‘Okay,’ Stanley murmured, after a brief moment of silence. He then turned to his wife. ‘Let’s go home, darling. We’ve got some distance to go.’ He put his arms around Patricia and tried to steer her towards the door, but Patricia wanted to say a few more words to Vera.
‘We’ll be back tomorrow, sweetheart, Dad and I. We’ll see you tomorrow,’ she added.
‘She can’t hear you.’ The nurse looked at Vera’s face. ‘She’s sleeping.’
Patricia and Stanley quietly thanked the nurse and left the room.
CHAPTER 11
After the events of Sunday night, Patricia and Stanley were emotionally shattered and physically exhausted. They didn’t get much sleep at all, either. They arrived home in Reading in the early hours, only to be back on the road a few hours later. It was now 7.30am and they were stuck on the M4 - the traffic seemed like it wasn’t moving at all.
Two hours later, they arrived at The Royal Free hospital, and headed directly for Vera’s room. She was awake when they walked in. The nurse they spoke to the previous night was also there, filing Vera’s medical records that were attached to the end of the bed.
‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Hello, how are you? Did you get some sleep?’ The nurse briskly walked over to greet them.
‘No, unfortunately, but it doesn’t matter. How’s Vera? Has anything changed?’ Patricia looked to the nurse for an update.
‘Mum!’ Vera turned towards her mother. ‘You can ask me things. I am here!’
‘Of course you are, darling, I’m so sorry.’ Patricia walked over to Vera’s bed.
‘She has a doctor coming to see her this morning, and she’s had another scan done, the nurse said. You can speak to the doctor yourself, she’ll be here any moment,’ she added.
The door suddenly opened, and a tall, skinny young woman with blonde hair in a ponytail, dressed in what seemed like oversized doctor’s uniform walked in. She looked around the room and quickly introduced herself.
‘Hello, I’m Doctor Skelker, I’m a neurologist.’ She walked over to Vera’s parents and shook their hands. ‘I take it you’re Vera’s parents. I met your daughter earlier this morning,’ she said, smiling.
‘Pleased to meet you, doctor,’ Stanley acknowledged. ‘We understand that Vera had her CT scan this morning?’
‘Yes, she did,’ confirmed Doctor Skelker. ‘And the good news is that it didn’t show any brain abnormalities.’ She smiled again.
Patricia and Stan looked at each in relief and instantly joined hands.
‘So there’s no lasting damage from the accident?’ asked Stan.
‘It doesn’t look that way, but of course, we still haven’t properly identified the memory loss. How are you feeling now, Vera?’ She turned to her patient.
‘I’m in pain.’ Vera answered her quietly.
‘What kind of pain? Can you describe it?’ the doctor asked. ‘And do you feel pain in any specific area?’
‘All over my body, but especially my neck. It feels like I have an extremely bad flu coming on.’
‘That’s perfectly normal. You’ve been hit by a car and you landed with some impact. Your body is bound to respond with pain,’ the doctor reassured her. ‘And you’ve sustained a head injury, so your neck is naturally hurting more, it will soon improve. It’s nothing unusual under these circumstances. How about other things, Vera?’ she asked her carefully. ‘Any more memories returning?’
‘No.’ Again Vera answered quietly.
Trying to remain positive for everyone’s sakes Doctor Skelker said - ‘That will improve too. Let’s give it some more time,’ she said, but the tone of her voice was unconvincing. She then turned to Vera’s parents.
‘I’m going to go now, but if you want to see me about anything, I’ll be at the end of the corridor.’ She looked at them as if to say - if you want to ask me anything without upsetting Vera, you can do it away from this room. She then left.
Both Stanley and Patricia approached the bed. Vera slowly lifted her right hand and her mother held it immediately.
‘Mum, I’m so sorry for this, I didn’t mean to cause you any trouble, either of you.’
‘Darling, don’t even say a thing like that. You’ve got nothing to apologize for,’ she reassured her kindly.
