Chapter 12

I opened my eyes. They felt very dry.

I was in a hospital bed. I had an I.V. in my arm. I tried to sit up but my body was too stiff and it hurt when I attempted the movement.

There was motion in my room. I focused on the spot and gradually my eyes became clear.

It was a nurse.

"Hello?" I said.

The nurse jumped.

"You're awake!" she said surprised.

"I'm not so sure," I croaked. My throat hurt. "Could I have some water?"

"How do you feel?"

"Is that a rhetorical question?"

She laughed.

"Can I ask you a question?" I said.

"Will it be rhetorical?"

I smiled. I had an ornery nurse. I think I liked her because of that. She was about fifty years old and looked oddly familiar.

"What am I doing in the hospital?"

"You were in an auto accident. You're lucky to be alive."

"I do feel like I was hit by a truck."

"You were."

"Is the truck's nameplate imprinted on my body? I hurt everywhere."

"The pain will go away in time. As far as your appearance, you look pretty good. You remind me so much of an old boyfriend."

"What was his name?"

"John Coleman"

"I'm John Coleman," I said startled.

She laughed. "If your ID didn't say Chris Walker, I'd almost believe you beyond the fact that you're the same age he was twenty-five years ago."

"Did you say Walker?"

"Do you know who you are?" she said concerned.

"I'm Chris Walker?"

"I'm going to get the doctor now. I can't give you a drink without his approval."

"Wait!" I said. "You look familiar. What's your name?"

"Amy."

"Amy!"

"Is there something wrong with Amy?"

"No, no," I said, quickly understanding what was going on. "I'm okay. My name is Chris Walker."

"The doctor needs to check you out and if you're okay you can see your wife."

My wife? This time I had the sense not to voice it.

I was back.

I was in the present time and things were different than they were before. I was the adult version of the younger Chris I changed. I had a wife I knew nothing about. I had a whole life I knew nothing about. I was once again a stranger to myself in many ways.

I knew that my time as John Coleman changed who I was as Chris Walker. I hoped I liked my job. I hoped I listened to myself about the Apple stock and waited to sell right before all stocks dropped drastically. I might be rich.

The doctor checked me over. He declared I had short-term memory loss. I did my best to convince him it would come back soon. Lastly, I requested Nurse Amy to talk to again with the excuse that she seemed to stir up memories.

Water never tasted so good.

Amy came in about fifteen minutes after the doctor left.

"You wanted to see me?" she inquired.

"Is that okay? Do you have to go home?"

She looked back at the clock. It was just past two in the morning.

"It's my lunch break."

I smiled and said, "You should be working days."

"I could be but I got used to working this shift so I stayed on it."

"Tell me about your old boyfriend that I remind you of."

"Why?"

I shrugged and said, "I need to listen to someone and oddly you remind me of an old girlfriend too. It feels like I know you already."

She gave me a strange look and began. "I was working as a school nurse and he was a teacher. We dated a while, broke up, and got back together. We were engaged."

"Did something happen to him?"

"He got sick and died."

I could see sadness in her eyes. I was sorry to bring back the old memory, but I was too curious.

"I'm sure he loved you very much," I said.

"Yeah," she said somberly.

"I'm serious. I know it."

She had that same quizzical expression I was so familiar with when I said something odd to her.

"So are you married?" I asked.

"Yeah, I found a good man." She smiled.

"I know John is very happy for you."

"I can't believe how much you remind me of John right now. He would even talk like you as if he knew things no one could know."

I did gentle probing of her life. She had two kids, a son in college and a daughter in high school. I enjoyed our conversation very much but it was hard. I wanted to tell her who I was, but there was that problem that she wouldn't believe me and I was already under observation for a degraded mental state. We talked for about a half hour.

"I'm still hungry," I told a different nurse in the morning after plowing through several very small dishes of jello.

"Let's see how it settles on your stomach."

"It was my bones that were broken not my stomach."

"Your whole body experienced trauma."

"Don't make me eat my fingernails. I will and then I'll eat my toenails."

"Your leg is in a cast."

"That won't stop me and then I'll eat your toenails. I'm not a proud man."

She shook her head. I think she like me better unconscious.

"I'll see what I can do," she said which obviously meant "Hell no!"

"So when do I get to go home?"

"Where do you live?"

"Howland Avenue."

She shook her head as if it was wrong. "This will be your home for a while."

"Do I have personal effects with me?" I could look at my wallet and driver's license and find out who Chris Walker was now.

"Your wife has them."

"When will I get to see her?" I was curious to find out who I was married to. Would I like her?