Focus (11 page)

T
he next day
, I had to go to work. Life had to go on, even though CJ was never far from my mind. Congressional testimony was upon me, and I was heavily involved in negotiations to get more contracts from Singapore. It seemed that, everywhere I looked, people around the world were hungry for my products.

It took my mind off of what was happening, at least for a little while. But, at the end of the day, when I was alone in my apartment, I thought of CJ. I would go and visit her every day, to see if there was any change, but there never was. So, I would go home and feel defeated.

Marisa was, surprisingly, still in the hospital. She must have had more damage than I had anticipated, or, perhaps, she was just still in shock. I didn’t find out much about her, even though I asked, mainly because of privacy laws. I didn’t try to pull the card that I was a major benefactor of that hospital, at least when it came to Marisa. I was concerned about her, but I felt that she was going to recover, so I wasn’t overly worried.

But CJ….I was very worried about her. Every day that I went up there and she hadn’t woken up was another day that I silently prayed for her. The doctor would tell me that her swelling hadn’t receded enough, so CJ had to stay in the coma a little longer. I needed, however, to see her and talk to her. I craved communicating with her. I craved that more than I thought that I could crave anything in my life.

Then, one day, I got the phone call I was waiting for.

CJ was ready to be brought out of her coma.

I
raced
to the hospital when I heard the news.
I wanted, very much, to be there for her when she came into consciousness. I needed her to know that I was there for her, every step of the way. I called Scarlett, of course, for she, too, was very concerned about CJ, and she was visiting CJ every day in the hospital as well.

We both got there and were led to CJ’s room, in anticipation of CJ being awoken from her coma. “I’m so excited,” Scarlett said to me. “I have been so afraid for CJ. I just can’t believe that all this happened to her. I hope she doesn’t have a relapse of her condition.”

“I hope so too,” I said. “But if she does, I’m here to help her, every step of the way.”

“CJ will be thrilled that you’re back in the picture,” she said. “She talked about little else but you before all this happened. I had to tell her to shut up about it, because it was getting old.” She smiled when she said this, so I assumed that she was at least half joking.

“If it’s any consolation, I feel the same way about her as she does about me. I never thought that I could feel like this about anyone. I have surprised myself, though, with these new feelings.”

We got to CJ’s room, where the doctor explained that he had eased up on the drugs that were causing CJ to be in a coma, and that it might take awhile for her to be fully conscious.

“What can we expect?” I asked the doctor. “When CJ wakes up?”

“Hopefully there will be minimal damage to her brain. However, she might have to relearn some of her motor skills. There might be aphasia, which is where the patient has problems speaking, or there might be memory loss. It’s difficult to say.”

“So, how long does this take her for her to come out of this?”

“It could be anytime. I’ve been easing up her phenobarbital now for several hours, so it could be minutes. It could be days.”

Scarlett and I had a seat next to CJ, who was still hooked up to the scary machines that were helping her breath. I had her transferred to a private room some time earlier, so there was plenty of space for Scarlett and I to watch CJ come back to us.

I took her hand. “CJ,” I said softly. “I hope you can hear me. I love you, and I’m here for you.” I kissed her forehead. “I know how much you like it when I do this. Because it shows how much I care for you.”

We sat there, just staring at CJ, for several hours.

Then, gradually, CJ opened her eyes.

I
was disoriented
, to say the least, when I opened my eyes. Scarlett was there, along with a very handsome man who I didn’t recognize at all.

“Scarlett,” I said to her, after the doctor forcibly removed the feeding tube and breathing apparatus. “What happened to me?”

“You were in an accident,” she said. There were tears in her eyes. “But you’re going to be okay.”

The handsome man, who was holding my hand, also appeared to have tears in his eyes. I looked at him, wondering why it was that he was holding my hand. I didn’t know him at all.

I felt embarrassed, but I boldly made an attempt to figure out who he was. “I’m so sorry,” I said to him. “Are you my doctor? Or are you dating my sister? She’s so secretive, I just never know who she is dating these days.”

