Chapter 6
"Guess what we get to do today, Bernice?" April excitedly asked Stephanie. April saw the glimmer and excitement in her narrowed eyes. "You get rid of that horrible plaster. I'll cross Bernice off the list." Stephanie smiled from the guess her name game. Some of the names were ridiculous. They went through the last of the female names beginning with the letter a, a few days ago.
April drove the minivan towards the hospital. A porter waited at the entrance with a wheelchair. When April parked in front of him, he opened the door to lift Stephanie from the front seat. "I'll park your van," the man offered when he placed Stephanie into the chair. Levi felt the woman flinch when he touched her. He didn't want to cause her more anxiety by waiting until April returned.
"Hello, Beautiful," Dr. Amber Frasier greeted her patient. Stephanie's heart fluttered from the name. "Oh. I know that can't be your name. Hmm. Someone you know gave you the nickname of beautiful."
Stephanie shrugged. It was possible, but she did not recall who gave her the nickname. She narrowed her eyes in concentration before shaking her head. A tall, muscular man popped into her mind, but the image disappeared before she could see his face.
"It's alright. The memory got buried deep, not gone." April was happy. Memories could rise to the surface now that her memory got triggered. Amber smiled with encouragement. It was an improvement. She wondered if Jane had amnesia or if she suppressed the memories.
Before removing the casts, Stephanie got sent for X-rays, CT and CAT scans. She rolled her eyes but understood it was essential to check her progress. "We can remove the casts," Dr. Wallace stated as he viewed the images.
Stephanie was excited. She desperately wanted to put her feet into the ocean. But the first thing she wanted when they got home was a shower. April was kind and didn't mind giving her patient daily sponge baths.
"I'm going to remove the wires. Take deep breaths through your nose. I'll go as fast as safely possible," Dr. Frasier said as Dr. Wallace removed the casts. Stephanie got handed protection for her eyes as the two doctors worked simultaneously to free her from her constraints.
The wires got removed before Dr. Wallace pulled the cast off of Stephanie's right arm. "Jane, wiggle your toes," Wallace instructed.
Amber watched the motion and nodded. "Everything looks good, Jane. Slowly open, then close your mouth," Amber asked. Stephanie opened and closed her mouth as instructed. "April, start Jane on soft foods and build up to solid."
"Okay. We'll start the physiotherapy to rebuild the muscle mass on her legs and arms," April added.
"Does the facility have a physical therapist on-site?" Wallace asked.
"Yes. Tasha Harper worked with Jane twice a week. I handled the exercises daily," April replied.
"Great. It's going to take time for Jane to rebuild her strength. I recommend daily sessions with the therapist for the first month if they can get arranged. Otherwise, make sure she gets to her feet several times a day for a few minutes at a time," Wallace advised.
"Jane, follow Tasha's instructions. I want you to get stronger and do the activities you did before your legs broke. I'll visit you in a month to check your progress. Would that be okay?" Amber asked.
"Yes," Stephanie replied, her voice was raspy from lack of use.
Dr. Amber Frasier was pleased with the results of the plastic surgery. Amber worked hard to develop her imaging program. Using the X-ray imaging and 3D MRI, she used created a base photo to rebuild Jane Doe's face. It could give people close to their original looks after car accidents or other facial damage. The parameters she selected for the woman's ethnicity was close. Her patent for the program was in the hands of her lawyer.
Joseph Morelli visited the Plum residence to give them the bad news. Stephanie disappeared six months ago. Nobody had seen her or received a phone call from Stephanie. Morelli's boss told him to close the case. "Hello, Mr. Plum, Mrs. Plum. I'm afraid I have bad news. The investigation regarding Stephanie's disappearance got closed. We haven't received any calls since she went missing. If we don't get information within the next six months, you could have her declared as dead," Joe informed the Plums.
Frank left the room. He didn't believe his favourite daughter was dead. Ranger visited him a few weeks earlier after returning from a mission. He planned to take a few men to search various cities along the east and west coast to find Stephanie. Frank liked Ranger and hoped the man was right about Stephanie being alive. He felt deep in his soul that his daughter was not dead.
Morelli gave up hope that Stephanie was alive. When he got the case to investigate, he turned up no leads to locate the woman. Joe spent more time questioning people than he should have during the investigation. He knew he should move on, but he'd wait until Cupcake got declared dead before moving on with someone new.
