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"Yeah, sure. Netflix, it is, I guess. You pick."

"I'd like a comedy. Mr. Roosevelt got 100% from Rotten Tomatoes."

"OK, sounds like fun."

Crystal walked in, followed by the sound of the dishwasher.

"If you want, you can stay the night, we have a guest room set up."

"Thanks." Crystal sat down in the recliner, waiting to see what Susan and Jerry would decide to watch. She didn't really care, tired from the long day with the baby.

*****

Two days later, Jerry drove over to his old high school and went in to see Vince, the alumni representative, giving him a check for fifty thousand dollars to help with tuition assistance. They sat together in the man's small office.

"You're very generous. Thank you so much. We have a lot of students' parents now who have a hard time making the tuition."

"Glad to help. Things have really changed since the 90s."

"This virus doesn't really help, either."

"I'll do what I can," said Jerry, shaking the man's hand. His leg weakened and he fell back into his chair.

"Are you all right?"

"Bad leg, that's all. Just need to sit a bit."

"Take your time. Can I get you something to drink?"

"No, that's OK, I just need to wait a bit. Don't tell my wife, she won't let me out of the house by myself."

"Maybe that's a good idea."

Jerry thought the same thing but didn't want to admit it. "I just need to use some spray on my leg. It's in my car outside, can you get it? The car is red."

The man left his office and went to Jerry's car, bringing back the small spray can. Jerry pulled up his pant leg and sprayed his left leg, the coldness making him shake. "Damn, that's cold."

A few minutes later he was feeling better, the lidocaine having done it's work. He looked out the doorway to the grassy quad, remembering his days there as a student.

"Are you sure you're OK? I can drive you home."

"No, I'll just sit here for a while, if that's OK with you. Got hurt in the Army."

"Stay as long as you want. Are you sure you don't want something to drink?"

"OK, you sold me. Whatever you have is fine with me."

Vince soon returned with two Cokes from the vending machine in the quad by the cafeteria, handing one to Jerry. "That's a nice car you got there. The football team was going to look good, before all this happened. The season is probably shot. They're thinking of starting in December. I'm just worried about the lost scholarships."

"That's too bad," Jerry answered. The school had won three state championships over the recent years, despite its small size.

They talked some more, especially how things had changed over the years, the school going from all boys to coed just a few years before Jerry went there.

Jerry looked at his phone. "Wow, I've got to be going. Thanks for talking to me and the Coke."

"No, thank you for your generosity. We really appreciate it."

The two men shook hands and Jerry and Vince slowly walked out of the school to the car on the street. Jerry got into the Challenger and after buckling up, started the car and drove back home. He was worried that he was hurting more and more often and wondered if he was going to be able to drive much longer.

He drove to Crystal's house instead of going home, hoping that Susan had gotten him a sandwich like she said she would. Despite drinking the Coke, he was hungry.

He pulled up in front of the house and honked the horn, once again forgetting about the baby who was probably asleep. He sat in the car, his leg bothering him again. Susan opened the door and looked at him, then walked down to the car.

"Are you OK?" she asked, a worried look on her face. She could see he was uncomfortable.

"Nah, I'll be OK, just my stupid leg, that's all. Went to my old high school... gave them some tuition money."

"Let me help you," she said, offering her arm. He took it and slid off the seat, finally standing up in the street.

"Sorry," he said, putting his arm around her waist, his other holding the cane tightly. "Guess I'm not as young as I used to be. Did you get me a sandwich?"

"Yes, I did... roast beef with avocado."

"Great. Did I wake the baby?"

"No, she's still sleeping."

"That's good, I still keep forgetting." They walked into the house and he sat down in the living room, his cane leaning against the sofa. A while later, he pushed himself up and went into the kitchen to eat his sandwich.

Susan and Crystal were in the front bedroom that had been turned into an office, both women rapidly typing into their computers the latest information. He had put in a kitchen countertop and cabinets to use as desks next to the windows. Crystal was entering information about the latest houses Jerry had bought while Susan was looking at rent payments, worried about the California ruling about rental back payments. If people were unable to make their rent payments, they could stay in the house until the crisis was over. She wondered what other owners were going to do. Jerry, she knew, was in a much better financial situation than almost everyone else.

