Chapter Twenty-One ~
Willie’s hands
were shaking as he pulled his phone out and called Nan. “Hello. I didn’t wake
you, did I?”
“No, I was
reading.”
“I figured you’d
be sleeping after the rough day we’ve had.”
“I couldn’t
sleep. I’m too worried about Lily.”
“Your worry may
not be unfounded.”
“What do you
mean?”
“When I left
your house I was missing Lily so bad I went to the hospital to see her. She was
awake.”
“That’s great,
is she okay? Did she ask where I was?”
“She didn’t know
me, Nan.” Willie wiped at the tears falling freely down his face.
“Come again.”
“She asked me
who I was and what I was doing in her room. She got hysterical and started
screaming and the guard escorted me out of the hospital.”
“Where are you?”
“I’m sitting in
my car in the parking garage.”
“Come over and
we’ll talk.”
“That’s not
wise, Nan. I just wanted to call and tell you before you went in the morning.
It was quite a shock for me and I didn’t know how you would take it.”
She was silent
on the end of the line for a second, but he heard her breathing. She must be
thinking of something to say. “You’re right. If you need to talk, call me.”
“Okay, I’ll see
you in the morning.”
“Good night,
Willie. I’ll call Wyatt and let him know. I don’t know how he’s gonna take it.
He’s in love with her.”
“I know. It
seems so unfair.”
“It does, but
God has a reason.”
“Yes He does.”
“See you in a
few hours.”
“Okay,
goodnight.”
Willie threw his
phone onto the passenger seat and pulled out of the garage. He groaned in in
anger and despair. Lily was the only family he had left. What if she never
regained her memory? He drove home in a depressed state of mind. All he could
do was pray for his sister, so he did.
***
Wyatt pulled
into his driveway and turned off the police cruiser. He rubbed his face tiredly
and opened the door to get out, and his phone rang. He stood up and pulled the
phone out, answering it with one hand while he locked his car and closed the
door.
“Hello?”
“Sheriff Adams,
it’s me.”
“Hey Nan, what’s
up?”
“Willie called
me a few minutes ago. He went up to the hospital to check on Lily.”
“I thought we
weren’t allowed to see her tonight?” He walked up to his door and inserted the
key in the lock while he waited for her reply.
“He wasn’t
supposed to go, but I guess he missed her and wanted to say good night. I think
he wanted to make sure she was okay.”
“How was she?”
“She was awake,
but there’s some bad news.”
Wyatt’s heart
pounded in dread and fear. “Tell me.”
“She didn’t know
who he was.”
“How can that
be? She already recognized us earlier.”
“I don’t know.
Dr. Wilkes told him he didn’t know if she would regain her memory, or not. What
are we gonna do if that girl don’t remember us?”
Wyatt turned the
key and opened the door cautiously, looking for Princess. “Here kitty, kitty,
where are you?”
“What did you
say?”
“Sorry Nan, I
was talking to the cat.”
“Oh, I forgot
about her. What are we gonna do about Lily?”
“There isn’t
much we can do right now. Hopefully she’ll remember us in a day or two.”
“Aren’t you in
the least worried about her?”
“Of course I am,
but sometimes God does things for reasons we don’t understand. That doesn’t
make it any easier to deal with, but deal with it we must.”
“That’s very
wise of you, Wyatt.”
“Thanks, I try.”
He cringed at how cliché he sounded. While he was talking so wisely, his
insides were screaming in torment. Would Lily forget who he was forever?
“We’re going up
to the hospital around five. We’ll meet you there.”
“Okay, I’ll be
there.” He ended the call and resumed his search for the huge black and white
Persian cat his sister had so kindly dumped on him. He wouldn’t tell her for
the world, but the cat had grown on him. He’d gotten used to looking for her
when he came home.
He found Princess
in the laundry room. “My dirty clothes basket is not your bed you four-footed
feline.” He reached into the basket to pull her out and was surprised by an
indignant mew from underneath Princess’ fur. “What in the world?” He nudged the
cat over and laughed softly in amazement. There were six tiny kittens
underneath his new pet.
“Now I know why
she dumped you on me.” He pulled his phone out and snapped a picture of the six
little Princess look-a-likes and slid it back into his pocket. He sat down
beside the basket and patted the cat on the head before beginning his nightly
ritual of petting her from head to foot several times.
“What should I
do, kitty? Should I go see her, or wait until the morning? If I go, and she
doesn’t know who I am, It’s gonna tear me up. If I don’t go and I show up with
the others in the morning and she doesn’t know me, I’ll be losing my cool in
front of witnesses.”
The cat looked
up at him with her huge green eyes as if to say, “You want my opinion?”
“Yeah, you’re
right, you’re just a cat.” He got up and headed for the shower. He’d hop in and
rinse off before running up to the hospital to check on Lily. It didn’t matter
whether she knew him, or not. He knew her, and he was worried. How must she
feel? What was it like not to remember anything? The thought caused him to
hurry even faster. Fifteen minutes later he was standing outside her room,
talking to the security guard.
“Hey, you can’t
go in tonight, doctor’s orders.”
“I know what the
doctor said, but try to walk in her shoes for a minute. How would you feel if
you woke up in a hospital and you didn’t remember anybody? She must feel so
alone. I just want to make sure she’s okay.”
“The doctor
checked her, and the nurse has been in twice since her brother left. She’s
being taken care of.”
“I’m not saying
she’s not, I just think it would be better if someone from her life checked on
her.”
“Man, she
doesn’t remember you, okay? If I let you in there you’re gonna freak out like
the last guy did. I don’t get paid enough to deal with that.”
“I’ll pay you
then. How much will it take to make you look the other way?”