His face fell and he bowed his head. He looked at Scarlett, and she gave him a look. “CJ,” he said to me. “I-“

But then Scarlett shook her head. He made a face and looked perplexed.

“Scarlett,” I said. “Where’s mom? And Stella and Nathaniel?” I had no idea why they wouldn’t be there in the hospital. After all, Scarlett was there. And so was this handsome stranger. Why wouldn’t mom and my siblings come and see me as well? “Hell, where’s Clifford? He’s been the closest I’ve ever come to having an actual father.”

“Um,” Scarlett said. “Let me call your doctor. He’s going to want to examine you.”

“Okay,” I said. “Don’t be long.” I didn’t want to tell her that I was embarrassed that this handsome man was standing by my bed, and, thus far, he hadn’t yet identified himself.

“I won’t be,” she said. “In fact, I’ll just be a moment. Now you just sit tight, and I’ll bring the doctor back here.”

At that, Scarlett left, apparently in search of my doctor.

I smiled warmly at the man. “Okay, so, who are you again?”

He looked like he didn’t quite know if he should say something to me or not. “I’m here to see you,” he said. “Hopefully the doctor can tell you a bit more.”

The doctor came back in with Scarlett. “Hi, doctor, uh, Bristow,” she said, looking at his name tag. “Hopefully you can fill in the blanks on why I’m here.”

“CJ,” he said. “What year is it?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Is this a trick question?”

“No,” he said. “What year is it?”

“It’s 2013,” I said. “We just had that Mayan calendar scare, didn’t we? The world was supposed to end a few months ago?”

Scarlett and the man just looked at one another, concerned.

“What other events do you remember?” he asked.

“Just daily things,” I said. “I do have to say that I’m a little bit concerned that I missed quite a few days of school. I guess. How long have I been in this bed?”

“For five days,” he said.

“Five days.” I looked at Scarlett. “I hope you’ve been in contact with my instructors. I know that Hewitt is going to flunk me for sure if I just failed to show up to his class without a damn good excuse. But, I suppose that being in the hospital would qualify.”

Scarlett’s face was pale, and the handsome man’s face was even paler than hers. He was shaking a tiny bit.

I looked at him. “I’m so sorry. I don’t think that I got your name.”

“Asher,” he said. “Asher Sloane.”

I nodded. “Asher Sloane. Asher Sloane. Where have I heard that name before?”

I saw his face light up as I contemplated where I had heard that name before. But I just shook my head. “I guess I haven’t really heard your name before. I was thinking of Sloane industries, but you’re not involved with that company, are you?”

“Uh,” he said, and then looked at Scarlett and the doctor. “CJ, I…need to talk to your doctor.”

I looked at the doctor quizzically. “Why? I guess I don’t know why you’re this concerned about a stranger.” He was certainly a magnetic, handsome man, that was for sure. I just wish that I could have some kind of a recollection on who he was. Any recollection at all.

Asher and the doctor went out into the hallway, and Scarlett was now holding my hand. “CJ,” she said. “I can’t tell you how thrilled I am that you’ve come back to us.”

“Of course I did,” I said. “Where would I go?”

She looked anxious, like she wanted to tell me things, but didn’t know if she should. “CJ,” she said. “I would love to tell you about what happened to you that brought you here, and about everything else, but I need to also talk to your doctor and find out how much you can handle at this point.”

“How much I can handle?” I said. I suddenly felt apprehensive. “What year is this?”

She looked around, and saw that Asher and the doctor were coming back in.

The doctor put his hand on Scarlett’s shoulders and asked her to come out into the hallway with him. Which left me all alone.

Suddenly, I started to feel apprehensive. Everybody was acting so strangely, I just didn’t know what to think.

I waited for all of them to come back into the room, so I could start asking the questions that I needed to ask.

