The memory of the heart:
The forgotten lover
Chapter 1
"Through thick and thin…"
She opened her eyes and she didn't recognize the face which was looking at her.
- Who are you?
- I'm doctor Jonathan Miller… and you, you are Candice, your name is Candice according to the necklace you're wearing around your neck, said the doctor.
That name seemed strange to her, she only liked it a little. "Candice"
- Where am I?
- You're at St. Jacob hospital in New York…
- New York? What am I doing in New York?
- You were in the subway and there was an accident, you're lucky to be alive…
- I… I don't remember a thing? What's going on doctor?
- Easy, said the doctor, you had a bad hit on the head… which would explain your amnesia…
- Oh my God, that's horrible! I don't remember a thing!
- Calm down Miss… You have to calm down… think about your baby…
- I beg your pardon? I have a child?
Oh my God that was horrible! She had a child and she didn't remember it at all!
- Non, you're eight weeks pregnant…
- Pregnant? Said Candice putting her hand instinctively on her belly.
- Yes, you're lucky, your baby didn't have any chocks during the accident.
- I'm pregnant…, said Candy like in a dream, and I'm not married…
She looked a her hand with no wedding band.
- Or even engaged… oh my God, I don't know who the father of my baby is! I've lost my memory!
- Calm down miss…
- Calm down, I don't know who I am, I don't know where I live, if a have a family.
- We gave your picture to the reporter, they are going to show it on television during the news hour… we will probably get some phone calls after that
- What if nobody calls me? What am I going to do?
- We'll cross that bridge when we get there… now calm down. I'm going to send our gynecologist to examine you, while you wait until you remember something…
- Who was I seeing? I'm pregnant, I'm not married or engaged! I'm all alone in the world! I have to stop feeling sorry for myself… I feel like it's not really what I do…
- Get some rest now. Tomorrow is another day…, said the doctor.
Candice lay down on the bed and closed her eyes. She was trying to force her head to remember, but nothing was working, it was the dark hole. She didn't even know what she looked like. SH edecided to get out of bed and goe to the bathroom to look at herself in the mirror. She wanted to see if she had scars, freckles, freckles… she looked at herself… She had freckles on he nose… she was blond… she thought about all those jokes about blonds… but she couldn't remember them… she looked at her blond hair. She went back to bed and she took a magazine on the night table and she started reading. And by chance, she fell on a joke about a blonde.
"What does a blond says when she learns she's pregnant?
Doctor, are you sure it's mine?"
She burst out laughing. At least she could still laugh, and she felt good.
"Laughter is good for your health…"
oOoOoOoOoOo
Terrence Grandchester had just finished his nightly representation. There was a televions set inhis dressing room, so he could look at the critics on the play. The local new was on at first. The entertainment news came at the end. For the moment, they were talkinga bout the subway accident which had happened that morning. There were deaths and wounded. They showed the picture of a blond young woman.
"The young woman on the picture has lost her memory. If you recognize her, please contact Dr. Jonathan Miller…"
Terry was looking at the screen while he was changing.
- She looks like my Freckles… No, I must be seeing her everywhere, ever since I came back! I must be seeing things…
But he finished changing and he looked at the screen once again…
- But it is my Freckles! I would know those freckles anywhere!
He took his cellphone and dialed the number that appeared on the screen.
- Hello, I would like to speak to Doctor Jonathan Miller, please.
- Who's calling?
- Terrence Grandchester
- The actor?
- Yes, the actor…
- Oh my God! I love you on stage, you're wonderful…
- Thank you... my I speak to the doctor now please?
- Yes, of course, one moment please.
Terry liked to be recognized, because most of the time, it mean that he was going to get served fast, so he would be pleased. Also he was impatient to speak to the doctor to tell him he recognize his freckles… the wait seemed to take forever. He even felt like hanging up and run to the hospital. He was on the verge of hanging up when he heard…
- Hello? Doctor Miller here.
- Yes, good evening, Terrence Grandchester on the phone
- Good evening Mr. Grandchester, what ca I do for you?
- I'm calling about the young women with amnesia, her name is Candice White, we call her Candy…
- You know her family?
Terry hesitated for a moment. Candy was alone in New York, otherwise, a member of her family would'v come to pick her up. He missed her so much, it was the occasion for him to spend time with her until she gets her memory back. There was a silence…
- Mr. Grandchester? Are you still there? Asked the doctor
- She's an orphan, she's from Chicago, he finally answered.
- She doesn't live in New York?
- No, she's from Chicago, the last time I saw her was three months ago… I didn't know she was in New York, so, I don't know where she lives…
- Oh, that's too bad, because she doesn't really know where to go…
- I can take her with me…
- That's not going to be any trouble?
- Of course not…
Terry felt like the doctor wasn't telling him everything. Maybe he couldn't talk over the phone?
- She was very lucky, she only got some scratches, if she knew where to go, she would've left the hospital…
- What about her amnesia?
- Do you know her very well, Mr. Grandchester. Asked the doctor instead of answering him
- Yes, I know her very well, said Terry
"At least, I thought so, because she was in New York without telling me, since when?"
- So she's an orphan? There's nobody we can contact for her?
- Nobody, lied Terry, why? Is there a problem?
- I can only talk to a member of her family…
- Can I come and see her?
- It's late, she's sleeping already. You can come tomorrow morning.
- All right, said Terry a little discouraged.
Terry gave the doctor, other details, and he hung up a little annoyed. That doctor was mysterious. What was he hiding?
oOoOoOoOoOo
Candy was in her room talking to the gynecologist the hospital had send for her. Her name was Michelle Major.
