Chapter 3
Saturday morning Anna was sitting up in bed she knew she was having surgery in just a little while and Alex was going to come to talk to her while no one else was there. Anna wanted to talk to her about Robert and thought at least Alex would believe her. She didn't think Edmond had when she told him that Robert had come to see her. He'd acted as if he didn't know who she was talking about. Maybe he didn't know who Robert was, she didn't know who knew what about her. The door opened and a doctor walked in looking like they were ready to take her up to surgery, "Is it time already?"
"No, I just didn't want to be seen," Alex pulled down the surgical mask and sat down beside Anna. "Hi, how are you feeling this morning?"
"I'm a little nervous but I'm looking forward to not having a headache all the time." Anna sat forward a little, "Alex do you remember when I told you about the man I can almost remember?"
"Yeah, you said you couldn't really describe him but you knew he had to be important to you."
"He came here."
"What do you mean, he came here?"
"The night before last, I was mostly asleep when I heard someone talking to me. When I opened my eyes he was sitting right there in that chair."
"The man you almost remember? How do you know it was him if you can't really remember him?"
"That was my Robert. I'd know his voice anywhere?"
"Your Robert?"
"Yes, I'm his Anna and his my Robert." Even if Anna couldn't remember their life together she knew that statement was very true.
"And he was here?" Alex wasn't sure if she should believe that Anna thought her dead husband had actually been here but it did worry her. Was Anna now having hallucinations? "When was this?"
"I woke up and I knew it was the middle of the night. We talked for a little while then he held me and I fell asleep in his arms."
"When did he leave?"
"He was gone when I woke up, he said he had to go to Paris."
"Paris, why there?"
"To talk to someone I think. He wants to bring someone here."
"Who?"
"I don't know."
"What all did he tell you?" Alex thought this could all have been an elaborate dream Anna had had, with little bits of memory making it seem more real. If she had remembered Robert's name was Paris in her mind as well because that was where they met?
Anna told her a little more about what had happened the night before last. They really hadn't talked much but Anna knew what had happened, again she got the feeling that Alex might not believe what she was telling her, like Edmond. "After the surgery, how long will I be out?"
"The surgery should take about eight hours, then you'll be in recovery for at least two hours. When you wake up depends on how everything goes during the surgery. It could be as long as 24 hours before you wake up. You might notice an improvement right away, it might take a little longer. If everything goes as planned you should only need this one last procedure. Then you can focus on recovering, I think you're memory could start to come back as you start to heal. We can look into your life see if that triggers any memories for you."
"Robert will help me with that. He was only here for a little while when I remembered his name. I know he'll help me."
"Anna," Alex almost said Robert wouldn't be coming back but didn't want to upset Anna before she went into surgery. "I want to help you too," she said instead.
Anna smiled at her, "You are already, I have a twin sister. Robert said I didn't know about you before."
"No that's right, we didn't know about each other." Was Anna just using Robert as a voice to help her make sense of memories that were trying to come back to her? She's already had two small procedures nothing like today's but she could already be noticing small improvements. "Anna, I can't stay that long, do you have any questions?"
"No, I think I understand what's going to happen. This should help me, the headaches and seizures should stop. If not then I'll still need another surgery."
"I know you've been paying attention to what I've been telling you about all of this. Alright is there anything else I can do for you?"
"If Robert comes back while I'm still under make sure he knows what's going on."
Alex knew she should let Anna believe that Robert was coming back, at least for now. "Alright, how will I know him if I see him?"
"Are there a lot of Australians here?" Anna asked with a smile. "He's tall, with light brown hair that's starting to grey some. He has the most amazing blue eyes. He is so handsome." Alex thought this was a great sign that Anna's treatment was already making a difference. If she could remember all of that then hopefully she would be able to remember a lot of her past when she starts her recovery. "I told him we're twins so he'll know who you are when he sees you."
"If I see him I'll let him know what's happening. I really should get out of here, we can't have someone walking in and seeing two Dr. Mericks in here." Alex squeezed Anna's hand then got up and left the room.
...
When Robert woke up he was surprised to see Robin sitting there watching him. "Morning, sweety."
She was in the chair beside her couch, "You're still here. It wasn't a dream." Then she smiled, "Good morning dad."
"It's been a very long time since I woke up to your beautiful face. I remember when you were just a little girl and you would wait for me to wake up so we could start our day together."
"I hope you aren't leaving first thing, I want to take you for breakfast at least before you go."
"I'd like that very much. Thank you for letting me stay here last night."
"I wasn't going to let you walk out that door last night." Robert sat up and Robin got up and sat beside him and gave him a hug. "You came back to me and I'm not going to let you go that easy."
"After I've talked to Holly I'll be back. You are going to have a hard time getting rid of me after that."
"I could come with you," Robin offered.
"No, you stay here, study for your tests. Besides I should handle this on my own."
"Well alright. I should let you get ready so we can go get something to eat." Robin gave him one more hug then they both got up to get ready for the day.