Finding Carrie (6 page)

“Wow, are there any more coming? I must have a huge family,” she said, almost laughing.

They ignored her question, and Isaac asked, “Do you remember any of them?”

She looked at each one of the faces in the room, studying them carefully. She looked at the twin girls who were clinging to both sides of Isaac’s body. “The only ones I remember are those girls. They were here last night,” she said, pointing to her daughters.

“No one else?” he asked.

Shaking her head and looking around the room again, Carrie said, “No, I’m sorry.” And she was sorry. She wanted very much to remember these sad faces that were staring down at her.

Her mother stepped forward. Sitting in the chair next to Carrie, she took her hand. “I’m your mother, honey,” she said, holding back tears.

“Oh,” Carrie said. “What is your name?”

“Well, my name is Katharine Shay, but everyone calls me Kate,” she said with a smile on her face.

“Then I will call you Kate, if you don’t mind, just until I remember,” she said with her head tilted to the side.

Kate’s chin quivered, and she closed her eyes. “Yes, of course,” she said, then got up and left the room, holding a tissue to her mouth. A man came to sit in the chair.

“I’m your father, dear,” the man said, holding Carrie’s hand.

“My father.” She paused. “What is your name?” Carrie asked the man.

“Thomas Shay, and before you ask, yes, you can call me Tom,” he said, bringing her hand to his mouth and rubbing it over his jaw. He got up and followed Kate.

A woman sat next to her in the chair. She did not take her hand; she just rested her hand on the bed, and looked up at her.

“I’m your oldest sister,” she said, looking Carrie in the eyes. Carrie saw tears swimming in the woman eyes.

“What is your name?” Carrie asked.

“Melanie,” she said. “I’m married to Lee. Do you remember being in the wedding? You were a bridesmaid.”

“No, I don’t,” Carrie said, shaking her head.

“Well, I have three children: Sarah, Leanna, and Lee Junior. Do you recognize any of those names?” Melanie asked.

“No, but I think one of my nurses’ names is Sarah,” she said with a smile on her face.

“Oh well.” She sighed. “I’m going to check on Mom and Dad,” Melanie said, and she got up and left the room. A young man sat next to her. Carrie looked at him. He was sitting lazily in the chair.

“Well, I’ll get this over with. You’re not going to remember me anyway. I’m your brother, Chris, and I’m married to Missy. She wanted to come, but she couldn’t get off work. I’ll see you later,” he said and left the room. Carrie watched him leave and looked at Isaac for some kind of reassurance.

“What was that?” Carrie asked. Another woman sat in the chair and picked up Carrie’s hand.

“Don’t mind him,” she said in a low voice. “He’s just as disappointed as we all are. I’m your other sister, Linda. I know you don’t remember, but we are very close, like best friends. Well, until you moved to New York City that is.”

“Why is that?” Carrie asked, tilting her head to the side.

“Oh, you’re just really busy writing and all. Hey, don’t worry, we still talk,” Linda said, trying to make the situation a bit lighter. “I’m married to Ed. I don’t have any children to speak of, unless you count the four-legged kind,” Linda said, laughing. Carrie just looked at her with a confused look on her face.

“Oh, I see,” Carrie said, trying to laugh at the joke.

“Well, I’m going out to the waiting room,” Linda said.

Carrie watched her leave, and the twins went with her. It was just Carrie and Isaac left in the room. He sat in the chair and picked up her hand. “You don’t remember any of them, do you?” he asked. Carrie just shook her head and looked at the wall. For just a moment, she let him hold her hand. What could she do? He seemed to always want to touch her.

“What happened to me?” she finally asked, turning her head to look at Isaac’s face. “Why is it that I can’t remember?”

“You had an accident. You got a bad head injury,” he said, bowing his head and looking at the back of her hand.

“What kind of accident?” she asked. He didn’t raise his head; he just shook it. He didn’t want to tell her. He didn’t want her to be upset. When he wouldn’t look at her, she pulled her hand out of his grip and pulled his chin up to look at his face. “Tell me. I have bandages on my face and a nasty bruise on my side. Please tell me how I got them?” she asked, looking in his eyes for the answers.

“You were attacked,” he said with tears flowing down his face.

“Attacked? How? Why?” she asked, shaking her head and letting go of his face. “Tell me everything. Don’t leave anything out.”

“I went to pick the twins up from the airport, and you stayed in the hospital with my mom. She had a stroke. That is why we are here,” he started to say.

“Your mother is she okay?” she asked with concern, but she didn’t know why. Her heart started to race. She was alarmed, and she was confused by it.

“No, she was taken. You were attacked while trying to keep her safe. Do you remember?” he asked, recognizing her anxiety.

“She was taken? Oh no,” she said, putting her hands over her face.

“Carrie, do you remember?” he asked, reaching for her hand.

Shaking her head, she said, “No, I don’t, but why do I feel this way?” She dropped her hands and let tears stream down her face. Her heart was pounding, and she didn’t know why she felt it was all her fault.

“You were very close to my mother,” Isaac said.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

“It’s not your fault. You did what you could,” he said, trying to reassure her.

“Yes it is. I don’t know why, but I feel that it is,” Carrie said. She wished she could remember. This was more frustrating than not knowing the man in the room with her.

Chapter 7

“
How would you like to go home today?” the doctor asked Carrie, examining the cuts on her face.

“Sure, if I could only remember where that is,” she said with grimace.

“Well, you have a wonderful husband, and I’m sure he will take care of you,” the doctor said, trying to reassure her.

“I will, I promise,” Isaac said. He was leaning against the wall, watching the doctor examine her.