He had finished his sandwich and turned on the television to Netflix, wanting to watch the Punisher, but soon fell asleep. Susan walked in and covered him with a blanket, worried about him. She turned off the television.

"He's really tired, isn't he?" asked Crystal, looking up from her computer as Susan walked back into the office room.

"I'm worried about him. He gets so tired... it's his war injury that's bothering him, I don't know what else I can do. He's up all night long."

"An operation won't help?"

"No, he said the doctor was against it... too dangerous. I wonder what happened at the high school. I'm going to call." She pulled out her phone and used her computer to find the number. "Hello... my husband came by a while ago with a donation... yes, that's right... can I speak with who ever he met with? Thank you... Hello, this is Susan, Jerry's wife, he came to see you today... yes, you're welcome... what happened while he was there? Oh, I see... yes, we use that... that was all?... Thank you."

She disconnected and turned to Crystal. "He had a problem at the school and had to sit down... spray his leg... this is not good."

He woke up, his back tight above his shoulders, warm from the blanket. The television was off and he knew that one of the women had turned it off. He heard the clacking of the computer keys from the next room as the two women worked entering information. He thought they'd be finished by now.

He pulled the blanket off and pushed himself up, reaching for his cane and walking into the office room. "How's it going?"

"We're finished... until next month or something goes wrong."

"That's good. Want a pizza?"

Susan looked at Crystal, wondering if her friend was hungry. The young woman nodded her head. "Mushroom OK?"

"Yeah, that sounds good." He walked back into the living room and turned on the television, looking for the four o'clock news.

Crystal called for the pizza, ordering two, one a pepperoni for Jerry, and then went into the kitchen to set the table. It wasn't long before the news came on and he watched in fascination as the explosion in Lebanon was the lead story.

The paperwork for July was finished, printed out, read and signed off on. Crystal filed the information in the cabinet, turned off the light and left the room.

"This is getting very tiring, not being able to do anything." She sat down on the sofa opposite from Jerry, clearly unhappy.

"I know," he answered, not really knowing what to say.

Susan called from the kitchen, "Anyone want something to drink?"

"No, thanks," they both said, then laughing.

"We don't have a laptop, here, do we?" Jerry asked, already knowing the answer.

"No, Sweetheart, we don't. Do you want to get one?"

"I don't know if Best Buy is open or not."

"I'll check on the internet." Susan got up, went into the office, and waited for her computer to boot up. "Hmmm," she said, "according to this, they're open for business with all the safety precautions, blah, blah, blah."

"I'll just wait, this is too frustrating. The heck with it." He turned back to the television and finished watching the news, sad for all the people caught up in the devastation.

*****

Susan picked up her keys and stood by the front door. "I'm going to In and Out. How many burgers do you want?"

"Just one for me," answered Crystal, holding the baby and rocking her quietly.

"Me, too," said Jerry, "and a strawberry shake."

"OK," joined in Crystal, almost tasting the drink.

"Want to come with me," Susan asked the girl.

Crystal looked at Jerry. He nodded his head and put his arms out to hold the baby. She gave him the child and he gently held it, rocking it back and forth.

*****

The doorbell rang and Jerry put the baby down in the playpen to look out the window and see who it was.

It was a police officer.

Jerry opened the door, surprised that a police officer would be at the house. "Yes, may I help you?"

"Are you Jerry Co...?"

"Yes, I am, what's going on?"

"I'm sorry... there's been an accident."

Jerry leaned against the doorjamb, not wanting to hear it.

"They're both OK, just some minor injuries."

"Where?"

"On Inglewood Avenue, just north of In and Out. Someone turned in front of them. I can take you to the hospital."

"Wait, I have to call my mother and have her watch the baby." He pulled his phone out of his pocket and made the call, just asking his mother to come to the house, rather than worry her while she was driving. Ten minutes later she had arrived and Jerry just told her he needed to go with the police.

A half-hour later, Jerry was escorted into the hospital emergency room where he saw both women in bed, their arms bandaged and in slings. Susan was in a coma.