W
hen CJ opened her eyes
, I was completely over the moon. I couldn’t believe that I was about to get another chance with her.

Then, my heart fell. CJ apparently had a memory loss, and she didn’t know who I was. I could see in her eyes, though, that there was something inside of her that knew me, even if it was something in her sub-conscious brain.

That gave me hope. I saw just a spark inside her eyes.

But perhaps it wasn’t a spark of recognition, so much as it was a spark of attraction. As much as I didn’t want to think like that, considering she just woke up from a coma, after suffering through a horrible ordeal, there was still a part of me that wanted her very badly. I wanted, very badly, to hold her in my arms and make love to her. I missed that so much.

How she felt about me, and the fact that she didn’t remember me, wasn’t exactly the issue. While I felt discouraged, I also knew that I could win her over. She and I would be back together, and I would get her to fall in love with me all over again.

The issue, of course, was that she still thought that Nathaniel was alive.

So, I had to talk to her doctor about how to approach this matter.

We got out into the hallway, and I immediately asked him how to gently tell CJ what had happened. It was going to be awful. She was going to have to relive all of that again. Just when she was starting to get over it, and finally live her life the way that she should be living it, she was going to have to relive it.

“Doctor Bristow,” I said to him. “As you can see, CJ has some memory loss. Tell me about that.”

“That’s somewhat common in patients who were in a coma.”

“Will she get her memory back?”

“That’s difficult to say. Most of the time, the patient can recover the memories that are lost. Other times, more rare, the patient might never recover these memories. I will have to run some tests to see the extent of the damage to her brain, and this might give us more of a clue.”

I took a deep breath. “I don’t know if you know about what happened to her.”

“Yes,” he said. “I retrieved her psychiatric records, so I know what led her to being institutionalized.” He looked sad. “And I understand that she doesn’t yet realize what happened to her little brother. She still believes that he is alive.”

“Right,” I said. “How should we approach this? She’s going to have to know what happened.”

He took a deep breath. “I almost hate to say this, but, for the time being, she’s better off not knowing about that tragedy. She’s very fragile, and it might take some time for her to recover. Hearing about something like that could delay her recovery, or even prevent it.”

“So we lie to her?” I said. “You know that she’s going to be asking about her family. She apparently was close with them before Nathaniel died. What do I tell her when she asks about them? And what do I tell her about myself?”

He looked thoughtful. “As much as I do not advise you to lie to CJ about the tragedy involving her brother, I feel that it might be best to do so for now. She’s going to have to get stronger, mentally and physically, before she can handle something like that.” He nodded his head. “As for telling her who you are, please tell her the truth. There apparently is nothing traumatic about knowing about who you are. At least, I hope that’s the case.”

“It is,” I lied. Actually, I was thinking that this entire thing was a chance for us to reset. I would have to come clean, of course, on who I really was, because I was serious about her. I needed her to know everything. This was a chance for her to forget that ugly period when we weren’t together. And it was a such a blessing, because she wasn’t going to have any recollection of the horrors that apparently befell her when she was in the clutches of the mob.

This memory loss was a curse, because CJ was going to have to, eventually, relive the trauma that she was trying so hard to put behind her. It might not be for several weeks, but she was going to have to relive the trauma. But it was also a blessing, because it meant that she wouldn’t remember what she went through after she was abducted. I had no idea, myself, what kind of horrors she went through, but I could just imagine.

Then the doctor went in to get Scarlett, and she came out into the hallway with us. “Doctor Bristow, I don’t know what to think.”

“She has memory loss,” he said. “Mr. Sloane wanted to know what to tell her about her tragedy involving her younger brother.” He paused. “I believe that it would be best to tell her when she is strong enough to hear it. As much as I do not like to advise individuals to lie to a patient, in some cases, that’s what is medically necessary. For her to receive such traumatic news at such a delicate time might be disastrous for her recovery.”