- Everything seems to be all right, said the doctor.
- 8 weeks, that's about the size of a grape, right?
- As a matter of fact, around 1 cm and a half…
- I'm not going to feel it soon enough…
- I'm going to prescribe you some prenatal vitamins…
- I've lost my bag, I don't know if I have medical insurance or not… I don't even know if I can pay for my consultations…
- Don't worry about it, I'm going to give you the number of our free clinic, in case your memory doesn't come back…
- I don't even know where to go.
- The hospital is not going to throw a pregnant woman in the streets… we're going to find you a shelter while you recover.
- I haven't seen the doctor yet, this morning…
- He probably going to come after my visit, to tell you about your current situation. For the moment, stay cal and eat well to feed your baby…
oOoOoOoOoOo
Doctor Jonathan Miller was in his fifties. He greeted Terry warmly.
- Mr. Grandchester? I'm pleased to male you acquaintance.
- Likewise, doctor, said Terry, how is she?
- She vey fine, but she still got amnesia.
- Is it going to last long?
- Well, first of all, sine you're the only person who recognized her, are you ready to take her in charge?
- You mean for the hospital bills and all? Yes, I'll take care of it.
- Then I can consider you like her only family…
- Yes, said Terry.
He was thinking, if Albert learned about the accident, he would be at her side so fast… it was for him the opportunity to show that he could take care of Candy… they were walking to the doctor's office. They arrived and they sat down.
- I think her amnesia is psychogenic, said the doctor.
- In English doctor, I'm only an actor.
- It means that she must've been going through a difficult period and her subconscious took advantage to erase everything…
- For good?
- Non, her her subconscious is ready, her memory is going to come back, little by little of all at once…
Terry had a ton of questions, but he didn't know where to start…
- It's a sane reaction of the brain, instead of getting physically ill, and psychologically, it took some free vacations, under amnesia… like someone who is out of breath carrying something heavy, who puts it down to catch its breath…
Terry felt guilty. It was his fault if Candy was in that state…
- How long is it going to last?
- I don't know, it's going to depend on her… you don't know what could've traumatized her?
- No…
- Can I ask you what kind of relationship you have with Candice? Who are you exactly for her?
What could he say to that? She came to New yOrk and she didn't come to see her. He had to say, the last time they saw each other, they said goodbye to each other for good, so what reason she had to contact her? He had proposed to her and he said no… sending him back to his duty…
- We are… friends, he finally said
- But when you called last night, you told me you hadn't seen her for three months… and that you didn't know she was in New York…
- As a matter of fact…
- Do you know if she has a man in her life? Was she seeing someone?
- No, why?
- Because, she's pregnant, Mr. Grandchester…
Terry felt like they had given him a blow to his stomach, he held on to the doctor's desk, like he was going to fall. No, he must've heard him wrong. Candy pregnant? How far along was she?
- It's kind of recent, said the doctor, guessing the next question, not more than eight weeks…
- Eight weeks? Said Terry heart broken
- Giving the circumstances, I'm wondering if the pregnancy is not what her brain wants to block out
- You mean, she might have been raped?
- We can't exclude anything, but I don't think so. Even without her memory, she's bursting of joy and the nurses think she's likable…
- That doesn't surprise me…
- What do you mean?
- She's a nurse, that's her job…
- Really? Said the doctor, I was wondering where she got her medical vocabulary form…
- But she doesn't remember her job…
- As a matter of fact… let's get back to the baby… you don't know who the father is…
- No…
- Maybe she doesn't want the child, maybe he's a married man…
Terry felt sick. Candy was pregnant and she didn't come to see him? It meant that it wasn't his baby, but who was the father? How could she have slept with another man so fast? To tell the truth, a hundred years wouldn't have been long enough for him. She was his!
- Maybe she want to give up her baby for adoption…we never know…
- You said she was eight weeks pregnant, it couldn't be more, like twelve of thirteen weeks?
The doctor was pouting.
- I don't think so. According to the size of the fetus, the way it was yesterday on the ultrasound, two month, that the big maximum.
- So we don't know if she came to New York pregnant, or if she got pregnant here…
The slim hope quickly faded away. While he was suffefing the martyr, she was getting it on with someone else! Maybe she was cheating onher from the start? Non, that's not like her at all. She lived with Albert… would it be possible that? All of a sudden, he wanted to call Candy's family! If Albert was the baby's father, it was his duty to take care of it, was it not? No, he couldn't miss the opportunity to be with Candy. If she was going to have Albert' baby, then he was going to wait for her to get her memory back so she could tell her about her decision… he loved her so much, he had to take care of her, despite everything… He had let them believe that he was the only one who could take care of her, then, he's not going to back down now at the first little difficulty? "Little difficulty"? She was going to have another man's baby! But she was still his Freckles… and he loved her, through thick and thin.
- Mr. Grandchester, I have to go do my rounds, but I would like you to wait for me before you go see Candice, can you come back tonight?
- Yes, I'll come after the show…
- Very well. Goodbye Mr. Grandchester.
- Goodbye Doctor.
Terry went back to his duty. He spent the afternoon in town trying to digest what he had just learned. Candy was going to have another man's baby, Albert's baby! His best friend had betrayed him… Candy didn't remember anything, he couldn't be mad at her. He was eager to see her, but after what he had just learned, this little break time, allowed him to get used to the current situation and make a good face in front of Candy. He thought about calling Chicago to tell Albert, but… he wanted to see Candy first and then, he will make a decision.