Danielle and David Ch. 03

I was relieved --- slightly -- but I still felt responsible. Doris squeezed my hand.

"Thank you, Doctor" she said quietly. "May we see him now?"

"Yes, though he is not conscious at the moment. He's been in and out since they brought him into the ER."

She nodded, and we followed the doctor. I looked at my friend and could feel the tears swelling in my eyes once again. His face was so swollen. He looked like he'd been beaten within an inch of his life. I tried to blink them away. I didn't want to cause David's mother any more concern. She on the other hand sobbed, freely saying between sobs, "Momma's here baby, Momma's here."

After a period of time, she composed herself and turned to me, "Thanks, Spikey, for calling me." The pain in her eyes, her tear strained, mascara streaked cheeks. All I could do was stand there with my bowed head. "Of course, mom, I know David would have done the same if it were me. We are like brothers."

"Yes, I know, son. Were you with him?"

"No ma'am." I turned to look away because I didn't know what to say, then I simply added, "I saw everything though. I was in another car." I couldn't bring myself to say that I was the cause of the accident. I grimaced at that thought. I didn't even think I could tell David. This one I needed to suffer in silence. But David would be okay, the doctor said. I thank God it wasn't worse, but for now; I decided to keep the major detail about the accident to myself.

I stopped punishing myself long enough to hear Doris say, "Thank God you were there and called me," She turned to David again, "my poor darling baby boy." She sat next to his bed and took David's hand in hers. The only way I knew she was crying again was the occasional sniff.

I walked over to her and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Finally I allowed my tears to flow.

~~*~~*~~*~~

The Recovery

David

I was watching TV and rubbing on the scar just above my hair line. The doctor was right. As my hair started growing back, the thin scar would be less and less noticeable. I had developed a bad habit of rubbing it like it would help me piece together the fragments of my memory I had lost. I have tried and tried to remember what happened that night a little over three months ago.

Nothing!

And nothing before the accident, either. I couldn't even remember why I was in my car that night. It seemed like chunks of my life were just carved out of my memory. The doctor said with head injuries like mine, amnesia was common. My memory could come back piece by piece, or maybe one event would trigger a flood of memories to overwhelm me all at once, though it had been documented that some had never regained their lost memories.

I had several conversations with Spike when he came to visit, that is, when he and his girl weren't doing something. He tried to fill me in and told what he witnessed that night. I guess there are worse things than memory loss. From what Spike had told me, it sounded like I could have died. 'He was there, but were we in the car together? No, he would have told me. I guess him being there could have been a coincidence; maybe I was meeting him somewhere. But wouldn't he have said something about that?

Wait, no Spike also told me about a girl that I was supposed to meet. Yeah, yeah, that was why I was in the car. But who was this girl? Does she know that I was in an accident? Why hasn't she come to visit? How long had we dated? How did I even meet her? How could someone so important in my life be erased so completely from my memory? I could not be upset with her. I prayed that if and when I remembered who she is, that she is not too disappointed and can understand why I just dropped off the face of the earth. I thought to myself, I'm still here, whoever you are. I am coming to find you. I want to remember you. Who is she?

I looked at the TV, still rubbing on my scar, when my eyes settled on the screen. I had seen this commercial about the Live Singles Chat line at least five times every day. I should call and see what it's all about. Who knows, I might get lucky. I hummed the tune to Frank Sinatra's Luck, Be A Lady Tonight.

The TV was repeating the number again. I picked up the phone and dialed.

After a few moments of going through some qualifying prompts, a customer service rep came on the line to set up my account.

"Thanks for calling the Live Singles Chat Line, where love is just a connection away. My name is Rob. May I get your name?"

"David Schultz."

"And how would you like to pay for your 90 day account?"

I gave my billing information to the unenthused customer service rep and waited for confirmation.

"Sir, it looks like this card is tied to an account that recently expired. Did you want to renew your old account?"

"U-um sure."

"Very well sir, we have renewed your account for another three months. You may cancel your membership anytime during that three month period, and you will be refunded for any unused time. Do you understand what I have told you, sir?"

"Yes thanks"

"Is there anything else I can help you with, sir?"

"Yes, do you have the account information and password? I seem to have forgotten it."

"Not a problem, sir. Your account number is SCH123 and your password is 5789."

"Okay, thanks."

"Do you have any further questions?"

"No, that's all for now."

"You have a great evening, sir, and thanks for choosing to use The Live Singles Chat Line, where love is just a connection away."

I hung up and called the chat number again when it asked for my account number, I entered it. I was surprised that I had 15 new voicemail messages! I pressed the button to hear the messages.

~~*~~*~~*~~

Danielle

I had been thinking of David often and had decided to call him to see if he would answer. I picked up my phone and held it in my hand for a few moments, trying to build up enough confidence to dial his number.

I am not a teenage girl, he is not some homecoming king, I told myself. I will just call, say hi, and tell him all is forgiven. I didn't need or want to know why he chose to stand me up, it really wasn't important to me now. I had moved on. My relationship with Peter was excellent, and all I really want to do is get some closure for me. I wanted to just wish David a nice life, and that will be that. So why am I still so nervous to call him?

I finally got enough nerve to dial the number, and on the third ring a woman answered, "Hello."

My courage vanished. I couldn't speak. I pushed the end button so fast I thought I might have sprang my thumb. I stared at the phone, speechless. I couldn't believe what had just happened. I could feel my anger rising. Well I guess I know now why he didn't show up.