Part 03; An Overstayed Welcome
The rest of the week was uneventful. Dougie visited every day, however there were no memories that made me recognize him. It was as if he was a stranger to me. I didn't tell him that, I simply enjoyed his company.
He spoke to me of things I didn't recognize. I'd often listen, it was interesting, even if I didn't know what he was talking about. Many names he mentioned were lost on me.
"Do you remember anything I'm saying?" he asked me once. I shook my head, looking down. He patted my shoulder, smiling sadly. "Don't worry. It will come." He told me that he had a practice to go to, and that he'd come back tomorrow. I waved at him, watching him leave. It was getting quite late anyway.
Whenever I tried going to sleep, the pain kept waking me up. Every time I tried shifting position, I'd have a small jolt of pain. Eventually, I resigned that I wouldn't be able to sleep in the hospital. It just wasn't going to happen.
Dougie, or Douglas as the nurse called him, said that he would be picking me up soon. The doctors had cleared me for release and he asked if I wanted to go home. Any place was better than the hospital.
Although, I would probably miss my nurse. She was so interesting to talk to. Her name was Angela, but I called her Miss Angie. She often told me about her family, and gossip in the hospital. "Feeling alright? Nothing hurting?" I grinned at her, shaking my head. "Good. …You had good taste, lassie. He's a sweet heart, that one." she smirked at me. She knew that it still bothered me that I couldn't recognize him.
She was working on removing my IV needles and my vitals monitors. Rubbing a swab on my chest, she talked about how my doctor was flirting with a nurse in the nurse's station and how all the other nurses were jealous.
"And you, Miss Angie?" I smiled, chuckling. She laughed heartily, shaking her head. Sticking her tongue out at me, Miss Angie continued working on my arm.
"No, little one. I'm quite happy with my family. I don't need a smart aleck like him. You're never going to call me Angela, are you? I'll have to make you eventually." I bit my lip, giggling. "You're lucky that you're leaving so soon," she sighed. "Lucky, indeed. Well, you're all done now, little one. Let's meet somewhere outside of a hospital, okay?" she hugged me, smiling. I felt as if she was a second mother to me. A lump in my throat built up and I hugged her back. "Okay?" she pulled away, smiling. Her eyes shined and I nodded, tears in my own. Patting my hair, she nodded.
There was no more to say, and she left the room.
The doctor came around once more, to give me a final check up before I left. He gave me a clean bill of health, beginning to make small talk. I smiled and nodded at all the right times, not truly listening to him blather on. He began to notice my inattentiveness though.
"What is it, Miss Turner?" he asked, concerned. I looked down, embarrassed.
"Do you know when Douglas is coming?" I felt like a little school girl, asking this. The doctor smiled at me, his eyes twinkling.
"He has an appointment with his doctor around 1 in the afternoon. It's to change his cast. Surely, he'll come see you as soon as it's over." I nodded, taking in the information.
"Okay… thank you." the doctor nodded, patting me on the shoulder. He turned around and left the room, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I looked at the clock above the door. It read 11:30. There's so much time to kill, I sighed.
Removing the thin blanket that covered my legs, I swung my legs over the side of the bed. I scooted over to the edge, and I felt my back ache. Putting my feet gingerly on the ground, I attempted to stand. I found myself on the floor and cried out in frustration. Had I lost the use of my legs? Surely they would've told me… I tried to shake away thoughts of paralysis. There was no way to get up like this. I stretched and contorted until I reached the edge of my bed. Pressing the red button, I grunted.
There was only a short wait until the doctor entered the room. He took in my situation and struggled to hide a chuckle. I wiped my cheeks quickly, feeling embarrassed. The doctor easily lifted me up and set me back into my bed. He laughed softly, patting my knee.
"Are you okay? Surely, you can find another way to relieve your boredom, Miss Turner." his jokes didn't make me feel any better. I felt sullen, but mostly embarrassed.
"My legs… they didn't work. I fell… Is there something wrong with them?" I whispered in a small voice. Worry was evident in my tone and the doctor looked sympathetic.
"Don't worry about it. It's perfectly normal. You were in a coma and your legs just… fell asleep, for the lack of a better word. It'll clear up in a little bit. The more you try to walk, the quicker it'll go away."
"Can you help me then? So I don't fall again?" I shouldn't have felt embarrassed for asking for help, seeing as I had done that for the entire week. But, I still did. It must have been my personality. The doctor nodded, smiling. He wrapped one arm around my waist and helped me stand up. The first time I slipped a little. Though as we stared walking around the room, I felt my legs begin to tingle. "Is it bad if my legs tingle?"
"No. That's perfectly fine." He helped me around the room a few more times, I felt my legs grow less tingly. By the end of it, I wasn't leaning on him anymore and we were walking side by side. "Well, it looks like your legs are awake again. Next time you want to try something like that, be sure to let someone know. Okay?" He seemed like he was going to say something else, but stopped. "Have a nice day, Miss Turner." he then quickly exited the room.
Sighing, I sat down on the edge of the bed. I looked at the clock again. Not that much time had passed, it was almost one o'clock now. There wasn't any news of Douglas yet, but I didn't really expect there to be either. Fiddling with the hem of the blanket on the bed, I tried to amuse myself. It didn't go so well. Playing with my bed, I accidentally turned on the TV.
Grinning, I flipped through the channels. I stopped on one that seemed funny. It had two men and a younger guy in it. Following it was slightly difficult, but I caught on quickly. One man was named Charlie and the other Alan, the young boy was the latter's son, Jake. I giggled every once in a while, it was quite a funny show. A knock on the door distracted me from Jake's antics on the television. I looked over and Douglas was standing in the doorway. I smiled, waving at him. He walked to the side of the bed. Leaning over, he kissed me on the forehead, just as he had every other day that he visited.
