Unfinished Business. Chapter 4. #NaNoWriMo

Unfinished Business. Chapter 4. #NaNoWriMo

 

-Welcome to Chapter 4 of this unnamed work in progress. I feel like I’m making progress. Even if it’s all terrible, I really want to make it all better.

 

 

 

Chapter 4

Of course, the police have been camping outside of my hospital room. Audrey said that they’ve been checking on my progress since the second that I was brought to the emergency room. It’s been a few days since I was found on the row boat.

Almost as soon as I opened my eyes, there were police officers lurking in the hallway, waiting until I was coherent enough to answer questions. The police officer that was there when I woke up told me that I’m in a hospital just outside of Boston. I think that her name was Wolfe. Or was I dreaming about wolves? For the last few days, it has been difficult to say what is real and what is a dream. My dreams have been  vivid and too real. I’m pretty sure that there are always wolves.

When the officer came back the next day, I asked her what her real name was. She said that it was Chloe Wolfe but everyone calls her C.J. The initials stand for Chloe Jane. She thinks that the men on the force want to forget that she’s a female and the initials help them cope with the fact that she’s a woman. I laugh but I tell her that she shouldn’t forget who she is or let anyone take her name away.

“It’s a horrible thing to not remember your name or who you are,” I tell her.

“You’re so right.” She holds my hand for a minute. Was she crying? It was hard to tell  because I may have been crying also.

Chloe Jane visits me every day. We start out talking about my case but usually we talk about life in general. You know, things like what we want, places we want to go, people that we miss. We talk about making a bucket list and crossing off as much as we can. It’s one way to start off a new life.

I don’t know what I’ve done. Maybe actually doing things on the bucket list will make it more fun to start life all over. I have to start somewhere, right? So why not start by ice skating at Rockefeller Center or building a birdhouse. The doctor probably won’t let me jump out of an airplane just yet.

 

Is there anyone that I should be missing? Chloe has a list of people that she would like to see again – her grandparents, her first boyfriend but not her last boyfriend, her kindergarten teacher.

The only friends that I have are Chloe and Audrey. Making more friends could make it on to the bucket list I guess.

I wonder if anyone misses me right now.

 

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Unfinished Business Chapter 3. #NaNoWriMo

Unfinished Business Chapter 3. #NaNoWriMo

 

-It makes me nervous to put this out into the world. So here is chapter 3. Be kind or brutally honest. It’ll be fine. . . maybe.

 

When I did wake up again, I was surrounded by nurses and doctors. It was an emergency room somewhere

Other than being at the hospital, I don’t know where I am at all.

The redheaded nurse to my right noticed that I was awake. She  said, “Hello beautiful. What’s your name?”

I honestly did not know my name. Who was I? Why couldn’t I remember?

Should I be freaking out right now? It seems appropriate considering.  It’s more than that. I have no idea of who I am at all. I don’t even know my favorite color. Do I have children? A husband? A girlfriend?

The nurse senses that I don’t have a clue. She tries to be reassuring. Her nametag says Audrey. It fits her.

Her red hair is pulled together in a neat and tidy bun. Plus, she is well-manicured. She could be in a cocktail dress drinking martinis just as easily as she’s in nurses scrubs.  I need a name that fits me just as well.

Audrey says that we’ll have time to figure out everything after they get me stitched up. Oh yes, the gash in the back of my head would explain a lot. At least, I don’t have to look at it. I probably was not a nurse in my forgotten life. Did I mention the smaller gash on my forehead? It’s not the look that I was going for when I put on that formerly white sundress. That much I do know.

Maybe I can get some clues about who I am if I look at my face. My new nurse friend agrees to find a mirror as soon as they finish fixing my wounds. I’m a bit nervous about how bad I must look.

The nurses clean up my wounds and bandage as much as they can. The doctor will visit soon they say. It’s not quite a promise. Maybe it’s a promise they can’t keep.

I’m taken to a room on the neuro unit. The doctor does visit eventually. Where else am I going to go? I also don’t have any concept of time. So I don’t complain. Audrey comes back after lunch with a mirror. The shock of seeing myself in that state is overwhelming. Luckily, the doctor makes an appearance. I need a distraction from my face.