“I think Jackson
sounds pretty good.”
Wyatt pulled his
wallet out and peeled his last twenty out and handed it to the guard. “Can I go
in?”
“Make it quick.
You’re not getting more than five minutes.”
Wyatt slid by
the guard and into Lily’s room. She was awake, watching some news program on
TV. She turned when she heard his footsteps and he groaned in torment. She was
crying. Her eyes were all puffy and red and her lap was full of wadded-up
tissues.
“Lily, are you
okay?”
“I’m fine. What
are you doing here?”
“You know who I
am?”
“Of course I do.
You’re soon to be my boyfriend, I hope.”
Wyatt flew
across the last few steps to her bedside and hugged her tightly. “I’m so glad
you’re okay. Willie was so worried. He thought you’d lost your memory.”
“Willie worries
too much.”
“Why were you
crying?” His voice sounded tender and loving and for once, he didn’t care. The
woman he loved was gonna be fine.”
“They were
talking about this poor little girl who came up missing, and it was sad. If you
were on her case they’d probably find her.”
“I’m an ordinary
guy, Lily, don’t idolize me.” His warning was gentle, but he didn’t want her
thinking of him as more than he was.
“I’m not
idolizing you.” She pulled out of his arms and he backed away to a safe
distance.
“How old is
she?”
“She’s four,
still a baby by most standards.”
“When did she go
missing?”
“Her mother told
police she laid down for a nap around 2:00 p.m. When she didn’t come out at her
normal 3:00 o’clock time, she went in to check on her, but she was gone. She
called 911 at 3:05 p.m.”
“That sounds
like a mother who cares. If the child didn’t come out at her normal time and
the mother only waited five minutes to call the authorities I doubt she’s
involved.” Wyatt shook his head to clear it. Lily had just endured surgery, a
seizure, and a coma; she didn’t need to be worried about stuff like this.
“Will you help
them?”
“Honey, that’s
out of my jurisdiction.”
“Please?” She
batted long, dark lashes at him and he melted inwardly. What was she doing to
him? He didn’t know, but he liked it.
“I’ll tell you
what. I’ll make a call to whoever’s in charge of the investigation and see what
I can find out, but you have to promise me something.”
“What?”
“You have to
promise you’ll go to sleep and get some rest.”
“I will, I
promise. Could you ask Willie to bring my pink pajamas? It’s so cold in here I
can’t quit shivering.”
“I’ll call him
as soon as I leave. Lily, I want to tell you something because if today’s taught
me anything it’s that we never know how much time we have.”
“Okay…”
“I love you. I
want to marry you and have ten babies with you.”
She gasped in
amazement.” You want ten babies? Isn’t that a little overkill?”
“Maybe, I just
wanna make sure we get it right.”
“Is that your
version of a proposal, sheriff?”
“It is.”
“I accept, now
go find that little girl. Her name is Priscilla Jane.”
“Priscilla Jane?
That’s an odd name.”
“I like it.”
“I think I do,
too.”
“This was one of
the weirdest conversations I’ve ever had.” He bent over and pecked her on the
cheek and walked out the door.
“And it’s the
start of a beautiful relationship.”
Wyatt thought he
heard her say something, but when he turned to get a glimpse of her, she was
turned the other way. He shrugged and hurried down the hallway with his
cellphone to his ear. When Willie answered the phone sounding groggy, Wyatt
said, “She remembers me, brother.”
“That’s awesome,
I’m so happy. I was so worried that she wouldn’t remember and she’s all the
family I have left.”
“You have me and
Nan.”
“You guys are
friends. I know you don’t understand, but she’s a part of me. If I lost her,
part of me would be missing.”
“I don’t think I
can compare anything I’ve ever felt to what you’re experiencing, but I know
what love is, and if Lily was gone, I don’t know how I’d go on.” He was
surprised at his own admission. He was becoming extremely close to this little
group and he found he liked it.
“I’ve been
asking myself that question all night. Thank you for calling me.”
“No problem. You
know what’s so funny about your sister?”
“What?”
“I went to see
her tonight because the thought that she wouldn’t remember me was torture. One
of the first things she said to me was that there was a little girl missing and
she wants me to find her.”
“That sounds
like my Lily. What did you tell her?”
“I tried to
explain it was out of my jurisdiction but she batted those lovely eyes at me
and I was lost. I told her I would call whoever was in charge and see what I
could find out.”
Willie laughed
in delight. “Yep, that’s Lily, all right. She’s always been more worried about
other people than she is herself.”
“What am I gonna
do if I can’t find that girl, Willie?”
“That’s not an
option, sheriff. Make sure you do.” Wyatt heard him laughing as he ended the
call. He had a little girl to find, as soon as he called Nan. He dialed her
number but it went straight to voicemail. That was weird, why wouldn’t she
answer the phone? Maybe she was asleep. He tried once again. This time, she
answered on the fifth ring.
“Hey Wyatt,
what’s up?”
“I was calling
to tell you about Lily.”
“Yeah, Willie’s
on the other line. He just told me. It’s great news. I’m tempted to go up there
and talk to her right now. I have so much more appreciation for our friendship
than I did two days ago.”
“Bad things have
a tendency to bring people closer together. I’ll let you get back to Willie;
I’ve got a little girl to search for.”
“What little
girl?”
“A little girl
named Priscilla Jane. She went missing this afternoon and Lily saw it on the news
and asked me to help. I couldn’t say no.”
“She has that
effect on everybody.” Nan laughed and told him goodbye. He put the phone back
in his pocket and went down to the station to get started. It was gonna be a
long night, but at least Lily was alive and waiting for him at the end of it.