"Are you feeling okay?" He sat down next to me and held a small bag. I looked at it, but didn't really pay attention to it.
"I'm feeling pretty good." I didn't mention about me falling out of my bed. Douglas smiled, genuinely happy to hear that.
"That's great. Do you think you're ready to go now?"
"Um… I think so. Yeah."
"Here, if you want to change." He handed me the bag he held. I took it, looking it over. It was a like a purse, but bigger. I stood up, stretching. Thankfully, I walked over to the mini bathroom in my room without falling. Turning around in the bathroom, I shut the door.
Setting the bag on the counter, I unzipped it and looked through the clothing inside. Pulling out the first article of clothing, I inspected the grey sweatpants that Douglas had packed me. I shrugged, they were alright. Slipping them on, I made sure not to disturb any of the sore spots on my legs. Adjusting them on my hips, I took off the hospital gown and pulled out the shirt packed. It was a light grey t shirt emblazoned with the Superman logo.
It still surprised me at the menial things I could recognize, yet forget faces that mean the world to me. Pulling it over my head, I felt how sore my muscles were from lack of use. Straightening the shirt, I looked at myself in the mirror. I looked okay, I guessed. I wasn't sure if I liked it or not. There were a pair of red TOMS in the bottom of the bag and I slipped them on. Wiggling my toes, I tried getting used to my feet in shoes. I ran my fingers through my hair, and bit my lip. "Good enough," I decided and opened the bathroom door. Douglas was waiting, watching TV on my bed.
Holding the bag in my lap, I sat next to my fiance. He smiled at me, putting his arm around my shoulder. I leaned into him, and we stayed like that for a few minutes. I wasn't sure what we were watching now, Douglas had changed the channel. It seemed to be some reality TV show, but I didn't recognize it. Kissing my cheek, Douglas stood and rubbed his hands together.
"Ready to go home?" he asked, tilting his head slightly.
"Yeah. Let's go." I smiled, tightening my grip on the purse I was holding. I stood and Douglas offered his hand. I took it, lacing my fingers through his. The feeling of holding his hand was familiar, but no memories came with it. Douglas smiled at me, though I could read the sadness in his eyes. I smiled back, to reassure him, even though his smile saddened me. I tried to shake off the feeling, and focused on the present. We made our way through the halls and caught an elevator to the ground floor. My heart fluttered in my chest, knees beginning to tremble. Douglas looked at me, smiling in reassurance. I nodded, trying to calm myself. We then exited the hospital and made our way through the parking lot. I still held Douglas's hand, for the simple fear of getting lost. Finally, we stood in front of a small black car. I hesitated for a moment, remembering that I'd been in the hospital for a car accident. Douglas squeezed my hand, noticing my hesitation.
"Don't worry about it. It's going to be fine." he tried cheering me up, but it didn't work that well. I took a deep breath, but the fear was deep set in me.
"But… But…" I murmured. Douglas stepped around to face me and put his hands on my shoulders.
"Jenna. Don't worry." he smiled at me, pulling me into a hug. "It's fine, okay?" he kissed my cheek again, pulling away. Walking over to the passenger door, he opened the door and gestured for me to get in. I nodded, taking another deep breath. Getting in, I buckled my seat belt and watched Dougie walk back around to the driver's side. Douglas opened his door, slid in. He started the engine and turned on the radio. A soft, acoustic song was playing and my nerves calmed some. He pulled out of the parking spot and quickly exited the parking lot. Douglas drove calmly, definitely under the speed limit, if only to calm my nerves. "Is this okay with you?" he chuckled. I felt embarrassed almost at him.
"Yes." I rolled my eyes, fiddling with the radio. Turning up the volume, I knew the song. It was a pop tune, with a female lead singer. "… Paramore. Right? I can't remember the name of the song though." Douglas looked at me oddly for a moment. He didn't say anything, but shrugged after a short time. I took it as he didn't know it. Continuing downtown, we drove in silence, save for the radio. I kept on getting distracted by the scenery, surprising myself with how much I recognized. We started to head into a more residential area. Entering a small suburb, Douglas slowed down a bit more. I recognized a house, it was small and painted white. "This is …our house?" He nodded, pulling into the drive way. Turning off the engine, we sat in the car for a moment.
"Douglas?" I whispered, looking at the house more. I could recognize it, like I'd seen it before. But, it didn't bring any other memories along with it, unlike what I would have thought.
"Call me Dougie, honey." he smiled, patting my hand gently. "Dougie, okay?"
"Sorry… Dougie." I said it once, liking how it sounded. "Will… Will I remember everything? Will it all come back some day?" I tried keeping my voice steady, but my emotions were getting the best of me. I didn't like all of this, being so… fragile. I wanted to be able to handle this, but it seemed overwhelming. Dougie smiled again, that same sad but happy smile.
"Of course you will," he replied, "Why do you ask that?"
"I don't know really. Everything feels so different. I feel like I've been reprogrammed or something. I feel like I have to do what Jenna would do. Am I Jenna? Or was she the girl I was before I woke up in the hospital? It's like I'm living Jenna's life, but I don't know if I'm Jenna." Traitorous tears slipped down my cheeks. I angrily wiped them away, not wanting to be considered weak.
"Jenna," Dougie put a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Everything will come back to you. Don't worry about it. It's going to be fine." He explained, encouraging me. Pausing for a moment, I nodded. I hope he's right. Dougie opened his door and got out. Walking around the car, he opened my door. I stood, wiping my hands on my pants. Looking around the neighborhood, I sighed. There were bits and pieces that I remembered, but nothing that mattered. Dougie and I made our way up the steps, and entered the house.
I looked around me again, nothing really stuck out at me. There was nothing that I recognized. A lump formed in my throat. Would the memories ever come back?