“I don’t like doing that,” she said. “CJ went through absolute hell trying to get past that. I just can’t imagine what she’s going to do now. How she is going to feel when she finds out about it. But I really don’t want to lie to her, either. I feel that she needs to know.”

I put my hand on Scarlett’s shoulder. “I agree with you. But if her doctor feels that she’s not yet strong enough to hear this, then maybe we should believe him.”

Scarlett shook her head. “I hate doing this. I hate it, but, yet, I know that it is probably necessary.” She looked up at me. “And what are you going to tell her about yourself?”

“I’m going to be truthful. Dr. Bristow thought that this is the best course of action for this particular point. There’s no point in covering up who I am, and, hopefully, she can accept me and I can take care of her and make sure that she gets well. I’m anxious to keep visiting her and really making sure that she knows that I’m in her corner.”

She nodded her head. “You’re going to be there for her, I know that. But are you going to ask her to stay with you?”

“No,” I said. “That would be too much change for her. It would make her feel too uncomfortable. But I will be around her as much as I can be.”

Both Scarlett and I turned to the doctor. “I’m assuming that you’re going to be one who is going to tell her that the year is 2015, and that she’s no longer in school. Scarlett and I can fill in the rest of the details. Aside from the most important detail, of course.”

The doctor nodded. “And I’m going to have to run more tests on her as well. I will have to run a CAT scan and an EEG.”

“I’m going to be here,” I said. “To help her recover in the hospital. Is there anything else that needs to be done besides more tests?”

“That remains to be seen,” he said. “I will definitely let you know after these tests are run. In the meantime, if you don’t mind waiting in the waiting room, that would be much appreciated. I can have CJ taken to get these tests, and I’ll let you know the results of them.”

Scarlett and I made our way to the waiting room after the doctor told us that he was going to take CJ in for tests.

Scarlett folded her arms, and, just like that, she started to cry. I put her head on my shoulder. “It’s going to be okay, Scarlett. CJ will hopefully recover her memories.”

“What if she doesn’t? She’s going to have to eventually be told what happened to her brother. She’s going to have to go through all of that all over again. And we need to lie to her until she’s strong enough to hear it. She might never forgive us if we go along like everything is fine. She already is asking about her family, and why they weren’t there at her bedside. What are we going to tell her when she keeps asking about them?”

I took a deep breath. I, too, was worried about the same thing as Scarlett. I was more than worried. I had anxiety about it. I could see the wisdom in not telling CJ about what had happened until she had a chance to heal. I really did. But that didn’t make it any easier. I didn’t want to lie to her, anymore than Scarlett did.

“We’re going to have to make something up,” I said. “We’re going to have to tell her that her mother didn’t know about her accident, which is why she wasn’t there.”

Scarlett shook her head. “She saw her family every single week before all of that happened. Every week. She was very close with them. And she adored Nathaniel. What are we going to say to her when she announces that she’s going over to her mother’s house, just like she always did?” She bit her lip, and stared into the distance. “This isn’t going to work, Asher. We need to tell her.”

“I know that we need to tell her, and we are going to tell her. I promise you, we will tell her. But not yet. Not until her doctors tell us that it’s okay to tell her.”

S
everal hours later
, Dr. Bristow
came to get us. “CJ is asking for the both of you,” he said. “And she’s asking about her mother as well.”

I sighed. This was going to be difficult. “What do we tell her about her mother?”

“Stall her somehow,” he said.

So, the two of us went into her room. She was sitting up on the bed, mindlessly staring at the television set. She was flipping channels with her remote. Then she saw the two of us, and her face lit up.

“Scarlett,” she said. And then she looked shyly at me. “And Asher.” She looked down, but her face was completely red. Her hands were shaking just a little. “Asher, I need to talk to you alone.”

I nodded, and Scarlett left the room.

CJ folded her hands on her stomach, and looked up at me with wide, innocent eyes. “The doctor said that I would have to ask you about who you are.”

I took a deep breath. “I’m your boyfriend,” I said. “We’ve been together for about six months or so.”

