Wincing

Start from the beginning and read the entire saga:

"Carla! It's Roger, are my girls there?"

"Yes, yes. They're safe," Carla assured him. "They are playing out in the pool with my girls."

Roger heaved a huge sigh of relief.

Carla did not, "But what about Helen? What happened?"

Roger's voice quivered with barely concealed emotion as he explained, "She passed out at the doctor's and hit her head on a table in the waiting room. She has a really bad concussion but the doctor thinks she'll recover, eventually."

Carla didn't like the word eventually. "How bad is it?"

"Honestly, I didn't know concussions could be this bad in real life. She couldn't remember anything. All she knew was that I was familiar. She didn't know we were married. I've been asking her for hours where the girls were and she just would say we have children?" He half laughed, the kind of laugh a person uses when they just can't cry anymore. "Then out of the blue, she just looked at me and asked where they were and remembered she left them with you."

Carla realized her mouth was hanging open in shock and she hurriedly closed it, grateful he couldn't see her through the telephone. Roger explained that they were about to be released but it might be another hour or more before they got back. Carla assured Roger that Angie and Ava would be fine there until he got home. As she hung up the phone, she looked back out on the girls in the backyard.

She couldn't imagine how Helen could have forgotten she had children. Emma, Jessie, and Grace were always on Carla's mind. What kind of mother can just forget about her child?

That's when Carla remembered she hadn't seen Daniel for a few hours.

She picked up the phone to call Melody and make sure he was still at her house playing. Once she confirmed her son's location, Carla told Melody about Helen. As usual, Melody had all the questions Carla hadn't considered.

Is she going to be okay being left alone or will Roger need someone to stay with her? What help will they need with girls? Do they need people to bring meals? How are they going to get Helen's car home? Will she be able to drive any time soon?

When Carla couldn't give her any answers, Melody took charge. She told Carla she would call some other neighbors and coordinate meals for the next few days. She would also be there when they got home from the hospital to talk with Roger and find out what else he needed. After making sure Carla was fine with the girls until then, Melody said goodbye. Carla set the phone back on the hook and immediately felt her stomach clench again uncomfortably. The conversation had taken nearly half an hour. She would need to tell the girls something, soon.

All too aware that she bore a grim scowl on her face but unable to keep it away, Carla again slid open the door and stepped onto the deck overlooking the pool.

"Hey girls", she called, "it's time to get out of the pool and dry off."

The laughter ceased immediately when they turned to look at her. The silence suddenly felt chilly despite the beating sun that warmed the late afternoon. Emma broke the quiet first.

"What's wrong mom? What's happened?"

Carla took a deep breath.

"Angie, Ava, your mom's had an accident. She's on her way home now and the doctors think she'll be okay, but she's hurt her head really bad. She's…" How do you explain amnesia to a nine year old and a six year old? "She's having a hard time remembering stuff right now."

Ava scrunched her little face up in confusion. "I don't get the big deal, I fohget stuff all the time, like wheh I left my shoes."

"Right," Carla nodded. "We all forget stuff sometimes, but your mom can't remember really important things."

"Like what?" Angie's face betrayed panic rather than confusion.

"Well…." Carla closed her eyes and took a deep breath, wondering if she was making the right choice with her next works. "Like she forgot where she left you today. That's why you've been here so long. It took a while for your Dad to figure it out. But now they are on their way home so you need to dry off and go change."

Angie tilted her head, clearly puzzling things together, "Where have Mom and Dad been all day?"

"They've been at the hospital. The doctors had to run some tests to make sure your mom was going to be okay."

"Is she going to be okay?" Angie bit her lower lip and Emma put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah, of course," Carla tried to smile, but she had never been good at keeping her emotions to herself. "The doctor thinks it might take a little bit, but she'll be just fine."

Angie didn't look convinced but Ava shrugged her shoulders and climbed out of the pool. When her older sister didn't follow, the six year old put her fists on her hips, and narrowed her brown eyes.

"Aw you coming, Angie? Cawla said we have to get out."

Angie kept her eyes locked on Carla, clearly trying to assess how much of what the woman had said was steeped in truth and how much had been sugar coated to lessen the blow. Carla tried to return the gaze without blinking, without betraying her own worry. She could sense her own failure.

"AAAAAngieeeeeeee!" Ava stomped her foot, "Hello?"

------