"I'll only be gone for a little while, darling," Erica gushed as she laid a kiss on Kendall's cheek. "Remember? I have that important meeting with the production team at New Beginnings, and I just cannot miss it. But I won't be long. I'll be right back here to help you with your dinner. In the meantime, you've got a special visitor."
Erica smiled brightly as she walked over to the door of Kendall's room and opened it. Standing outside the door was JR Chandler carrying wrapped packages.
Erica said brightly, "Come in! Come in, JR! I know that you and my daughter Kendall will have a wonderful visit. It's been much too long since you've been to see her! I'm sure you've got so much to catch up on!"
Kendall watched JR enter the room with his packages in silence… a silence that she had steadfastly maintained in her mother's presence. Not that it seemed to matter… Erica had soon found out that Kendall could speak, but had refused to listen to Kendall's painstaking attempts to make her wishes known. She had tried mentioning Zach and asking that her therapists be allowed to return, but had only been treated to a lecture about how her mother knew best what she needed. Erica did such a good job of filling up the silence with her own voice that she hadn't even noticed when Kendall quit participating in their conversations.
JR placed the packages on a table and turned toward Kendall with a smile, "Hey there! You're looking a lot better!" He took her hand and lifted it to his lips in mock gallantry that caused Kendall's lips to turn up slightly. Despite their falling out after the brief affair early in her marriage to Zach, he had been a good friend for many years and knew exactly how to make her smile.
"Well… that's all settled. You two have a nice visit," Erica said brightly as she swept from the room with a flip of her hair and a wave.
After watching Erica's exit, JR turned back to Kendall and said in a conspiratorial tone, "Is she like this every day?"
Kendall nodded her head before answering slowly, "Yes… saves… me… from… keeping… my… end… of… the… conversation."
"Hey! That's great Kendall! I heard you could talk again," JR answered. He pulled up a seat next to her and reached over to the table for one of the packages. "I brought some stuff for you. Open this one first."
Kendall slowly opened the wrapping paper while JR held the box steady to compensate for the weakness in her right arm. She smiled warmly at him when she saw that it was a portable CD player with headphones and tiny speakers, "Thanks."
"When Erica called me she said that you liked to listen to music… and this way you can take it anywhere," JR answered. He picked up another package. "Now this one."
Kendall's eyes widened at the collection of CD's that spilled from the bag that JR tipped onto the tray table. Without giving her the chance to respond he said, "I just had them put together a bunch of stuff at the record store. Rock, jazz, classical… why people like classical is completely beyond me… but they talked me into it when I told them you were in the hospital… supposed to help you heal, they said. There's really not much there that I would have picked."
"Mother's… idea?" Kendall asked. "Not… yours?"
"No, it was my idea… but Erica made a few suggestions when I asked what I could bring you," JR answered with a laugh and a wink. "I didn't know what kind of music you like! We were always into… other things… when we were together."
"So… you… bought… um… a… little… bit… of… everything?" Kendall said carefully. Her speech had improved dramatically as she had practiced during Erica's absences, but it was still slower than normal.
"Yeah. Why not? What else is the young, rich, handsome… and very sexy… mogul going to do with his money?" JR said, puffing out his chest as he complimented himself, while still managing to favor her with a suggestive look.
Kendall just shook her head and pointed to the next package. He smiled and handed it to her, "I didn't get you this one… it was already there."
Kendall held the box in her left hand and waited patiently while JR opened the card. He read aloud, "To put you in mind of someone special… it's signed, Love, Myrtle. She must have stopped by while you were asleep. Would you like some help opening it?"
She nodded her head and he took the package to quickly remove the wrappings while Kendall watched. She frowned at the confused look on his face when he pulled a book from the box and read the title before laying it on the tray table.
"A book? How quaint! Is Myrtle trying to broaden your mind or does she think your education was lacking?" JR asked.
Kendall picked up the book and read the title aloud, "A… Tale… of… Two…Cities... by… Charles… Di…um… Dickens." She felt immediate, inexplicable sadness and looked up at JR with unshed tears pooling in her eyes, but made no comment.
