The Man Next Door
(Part 27)
Micky sat at the breakfast table across from Selene pondering the drive back home from Phoenix to California. He knew that he'd probably be the one driving most if not all of the way. He knew that he was in no position to comment on the physical condition of anyone or their abilities to do things but he did not feel that Selene was able to drive a long distance at this point.
"Your eggs are really good." Selene said to Micky as she forked the next few bites of food.
"Thanks, hon! I'm glad you like them. They're no comparison to the ones you make though." He told her, smiling.
"The ones I make?" She asked, puzzled.
"Yeah, you're a great little cook. You cook wonderful stuff." Micky explained.
"Oh." Selene said somewhat emotionless as she ate the remainder of what was on the plate.
Micky hadn't realized the extent of her memory loss until now. She not only didn't remember anything about their life together but she had no idea about her own life. She didn't know that she was a great cook, she had no idea that she was a wonderful singer and she hadn't the slightest clue what kind of a home they'd be going back to, what her history was or anything else that the average person usually has knowledge of.
It was then that he realized that he would have to take full responsibility not only for her safety and recovery but for her re-education of who she was, where she came from and all the rest. He didn't know all that much about her other than what she had told him. She hadn't told him any stories about her childhood, about her parents, friends or anything else outside of recent events that were only discussed whenever something prompted discussion about these events. He'd just have to go through her stuff and see what he could find out about her in order to try to help her get her memory back. He wanted to cause one of those memory triggers that the doctor had discussed with him by showing Selene familiar things and places and hoped that it would all come back to her in an instant as described without any long term effects.
"If it's ok with you, I'll clean up the kitchen." Selene said as she watched Micky finish the last bite of his food while she was finishing the last of her cup of tea.
Micky hesitated for a moment but then gave her the ok to clean up things figuring that if she felt like doing it, he should probably just allow her to do it, allow her to follow her instincts. "Just don't over do it, ok?" He said.
"I'll be ok." She said as she got up slowly from the chair and proceeded to clear the table.
"I'm going to go get some of our things together and organized." Micky told her and then left the room disappearing into the back of the suite where the bedroom was located.
Once Micky was gone, Selene finished cleaning the table and put the dirty dishes into the mini dishwasher that was in the room and started it up. Whenever she raised back up from looking at the controls on the thing, she was suddenly back in Trevor's arms in a headlock with her head in his elbow. Shots rang out and the very next second she realized that there actually was someone touching her. A hand was grasping her own hand while another hand was lightly placed around her waist. She snapped out of the flash back she was having, found herself gasping for breath and her heart pounding as though it were going to jump out of her chest and run away. She nearly felt as though she would black out from the panic and reached with her other hand to steady herself on the table that was now behind her.
"Selene, are you alright?" She heard Micky's soft voice with a tone of concern in it and then felt a tug at her arm from where he was holding onto her. Apparently she had toppled a little bit into the direction of the table and he had pulled her back so that she wouldn't fall. He gently pulled her closer to him.
"Come here love." He said as he gently guided her to his lap and sat her down as though she were a small child sitting on daddy's lap.
He cuddled her in his arms to comfort her. He could feel her heart pounding.
"I don't know what happened!" She said, shaken. "I was putting the dishes in the dishwasher and then I raised up and turned around and there he was, holding me, with a knife..." She said.
"Who?" Micky asked, realizing already that she had experienced a flashback and wanting to try to probe the depths of her mind to cause her to remember on her own. This could be the first key to getting her to regain her memory. Micky was an intelligent guy.
"This guy..." She said and then began to describe Trevor. She eventually came up with his name on her own.
"Selene, you're safe from him. The cops arrested him and took him away. He won't get out for a long time." Micky assured her as he smoothed her hair and gently kissed her forehead.
Selene still hadn't had time to adjust to the fact that she and Micky were married. She was still behaving shyly when he tried to kiss her. This time she felt her face blush a little bit even though Micky wasn't being particularly sexual with her; more comforting than anything else. He still loved the feeling of her on his lap though. Even at this point, he was still undeniably attracted to her.
"Ok, you wanna come back here with me and help me pack some stuff up?" Micky asked her. She agreed and went to the bedroom with him.
In some of the items, Selene found a wallet. It was a black leather wallet that showed some signs of wear. 'I think this is yours." She said as she held it out for Micky.
"Um, no, that would be yours." He said. "You carry a wallet." He added, then went back to what he was doing.
Selene took the wallet back and opened it up. There was some cash inside along with a few cards, credit, debit, library, and the rest of the usual stuff. In the other side of the wallet was her driver's license with her photograph and signature. She looked over it and then pulled out something from behind it and looked at it. Micky watched as she held the small photo in her hand and looked at it carefully. It was a photo that had been taken whenever they had been married on the beach. Selene was standing beside Micky on the rock just as he had described. In this photo, she was holding her hand up to display her wedding rings in the photo and hanging off of Micky's right side. They both appeared to be exceedingly happy in the photo. It was a gorgeous photo. The kind of photos that dreams are made of.
"You were standing up at our wedding." She said to him, not looking up from the photograph. "This was after your accident, right?" She asked.
"Yeah." He said, not bothering to add anything else. He had seen the cute little smile that had crossed her face whenever she had pulled that photograph out. He hadn't seen that in a while but it was welcome. Maybe it was a sign that she remembered something or felt something whenever she saw the picture.
Selene continued to study the photograph and run her fingers across it tracing herself and Micky...
"Tell me why you wanted to stand up for our wedding." Selene questioned.
"Because I didn't want to be sitting down whenever we were married. I thought it was appropriate to stand for you, love." He explained.
"That was very thoughtful of you to do that." She said, this time looking up at him with those pretty eyes that he loved to see and with that slight smile.
"You seem like a real sweetheart." She said, still smiling at him and at the same time being sincere but also still having no clue about their recent past relationship.
He wanted to scoop her up and kiss her, maybe even lay her down on the bed and kiss her passionately but he knew that doing something that emotional and drastic could send her into another mental flashback. He also knew that she may not be open to such advances until she remembered everything; remembered him.