Doctor Min is one of the few doctors here with a pleasant bedside manner. She wants to know if I have a name that they can call me. I have to think for a minute. Names have a way of sticking even when you dislike them. So I chose Carrie. It’s a name that I can live with. Maybe I had friends named Carrie at one time. They were probably likeable people.

I suspect that under Doctor Min’s cheerful demeanor is a really strong-willed person. Everyone wants to please her, even me. I don’t think it’s out of fear but respect.  None of the nurses roll their eyes when she leaves the room, which must be a subconscious sign of respect. You know that saying about being small and mighty? It describes Dr. Min down the last detail. She is petite but something about her commands your attention.

My visit to the neurology department lasts about a week. Doctor Min orders tests, tests and more tests. No one can say that she is not thorough. They all conclude what we already know. Blunt force trauma. The tests can’t tell us who did it or their reason. Doctor Min tells me that she wishes she could find out more but she has exhausted all medical avenues.

Audrey stops by on her day off so she can give me a manicure. I think she feels bad about bringing the mirror in too soon. I don’t blame her. I did demand to see my reflection. It was my own fault.  She thinks that if my nails look good then I’ll feel good. It’s a start. I wonder when I can get my hair done. Or brushed. I’m not sure when the last time I had my hair brushed. I ask Audrey if she can arrange for me to get an appointment for a good hair washing. She says, “As soon as the stitches heal. It should be by the end of the week.”

I think the doctors and nurses want to send me away sooner. It’s nothing personal. I’m not sure it isn’t the fact that my hair is a disaster. Not to mention that the head wound and memory loss are not winning me any pleasant houseguest points.

They just don’t know where to send me. No one knows what to do with me after the wounds begin to heal. There is still no sign of my memory. No family members have come to claim me as their mother, wife, daughter or friend. Doctor Min asks the nurses if they have ideas about where to house me for a month or so. Most wish that they could bring me home but they have families and no extra rooms. One jokes that it would be easier if I were a kitten. Who can argue with adding a kitten to the family? However, my favorite nurse, Audrey, volunteers to let me stay with her, even though I’m not an adorable kitten.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Unfinished Business: #NaNoWriMo

Unfinished Business: #NaNoWriMo

 

  • I don’t feel like I can do a new story for NaNoWriMo when I haven’t finished the last one. It’s still on my mind all of the time. My boyfriend and I keep talking about how there should be more Halloween romantic comedies. Ok. Well, he doesn’t think so necessarily. This story could be the story that I’m looking for on Netflix.
  • So I’m going to post the chapters. Maybe I’ll even fix something that I didn’t see before. OMG. Help me! 🙂 The following chapter is chapter two.

 

“The Lady of Shalot! The Lady of Shalot!! It’s the Lady of Shalot!! Someone help her!! Help!!”

I woke up to a wild-haired man yelling about the Lady of Shalot. We were at the lake. I was in an old fishing boat.

The boat is in need of a paint job and a cleaning. I’m hoping that I’m not laying on fish parts. I don’t think I am. It’s hard for me to say right now because I can barely keep my eyes open.  It has the usual fishing gear – fishing rods, tackle boxes, those green fishing nets and a few fish cages. I’m not sure what they’re called. I think fishermen put the fish in the cages until they are ready for whatever comes next.

The man running along the shore looked possessed. Finally, he waded into the water. He was trying to get to the boat. It’s difficult to keep such a quick pace in the water. The poor guy looked as frantic as his untamed locks. He looks like Albert Einstein – interesting but not insane. His crooked glasses were about to fall off of his face from all of the running and sweating. I wished that I could help him but I’m not really in a position to help anyone.

I was wearing this really beautiful white sundress with a crocheted back. Well, it was white but now it’s white with some dirt and blood. It’s safe to say that I wasn’t in the boat because I wanted to go fishing. The blood was from me. My head was killing me from a head wound. I can’t see it but I know it’s there. Head wounds are not pretty so it’s probably for the best that I don’t look.

My shoes were missing. Stepping on a fishing lure is the least of my worries at the moment but shoes would be good to have just in case.

The one thing that I knew was that I wasn’t in the boat because I wanted to go fishing.

Unfortunately, I did not see the Lady of Shalot or Lancelot or anyone from Camelot because I became unconscious again.

It’s possible that I was the Lady. Poor lady.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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