‘The police were here this morning and said that I stepped into the road when the light was red, that it was my fault. They have the CCTV footage - the driver didn’t do anything wrong. I’ve caused everyone so much stress and I could have died. I don’t remember where I was going and I don’t know what I was thinking. I’m so sorry.’ A single tear ran down her left cheek and ended up soaking into the pillow.
‘So the police were here this morning? repeated Stanley. ‘Why didn’t they contact us?’ He looked slightly annoyed.
‘Dad, you had nothing to do with the accident,’ said Vera. ‘They don’t have to contact you if they can speak to me directly,’ she added. ‘Which reminds me, the nurse said earlier that you still haven’t collected my things. They have my bag, my phone, my wallet and some keys. You’d better take them, someone might end up stealing them and breaking into your house,’ she said with concern.
As Patricia stared at Vera, it dawned on her what her daughter was saying.
‘Darling, they are the keys to your house,’ she said calmly. ‘You haven’t lived with us for twelve years.’
After she said that, Vera’s facial expression changed and she looked frightened. If I haven’t lived with them for twelve years? she thought, where do I live then? Why can’t I remember my adult life? They might be the keys to my place, but I don’t even know where that is.
‘Vera,’ said Stan, ‘I can’t imagine how upsetting this must be, but you mustn’t think about this now. Everything will come back to you, I promise.’ Despite the fact that he was trying to sound positive, there was uncertainty in his voice. ‘And on that note,’ he added, ‘I’m going to see the doctor.’ He then left the room and headed down a corridor, to the room at the very end. He knocked and heard the doctor say – ‘Come in.’ As he walked in, Doctor Skelker was typing, but she immediately stopped and indicated that he be seated.
‘I’m sure you’ve got a few questions about your daughter, please, go ahead,’ she encouraged him.
‘I don’t quite know where to start.’ He sounded upset. ‘My wife and I spoke to Doctor Manafi last night. He shed some light on something called R.A.’
‘Mr. Smith.’ Doctor Skelker turned in her swivel chair and pushed herself away from her desk, ‘Vera’s condition might point to the possibility of R.A. But we would still need to confirm it with tests.’ She looked at him in silence. Stanley was twiddling his thumbs.
‘In the meantime, how can we help her to remember anything beyond her last memory?’ he asked. ‘Do we just keep talking to her about it until it all comes back? Or are there other methods? Therapy?’ he asked nervously.
Sensing his anxiety, Doctor Skelker got up from her chair and approached him.
‘Mr. Smith, talking to Vera about her life could probably prove beneficial in the long run. However, in these situations, patients’ memories cannot, unfortunately, be recovered only from being told about their personal experiences or their identity. Thus, reminding the patient of the details of their life has no scientific bearings on the recovery of the memory.’ She looked at him apologetically. ‘But fortunately,’ she continued, ‘if it is a case of R.A., memory can be, and usually is, brought back due to something called ‘spontaneous recovery’. It’s a bit of a phenomenon in itself. The patient’s memory is usually triggered by something unexpected, or just returns on its own one day. However, there is no time scale for this, and I have seen it take place with different effects and at very different times for each patient. I really wish there was more I could tell you, but I’m afraid there isn’t. You’ll just have to be patient and not let your own worry rub off on Vera.’
When she spoke, Stanley was looking at the floor, trying to hide how upset he was. Realizin
g the fear he was feeling for his daughter, she continued - ‘Mr. Smith, I understand this is a lot to take in, but please try to be positive, for both Vera and your wife. The accident she had was very serious; she could have ended up with far greater injuries or could have lost her life. Yet she’s here, and in one piece, so you need to concentrate on that.’
‘Yes, I understand,’ he nodded. ‘You’re right,’- he tried to look at the bright side - ‘it could have been much worse, and I’ll make sure Vera doesn’t realize that we’re upset or worried.’
‘I’m sure she already knows you are,’ said Doctor Skelker, ‘that’s why it’s essential for you to think only about the positives and show her that you’re okay.’
Stanley nodded his head again.
‘I won’t keep you anymore, Doctor Skelker, and thank you for your time.’ He got up and headed for the door.
‘My pleasure. You know where to find me, should you need me.’ She went back to her desk.