"I try to be your sweetheart." He said, not making any sort of advances at her.
With her right hand, she covered Micky's hand which was resting on the arm rest of the chair. "Thank you for being so sweet." She told him. "You seem really wonderful and I really wish I could remember things about our relationship." She said then went back to organizing things in the suit case.
Micky noticed the evident sadness in her voice and wanted to help her. He picked up the photograph that she had set aside for the moment and looked at it himself. He almost felt tears well up in his eyes looking at it; remembering what they had and how wonderful it had been.
He looked up away from the photograph and met her eyes looking back at him. She had been watching his reaction to the photograph whenever she saw that he had picked it up.
"I'll do whatever we need to do in order to help you remember. Just promise you won't leave me" Micky said. It was a plea more than a request. No matter what, he wanted to take care of her and always have her around. He was willing to forego the romantic part of the relationship just to keep her around. Whatever it took.
"That's really nice of you." Selene responded, still folding some items up and packing them in a suitcase nearby. "I really do appreciate your help. I'm trying to put the pieces back together." She said with a sense of emotional emptiness.
It didn't take them long to get things packed up and ready to go. Micky called the bellhop up and requested that their bags be taken down to their car and packed. He followed with Selene pushing his chair. He let her push him instead of saying anything to her about not doing that like he usually would. This was more of an instinct of hers to care for him and he was going to let her act upon it for now. He felt that it really would help her move closer to finding herself again and getting her memory back.
Micky and Selene made their way to the parking lot. Selene realized at that point that she had no idea which car was theirs. She paused long enough to watch the bellhop who went directly to the black Mercedes. She followed.
"Push me over to the driver side door, love." Micky said with some certainty. Selene done as was requested. Selene didn't say what she was thinking which was "how in the world is he going to drive this thing in his condition? He can't even walk!"
Micky knew that he wouldn't be up to driving for the whole trip but he didn't want to put Selene behind the wheel just yet. Micky slipped out of the wheelchair and behind the wheel. It felt so good to sit in the driver's seat again that he couldn't hardly stand the excitement but his excitement was shadowed with the thoughts of what he knew would happen later-the pain of over-worked muscles and nerves. Hopefully his therapy routines had helped him build some stamina though and he would have a longer tolerance for driving.
The Bellhop assisted Selene with putting the wheelchair into the trunk of the car and then opened the passenger side door for her. Micky passed him a 100 dollar bill for a tip and started the Mercedes. The engine hummed quietly.
A few minutes later, Micky pulled the car onto the interstate headed back in a westward direction towards his California home. Selene could see that he was thoroughly enjoying the sports car. Since he was on the interstate, he was able to set the cruise control which helped his condition quite a bit. This was something he hadn't even thought about doing last time he used the car.
"That's nice" Selene said, indicating the cruise feature of the car. "Fancy"
"Just about every car on the road has that feature now, they've had that feature for years" Micky told her.
"I don't think I've ever owned a car that had that feature though." Selene said and then trailed off in her own thoughts.
Micky realized that she may be on the verge of remembering something else about herself so he continued the discussion about the car and cruise control features.
"Really? What sort of cars do you drive?" He asked
Selene looked at him from the passenger side of the car and responded fluidly to his inquiry "Well, there's this old beater car, its a Chevy. I've had it for a while. It's a stick shift though so there's not an option for cruise control on those."
Just at that moment, her eyes became a little brighter. She realized that she remembered the black Beretta. She could visualize it now in her mind...the interior, its old boxy dash, the way it smelled of older car scent, how the seat belt squealed and squeaked when it was pulled out and retracted. She remembered her car.
Micky realized by her expression that she had remembered. "You remembered your car didn't you?"
"Mmm hmm" Selene said, smiling. The two of them discussed the details of the car a bit more. Micky prodded her mind for details until she fully described the car to him by make, model, color, features and any other details he could think of that might bring one more piece of her memory back to her.
Selene had noticed that he was able to slightly move his legs and began thinking about that. She realized that she seemed to know a lot about what was good for this type of condition and even how to re-train muscles to function.
"Micky, what did I do back at home-I mean for a job?" She asked out of the blue.
"Well, you were mainly a writer for the local newspaper but as I understood you to tell me, you previously went to college for physical therapy and you did spend several years taking care of your mother." He explained to her.
"Oh, well that sounds nice." She said as she silently pondered what he had said.
Micky's hand came over, brushed her hair away from her face and came to rest on the side of her face. "It's ok to ask me about these things." He said.
"I know, I was just thinking about my mother...I don't know anything about her..." Selene said.
Micky only then realized that he would have to tell her that her mother had died and he didn't know how she would take that but she had to be told. He remembered how empty and void of emotions he had felt whenever his own mother had passed away. Completely numb.
Micky told Selene a few little things here and there about her mom but pulled off the next exit he could find and drove through the town until he found a park area. This required him to use what movement he had regained in order to drive the car. It hadn't been too bad on the interstate since he had been able to set the cruise control. He was feeling very positive about the drive at this point.
The two of them got out of the car and found a quiet place.
"Why are st stopping here?" Selene asked curiously.
"Just to stretch our legs a little bit and talk." Micky said. "Well, you can stretch your legs...I don't know about mine" He added and chuckled, poking fun at himself.
Without being asked, Selene went to the back of the car almost as if by default and unloaded Micky's wheelchair from the trunk and brought it around to his side of the car where she set the brake and then proceeded to assist him as best she could with the use of one arm into it.
Micky took Selene to a park bench under a tree where he sat in front of her taking her hands in his and leaning toward her.
"Selene, I don't really know how to tell you this. When you asked me about your mother, I didn't know what to say but I wanted to tell you as soon as possible...You took great care of your mother for a long time. She was happy, you spent a lot of time with her and she passed away peacefully after a long illness with a physically debilitating disease." When Micky said this, he saw the expression on her face change from a curious one to an emotionally numb expression and then the tears came. Selene fell forward into Micky's arms not even trying to be careful of the cast on her broken arm. She cried into his chest uncontrollably for a few minutes there with Micky holding her, rubbing her back and attempting to comfort her as best he could.
