"Mrs. Stetson, your husband is awake now. His x-rays have come back and he does have a slight hairline fracture on his frontal bone, extending to his parietal bone on the left side of his head. He seems to be doing fine otherwise," the emergency room doctor explained. Dotty and Amanda were sitting in the small room, awaiting information when the doctor appeared in the doorway.
Amanda stood quickly, Dotty beside her, ready to follow the doctor immediately. They were surprised when he raised his hands and gestured for them to sit back down.
"Now, his vital stats are all fine, his blood pressure is good, but I have some concerns about his recollection of the incident," the doctor explained. He sat on the edge of one of the hard-plastic chairs; whereas Amanda and Dotty eased back into the soft cushioned ones.
"What do you mean, his recollection?" Dotty asked. She reached over and patted Amanda on the knee as they waited for his answer.
"Well, Mr. Stetson doesn't remember anything of the incident itself or much of anything from earlier today for that matter. We are concerned he may have a slight case of amnesia," the doctor nodded as he spoke.
Amanda looked at the doctor, her eyes wide as she asked, "When you say amnesia, you mean he doesn't know who he is or he just doesn't remember today?" She flashed back to the time she had been in the car accident and she herself had amnesia, not long after they had first met. She remembered the panicked feeling of not understanding who everyone was or what was going on around her, even for that short time.
The doctor raised his hand to silence her as he stated, "From what we can determine right now, it's complicated. He knows his name, even told me where he works but he is confused about you, unfortunately. I asked him if he could tell me his wife's name and he stated he wasn't married, never planned on it. I asked him if he knew his address and it's not the address listed on his admission records."
Dotty covered her mouth before exclaiming, "What do you mean he doesn't remember Amanda? They've been married for over a year, they've worked together for four, almost five years. She's pregnant with his child! How can he possibly NOT remember that?" Her voice rose in pitch the more questions she asked.
"Mother, please," Amanda tried to quiet her, patting her arm. "Let the doctor speak." She turned back to the doctor and asked, "Can we see him? Maybe if he sees us, it will help jog his memory."
Dotty nodded enthusiastically, "Yes, Doctor, can we see him? Amanda's right, maybe if he sees us, it will help trigger…something."
The doctor nodded sympathetically, "I'll take you down. Just understand, this is a post-traumatic type of amnesia. If it's also retrograde amnesia, it's going to take a while for the memories to return, so just be patient. Now, if you'd like to follow me…" The doctor's voice trailed off as he stood.
Amanda and Dotty followed the doctor to another small room where Lee lay on a gurney, a bandage wrapped around his head, complaining, "Can I get my clothes and some aspirin? I'll deal with this when I get back to my apartment."
"Mr. Stetson, I explained as soon as the rest of your test results come back, you can go home," the doctor tried to calm the agitated Lee.
"And I told you, I hate doctors. Now, where are my clothes?" Lee replied sarcastically.
"Sweetheart," Amanda whispered as she stepped closer to the bed, "Why don't you just lay back and calm down."
"I'm sorry, Miss..." Lee studied her face for a moment before he corrected himself, "no, sorry, Mrs. King, isn't it?" He scanned her from top to bottom and added, "I see congratulations are in order. Your ex-husbands?"
Amanda bit her lip, trying to tamp down the tears that threatened to fall as she muttered back, "No, my new husband's. He's very excited about our baby." Lee's demeanor had reverted back to how he was when she first met him - slightly arrogant and demanding. And to add insult to injury, he didn't remember their relationship at all.
"Oh, anyone I know?" Lee tossed back with a laugh. He crossed his arms and shrugged his shoulders.
Dotty watched the exchanged and immediately got angry. She stepped deeper into the room and stated firmly, "As a matter of fact, yes, you do know him. You know him very well."
Lee pushed himself higher on the gurney with a groan as he replied, "Oh yeah?"
Dotty took one more step to stand at the end of the bed and stated, "Yeah and you better apologize to your wife right now, mister. She's been worried sick about you all afternoon!"
Lee's mouth dropped open in shock before he stuttered out the words, "My wife?" Amanda was still fighting the tears that threatened to fall and only nodded in reply. He looked at her, then down at his left hand then back up at Dotty. "So, if she's my wife, then that's my -" Lee stopped when reality struck, slumping back against the pillows behind him.
"Our baby, yes," Amanda replied softly, a solitary tear snaking down her cheek.