In another hospital department, Vera’s mother had been presented with her belongings: her vintage Burberry coat, high-heeled shoes and her handbag, which was full of various things. Patricia headed back upstairs to sit with Vera, who, throughout the morning, had been drifting in and out of sleep and was now napping again. One by one, Patricia took the things out of her daughter’s bag and placed everything on a side table nearby. There was her Marc Jacobs wallet and a small make-up bag with some cosmetics inside: a nude lipstick; black eyeliner; blusher; her mineral foundation and a small bottle of perfume. There was a pair of sea grass flip-flops, a notebook, the keys to her apartment and a phone with a cracked screen and a broken back cover – it still seemed to be working though. Patricia opened the wallet. Inside there was a £10 note, some coins, store loyalty cards and Vera’s debit card. She opened the other side of the wallet and smiled – there was a small picture of Vera with Milo, the dog they’d had when she was a child, alongside another picture of her and Shane from years ago. They both looked so different than, she smiled to herself, and slipped the picture back into the purse.
As she tried to zip up the wallet, something fell out on the floor. Patricia picked it up and suddenly the smile disappeared from her face - it was a picture of Tony. A wave of unexplained anxiety ran though her body. Should she tell Vera about Tony? she wondered, would she remember him? Perhaps she should call him and tell him about Vera’s accident? No, she talked herself out of it quickly, there was no need. They had split up a few weeks ago, and Vera had nothing to do with him anymore. For all she knew, Vera might remember everything by tomorrow, and might even be upset with her for dragging him into this situation. Although … she’d only just said that they were getting back together, she remembered. When was the last time they were in touch? she wondered. She picked up Vera’s phone in search of some answers. But after a quick investigation, she realized that there were no messages from Tony on Vera’s phone, and no recent phone calls from him either. So what good would it do to tell him about her accident now, or talk to her about his existence? The best thing that might come out of this, is that Vera might finally be able to put their relationship to rest, without even knowing anything about it. Right now, she needed all her strength to concentrate on her recovery, and that was going to be difficult enough. She was in enough pain as it was, and needed no distractions. Besides, what she didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her, so no, there was no way she was going to tell her anything about Tony.
The door opened and Stanley walked into the room. Vera was still sleeping. As he approached Patricia, he saw Tony’s photo in her hand. They looked at each other in silence for a few moments.
‘Has she seen it?’ he whispered. He looked his wife deeply in the eyes.
‘No,’ Patricia whispered, and turned her face away, ‘and she’s not going to.’ She slid Tony’s photo into the pocket of her jacket.
‘What?’ asked Stanley.
‘She’s not going to see the picture or find out about him,’ repeated Patricia.
‘I hope you know what you’re doing.’ Stanley looked unsure.
‘Not really, no,’ she answered. ‘But I know it’s not a good time to tell her about this right now. Just look at her.’
‘No, it’s not a good time,’ Stanley reluctantly agreed. ‘But it’s her past, her life - don’t you think she has the right to know?’ He risked starting a disagreement between the two of them by saying this, but he had to say it.
‘I don’t want to think about this right now.’ Patricia got up and walked towards Vera’s bed again. ‘I’m only thinking about what’s best for my daughter!’
‘So not only do you want to keep Tony’s existence a secret from Vera, but also not contact Tony about her accident. Is that right?’ he hissed.
‘Yes, that’s right!’ she whispered angrily, not wanting Vera to wake up. ‘Stanley, are you with me on this?’ she asked, raising her eyebrows. ‘Only I thought you agreed she doesn’t need to know at the moment.’
Stanley knew that under the circumstances, telling his daughter about her troubled love life with Tony wasn’t a good idea, but he also knew that Vera could be very upset with them if she ever found out that they’d kept things from her deliberately. But at this present moment, he couldn’t disregard Patricia’s point. More than anything else, he knew too that Vera needed to rest and relax, and finding out about Tony and their relationship would only upset her. As Patricia walked towards him, she took his hand and said - ‘Stanley, promise me you won’t say anything,’ she pleaded with him, ‘and that you won’t contact that Tony either.’