"Baby, I'm sorry." Micky whispered in her ear as she cried.
Micky didn't know what else he could say so he just let her get it all out. When he felt that her emotional wave was over, he helped her clean up her face a bit and still held the hand of her un-broken arm.
"Would you like to go get some coffee or something?" Micky offered.
"I think that'd be nice." Selene said through the last few remaining tears as she stood up in front of Micky, leaned inward toward him and hugged him with her uninjured arm. "Thank you." She said not above a whisper. Micky took the opportunity and returned the hug holding her firmly for only a few seconds before releasing her. It felt good to get that vibe again. Having a physical exchange felt really nice. Especially when she initiated it and he was able to reciprocate.
"I saw a coffee shop back up the road a bit whenever we came off the interstate." Micky said as he started the car and backed it out of the parking place. "Wanna try it out?" He asked.
"That sounds nice." Selene said, still in a bit of a state of shock with what Micky had told her earlier.
A few minutes later, the two of them were at the coffee shop. Whenever they walked into the place, they saw a rather laid back atmosphere. There were a few plush chairs sitting around, a couch and several tall tables with tall chairs. The place smelled absolutely sinful with the scent of coffee with undertones of sweet syrups and liquors. There was also the faint, much weaker scent of tea brewing and freshly baked pastries and bread.
"I'd like a tall coffee, black, with a grinder sandwich." Micky said to the young man behind the counter. "And my lady here will have..." He stopped for a moment when he noticed that Selene was feasting her eyes upon some blueberry cheesecake in the showcase. "What is it that you will have, love?" He asked, drawing her attention away from the cheesecake.
"I think I'll have a deli sandwich, a green tea spiced chai latte, cold and a slice of that cheesecake." She said.
"I'll have that right out." The young man said as Micky paid him.
Micky looked around for a regular size table that would be handicap accessible but there wasn't one. He would have to go over where the couch and chairs were and use the coffee table. That was fine also. It was a bit more comfortable than the hard chairs.
Micky rolled in between the couch and the chair so that he was sitting beside the couch where Selene had already sat down.
"This is kind of nice." Selene commented.
"Yes, it is. Can't wait to get into some of the food!" Micky said.
It was obvious to Selene that Micky enjoyed eating and he had a particular flare for great food. A moment later the food came out with drinks. The smooth jazz music that was playing in the background was just enough to set the tone for the place. It was almost calming to be there.
"I wish I owned a place like this." Selene said out of nowhere.
"Really, do you? I didn't know you wanted to own a business." Micky said as he chewed another bite off the sandwich he'd ordered.
"Yeah, it's been a dream of mine for a while. I've just always wanted to be able to create one of those places that has an atmosphere that you never forget and that you love to be in." She said then added "You know, if people like your food, that's only 25% of a business. The other 75% is if they like the atmosphere that they are in while they eat it. If it makes them feel good, they will buy more food and hang around longer."
"Wait a minute..." Micky said, putting down the sandwich and continuing. If you've had this dream as long as you remember, that must only mean one thing!" He said getting more excited with every word that came out of his mouth.
"What?" Selene said, a little taken aback by his seemingly uncontrolled excitement.
"You're remembering something! It's coming back to you!" He said nearly coming off the seat with excitement.
Selene hadn't thought of that until just now. It was weird how that thought just popped into her mind as though it had always been there just tucked away in some dark corridor waiting for a chance to show its self again. She then too began to get excited about it and happily finished her deli sandwich and part of the chai.
"Could I talk you into letting me sample that slice of cheesecake, dear?" Micky asked with a smile on his face.
Without answering right away, Selene forked the point on the end of the slice off and held it out to feed him. "You sure can!" She said smiling back at him as she popped the cheesecake into his mouth and fed him.
This pleased Micky. He was happy at the apparent affectionate gesture of being fed.
"This is delicious!" He exclaimed as he picked up his coffee and took a sip of that to wash down the cheesecake. "But it isn't as good as the one you make." He added, grinning at Selene.
Selene smiled and took a bite of the cheesecake, licking the fork after she took the food off it.
Whenever they had finished their food and drinks, they got back in the car.
Micky started the car and then went for a switch on the console.
"Do you mind, love?" Micky asked before he flipped the switch that would trigger the top of the SLK to open up and tuck away into the trunk.
"Do I mind what?" Selene asked and then realized what he was asking and smiled.
"No, go ahead, It'll be nice to have the top down." She told him at which point, he flicked the switch and the transformation took place.
Once the top was down, they headed back toward the interstate and began traveling west again toward California.
Despite the horrific events that had unfolded in Phoenix, Selene was finding Micky to be a fun guy to be around. He was incredibility sweet to her and so far, he had made her feel comfortable about the whole situation that she wasn't yet able to remember.
A couple of hours had passed since they started driving again. Micky looked slightly drained but still exhibited his usual happy self. The truth was that he was just happy to have Selene and escape from the hell that had taken place only hours previous. He had purchase a home for them but he wanted to take it easy on the moving process until Selene was stable enough to endure it and find a happy life at their new home. He could put off his own well being for a while for her and that's exactly what he intended to do.
Just then, Micky felt a twinge in the lower left portion of his back that sent enough of a jolt through him to cause him to take on a pained expression. Selene didn't notice it right off. She had been looking at the desert scenery on the other side of the car. Driving through the Southwest was something that she seemed to take enjoyment in. It was picturesque. Micky had hoped that Selene hadn't noticed that he had experienced a pain and kept driving. Selene had pulled out a camera from her bag in the car and began snapping a few photos of the scenery around them.
"I just love looking at the plateaus and desert scenery around here. It's beautiful." Selene said as they passed by what looked like a little oasis of cacti all clumped together in one place in the middle of nowhere.
