"So, he still doesn't know who he is, how he got here, or who did that to him?" Dr. Lewis asked.
He and his wife had come over immediately after church and were sitting in the great room talking with Caryn.
"He seems to be completely confused about that," Caryn reported. "And, more than a little upset. Right now, I have Julie setting him up with a shower and a shampoo. Maybe after he gets cleaned up something will spark his memory."
"That has got to be discouraging," Margaret sympathized.
"Well, after I left here last night, I did some research on amnesia," the doctor reported. "And, as I remembered, there are several types – Some of them are caused by physical accidents and others by mental or emotional situations. From what I have seen, your visitor received several blows to the head which leads me to believe he is suffering from the physically induced type."
"Treatment?" Caryn questioned.
"Nothing specific," was the reply. "Just have patience and let it clear up by itself."
"Someone has got to be missing him," Margaret pointed out. "Despite the way he looked when he arrived here yesterday, he is definitely not a homeless vagrant."
"And, on the off chance that he is a victim similar to those who regularly show up at the local hospital's emergency room with no explanation for their injuries, we don't want to alert anyone to the fact that he is here," Caryn added. "We need to make inquiries, but we need to do it discretely."
"It may be a little late to think about concealing his presence here," Margaret told her with a smirk. "The local grapevine is already buzzing about the fact that you have a man staying with you. I got one phone call before we left for church this morning, and two people stopped me after the service to ask if I know anything. And I expect there will be several messages on the answering machine when we get home later."
"When Steve delivered the clothes this morning, I told him that he is my Cousin Sissy's youngest," Caryn replied. "I suspect that a cover story about an argument with his mother and him storming out and ending up on my doorstep will be sufficient to keep everybody satisfied."
"That should do it," Margaret agreed. "But we still need to check for missing persons."
"I can handle that," her husband volunteered. "When he comes back down I'll take a couple of pictures with my cell phone and later today I can make a stop at the Virginia State Police's regional post. I know a couple of the guys there and they should be able to tell me if anything has come across their desks."
"Sounds good," Caryn replied as Julie came bouncing down the stairs.
"How is our guest doing?" she asked her daughter.
"From what I can hear, he is in the shower," Julie reported. "Obviously, I didn't hang around to check that out. And, yes, I did give him some of my shampoo and conditioner, and also some of my body wash. It took him awhile to make up his mind. He didn't seem too familiar with the various choices."
"He probably has never encountered a teenaged girl's 'lotions and potions' collection," Dr. Lewis chuckled.
"That seems to indicate that he hasn't had a lot of experience living with or around females," Margaret said thoughtfully. "I think we are starting to get a picture of this young man's background."
"He seems to be extremely intelligent and well educated," Caryn added. "We can add that to the list."
"Make that genius level intelligence," the doctor corrected her. "My discussion with him last night literally left my head spinning."
"We need to give him a name," Julie protested. "We can't keep on calling him 'He' or 'Him'."
"Good point," her mother agreed. "When he gets back down here, we need to address that."
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
"What would I like to be called?" The question seemed to stymie the young man, who was now dressed in tan khakis and a soft, light blue, work shirt.
"We need to decide on a name for you. Something we can call you until your memory returns," Caryn explained. "Then, once you remember, we can change to your real name."
"I could buy a book of baby names for us to go through," she continued with a smile. "However, if someone from around here saw me buying it, I can just picture the rumors that would start flying!"
"I think something classic," Margaret suggested. "Something that people will take seriously."
"Seriously?" the visitor questioned.
"You look younger than your age," Margaret explained. "And, a serious-sounding name will help deflect any discrimination you might experience because of that."
"I like Lance," Julie spoke up. "Or Liam."
"A little too trendy," her mother replied. "And no Elvis either!" She glared at Margaret.
"I always liked Charles," Dr. Lewis spoke up thoughtfully.
"And, as I told you when we discussed names for our kids, that sounds far too stuffy," his wife countered. "It also invites the nickname of Chucky."
"How about Anthony, with Tony as a nickname?" Julie suggested.
"Italian?" Caryn questioned. "What do you think?" She looked over at their visitor.
"Italian?" he questioned. "That sounds familiar but I can't – I just can't – " He shook his head as he trailed off despondently.
"That's okay," Dr. Lewis told him. "We'll just take anything Italian off the table for now. You can think about it later."
"How about George?" Margaret suggested. "I like George."
"Like St. George and the dragon?" Caryn asked. She looked over at her visitor. "I can just see you now, sitting on a horse, dressed in shinning armor, wearing a visor, and swinging a sword," she told him.
"Sounds a little vicious for me," Julie commented. "But, if we are looking at saints, what about Michael?"
"Actually Michael was an Archangel," the young man told them. "And, he is mentioned as such in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox followers, as well as Anglicans, and Lutherans, refer to him as 'Saint Michael the Archangel', and also as 'Saint Michael'. Orthodox Christians, meanwhile, refer to him at 'Archangel Michael'."
"Sounds like a man for all seasons," the doctor remarked.
"You like Michael?" Caryn questioned.
"Yes," was the thoughtful reply. "I like it."
And, so, Michael came into being.
