Chapter 13

One day ago…

John and Marlena were both in his winery office. They were on a conference call with Mickey Horton about some legal questions.

Prior to that they'd called Abe. Marlena had told John about her conversation earlier with his former police partner about options for his being reinstated on the Salem PD. The three had talked over the possibilities again, including the idea of contacting Ray Hill.

As soon as they concluded the call with Mickey, which had ended also with a brief discussion about possibly setting up an appointment with Ray Hill, Evelyn buzzed. "Sorry to interrupt, Mr. and Mrs. Black, but Father Cannon and Father Rossini are here and would like to speak with you, Mr. Black."

John didn't know any Father Rossini, but he gave Marlena a "I-don't-know-what-this-is-about" look and bid Evelyn to show them in.

Walking toward the door, John greeted Father Cannon, who was a good friend of his. "Mike, good to see you."

Introductions were made all around.

Mike Cannon explained that Father Rico Rossini was the brother of his own brother-in-law. "He's in town for a spell, and he and I were catching up a couple days ago, and I told him that I had had the pleasure of presiding at the renewal of your vows. I ended up telling him some background about your very unusual story, John and Marlena. I also mentioned the intruder you had at your home and the article in the paper about that." Mike looked at Rico.

Rico Rossini nodded. "I saw a copy of the paper and saw the photo of you, John - may I call you John?"

John said, "Of course." He had no idea where this was going.

Father Rico continued, " When I saw your picture, I thought No, it couldn't be. But now that I see you in person, I think it is you."

Marlena said, "Is who, Father?"

Father Rico explained, "In the late 1970's and 1980, I attended St. Joseph Seminary in Yonkers, New York. There was a fellow seminarian there by the name of John Gardner. I knew him quite well. We were good friends, in fact. Just before the class that both he and I belonged to was to be ordained, he disappeared, and was never heard from again." Father Rico said, "I think you were that man, John."

John shook his head. "I think you're mistaken, Father."

Father Rico answered, "Mike told me that you don't remember anything before late 1985, so I understand your skepticism." He had a gray folder with him that he held out to John. "I got St. Joseph's to send me the picture of John Gardner it had in its records, and also copies of a couple from the year books too."

Marlena stood by John's side, waiting for him to open the folder. After a moment's hesitation, he did. Both he and she remembered what he'd looked like when he first came to Salem. Although a doctor has claimed John had had plastic surgery, they later knew that wasn't true. So. when they saw the face of a man obviously younger but with the same basic facial features, they both involuntarily gasped.

John gave a pained smile and shook his head, more in defeat than in denial. He said, "This doesn't jibe with what I've been told. How long did you know John Gardner? Did he ever disappear earlier?

"No," Father Rico said. "He was there the four years I was. But, he never went home to visit his family because he said he didn't have any that he knew of. And once in a while if we were out somewhere, he'd get a little paranoid. He worried about people following him."

Marlena asked, "Was he the same height as John is now? Did his voice sound the same? Did he like baseball?"

Father Rico said, "It was a while ago, but yes, I think he was the same height. I remember standing and talking to him, so I recall pretty well how tall he was. And, of course, that could be checked in physical exam records at the clinic where seminarians were treated if they injured themselves in sports or something.

"Yes, his voice was very similar, if I remember correctly. And, yes again, he was a big baseball fan. He loved to play on the seminary team.

"You know, St. Joseph's would probably allow you access to John Gardner's seminary file if you asked, John. You might have to go there in person though.

"I'm sure this is a shock to you. To both of you. Mike here told me that you, John, have not expressed any interest in taking a role in the Church. I mean not as a permanent deacon - they are usually married - or anything like that. So, it seems that whatever happened to you when you disappeared really caused you to entirely forget that part of your life too."

"Yes, everything before I came to Salem in 1985 is a blank to me. Even when I discovered that I was apparently born John Grafton here in Napa and was reunited with my mother after about 24 years, I still didn't remember anything about my childhood. As I told Marlena, my mother told me all sorts of things about the first 18 years of my life, but she couldn't break through my memory barrier.

Father Mike asked, "Did Mary Grafton show you pictures of yourself from your childhood, John?"

"Yes, she did. She had quite a few," John admitted.

"So, when you look at those - especially, let's say your high school graduation picture - and compare to what you see here, are they a pretty reasonable match also - like the photos Rico brought? I mean if it was you at St. Joseph, you were in your later twenties by then, but…" he trailed off.

"Yeah, Mike. I know what you're saying." John wanted to give the folder back to Father Rico, but the priest waved it off and told him he could keep it. John glanced at Marlena, and added, "I haven't had the chance to show the childhood pictures to my wife yet. But, I have to admit that when she sees them, she will probably see, as I do, the physical similarity between the various pictures of my younger days and the ones in this folder too."

Marlena decided to be a little bit bold, "I think one of the reasons for caution is just that the criminal who was responsible for wiping John's memory - Stefano DiMera - is famous - infamous - for playing vicious games with people's lives. So, it isn't that John or I doubt you gentlemen. It's just that neither of us is certain that he might not be playing another game here.

"This criminal has been known to place 'body doubles.' I know that sounds incredible, but it's true. So, please forgive us both if we are not sure what to think."

Father Rico nodded. "Mike told me that you've both been the victims of some very cruel machinations. So, yes, of course I understand. And please forgive me for springing this on you so abruptly. I have to get back to my parish in upstate New York tomorrow, so I prevailed upon Mike to come with me to see you before I went back.

"John, I'm pretty sure you were the friend I knew back then. I'm really glad to see you again. Maybe we'll have the chance to spend some more time together."

After a little more conversation, John shook hands with Rico Rossini and also with Mike Cannon, and they left.

John and Marlena sank down on the office couch together. They didn't speak for quite a while as they both tried to wrap their minds around what had just happened.

Finally, Marlena said, "Your mother did tell you you wanted to be a priest and a cop when you were a boy."

"Yes, that's what she said."

"Okay, so maybe what happened was that the first time you got away from Stefano, you went to college somewhere under some alias, and then Stefano pulled you in again, but you escaped him again and went to the seminary. And he didn't find you again for another nearly four years"

"Could be, Doc. That guess is as good as any." He rubbed his slightly raspy cheek. "Well, if that John Gardner was me, my mother was right about me having a desire to become a priest. She can't have known anything about me at St. Joseph's though because she thought I was dead then.

"But, you know, God knew what He was doing in preventing me from being ordained. Maybe back then I was okay with celibacy, but once I came to Salem and met you, sweetheart, the married life was what I wanted."

"But maybe you should go visit that seminary, John, and see what they can tell you. Maybe their records would be valuable in some way to you. Maybe they would lead you to other people who knew you before 1985."

"I don't know. Right now, it just seems like an unwanted complication to me. But maybe after this grape harvest, and after you and I decide what we're going to do and where we're going to live, I might give that trip some more thought."

Marlena put her head on his shoulder and hooked her arm through his. "I guess we have to prepare ourselves for unanticipated events in your past coming at us from out of the blue.

"Stefano is still out there, and not only do we have to be on the lookout for kidnapping attempts on me (or, God forbid, the children), but we have to be vigilant for any kind of new plot he might instigate against you.

"I love you so much. I thank God every day for giving us to each other. And especially, giving us back to each other now."

John touched her chin and guided her lips to his. Afterward, he smiled and said, "Ditto."