‘Okay, I’ll keep quiet,’ he said, looking at Vera. ‘And I won’t contact Tony,’ he added.
‘Good.’ concluded Patricia. ‘However, there is one person we do need to contact,’ she said. She picked up Vera’s handset again, scrolled through the contacts, and stopped at the letter ‘S’. ‘We need to call Shane.’
Shane rushed to the hospital immediately. Luckily it was his day off - he could have been in Geneva or Helsinki, and unable to come to see her so quickly. He would have had to endure panicking about his best friend lying in hospital all the way back to the U.K. But this was not the case. After Shane arrived, Vera’s parents stepped out into the corridor, so the two could talk in private. They sat on a long bench in the waiting area, and drank coffee from brown plastic cups. When Shane reappeared, they got up and walked towards him.
‘What happened? What did she say?’ Patricia said, eager to find out.
‘Well, she doesn’t remember me, but she laughed at some of my jokes, so I guess that’s a good start.’ Shane was terribly upset, but was trying not to show it. ‘I feel terrible I wasn’t here yesterday,’ he added. ‘We were supposed to meet at my place at seven and go to a party together. I waited half an hour, and when she didn’t turn up, I thought she was busy getting one of her psychic readings instead. I’d given her grief about that whole psychic thing before, so this time I just left her to it. But now I feel terrible, because she was obviously on her way to mine, and if I’d never invited her to this party this would never have happened.’ He sat down on the bench and held his head in his hands.
‘Don’t blame yourself, son, you weren’t to know this would happen.’ Stan put his hand on Shane’s shoulder, but Shane was now inconsolable.
‘But I do, I really do blame myself!’ he wept.
‘Shane, when you were with Vera just then, you didn’t by any chance mention Tony, did you?’ Patricia had to ask him, but her voice sounded shaky and she suddenly avoided looking at him directly.
‘No, I didn’t,’ he answered, raising his head. ‘Should I have?’ he asked looking at both of them.
‘God no, absolutely not!’ Patricia lowered her voice. ‘It’s just that Stan and I have decided …okay … I have decided, and Stan has reluctantly agreed with me, not to mention him to Vera and not to tell him about what has happened to her either.’
Shane straightened up in the chair.
‘I’ve deleted his number fr
om her phone, because I want her to concentrate on her recovery and not to worry about him again,’ she added.
Shane’s eyes wondered to the door of Vera’s room. He contemplated the state he’d just seen her in, the fact that she didn’t remember him, the fact that she barely knew where she was, and that her whole adult life was now one big mystery to her. He was going to have to teach her about their friendship, gain her trust again, show her their favorite hangout places, and tell her all about his life. By any stretch of the imagination, it was a lot take in. So does she need Tony to wonder or obsess about too? he asked himself. Does she need to be told that she was desperately waiting for the phone call that never came, and most likely, would never come? And if told about his existence, what if she decided to go and see him? And what if he was already seeing someone else? That could create an awful lot of embarrassment for her. Keeping things from her wasn’t something he was keen on, but if there was anything to prioritize right now, it was her health, and none of them wanted to jeopardize that.
‘Under the circumstances,’ he said slowly, ‘I agree with you, and your secret is safe with me. I have to go now, and sadly I won’t be able to see Vera tomorrow. There’s no way I can take time off work at such short notice, it’s difficult in my profession, you see,’ he explained apologetically. ‘But I’ll be back on Thursday,’ he said, getting up, ‘and please call me if there are any changes.’
‘Don’t worry about anything,’ said Patricia. ‘We’ll be staying at Vera’s apartment for now. It’s too exhausting to be travelling between London and Reading every day, so we’ve decided that we’ll stay at hers for as long as it’s required. So if you wanted to pop round for a cup of tea, or dinner sometime, you know where we are.’ She got up and hugged him.
‘I think that’s a great idea, you staying in London.’ Shane put his arms around her. ‘She needs you around, and thank you - I will pop in as soon as time permits,’ he said, gathering his stuff.
Before We Met: What Happens When You Fall For The Same Man Twice But Don't Even Know It Page 6
