped a bit, suddenly starting to recall…
"Oh my god, Marjee, raise this one", Anne shrieked from the back seat as the radio began playing Cyndi Lauper's 80's hit 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun'.
As the sisters began to sing along to the popular song, no one noticed the driver coming towards them on the opposite side of the road…
"Ginnie?" Rose asked in a small voice;" Marjee will be all right, won't she?"
Ginnie and Anne moved closer to their baby sister. "Rosie, don't worry; we'll get through this-all of us." Ginnie assured her.
"Whatever happens, Rosie", Anne added with a wink; "we have each other."
"I remember", Marjee whispered. "Ginnie! Annie! Rosie, she shouted, jumping up from the bed.
The trio rushed to Marjee's side once again.
"What's wrong?" Ginnie asked.
"What is it, Marjee? Anne echoed.
"Are you okay? Rose wondered.
Marjee's face broke out into a broad grin. "I remember!" she shouted excitedly.
"I remember; I remember", she kept repeating.
Marjee grabbed Rose's hand. "You dyed your hair blue the day of Dad's engagement party last fall", she cried.
Rose nodded.
"Annie, Annie!" Marjee screamed; "you dated Marco to help forget about Danny and then you had sex with Zach at his dorm room after your wedding date went bust", she smiled.
Anne was amazed. "Wow! You remember.
"Ginnie", Marjee continued, "You stole $150 from Dad's cash register at the deli; remember you told us…and you and Bob were married on a windy day in March!", Marjee stated proudly.
"Sweetie, you remember!" Ginnie cried, rushing to hug her little sister.
"And Dad and Renee were married at your house, Ginnie, because", Marjee paused; "the baby", she sigh sadly. "I'm sorry, Ginnie", she whispered; returning her sister's hug.
Ginnie quickly changed the subject for fear of losing it herself. "So you really remember?" she asked cautiously.
"Everything!" she shouted. "I remember everything. I remember the accident", she said softly. "It wasn't your fault, Ginnie. I remember we were singing", she smiled.
"I am so happy for you, Marjee", Rose shrieked, overcome with happy tears.
"Come here, baby", Anne urged, giving Marjee a tight squeeze.
"I have to call Dad", Marjee remembered, racing toward the phone.
"It's me, Daddy. I remember; yup, ask me anything!
Ginnie, Anne, and Rose could hear the happiness in their sister's voice as she spoke with their father and felt the relief within themselves as well. Marjee would be okay and not a moment too soon. Everything would be okay as long as they were always able to count on each other, memories or not.