As the silence stretched between them, JR said, "Hey! What's the matter? It's not like you have to actually read this garbage! I've got an idea. Let's get you out of this room! I would go stark, raving mad if I was cooped up in here all the time. How about if I take you for a spin to the sun porch?" JR said enthusiastically. "I'll be right back."
JR left the room without waiting for a response from Kendall. While she was waiting she lifted a few CD's and read the labels, setting one on her night table next to the CD player. She hadn't had any music in the room since Zach had left with his music and books, and she had to admit that she missed it. She had often wondered why he hadn't left the music behind… her nurse, Taylor, had been so convinced he cared about her but he had taken everything with him when he left. If he really cared, he would have left her the music and the books they had read together. He knew that she was trapped in that room and in her malfunctioning body and still he had taken away the few things that made it easier to bear. Like everything else about Zach's disappearance, it made no sense to her. Except for her single conversation with Taylor, she had not been able to find out anything about the day that Zach left … and no one had ever mentioned the divorce she had overheard her mother and Bianca discussing the day that Zach left. She hadn't been able to question either Bianca or Myrtle because her mother rarely left them alone with her for longer than a few minutes at a time… and Bianca hadn't been around as much as before Zach left; but that was probably because Miranda was demanding more of her mother's time. Quit feeling sorry for yourself, Kendall. Zach's gone… and good riddance… his constant presence was irritating anyway.
JR re-entered the room with a wheelchair and an aide, interrupting her reverie, "Are you ready?" Kendall nodded and forced a smile as the aide carefully helped her into the wheelchair. After receiving a nod from the aide, JR leaned the chair backwards for a moment before pushing it forward while making sound effects of a racing car as they left the room.
Kendall smiled at one of her nurses as they arrived in the sun room. He parked her wheelchair next to a bench by the windows before seating himself and taking her hand, "Kendall Hart. It's good to see you."
"Slater," Kendall corrected him. He looked at her curiously and she said carefully, "Kendall… Hart… Slater."
JR frowned and answered, "Not for long. By the time Erica comes back that mistake will be over and you'll be plain old Kendall Hart again."
"What… do… you… mean?" she asked him, slowly but clearly enunciating each word.
"Oh. My bad," JR said with a laugh as he placed a finger over his lips. "It's supposed to be a secret. Shh. Don't tell Erica that I spilled the beans."
"Secret?" Kendall queried, confusion clear on her face.
JR shrugged before answering her, "I don't see why I can't tell you. You'll find out soon enough."
"Tell… me… JR!" Kendall answered him with a frown.
"Alright. Alright. Erica didn't go to a meeting at New Beginnings. She went to finalize your divorce," JR answered.
"My… my… di… what?" Kendall asked him in disbelief.
"Your divorce. You know. The divorce that you filed the morning of the accident? She's going to make sure that it goes through. There won't be any more stalling from Slater," JR answered smugly. "So… you see… you're just plain old Kendall Hart again."
"No. I… don't… want… I… don't… re-mem-ber…" Kendall stammered in frustration, the tears spilling out of her eyes. She took a deep breath and tried again, "Not… I… did… not… file…" she made a fist with her left hand and slammed it against the arm of the wheelchair, "NO… memory… gone."
"Are you saying that you don't remember filing for divorce?" JR asked her.
Kendall nodded her head and he continued, "Do you remember the accident?" Kendall shook her head and JR asked, "Do you remember asking Slater for a divorce?" Kendall shook her head again.
JR shook his own head, "Let me get this straight… you have no memories of that time at all? What is the last thing you remember?"
"Me… and… Zach. We… bought… new… casino… Atlantic… City. We… talked… about… new… company," Kendall answered him.
"A new company… hmmm… okay… but no talk of divorce," JR mused. "Listen, Kendall… Erica is doing you a favor. You don't want to be tied to somebody like Slater. Besides… with him out of the picture… maybe when you get better… we can… uh…"
Kendall shook her head again, "No… JR…. No. We… were… happy… Zach… and… me. We… liked… being… married."
"No way! Are you telling me that you and he…?" JR asked in disbelief. "You must have suffered more brain damage than they thought. You hated Slater!"
