4.
~ Confusion.
There was no other word for it. Arthur tried to think about what he had seen. He tried to make sense of what his wife looked like. What she had said.
'The hair cut, the lack of her normal clothing and make-up, that was easily explainable. His doctor said that he might forget things. It was possible Ariadne had cut her hair and started dressing differently since the operation. Her jewelry was another matter. She never took her bracelet off or her wedding ring. Then, there were other things. Driving while intoxicated? She never drank. Doesn't care or even seem to remember their children?'
That was too much.
"Date of birth?" the doctor asked for the third time.
"Still November second, 1978." Arthur sighed.
"Those words I asked you to remember?" the doctor asked.
"Blue, crown, butterfly, window and chair." Arthur repeated.
"Have you ever had memory impairment before the accident?" the doctor asked.
"I'm currently seeing a specialist about a brain tumor." Arthur sighed.
The doctor looked taken aback. Arthur nodded and reached his hand into his jacket pocket for his billfold.
"It was discovered a few months ago. I went in for surgery, but must have blacked out after the crash. I really don't remember." the point man explained.
"Your friend said you had no surgeries or major medical concerns in the past five hers to her knowledge." The doctor said.
Arthur shook his head and felt a sense of panic when he looked at his wallet.
It wasn't the soft, calf skin leather he had grown used to. A present from Ariadne on their first Christmas together. Instead, it was a denser trifold affair that housed business cards, a spar key, his passport scanning card, insurance and even his old lawyer's business card. He was slightly taken aback to see the shinny foil of an unopened condom wrapper inside.
He looked in vain for the plastic casing that held the family pictures of the boys, neatly dressed in matching three piece suits when they were still babies. Darcy, newly arrived in France after she was adopted. Her thin little face still scared looking. He couldn't find Drew's, dressed all in pink, a big gummy smile on her face as always. He couldn't find the oldest picture either. The faded and torn picture taken at a vintage photo booth near a beach when the Point Man and Architect had first started seeing each other. Back when they thought they were keeping it a secret. Ariadne had sat on his lap and they were both smiling. Their skin tanned and they were both careless and happy.
"My wife." Arthur said at last. "She'll have his card."
"What's her name? Your wife's name. She's not listed as next of kin."
"Ariadne." Arthur said. Irritation rising up. "She came with me in the ambulance."
The doctor scowled over his notes.
"The lady who filled out your forms in the waiting rooms… she didn't list herself as your next of kin." the doctor said. "Just a friend."
"What?" Arthur asked.
"Is there anyone else we can call? Someone who is responsible for you? Are your parents still alive?" the doctor asked.
"No." Arthur shook his head. What kind of game was this? "My mother's dead and so is my father."
He let out a long sigh.
"No wait, my real father is alive. Can I just see my wi- my friend?" he asked.
He was glad he had caught himself. The doctor was looking at him as though he had lost his mind.
"Alright. Can you give me the name of the specialist who was treating you for a brain tumor?"
"Thaddeus White." Arthur said feeling even more annoyed. "He's here in Paris."
"You're in London, sir." the doctor said and scribbled down another note.
Arthur wanted to say something. Wanted to shout at this man, but he suppressed the urge down deep as the older man left him.
'When did we come to London?' the Point Man asked himself. 'What are we doing here? Where are all my pictures? Was I mugged? That must be it.'
He sighed in relief. Someone mugged him and stole his wallet. That was why he didn't have his pictures or his old wallet.
"Arthur?" came a quick, efficient voice.
The Point Man looked up too see Ariadne. She had white strips tapped to her forehead to seal a cut closed, but otherwise, looked fine.
"You alright?" he asked.
"Fine." she breathed easily and walked into his room. "How are you?"
Arthur shook his head.
"I want to go home." he said honestly.
"Well, Cobb is on his way." She said and ran her hands into her pockets. It seemed like she didn't know what to do. His wife always knew what to do. She stood at least three feet away from him. Her stance casual, but keeping him distant.
Arthur sighed.
"I'm sorry about the crash, honey. I guess I wasn't ready to start driving again." he admitted.
He watched her eyes grow shockingly wide. A smile turn up her lips and she looked embarrassed and awkward.
"Uh, sure, baby. No problem." she said in a sarcastic, mocking tone. He watched her roll her eyes as if there was some great joke he was clueless about.
"Did we have a fight?" he asked. "I don't remember, Ariadne, I honestly don't. Whatever it is, I'm sorry."
"What's wrong with you?" She cut him off. A look of almost disgusted bewilderment crossing her face. "Why are you apologizing? We didn't have a fight."
Arthur didn't understand.
"You're not… you're not mad at me?" he asked.
She rolled her eyes at him.
"No." she said.
"I've been having trouble… remembering because of the brain tumor." he sighed.
"Brain tumor? What brain tumor?" she demanded. That sharpness in her voice back again and she seemed to focus, laser like, onto him.
"The one I was being treated for." he said slowly.
She looked completely lost.
"I had the nose bleeds. I was waking up in bed and you found blood on my pillow." he said even slower.
"Wait." she stopped him. She shook her head as if to rewind the situation. "In what scenario would I have seen your pillow?"
She was almost laughing at him.
"I mean, I've never even been to your place." she added.
"My place?" he questioned. "Ariadne, our place. Our bed. We're married?" he said with equal sarcasm of his own. "We share a bed. What the hell are you talking about?"
"What the hell are you talking about?" she spat with disgust. "We're not married, we've never even dated."
It was Arthur's turn to look disgusted.
"Ariadne, we've been married for over ten years now, we have four children and we live in Paris." he said cooly. He could feel his teeth hurt from wanting to grind them.
"We certainly do not have four kids. I think I would have remembered that." she said with a grin. "Also, we haven't been to Paris since the Fisher Inception."
"The Fisher Inception?" Arthur questioned.
She nodded.
"That's it. You can't tell me you don't remember. That's when we fell in love." he laughed.
She looked at him with concern. Her voice coming calm and clear. She wasn't laughing anymore.
"Arthur, we've never been in love. Ever. You kissed me in the dream once. I told you I wasn't interested. You still pursued me and I had to tell you to back off before I finally… well…" she shrugged as if he ought to now.
"Before you finally what?" Arthur demanded.
She looked embarrassed.
"Before I finally came out. Before I finally came out to you guys that I was a lesbian." she said in a low voice.