"I find it relaxing to stare into the desert at the sand dunes and such and just imagine a quiet relaxing place. Sometimes the wind blows and that's relaxing too but it gets cold out here at night." Micky added, throwing a glance her way. He reached for a pair of aviator sun glasses that were laying in a console tray in the center of the car and put them on.
"It's kind of bright around here too in the middle of the day." He added as he smiled, his eyes now shielded with the reflective glasses.
The truth was that he had used the sun glasses to further cover any expression of pain because he knew that he was going to start having major pain again soon and he wanted to be able to complete the drive home without having to make Selene drive. He just didn't think she'd be up to it with everything that had happened. They should be home in a few more hours anyway.
Selene glanced over at him when he put on the sun glasses and thought to herself "he really looks great in those." and at just that point, Micky turned and caught her affectionately looking at him but at the same time zoning out.
"What?" He said, smiling.
"Nothing, I was just thinking." Selene said obviously trying to cover up that she was letting herself zone out on the image of Micky in aviator sun glasses.
He reached over and took the hand of her broken arm in his, gently so as not to hurt anything. It would have been kind of awkward for him to have held her right hand while he was driving the car. She let him and didn't appear uncomfortable at all.
Just then, he noticed that Selene's hand felt a little odd and looked down at it. Her fingers had swelled again and looked quite painful.
"Selene, do you need something for that?" He asked then added before she could answer "is it hurting?"
She looked down at her hand and examined it for a moment before she answered him.
"Yeah, it's throbbing." She finally admitted. "And so is my other arm." She added.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" He asked.
"I know you wanna get home as soon as possible. You don't look all that energized yourself." She told him, attempting to dismiss the situation with her own pain as though she sensed something wasn't quite right with him at the same time.
"I am going to stop soon and we're going to find you something to take for that to help it." He told her, continuing to drive for the next few miles until they came to another smaller town. By now, they were in New Mexico.
Micky knew that the doctor had prescribed narcotics for Selene's pain but he didn't even want to look at that, much less start giving it to her because of his own experiences with it. He would much rather get her something a little less habit forming. He remembered the fits of rage he used to have when he tried to go off the pain killers cold turkey and all of the busted up objects in the house that he would throw at the wall out of anger because of the withdraw.
"There's a pharmacy over there." Selene pointed out.
Micky turned into the parking lot and shut the car off.
The two of them sat there for a few moments in silence.
"I hate to ask you to do it, but could you go in there and find something so we don't have to get my chair out of the trunk?" Micky asked.
Selene hadn't thought about that until just now and realized that would probably be the best way of handling the situation since her arms didn't feel like taking the chair out of the trunk.
"I just don't think you should be doing all of that lifting and such until you recover a little bit more." He added.
"No problem. I can still walk. She said and flashed him that sweet smile of hers that he loved so much.
While Selene was in the store, Micky sat in the car waiting for her to return and as he did, he thanked God for Selene.
Selene walked through the pharmacy and looked at various over the counter pain medication until she found Ibuprofen. Without thinking, she picked up a bottle and headed toward the cash register.
Micky, still sitting in the car watching people and the surrounding area remembered that Selene probably didn't have any money on her at all and he hadn't given her the credit card before she went in.
"Shit!" He said to himself as he fumbled through his own wallet for a card that he could give her when she came back to get money from him. He hated that she would probably end up getting to the register before she realized that she didn't have anything in her pockets. With that, he smacked the steering wheel hard with his fists. He wanted so badly to get out of the car, walk into the store and just pay for anything she wanted but his legs wouldn't let him do that. He'd just have to sit tight until she came back. He waited. He was effectively stuck in the driver's seat of the car.
"This is odd, I don't seem to have any money in my pocket." Selene said when the cashier rang up the medication. "Hang on, I think I left my purse in the car, I'll just go get it and be right back." She told the young man behind the counter as she turned to exit the store.
Selene approached the driver side of the car but before she could ask for anything, Micky put the credit card in her hand. "It'll be ok. Just pay with this." He said smiling at her although he really didn't feel like smiling at the moment after thinking about the simple things that he wasn't able to do that he'd like to be able to do when it came to Selene. He just wanted to come to her rescue once in a while and make things ok.
In a few minutes, Selene came back out of the store with a couple of bottles of Coke and the pills she had purchased, returned to the car and handed Micky the card back.
"Thanks for letting me use that." She said, indicating the credit card. "I'll pay you back" she said without thinking.
"Thanks? It's yours too. You don't have to thank me for it, honey." He told her. "and you don't have to pay me back for it..." he added.
The New Mexico sun was boiling down on the black car in the parking lot and was quite warm. Micky flipped the switch and brought the convertible top back up out of the trunk of the car shielding them from the direct sunlight.
Selene handed him one of the drinks.
"I-I wasn't sure what you liked so...So I just got you the same thing I wanted. If you don't like it..." She stopped when Micky held up a hand and grinned.
"I love Coke." He said, twisting the plastic cap off the bottle, making it hiss and then turning it up and taking a big drink of it.
"It's the best thing I've ever tasted." He said, after swallowing what was in his mouth. Nice and cold.
Selene drank some of her Coke as well and then opened the Ibuprofen and dispensed two of them into her hand then took them. She decided to double up on it and swallowed two more of them.
"Can I have a couple of those too?" Micky asked.
"What's wrong with you?" Selene asked not remembering anything about his other problems but slightly worried about him.
"Just got a slight headache from the sun." He said hoping that would satisfy any curiosity and get him a dose of the medicine that would subdue any major pain that he might have until a point that they got back home where he could fully relax and endure it. He knew it was going to be horrid after what he was doing now.
Selene handed him two of the pills and he quickly swallowed them and smiled. "I think I'm already feeling better." He said with a giggle then started the car, placed the drink on the seat between his legs and pulled out of the parking lot.
The two of them rode with the AC on the rest of the way to the California state line. Things had been quiet for the last couple hours. That was because Selene had fallen asleep on her side of the car and Micky had decided not to do anything to disturb her.