Ranger and his men refused to let the case drop. They had eyes and ears open everywhere. Nobody had seen her throughout their travels. He went through his list of enemies, wondering if any of them stumbled across his Babe.
Stephanie groaned as she pushed past the pain. "I don't need your help," she snapped at Abbie. Her legs were getting powerful, and she wanted to walk to the beach unassisted. Abigail followed her with the wheelchair, which pissed off Stephanie.
"Sit in the chair. Your legs are too wobbly," Abbie insisted. Stephanie turned around to glare at the woman. She huffed and walked closer to the water, Abbie struggling to keep up.
"I walked here earlier," Stephanie mumbled. Abbie couldn't hear the words. Stephanie sat on the damp sand with her feet in the water. She sighed and leaned her head back, letting the sun shine on her tanned face. Her dream from the night before filtered into her head. Stephanie tried to focus on the man she's been seeing, but he'd disappear before she could see his face. He felt familiar.
"Janice, you need to take it slow," Abbie admonished.
"Hmph. My name isn't Janice, Angie," Stephanie snapped.
"It's Abbie or Abigail," Abbie reminded her. Stephanie rolled her eyes. She couldn't remember their names no matter how hard she tried. Her head hurt whenever she attempted to recall the information. It frustrated her more than anything.
Stephanie found the memory exercises more exhausting than the physical therapy. Her muscles got more defined from the daily routine. The morning shift nurse was kind and patient, unlike the woman standing behind her. Since Stephanie started walking unassisted, she didn't need the around-the-clock care.
She felt moisture hit her arm. Stephanie brushed her hand across her eyes, unaware that she was crying. "I want to go home," she thought. "But I don't know where home is." Stephanie felt someone was searching for her.
Abigail felt sorry for the woman sitting in the wet sand. Her memory hadn't returned yet, and Abbie didn't think it would. The longer Jane went without regaining a piece of her memories, the more likely it was for her to lose them. Louise and April were too optimistic and believed that Jane would regain her memories. Stephanie wiped the tears from her face before standing. She longed for home and the man she kept seeing in her dreams.
It was almost time for her evening session. As they walked back to the facility, Stephanie remembered her first name. Until she remembered her last name, there was no point telling anyone. Tasha was standing in the doorway, tapping her foot. She pointedly looked at her watch. "You're late, Janine," she said. Stephanie shrugged. "Cross off the name Janine."
Stephanie continued letting the women in the facility guess her name. At this rate, it would take another five months for them to get to the St in the book of names. She suppressed a smile every time they called her by a new name. It was a fun game to play.
After another five months, Stephanie started running along the beach. A memory of her getting dragged from bed at 5 am popped into her head and vanished just as fast. She smiled and continued at her pace. "Wait up, Stacy," April called. "I can't keep up."
"You're getting closer," Stephanie mumbled. She ran on the spot until April caught up. "My name isn't Stacy. It doesn't feel right. What took you so long?"
"Ha ha ha, funny," April replied. "Your legs are more muscular than mine. Maybe I should join your exercise class."
"I hate exercising," Stephanie stated before turning around to run back to the facility.
"Stephanie!" April called.
"What?" she automatically replied and waited for April to catch up.
"Stephanie?" April asked.
"Yes, what did you want?" Stephanie had trouble remembering the woman's name. She knew it was one of the calendar months but didn't recall if it was April, May, June or September.
"Your name is Stephanie," April stated.
Stephanie nodded. "The name feels right, natural. No, I don't remember my last name," Stephanie sadly added. "I can barely remember your name.
"April. I'll keep reminding you," April kindly stated.
"Thanks. I appreciate it."
Helen Plum cried as the priest held the funeral mass for Stephanie. He prayed over an empty coffin, but she needed to lay Stephanie's soul to rest. It's been just over a year since she'd seen or talked to her youngest daughter. In her heart, she believed her daughter to be dead. She got frustrated with Frank and his undying optimism that she was out there alive.
Frank attended the farce of a funeral, not believing his daughter died. He truly believes his daughter was still alive and prayed that kind people were keeping her safe. Her body never surfaced. Until he saw her dead body, he refused to give up hope. He nodded at Ranger standing at the back of the church.
Ranger returned Frank's nod before touching his chest over his heart. He silently told Frank that he believed Stephanie was still alive. After a year, it was getting more challenging to keep the faith. Ranger continued going on missions to distract his mind from missing his Babe. He dreamed about her with increasing frequency.