"No," Kendall shook her head. "We… were… partners… friends."
"He was using you Kendall. He's been after your money. Jackson had to get a restraining order… he was going to take everything you have," JR answered her. "Since we kicked him out of the hospital all he's done is fight for control of the casinos. He never once tried to come back and see you… or get the restraining order lifted."
Kendall sat for a moment and tried to process what JR had told her. He seemed convinced that she and Zach had filed for divorce but she had no memory of doing it. They had discussed it from time to time, but had agreed that they preferred to remain married. She had clear memories of their marriage changing from a strictly business partnership into a warm friendship… and she remembered how much Zach's friendship had meant to her. She also remembered how he had stayed with her at the hospital and took care of her after the accident… but if JR was telling the truth then nothing she remembered made sense. He had taken away the books and the flowers and the music… and he hadn't called her or come to see her in days… but that could have been because of the restraining order. Why wouldn't anyone tell her the whole story?
JR was watching Kendall's face carefully and laid a finger against her cheek and wiping away a tear, "Hey. I'm sorry, Kendall. I didn't mean to upset you. But you're better off knowing the truth about Slater… especially if you were falling for that act of his. But trust me… he was one cold bastard when he was served with that restraining order. Ice cold… I think the temperature went down to subzero. You're just lucky that Ryan and I were there to protect you from him."
"You… and… Ryan?" Kendall said, her mind finally landing on something that she could understand. "You… made… Zach… leave?"
"Well, yeah. We blocked the door to your room when he was served. He tried to bluff his way into the room… but we stopped him… and when we did… brrrr," JR answered her, folding his arms across his chest and mimicking a shiver.
"I… see," Kendall said quietly. "How… how… long?"
"How long did it take him to leave?" JR asked. Kendall nodded her head and he answered, "I don't know exactly. He stood there and stared at us for a while… folded his arms and stared. Then Jackson showed up and told him he'd call the cops if he didn't leave. He didn't argue… just turned around and left. He picked up that box of stuff Erica packed and no one's seen him since. He didn't even show up in court when Livia petitioned for the blind trust."
"Box… of… stuff?" Kendall asked, her eyes lighting with hope.
"Yeah. Erica packed up all of his things and left them at the nurse's station. I figured that's why she wanted me to bring the CD player and stuff… and I was glad to do it," JR said with a smile, obviously feeling pleased that he had steered the conversation away from dangerous territory and back to the more interesting topic of himself. He suddenly leaned forward and captured her lips with his own… but pulled back in surprise when Kendall raised both hands and pushed him away hard.
"I… want… to… go… to… go… back," Kendall said angrily. "Take… me… take… me… to… my… room."
"What did I do? You used to like it when I did that!" JR answered indignantly. "Sure… fine! Are you tired? Is that it? Yeah… you must be tired. Fine. Whatever."
Kendall closed her eyes and sighed, "Just… take… me… back."
They didn't speak as JR pushed the wheelchair back to her room. He quickly said goodbye and tried to kiss her but Kendall turned away from him. Without another word he stalked from the room as the nurse assisted her into bed. Kendall relaxed against the pillows while the nurse helped her to put the CD she had set aside earlier into the player and turned it on. After leaving her alone, Kendall closed her eyes and relaxed to the haunting strains of Barber's Adagio for Strings.
Before long a memory was stirring in her mind and she heard Zach's voice, "I'm sorry, Kendall. I guess I haven't been honest with you after all… I didn't mean to keep this from you… but I didn't understand it myself. Since your accident I've realized just how empty my life was before we married. Kendall… you filled my heart… when you're with me I feel happy… and that's not something that I'm used to feeling," Zach said quietly. He took a breath before continuing, "I know we promised not to do this… but… I… tonight I… I've fallen in love… with you."
She opened her eyes and sat up in her bed. When she closed her eyes she was transported back to the ICU, hearing the sounds of the machines under the music and Zach's rich, deep voice. She remembered. That's why she woke up from the coma… to tell Zach that she loved him, too. Only now he was out of her reach and she had no way to get in touch with him… unless she got better. She reached for the call button and began frantically pressing it over and over to summon the nurse.