He kissed Susan and patted Crystal on the shoulder, glad that it wasn't worse than it was. "Mom's got the baby but doesn't know what's going on, I didn't want to stress her out, not knowing what happened, you know, and..."

"Jerry, calm down," said Crystal, "it's going to be OK. It has to."

"What happened?"

"We were going to get some burgers, remember? And were turning into the lot when a car coming the other way cut us off and hit us head-on. I think her car is finished, it was a SUV; it was going so fast and she couldn't stop and I'm so sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry about, you're both going to be OK, it'll be all right, I'll get a nurse for both of you, especially with your baby. Who was driving the other car? I'm going to kill them."

"There were two men... after they hit us, they got out and called us names, telling her to go back to China and started to hit us, pulling us out of the car and onto the street."

"Damn stupid..."

"We'll be OK... calm down, Jerry, please. It has to be."

"How can you be so calm? You both could have been killed like my father."

And then Crystal knew why he was so upset. He never talked about why his father was gone and now she knew. The pain he was carrying inside was still there, just under the surface waiting to explode.

A little past four days later the women were discharged and they all rode home in a taxi. At the house, Crystal saw her baby and began to cry, unable to hold the child. Clara sat on the sofa, watching television and then turned it off, waiting to hear what had happened. Jerry was on the phone arranging for two nurses to arrive as soon as possible, needing one that also specialized in baby care.

It was late in the afternoon before the two nurses arrived, one sooner than the other and Jerry explained what he wanted done, needing 24 hour care until the women were fully healed.

Both nurses were agreeable to the working conditions, especially after Jerry tripled their pay. He arranged to have food delivered to Crystal's house for lunch and dinner and then left with his mother, wife and the other nurse to his own house to set things up there.

Susan went to bed, still feeling the effects of the accident and the pain killers. Jerry talked to the nurse, asking her questions about Susan's prognosis.

"The main thing is to keep her quiet and then through her physical therapy until everything is back to normal. I can give you the name of several therapists that can work with both women."

"Thank you. We have a guest room so you won't have to sleep on the couch and the bathroom is through there. You'll be able to help Susan with that, too, right?"

"Of course, nothing for you to worry about. I'll need the phone number of the other nurse. I forgot to get it before we left."

"I'll get it for you tomorrow... I forgot, too. It's been a crazy week. I'm going to bed. Thank you."

*****

The very next day, Jerry was talking to the police trying to find out what happened.

"Several men interceded to help your wife and her friend from the attack, holding the attackers for the police to arrive. They were beaten up quite well by the bystanders who came as soon as they saw what was happening."

"Can I have their information? I'd like to thank them."

"Let me see," said the clerk, picking up his phone... "OK, here you go," handing Jerry the printout of the report.

Jerry went to the bank and withdrew enough money to thank the four men who helped his wife and Crystal and then drove to each man's home.

"I want to thank you for what you did for my wife and her friend," he said, handing the amazed man an envelope with five thousand dollars in it, repeating it three times more before the afternoon was over.

He wasn't used to driving anymore, having left that task to Susan as his leg bothered him more and more, so the drive home took a while. He stopped at Crystal's house to see how she was doing and ask the nurse if there was anything she needed.

"No, sir, everything is OK as well as can be expected, Crystal was lucky her injuries were mainly from the accident and being pulled out of the car which was burning. The baby is doing well... would you like to see her?"

"All right, if it's not too much trouble." Jerry followed the nurse into the baby's room, looking into the crib at the child who was sleeping, her thumb in her mouth, unaware at how close she had come to being an orphan.

After he arrived at home, he talked at length with Susan's nurse about how his wife was doing. He never felt so angry and wished he had his rifle with him.

"It'll be a while but she'll be all right, God willing," explained the nurse.

Jerry thanked her and watched as she went back to the bedroom to sit with Susan.

Jerry then called the insurance agent to see what was happening.

"It'll take a few days to cut a check for the car and the hospital. Of course, there'll be a lawsuit against the other driver, especially after what happened after the collision. According to the police, they're still in custody. From what I understand, the District Attorney is going to go for the maximum with hate crime additions."

"Thank you. I have nurses for the two girls but I'm paying for that."