Julie sent Stephanie another email. She hadn't responded in a year. A tear ran down her cheek when she read the Trenton Times. They had a funeral for Stephanie. It said the coffin was empty. It gave Julie hope that Stephanie was still alive. "Stephanie still hasn't replied to my email," Julie said when Hector answered the phone.
"She's still alive. I can feel it," Hector replied.
"Me too, but I really need to talk to her. My mom and dad grounded me again. I didn't do anything wrong," Julie cried.
"Are they monitoring your emails?" Hector asked.
"No. I clear my browser, and I don't have my computer save my passwords, just like you taught me," Julie replied.
"Good girl. Keep the faith, Julie. I'll continue my search to find Stephanie. Maybe your mom would relax if she thinks Stephanie can't replace her as your mother," Hector wisely stated.
"Maybe," Julie thought. "When dad's schedule clears, do you think he'll take me to Honolulu? I want to visit the place where Dad and Steph were fake married."
Hector laughed. "I'll make you a deal. Show your mom the Trenton Times obituary for Stephanie, and I'll send you to Honolulu with your dad in a year," he replied.
"Deal," Julie said. "Thanks, Uncle Hec."
"De nada," he replied before hanging up.
Joe started dating a nurse named Carol at St Frances. She looked like Stephanie enough to fool himself into believing it was her. The only Carol that didn't resemble Stephanie was in bed. Carol participated enough to get him to ejaculate. She didn't care if they used protection. Morelli loved that she was willing to let him use her body any way he wished. He felt it was worth settling for Carol.
Ranger saw Joe on dates with the pretty brunette. He couldn't understand how Morelli gave up so readily. When Stephanie dated Morelli, he never took her on dates. Granted, the times Ranger took Babe out for dinner was work related. She never complained or asked for more.
There was only one Babe. Since his first sexual encounter with Stephanie, no other woman shared his bed. She ruined him for all other women. He spent many nights masturbating in his shower. Ella must have realized what he did because she kept replenishing her shampoo and body wash. Ranger should be embarrassed, but he wasn't. He only wanted his Babe, and Ella knew he loved Stephanie.
Almost another year passed without hearing anything about Stephanie. Hector decided it was time to cheer up the boss.
Louise got called in to assist on several night shifts. Stephanie had been living at the facility for almost two years. She started sleepwalking three months earlier but had nightmares for several months more. Barry and Louise followed her outside, where Stephanie would sit on the boardwalk and talk to a man called Ranger. They made sure she was safe. When she'd return to her room, she'd scream for someone to stop hurting her.
"I think the memories are coming back. But something is holding them back," Louise told Barry.
"Hopefully, Stephanie remembers everything soon. I don't think anything is wrong with her short-term memory," Barry stated.
"Then why can't she remember our names?" Louise wondered.
"Sensory overload or she's blocking the memories from surfacing. Stephanie is distracted, not forgetful. She's sorting through her memories, trying to separate the fact from fiction," Barry replied.
"Did you get a psychology degree that I'm unaware of?" Louise joked. Barry was an intelligent man and always strived to broaden his knowledge.
"No. I asked Dr. Masseo a lot of questions about memory loss and cognitive abilities. She thinks Stephanie is organizing her thoughts and feelings as the beach grounds her," Barry stated.
"Why do this boardwalk and beach look familiar?" Stephanie asked herself. A dream played in her mind of a man walking with her along the water's edge, holding her hand. It felt like a memory, but she couldn't get her mind to see the man. Stephanie smiled when the man and woman from the facility arrived to guide her home.
The following afternoon, Stephanie walked down the beach. She was drawn to the boardwalk as though a magnet was pulling her there. Stephanie saw a familiar beautiful girl with mocha-latte skin and smooth, long, dark hair walking along the beach. "Julie," Stephanie shouted as she ran towards the girl.
"Dad! We found Stephanie," Julie shouted before she threw herself into Stephanie's open arms. "I missed you."
"I missed you too, Julie," Stephanie whispered through the tears.
"Babe," Ranger shouted as he ran towards Julie and Stephanie.
Memories flooded into Stephanie's mind when she heard Ranger's voice. Her neck tingled before she collapsed to the ground, pulling Julie down on top of her.
Ranger held the love of his life as her eyes fluttered open. Stephanie looked the same, but her cheekbones were slightly smaller. The minute difference didn't matter to him, holding Stephanie mattered.