Just then, he looked at his dash and noticed that the gas needle was dangerously close to "E" and decided that he should probably pull over somewhere and get gas. "Where?" was the next question. He didn't know of any full service gas stations in the area but was going to try to find one if he could to avoid having to get out and pump it himself or ask Selene to do it. She was resting too well and needed all the rest and relaxation she could get under the circumstances.
Micky called Information on his cell phone and quietly asked the operator about the location of a full service gas station near his location. She placed him on hold for a moment then returned to the line with the information he had requested. Lucky for him, there was a full service gas station only 2 miles from his current location.
Micky pulled into the gas pumps, put the window down halfway and switched the car off.
"What will it be?" A friendly male voice asked as someone walked up from the back of the car.
"High Test, and fill it up." Micky said. "Don't bother checking the oil, it's fine. My wife's sleeping and I don't wanna wake her up." He added.
"Will do." The older man at the pump said as he began filling the tank.
Micky handed the man his credit card and in a few minutes the man returned from the store with it to get Micky's signature on it.
"Have a nice day." The man said as Micky handed it back to him, thanked him and tipped him for his services.
A little while later, Micky pulled the Mercedes into his driveway and under the car port past Selene's Beretta which was parked to the side of the driveway. Selene was still asleep. Micky hated to wake her but he knew that she'd be more comfortable inside the house and he needed her help to get himself out of the car so there really wasn't much of a choice in the matter.
"Damn these legs." He mumbled to himself, leaning over toward Selene so that he could gently wake her. He rubbed her cheek with the back of his hand lightly.
"Selene, we're home now." He said quietly as he gently nudged her shoulder being very careful not to hurt her arm. After a little more coaxing, Selene woke up.
"We're home." Micky told her again. Before she could say anything, Micky reached for the seat belt and unbuckled it, gently guiding it back to the other side of the car for her so that she didn't have to try to untangle herself from it.
"How are you feeling?" He asked her before she had a chance to say anything."
She thought about it for a moment. "I think I feel better." She said, still relaxed from being asleep for the past few hours.
Not wanting to rush her into waking up, Micky just stayed put in the car with her until he saw that she was ready to get out of the car.
Selene got out of the car, walked around to the rear and stopped. Micky didn't pop the trunk for her right away. He was still in the car but it wasn't like he could go anywhere if he were to open the door. It was just that usually he had previously opened the trunk for her before she had got back there and his door open and waiting for her.
There was a reason that Micky hadn't popped the trunk. He was sitting in the car, holding the keys in his hand, finger on the button but he just didn't get as far as pressing it before he broke down in uncontrollable sobs. Not out of pain or suffering from the long drive but because he was thinking how horrible it was going to be for Selene to try and recover with him in that condition and how difficult it was going to be for her to help him. He didn't want her to have to do these things but he didn't want anyone else doing it either. He was feeling sorry for himself and knew that Selene hated that too but he just couldn't do anything about it right now. With everything that had happened recently, his emotional state was fragile and this was all it took to set it off and push him to the breaking point.
Selene walked around to the driver side door and saw the pitiful sight that was unfolding right in front of her. She saw this older man that she had married that she barely knew anything about, sitting in the car gripping the steering wheel with one hand, slumped forward, keys in the other hand, crying uncontrollably. She pulled the door open with her uninjured hand. His crying was deep, hard crying. Not just a few tears. She didn't really know what to do or how to do it so she just done what came natural to her. She knelt down beside the car and reached in with both arms, not saying anything just yet and hugged Micky as best as her cast would allow. His fragile emotional state subsided enough for him to realize that she was there and leaned into her, placing one hand on her arm that was in a cast so that he wouldn't unintentionally hurt her.
"I'm sorry." He said through the remaining tears. "I'm so sorry, Selene." He continued.
"Shhhh." She said, still holding him but wiping a tears from his face the same way he had done her and at the same time, taking the car keys from his hand.
"I'm going to get your chair out of the trunk and then we're going to go inside and I'll make us a hot cup of tea." She said looking into his now red eyes and at the same time placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. Before he realized it, she leaned in and kissed him lightly, close to the corner of his mouth, just the way he liked it.
He didn't say anything. He wasn't able to say anything at the moment. He was still recovering from the emotional breakdown and the kiss. Selene had kissed him exactly the same way she used to.
Somehow Selene managed to haul the chair out of the trunk, unfold it and in a short while, she returned to him and extended her right hand toward him, open, in a gesture of assisting him out of the vehicle.
"It's ok, I can handle it from here. He assured her as he rubbed his eye again.
Without saying anything, Selene closed the car door behind him after he was clear of it and followed him into the house leaving their stuff in the trunk of the car to deal with later.
When Micky unlocked the door and went inside, Selene followed and stopped just inside the door. She looked around the place taking in everything there was too see.
Micky went straight to the bathroom leaving her in the kitchen area and without saying anything.
Selene walked around the house trying to see if anything she saw there would spark any kind of memories at all with her. She walked into the living room, looked at some photos that were sitting on the end table and then made her way into Micky's study where she saw several more pictures of her decorating his desk and the walls. Some of the photos were taken at the beach, others were taken at the house and various other locations.
Micky, while in the bathroom had managed to wash his face in cold water and try to shake the emotional outburst he had just experienced. He had a change of clothing in the bathroom and by now, he really felt that he needed it. He changed outfits, putting on his lounge pants and a sweat shirt then went back out to see what Selene was doing. He should have known. The smell of freshly brewing tea hit him in the face the minute he exited the bathroom. She had managed to find the tea and make some for them both.
When Micky came around the corner to the kitchen, Selene had poured the second cup of tea that was sitting on a serving tray and had placed a bowl of sugar onto that same tray.
"We can have that in the living room." Micky said as she turned around, tray in hand.
"Of course!" She said, and headed that way.
Once in the living room, Selene placed the tray on the coffee table that was positioned in the center of the room and sat down on the couch.
"Mind if I sit here too?" Micky asked before he moved the chair into a position so that he could transfer out of it onto the couch.
"No, not at all." Selene said, patting the couch beside her.
