Wrestling

Start from the beginning and read the entire saga:

The clock on the wall clicked loudly.

Roger glared at it, annoyed by the sound almost as much as by the placement of the hands on its face. Almost two and they still hadn't taken her for the scan. It had been two and a half hours since the doctor had called to say he didn't think Helen should drive herself home. Two hours and fifteen minutes since the nurse at the dermatologist had helped him lift Helen into a wheelchair and push her out to the car. It had been two hours since he had raced into the emergency room, begging someone to help him bring what used to be his wife into the building. It had been an hour and forty-five minutes since they wheeled her into the exam room. Over an hour since the doctor had confirmed she had suffered a severe concussion and he needed to get a CT Scan to check for bleeding and other concerns.

And here they were, still waiting.

He looked at the woman laying in the bed and took hold of her hand.

“Helen, do you remember anything yet?” He could hear his own voice shaking.

Her eyebrows knit together tightly and she looked back at him with desperation in her eyes. She wanted to tell him what he wanted to hear. But instead she said, “My name is Helen?”

He dropped his head and shook it, trying to keep his emotions from spilling out. Taking a deep breath, he brought his gaze back to her beautiful face.

“Yes, you're Helen and I'm Roger. I'm your husband.”

"We're married?" She nodded her head then winced in pain. "That seems right. You feel familiar."

"I know this is hard," he sighed. "But I need you to try to remember. Where are the girls?"

"The girls, what girls?"

"Our girls. Our children, Ava and Angie."

Her eyes grew wide, "We have children?"

"Yes," he hung his head again and bit back the tears.

A knock on the door interrupted them and a soft looking woman pushed a wheelchair into the room. She spoke kindly as she unhooked the monitors from Helen and helped her into the chair. As they headed to the door Helen suddenly called out.

"Wait, can he come with me? He makes me feel safe. He's familiar," Tears were pooling in her blue-gray eyes, betraying the fear that overwhelmed her.

The soft woman nodded her head and explained that he would have to wait in the hall during the procedure, but he could walk with them. Relief flooded Helen's face as Roger came to her side. Roger’s heart remained shattered but warmed slightly, grateful that she still wanted him near.

When they returned to the room the clock revealed another hour had passed. Again Roger's mind went to Angie and Ava. Worry for his girls warred with his reluctance to go through the same conversation yet again.

He helped Helen climb into the bed and covered her with the blanket. She smiled at him and clasped his hand, "You look worried."

"Helen, it's been hours. I need you to remember. Where are the girls?"

She looked at him in puzzlement, "What girls?"

"Our girls, Helen. Our daughters, Angie and Ava. Where are our children?"

"We have children?"

He sat back in the chair and closed his eyes, refusing to let the tears out. This wasn't the time to break down; he scolded himself. But then he realized it wouldn't matter. Helen wouldn't remember it in five minutes. So he leaned forward and buried his face into her chest. She put a hand lovingly on his back and he sobbed. It felt good to let the bitterness out, if only for a few minutes. When there was no more left to come out, he got up and blew his nose in the bathroom.

When he came back in the room Helen's face lit up.

"Hey, I know you!"

He smiled sadly, "Hello, Helen. I'm Roger."

"You feel safe, familiar," She looked relieved as he sat back down and took her hand.

"I'm your husband."

"Oh, that makes sense," she nodded, then winced again in pain at the movement.

The clock ticked on, the monitors beeped monotonously. Over and over they repeated the same conversation. More and more, Roger felt torn between frustration, worry, and anger.

The doctor finally came back. "Good news. The scans look relatively good. No sign that there will be any serious lasting damage."

"What about her memory?"

"That's hard to say. I'm hopeful it will mostly return, but there will probably be some permanent gaps surrounding the events of today. Her concussion was very severe and it will take time for her to recover."

"But you think she'll remember?"

"Eventually, yes. I just can't say how long."

The doctor handed Roger some paperwork and began giving him instructions of what to do when they got home. He told him what to look for in case her condition changed and she needed to be brought back in.

"Roger?" Helen interrupted the doctor, a new look of worry on her face. "Where are the girls?"

Roger was overwhelmed in relief at the question. "Helen, I've been asking you that for hours!"

"Oh," she paused for a moment then added, "I left them with Carla."

Roger fell forward and wrapped his arms around Helen, unable to hold back the tears, "You remembered!"

"Well," the doctor smiled. "There you go. It looks like she's starting to remember already."

"I'm sorry, I need to call Carla and make sure our girls are okay," Roger wiped his eyes.

"Of course," the doctor directed Roger to a phone he could use.

He quickly dialed the number and impatiently waited as it rang twice before someone on the other side picked up.

"Hello?"

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