She looked like she didn’t quite believe me. “Really?” She cocked her head and gestured her hands from me to her rapidly. “You and me?”

I smiled. “Yes, you and me.”

She smiled, big. “Wow. When I woke up, I thought I was still dating Donny.” She shook her head. “Can I just say that I’m glad that’s not the case?”

I smiled, in spite of myself. “And why is that?”

“Well, Donny and I weren’t exactly getting along very well. He’s kind of an immature boy. But you…” She shook her head and looked slightly embarrassed. “You’re like a man. And can I say that you’re a very handsome man at that?”

“Well, thank you,” I said.

She cocked her head again. “So, Asher, tell me about yourself.”

I took a deep breath. I had no idea how much I should tell her right off the bat. If the news of her brother was going to crush her, to the point where she would have a hard time recovering, how would she receive the news that I was in the Russian mob? Yet, I knew that I had to tell her about it, because I had decided, once and for all, that she and I were going to be together for good. So, she was going to have to meet my father and get his blessing.

And I didn’t want to lie to her this time. It was different last time, because, well, I didn’t think that I was going to be serious about her. It was all fun and games at first. There was no need for her to really know about my past. But, this time was going to be different. I was going to have to be open and honest about everything, and then face the fallout from all of that disclosure.

“I’m the CEO of Sloane Industries,” I began, and her eyes lit up.

“Oh my God,” she said. “You do such good work around the world. I’m really into the environment and alternative energy, and I have so admired your company for the longest time.” She smiled, big. “When I get out of school, I would like to do things, too, to really help change the world. I would really love to cover events with my camera, and really bring light to things that are in the dark to most people.”

I took a deep breath. “Dr. Bristow is supposed to tell you these things, and he will. But this isn’t 2013. You’re not in school right now. You’ve graduated, and you’ve been working as a photographer. In fact, you were working with the homeless right before this accident happened.” I left out the abduction, of course. I hoped that this particular incident didn’t have to come up. “You were living amongst the homeless, because you were assigned to do a photo essay on them. So, you were living your dream, CJ. You were beginning to help change the world.”

She looked happy about this. “I, I was? I was doing good work? I mean, it’s a bit of a shock to know that I’m not in school anymore. Just like it’s a huge shock to know that there are two years that I just have no recollection of. But it’s really nice to know that I’m really doing good things with my camera. I was afraid that I would end up being a part of the paparazzi or something useless like that.”

I tried to suppress a smile when she said that. “Yes, CJ, you’re doing good things with your camera. And you probably will keep doing good things with it.”

“Okay. Well, that’s a plus.” Then she looked shy. “Tell me more about our relationship. You and me.”

I smiled, and softly took her hand. “CJ, you and I were involved in an erotic relationship for awhile.” I also knew that I should tell her about the Sophie thing, because she might find out about all of that from Sophie herself.

I put out of my mind that the whole thing involving Sophie’s unborn child, and how I would have to claim that I was the father. That was going to have to be something that would be brought to light at a later time.

She nodded. “I don’t believe you,” she said. “You’re too good-looking, and if you’re a CEO, that means that you’re wealthy as well.” She looked down at her hands, which were covered by my own. “I would never be with somebody like you. Somebody put you up to this. Was it my mother? She likes to play practical jokes sometimes.”

“Believe me, CJ. We started out…having fun. And then I asked you to pose as my fiancée. We had a blow-up after that, because I hurt your feelings.” I shook my head. “I’m still sorry about that.”

She looked perplexed. “Well, I forgive you. I don’t remember that happening, of course, but it sounds kind of wrong for you to do that. And what do you mean, we started out having fun?”

“It started out pretty physical, and we had a lot of sex.” I was wandering off into dangerous territory, and I knew it. She was going to want to know how we met, and, if I told her that she had a panic attack and ended up passing out on the sidewalk, she was going to wonder why she had the panic attack. “And that’s all it was at first.”