Micky didn't know why, but he felt awkward transferring himself to the couch in front of Selene all of a sudden. Somehow, he felt like the sight of this would sway her opinion of him to a point that she may never recover her memory or perhaps just may decide that she didn't want to be with him any longer. Once he plopped down on the couch beside her, positioned himself comfortably and positioned his feet so that they looked natural.
"Here, sip on this." Selene said, handing him the cup of herbal tea that she had brewed.
"Thank you." He said, taking a sip of the still piping hot tea.
"You're welcome, Micky." Selene replied, sipping her own tea.
"Hey, listen-about earlier in the driveway." Micky started. "I don't know what came over me. You know, I told you I'd been having trouble dealing with this whole thing and..." He stopped, realizing that she wanted to say something.
"It's ok." Selene said, leaning toward him and placing a hand on his thigh. In an instant, the expression on his face changed again. She jerked her hand back. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..." She said, nearly beginning to cry herself and clearly feeling that she was out of line.
"No, it wasn't that. It was just that...that I can't feel it when you do that. There are just so many things that I want to feel and do but I can't anymore. And having you has been a great help to me but you need to heal now as well. We both need to heal together and you can't do that if you're having to take care of me." Micky explained.
Selene sat there listening to him as he explained this to her but not saying a word. She was in her own little chain of thought regarding Micky and his apparent desire to make sure that she was well taken care of and recovered fully from her injuries.
"I still don't remember too much about you other than what you've told me but I can see one thing." Selene said. "You're a very sweet and caring man." She told him
"And you're a very sweet little lady yourself." He told her. "And I love you" He added.
"I just think that I need to have somebody come to the house and help take care of me so that you don't have to do it all." Micky blurted out.
"That's going to be expensive." Selene said.
Micky paused for a moment and collected his thoughts. "It will be ok. I can assure you of that." He told her, not wanting to drop too many bombs on her at once by telling her that he was a celebrity and that he didn't have to worry about money because he had a lot of it. She would find that out in due time just like she did the first time around and he wasn't going to push anything on her-including himself as bad as he wanted to do it.
"Just know that you don't have to worry about anything. I'm going to take care of it all." He said.
Selene found comfort in these words even though she hadn't the first clue what he was talking about. Something told her just to trust him and take him at his word and everything would fall into place as it should. After all, he just told her that he loved her...not in a sexual way but in more of a generally caring sort of way.
"Want to watch something on television?" Micky asked, switching on the plasma screen TV and bringing up the guide.
Selene nodded as she continued to sip her tea. The two of them watched a movie for the next hour and a half. Thankfully it was a comedy and lifted their spirits a great deal. When the movie was over, Selene hadn't moved from her spot on the couch and Micky hadn't moved from his. He wanted so badly to cuddle her during the movie but he was waiting for her to make the fist move because he didn't want to make her uncomfortable. This was like starting over for her. He'd have to charm her all over again. There was one little problem though, he had no idea that he had charmed her to begin with when they first met. It just happened. He had no idea whether or not it would work a second time around or how to make it work. He would have to play it by ear and just do what he felt was right.
"Was that your stomach?" She asked indicating the groan from Micky's side of the couch.
He looked at her sheepishly and nodded.
"What can we have for dinner tonight?" She asked.
"You go in the study and get the phone book and pick out any restaurant you like and we'll have dinner delivered. Anything you want." He said, smiling.
"Anything?" She repeated.
"Yes, anything. Whatever you desire is and I'll eat it too." He told her.
When she left the room, Micky got back into his wheelchair, put the tea cups on the tray with the sugar and placed all of that on his lap, took it to the kitchen and put the cups in the dishwasher and the sugar back where it went. He then went outside on the back deck and discovered that it wasn't too horribly chilly that afternoon and decided that it would be nice to have dinner out there rather than inside the house. He quickly found the tall taper candles that he had used the last time they had dinner out there and placed them on the table returning inside afterward.
Just then, Selene popped back into the kitchen and saw him coming back inside from out on the deck.
"What were you doing?" She asked him casually.
"Well, I thought since the weather was so nice outside that we could have dinner out there this afternoon. I hope you don't mind." He added.
"That sounds really nice." Selene commented.
"Selene, was there anything you needed around here? I mean I know that you don't remember a lot of stuff so if there's something you want just let me know. It's ok." He told her, sensing that there might be something she'd like to do at some point. or something she needed but perhaps couldn't remember its location.
"Now that you mention it, I'd really like to take a shower and maybe change into something more comfortable."
"There's a nice tub in the upstairs master bathroom. A lot of your clothes are also upstairs in the bedroom closet. You'll find linens in the bathroom closet. Enjoy it. I'll wait down here for the food." Micky told her and then went back into the living room to watch TV again.
A few minutes later, Micky hollered upstairs at her. "Be careful and don't get that cast wet or it will fall off!"
"Ok" Selene said.
"And if you need help with anything, just holler, I'll be in the living room." He added.
"Ok" Selene said again and went into the bathroom.
She decided to leave the door cracked for whatever reason should she need to yell at Micky from upstairs so that he could hear her but then wondered exactly how it was that he would be able to get up there too her if she did need him. She dismissed the thought and began filling the tub with hot water. While the tub was filling, she went into the bedroom and picked out some lounge pants of her own and a baby doll t shirt, both in black and took them to the bathroom where she laid them on the counter top at the sink. She looked around and located some shampoo that she presumed was hers. It was a fruity scented brand and she couldn't imagine Micky would use something that smelled that feminine. He didn't smell like that.
She picked out two large fluffy towels from the closet and then stepped down into the bathtub where she soaked her body for about a half hour. The sunken tub was convenient because she could lay her arm up on the side of it easily and not get the cast wet. She noted that her fingers were still slightly puffy but not like they had been. Her other arm was badly bruised from where the gunshot had grazed her arm but it looked to be healing nicely aside from it's grotesque bruised appearance. She would have to re-dress this once she came out of the shower. It hadn't healed enough to be uncovered yet.