“Well good. The stitches will dissolve, so we don’t have to worry about taking them out, but I’m worried about your memory. I have done all that I can do for now. If you need anything, you can call or go to your local hospital, but I will let you go. You may put on your own clothes while you wait for the papers,” the doctor said. He replaced the bandages over her eye, and then he left the room. Carrie looked at Isaac, who was now opening the suitcase and taking out some clothes for her.

“Where is it—where I live?” she asked as he placed the clothes on the bed and reached out his hand to help her.

“New York City,” he said.

She swung her legs off the bed. “Oh, that one lady from yesterday said that I had moved there,” she said. Isaac reached around her to untie her gown. “Um…what are you doing?”

“I’m helping you get dressed.” He paused and looked at her.

“I think I can do that myself,” she said, looking up at him. He didn’t say anything; he just waited to see if she could do it. She winced at the pain in her side. “Okay, you can help me.”

“I am your husband, after all,” he said, reaching around her again to finish untying her gown.

“I don’t remember,” she said, looking down at her hands, at her wedding ring. He grabbed her face in his hands and brought her up to look at him. She wanted to pull away, but she didn’t.

“I know that, but I will not hurt you. I am here to help you, and I will help you remember.” He let go of her face and helped with her clothes. She swung her legs back on the bed.

“Are the girls coming with us?” she asked, playing with the tie on her hoodie.

“Yes, they have to go to school,” he said, brushing her hair.

“They go to school?” she asked, looking up at him.

“Yes, sweetheart. They are twelve. They are in the sixth grade. Although it is summer, they are going to the summer program for the arts,” he said as he tied her hair up in a ponytail.

“If they are twelve, how old am I?” she asked as she searched for her ID bracelet. “Am I old enough to have twelve-year-olds?”

“You just had you thirtieth birthday,” he said, settling in the chair next to the bed.

“I’m thirty. That would have made me eighteen when I had them,” she said, figuring it out in her head.

“You were,” he said, resting his hand on the bed.

“I was? Then where is their father? It can’t be you. You said that we have only been together for two years. Is that right?” she asked.

“That’s right. When the girls were about a month old, their father committed suicide on Lookout Hill, where you are from. You told me that you were there. The police wrote off what really happened,” he said, leaning closer to her.

“Oh, how old was he?” she asked, still playing with the tie.

“He was nineteen,” he replied.

“Oh, then why didn’t you adopt them?” she asked.

“I am. We are in the middle of the paperwork, and it’s in the process.”

“Oh, I see. Is it what the girls want?”

“Yes, they are the ones who asked if I could adopt them,” he said with a smile on his face.

“Oh,” she said with a sigh. A nurse and a man came in the room and interrupted them. “Sorry to interrupt, but Detective Jones wanted to ask some questions before you left,” the nurse said. “I told him that you didn’t remember anything, but he insisted.”

“He can ask, but I don’t think I’m going to be much of a help to him,” Carrie said. The detective cleared his throat.

“Mrs. Walsch, do you remember anything that happened, anything at all?” he asked, taking out a pad and pen from his jacket pocket.

“My wife has amnesia. She doesn’t remember anything, not even who I am,” Isaac said angrily as he got out of the chair.

“I know, but I have to ask,” he said. “Do you, Mrs. Walsch?”

“No, but I wish I did,” she said, taking a deep breath and then letting it out. She also stretched her arms in front of her.

“Okay,” he said, writing something down on the pad. “Mr. and Mrs. Walsch, when we first were here, we got a DNA sample from under Mrs. Walsch’s fingernails. We have a good match with a wanted criminal, but we don’t have any leads on where to find him yet. You dug that guy good. We got blood in the sample. Mr. Walsch, have you heard anything about where your mother might be?” he asked.

“No, I haven’t, but I have to focus on my wife at this time. Although I am worried about her, my wife is my first concern at this time. You would have to speak to my family. I trust that you have spoken to them?” Isaac asked.

“Yes, of course I have. Well, thank you. I have no more questions to ask,” the detective said. “I sure hope you get you memory back.”

“Me too,” Carrie said.

“Have a good day,” the detective said. He nodded and left the room.

“Why do they keep asking me these questions when they know I don’t remember anything?” she asked sadly.

“I don’t know. Maybe they think that if they keep asking, they might get you to remember something,” Isaac said.

The nurse brought in the wheelchair. “Are you ready to go home?” she said, pushing the chair into place.

“I guess,” Carrie said. She reached for Isaac’s hand that was raised for her. She felt wobbly as she got into the chair. She had to lean on Isaac for support. It felt so right for her, she did it without thinking. She only wished that she remembered him and the love that everyone told her about. As he pushed her out of the room toward the elevator, she couldn’t help but wonder what it was like to be loved by him. He certainly showed her, but she couldn’t recognize it.

When the elevator door closed, Isaac got down in front of her, resting on his shins. He pulled her hood over her head. “Put these on, and when we get off the elevator, keep your hand in front of your face. I will take care of the rest,” he said and slipped some sunglasses on her face.

“Why do I have to do that?” she asked, looking up at him though the dark glasses.

“I will explain when we are in the car,” he said just as the doors opened. She did what he told her, and he pushed her out the door. Just before they reached the door, Isaac bent down. He whispered something in her ear.
Aishite imasu
. She didn’t recognize the words, but they were somewhat familiar to her.

They continued out the door. That is when the flashing started, and the people yelled and screamed her name.

“Carrie, how are you doing?” she heard a voice ask. “Do you remember anything of the attack?” another voice asked. She didn’t say anything. She was confused. Why were these people coming at her with cameras and sticking things in her face? Isaac hurried as fast as he could through the crowd of reporters. She heard Isaac say, “No comment,” many times. She had to close her eyes from the flashes. She kept her head down and her face covered with her hands. She felt Isaac pick her up and put her in the car. Isaac hurried in and shut the door behind him. He looked over at her face. It was confused and worried at the same time.