After talking to the insurance agent, Jerry disconnected the call and wiped his face wet with tears aware how close he had come to losing his wife.

The doorbell rang.

"Yes?" Jerry asked at the door.

"I have some flowers for a Mrs. Susan..."

"I'll take them, thank you." Jerry tipped the girl twenty dollars and brought in the flower arrangement to the dining room table and then read the card. It was from Vince and the alumni association, wishing the best.

"How 'bout that?" Jerry said to himself, looking at the yellow roses, the symbol of friendship. He went to the bedroom door to look in on his wife, hoping that she was awake.

Susan was still asleep; the nurse was sitting on a chair next to the bed reading People magazine. She looked up as Jerry entered the room wondering if he could bring in the flowers.

Susan moaned a little and shifted around in the bed, her arm moving to one side. She woke up with a start, screaming... "Who are you? What are you doing in my... where am I?"

Jerry was confused at what was happening. He walked toward the bed but stopped as Susan began screaming again. He stepped back, unsure what to do as the nurse rushed to the side of the bed and tried to reassure the frantic woman, unable to calm her down as Susan pulled the blankets higher on the bed to cover her.

The nurse called the hospital to send an ambulance immediately to the house. Jerry was scared, uncertain with events moving faster than he could deal with.

By the time the ambulance arrived Susan had calmed down somewhat thanks to the nurse but she continued to shy away from Jerry who had by now left the room to answer the door. "She's in the bedroom," he said, worried.

The nurse rode in the ambulance with Susan to the hospital as Jerry called his mother to drive him. He tried to explain what was happening but didn't understand it himself, other than it had to be the result of the beating she had endured after the accident.

*****

"Your wife is suffering retrograde amnesia following the beating she had. We have her sedated while we're going to have a MRI done to see what's going on and if this is temporary or permanent."

"And you'll know... when?" Jerry asked, terrified at what was happening.

"Soon enough... we'll do the best we can. This is a good hospital."

Jerry went to the waiting room with his mother and Susan's nurse and they sat down together on the couch. They had forgotten their masks and were wearing the ones the hospital had given them.

"It'll be OK, Jerry," said his mother, trying to calm him down.

"I'm going to kill those guys," Jerry whispered to himself.

An hour later, the doctor returned and said that he was going to keep Susan in the hospital for at least a week for what he called 'observation'.

"Can I see her?" asked Jerry, so worried he didn't know what to do.

"That's not a good idea right now. As you can imagine, she's confused and scared. Her nurse is with her. How long have you been married?"

"Just a few months... I've known her about a year."

"Why don't you go home now. Give me your phone number and I'll call you at least three times a day... or you can come back but won't be able to visit. I need to keep her calm."

"I have some wedding photos. Will that help?"

"Yes, it's possible. Please bring them in tomorrow and we'll see what happens. Please go home. You need to take care of yourself right now, that's important, too."

"All right. What time can I come back?"

"I'll leave word that you can come back at eight o'clock. Good night."

Jerry left with his mother, feeling despondent as she drove him home. What to do... what to do? They went into the house and he went to bed.

*****

The next morning, after washing and dressing, he got their wedding album and waited for his mother to finish her breakfast to go to the hospital.

It was the longest half-hour in his life, ever since the helicopter crash happened.

Jerry was in no condition to walk and so his mother got a wheelchair from the hospital and brought it out, now worried about her son.

They took the elevator to the fourth floor where they spoke to the day nurse. Jerry was happy to see that Susan's private nurse had stayed the night, sleeping on a chair in the room.

"Mary, how are you?" Jerry asked Susan's nurse who met him in the hallway, surprised to see him in a wheelchair.

"Sir, what happened?"

"Please, don't worry about it, I'll be OK."

"I'm all right. Susan slept quietly during the night and ate breakfast this morning. She thinks it's two years ago and wants to go back to work at the bank. Physically, she's doing well, it's just this amnesia..."

"Has the doctor been in?"

"Yes, he's been in several times this morning."

"I brought our wedding album, maybe to jog her memory, at least so she doesn't panic seeing me again." He gave the album to the woman who went into the room and set it down on a side table.