Once she was out of the bath, dried and ready to put her clothes on, she ran into a bit of a problem. She was unable to get the baby doll shirt that she had picked out, put on. She couldn't get her arm through it because of its stretchiness. She then realized that it felt weird to think about Micky seeing her undressed. The thought of asking him for help had crossed her mind at that point. She quickly realized that she wouldn't be able to get the shirt on without his help and he was her husband so going along with logic, she took the shirt and went down stairs wearing her pants and bra.
"Micky, could you come here a moment." She said from the hallway, not wanting to enter the living room because of the large front window.
"Coming!" He said and then popped around the corner.
"Wow!" He said, looking her up and down then realizing that he was making her uncomfortable.
"I'm sorry, what did you need, love?" He said, stopping himself from ogling his wife any further and subsequently stopping what would have been a huge boner. -it had been a little while for him. He missed her.
"I can't get this shirt on, could you help me put it on or something?" She asked, still blushing from the look he gave her and reluctantly handing it to him after she had used it to cover her front.
"Yeah, come into the bedroom and sit on the bed." He told her. Whenever she sat down on the bed, Micky gently guided her broken arm and the cast through the sleeve first then helped Selene put the shirt over her head and then helped her with her other arm.
"Selene, you probably should put something on your arm." He remarked whenever he saw that the gash was uncovered on her right arm.
"You're right, I do need to do something about that." She said then realized that she would probably have to get him to do that too since she couldn't do anything with her broken arm.
Without saying anything, Micky had already went into his bathroom and picked out some items that would be useful, returned and begun patching her up.
"Im not going to use the alcohol to sterilize this since you just got out of the shower and you're probably clean anyway. It would hurt." He said as he applied some antiseptic cream to the wound and covered it with a bandage.
"There, did that hurt?" He asked.
"No, you're a very good caregiver." Selene told him as he replaced things he had taken from the bathroom.
When he returned, Selene was standing beside the bed waiting for him.
"Selene...I'm sorry." He said when he came back.
"For what?..." Selene said.
"The way I acted." He replied and continued "When you came downstairs. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable and I'm sorry." He explained.
"Oh, that. It's ok." She told him but didn't really look him in the eye when she said that.
"Do you feel like talking about it?" Micky asked.
Selene sat back down on the bed, Micky came closer so that he was near enough to take her hand if he wanted but not close enough to make her feel uncomfortable.
"I guess I was asking for it whenever I touched your thigh earlier." She said, this time smirking a little bit to try and lift the mood. She had felt awkward whenever he looked at her and obviously got himself turned on a great deal from it but she had decided to let it go. She was his wife.
"No." Micky said and stopped. "No, you weren't asking for anything when you done that and I should have had more consideration for you than what I did in there as well as when you needed help with your shirt." He said. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable" he added.
"I wasn't treating you right and I wasn't behaving like a gentleman and I'm really sorry I made you feel bad." He continued.
Just then, the doorbell rang.
"There's the food." Selene told him.
Micky didn't turn to leave the room but instead let his chair roll backward a bit and lowered himself out of it to the floor in a kneeling position, took her hand in his and looked up at her.
"I know I've not made this afternoon the greatest for you but will you still have dinner with me out on the back deck?" He asked her.
This melted Selene's heart. "Yes, yes of course I will, Micky." She said, taking his hand in both of hers. Her gaze dropped to his hand in hers. "You're just so thoughtful all the time." She told him without looking him in the eye. Just then an unexpected tear escaped her eye and fell on their hands.
"I really wish I could remember our life together." She said to him. "I want to remember what we had...or have together. I think it is really something special"
"I know...and you will. Give it time." Micky urged.
The doorbell rang again.
"I'll get it, Micky." Selene told him, giving him time to put himself back in the chair. She left the room and went to the door. Micky followed behind her.
"That'll be 42.36, Ma'am." The delivery guy told her.
"Put it on my tab." Micky said as he approached the door and apparently knew the delivery boy well enough to say that.
"Yes sir, Mr. Dolenz!" The delivery boy said with a smile.
"Here ya go kid." Micky approached him and handed him a 20 dollar bill. "That one's for you."
Selene had placed the food on the island near the door and just watched this whole thing go down.
"What?" Micky said when he noticed Selene was still zoning out a bit.
"You just gave him a huge tip." Selene said.
"I always give huge tips if the service is good, it's ok. We're not going to run out of money or anything like that." He assured her.
She continued preparing the food, putting it on plates and such and then took the plates to the outside table. Micky followed and picked up a Zippo lighter on the way out to light the candles.
The Italian food smelled absolutely wonderful. Micky lit the candles and moved to sit across from Selene rather than beside her. He really didn't want to make her uncomfortable at all, not again. Not after what he'd already done earlier. He would keep his distance and allow her to make the first move on him. If anything was going to happen, she needed to initiate it in order for it to be ok and in order for her to feel comfortable with it.
"You said you'd like to remember our life together." Micky said to her after they had nearly finished their food.
"I think you will remember it but you're just going to have to go with your instinct and do what feels right as you go about your everyday activities." He added.
"It just isn't working fast enough." She said. "I want it to happen soon." She continued.
"Would it be ok if I sat beside you?" Micky asked. He knew that sitting beside her wouldn't make her feel uncomfortable but what he was thinking of doing next might and he would have to set the mood just right if he was going to pull it off.
"Yeah, that's fine." Selene said, flashing him a slight smile and bringing her drink to her lips.
Before moving beside her, Micky told her he'd be back in a moment, went into the house and brought back out a frost covered container that he had apparently took from his freezer.
This was just so good I couldn't toss it. You made it a while back for me and I just never got around to eating it and froze it." When he took the lid off, there was a couple of slices of cheesecake inside. Selene's cheesecake.
"I made that?" She asked in disbelief and then thought about it. She realized that she did know how to make cheesecake.
"Oh my god, I do remember how to make it." She said to Micky.
He smiled a perverted smile because he wanted to take that statement in another way but he quickly dialed that smile back down to a cordial one rather than smutty.
"Quick, tell me something else that I might remember!" She urged.
"Ok, well you're a singer. Remember, I told you about that earlier. Ummm...Highway 101, you cover their songs a lot." He said.
Selene thought about that for a moment and remembered that too.
"Micky, I think it's beginning to come back to me! I remember the lyrics!" she said, excited.
Now that she was happy, Micky was going to try and make his move but first, he forked a piece of cheesecake that was still frozen but not solid any longer and held it up for Selene to take a bite.
"That...is wonderful!" She said. "I can't believe that I remember how to make this!" She said.
Once she had enough time to swallow it, Micky moved in very close to her, putting one arm around the back of her neck and the other hand on her forearm and kissed her gently, much like the same way that they had kissed the first time. No tongue, nothing pushy. Just a simple kiss on the lips. Micky pulled away slightly and said to her "Do you remember that?" Before he got a verbal answer, Selene had leaned in for another kiss from Micky. Her lips covered his and he forgot everything bad that had ever happened to him in life from the moment Selene's tongue entered his mouth and began dancing around. Micky found his whole body paralyzed from the mouth down out of sheer enjoyment of what he was experiencing at this moment. He wanted time to freeze so that it would last longer. She eventually pulled away after a more lengthy kiss.
She saw that Micky had been shot way above cloud 9 from the kiss.
"Was that good for you, Selene?" He finally asked.
She nodded and smiled. "I still don't remember much about us but I know you couldn't kiss me like that if you didn't love me with all your heart." She told him. "I remembered kissing you." She added. "I also remember falling in love with you." She continued.
Micky took Selene's hand as she began to detail for him one of the first kisses they had shared together that was much like what they had just experienced and explained that she just had to re-enact it and play it out in order to drive the memory home and back to the forefront of her mind.
"I don't know what to say except that I'm so thankful that you're remembering something." He said, his voice cracking because he was nearly beginning to cry out of happiness.
The two of them cleared the outside table and returned to the living room to spend the rest of the evening before bedtime. Micky had remembered something that might spark a memory for her. He just couldn't get it. He would have to have her to get it.
"Selene, upstairs on the table in the bedroom, there's a jewelry box. Could you go get it and bring it down here?" He asked her.
"Yeah" She said, as she went upstairs.
"Don't peek inside until you get back down here." Micky said.
Selene returned in a few minutes with a jewelry box and sat down on the couch, this time closer to Micky than she had sat the last time. Affectionately close.
"This jewelry box belonged to your mother." Micky told her as he took it in his hands and opened it. He sifted through a few odds and ends that she kept in the box and found the sand dollar necklace that he had fashioned into jewelry for her that was found on their trip to the beach. He held it up on his hand for her to see.
Selene studied it for a moment then took it into her own hands and looked it over. It was almost as though the piece of jewelry had a telepathic message that transmitted from the jewelry into her mind upon contact.
She began describing to Micky how he found it and even after a while, where he found it and at the same time, the freedom he had discovered while in the water.
Micky sat on the couch amazed at how much she had already remembered and thinking to himself if things kept up like this, that she would remember things a lot faster than he had originally thought. He knew that he had figured out what the key was. It was things she was familiar with. Familiar things triggered memories because the human mind never truly forgets anything. They just get tucked away in a file somewhere in the darkest corners of the mind only to be recalled whenever someone or something accesses it through a memory or a feeling, or a sight.
"I'm just so glad that you're remembering things." Micky said to her. Without expecting it, she hugged him. "I don't know what I would do without you, Micky." Selene told him while hugging him. "I had no clue who you were when I woke up at the hospital and the thought that I married you for money and just couldn't remember it has been in the front of my mind ever since but I can see now-and feel that's not the case at all. I know I don't remember everything yet but I know one thing." She paused.
Micky gently pulled her away from himself so that he was looking directly into her eyes. "What's that, love?" He asked sweetly, still holding her, ready to pull her back into one of his Micky hugs with little or no prior notice.
"I know that I loved you, and that I didn't marry you for your money. That's a huge relief to me because I searched my soul and I just couldn't bring myself to believe that I would do something like that."
"That's because you wouldn't and you didn't." He told her before hugging her again.
"I'm just lucky to have ended up with someone like you." She told him, squeezing him and resting her head on his shoulder.
It was still early at only 9:30 at night but both of them were tired so Micky suggested going to bed. He was partly suggesting that for Selene but partly for himself. He had been experiencing pain again. He would take some more of the Ibuprofen before he got into the bed so as not to keep Selene awake-that is if she felt comfortable sleeping with him. If not, he would gladly sleep on the couch in the living room so he'd be sure and hear her if she woke up during the night.
The two of them made their way into the bedroom without saying a word to one another, Selene found her PJs on the floor on what was apparently her side of the bed while Micky brushed his teeth in the bathroom.
He didn't try the first time to watch her change clothes but at this point, she wouldn't have minded as much. She had found that she trusted him even though she still didn't remember much.
Micky tipped up the glass and swallowed two pills and some water. Selene saw this but didn't think much about it. Not as much as she would have before her ordeal. When Micky was done, she went to the bathroom to do the same routine, including the pills as precaution to keep her hand from swelling.
Micky waited for her to return.
"Selene, I know you may not be up to sleeping with me..." Micky started then stopped.
"No, It's ok. You can sleep here." She said. "I want you to." She added, then walked around to the other side of the bed and got in.
She flipped the covers down on Micky's side of the bed and patted the bed beside her indicating that she wanted him to join her.
"I usually take these off at night." He said, indicating his shirt and pants. "If you want me to stay dressed I will." He added.
Strangely enough, Selene did feel odd about him taking his pants off but not the shirt. She wasn't really sure why at the moment.
"Just the shirt." She said. Micky smiled and obliged her request then got into the bed with her. She watched as he picked up his legs and arranged them on the bed before lying down. She brought the covers up over him after he laid down.
"Are you comfortable?" she asked.
"Yeah, how about you?" He asked her in response.
"I feel pretty good, a little achy but good." She said.