Amnesia (46 page)

Tears again were streaming down the faces of many in the group, others struggling with lumps in their own throats. Lissa again hugged the little man tightly, thanking him for caring so much for her. She found it hard to believe he would be so selfless to give up something so meaningful for her safety.

In the end it was Jack that broke through the moment, directing Ernest to the table to eat all the food he could. The spell broken, Tawny spoke up again.

“You said Darrion was in the jail infirmary.” Jack nodded, encouraging her to continue. “So what will happen to him now?”

“Well, first off he needs to get his blood sugar back under control, which shouldn’t take too long. Then he will probably have a nice long talk with a psychiatrist, before going to trial. While he’s out, I will be making several phone calls to make sure that he doesn’t have any other projects working—as smart as he is, he probably has several contingency plans. We do have quite a bit of evidence against him though, the bomb making paraphernalia, the ash covered clothing. We also found ash residue in the Hummer, and Marconi’s testimony. Even his manuscript will be used against him, as it shows his motive behind everything. He should be put away for a nice long time. At the very least I can ensure he will lose his ability to ever practice medicine legally again.”

He grimaced, then looked over at Lissa apologetically, and confessed to another action. “Lissa,
um, you should know that your
license is in good standing, and was never really suspended. I wanted you safely away from the action, especially the hospital, so called in a few favors. It was me that initiated it. I called them back last night and made sure your record was clear.” He paused, looking at the floor, hurting at the pain it had caused her, then added, “I’m sorry, but I really thought it was for the best.”

Lissa just sat watching him, once again curled up into Drake’s arms, processing what he had told her. She was surprised that she felt no anger at all towards the man. To the contrary, she realized that she actually owed him a great deal of thanks, if only for that one act.

“Actually, Jack,” she spoke, “I need to thank you for that. It was by far the best thing that could have happened. Not only did it give me a rest from the hospital, but also gave me a chance to fall in love.”

At that last sentence she turned back to gaze lovingly at Drake for a moment before continuing. “Besides, I won’t be practicing in Boise any longer.”

“What?” asked a surprised Shirley, accompanied by the cries of protest from others in the group.

“There’s nothing for me here now,” Lissa continued. “My car is destroyed, my apartment has been burned to the ground, every possession I had is gone. But I do have a mother in San Diego that I need to clear some things up with, and I want to be with Drake, who we now know has a wonderful life there. Although I will miss all of you, and I will definitely come back, especially for your wedding Shirley, I believe my future lies there. By the way, Bill, about that date we missed on Thursday, I think I’m going to have to cancel it.”

“I can respect that,” Bill supported smiling. “We’ll all miss you too, but it’s obvious you two belong together. And being away from all that has happened here would probably be a blessing in itself.”

“While I’m at it,” he continued, “now is as good a time as any to tell you that Carrie and I are also going to get married, although we don’t have a date set. We have a lot of paperwork to go through because of Paul. Maybe we can make it a triple wedding!” An excited buzz erupted in the group. At the news Shirley and Carrie jumped up to hug each other, tears again flowing freely down their cheeks.

“Since we’re all confessing right now,” Beverley spoke after the din had quieted somewhat, “I have a few bombshells of my own to drop. First off, I am going to be baptized.”

Again excitement and congratulations erupted cutting her off. Patiently she waited until it had died back down before continuing. “I will be taking the discussions again anyway, this time for real, because I really want to hear it all again. I have also talked Mom and Dad into sitting in. And I propose we have them here, Jack,” she concluded.

“Um, you know I’m not Mormon, right?” Jack answered.

“And?” Beverley replied expectantly. The rest of the team watched the exchange in a mix of incredulity and bemusement. Finally Jack couldn’t hold back any longer and burst out laughing.

“Of course we can do it here. Actually Nancy and I spoke about this at length last night.  After seeing what the religion has done for all of you, we decided we need to find out what it has to offer us. We were just waiting for the right moment to spring it on you. Thanks Beverley, for providing it.” She nodded her welcome, grinning from ear to ear.

“As for Peter and I,” she continued, “we have a whole year to wait before we can get married, but you can be assured you are all invited.” She paused, looking at her mother, and then added, “And maybe we can all be sealed together at that time.”

“I just have one more question,” Beverley brought the discussion back around. “It’s for you, Drake. About the amnesia, do you really remember everything now?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact,” he answered. “Jack did end up sending off my dental records as Lissa suggested, but they haven’t made it back yet. It was the final part of her plan. She had a great idea on how to help me out. It included setting me up at Bill’s and sending me to her house in the first place. But what made the difference was just letting me fall in love with her. Actually, I remember things better now than ever before, because I’ve had to struggle for those memories. Lissa describes it like the memories were all hidden under a tarp. As soon as I pulled up the tarp, all the memories were there. Only they are very precious to me now, more so than ever before.”

Beverley sat there thinking, as if searching for words. Then finally spoke, with a profundity that left them all speechless.

“That really is the answer to all of it, isn’t it? It’s people and relationships that remind us of who we are and what life is all about. We all have some form of amnesia, covering up our memories for whatever reason. Drake forgot who he was, because he couldn’t bring himself to believe that just being who he is could cause so much pain.

“Scardoni forgot about his mother and her teachings because he couldn’t reconcile his actions with her truths. In the end when he went insane it was because he was forced to admit how incongruent the two really are, and yet how integral to his life they both had become.

“Mom had forgotten that her life was about family because she couldn’t have both the family she had and the fantasy she wanted. Dad forgot his principles because he couldn’t have both that and the position he held.

“Even Marcuse had chosen to forget the lessons learned from the fall of all the evil empires and dictators, deciding that he was somehow different. Every one of us has a similar story of choosing to forget certain things that we couldn’t, or didn’t want to understand.

“But you know, now that I think about it, every one of us in this life has a certain given amnesia—we can no longer remember the life we spent with our Father in Heaven before we came here. So much of what we do revolves around what we can or cannot remember of that life and the choices we made there. And it’s like Drake said, when we do find out what happened then, it is so sweet to us that we never want to let it go again.

“That’s what I remembered in that moment when Peter and I were freed—I remembered what it was like to feel eternity, and the honest bliss and joy that can only come from that source.

“It was the ones we love and our relationship to them that brought those memories back. For Drake it was Lissa’s love. For me it was Peter. For others, actually all of us, it is the relationship and love we have with our Father in Heaven. In the end that is the only thing that really matters anyway.”

She sat back, a look of peace on her face as they all basked in the spirit accompanying her words, testifying of their truths. Each member in the circle looked around at the others. Fourteen people, including Nancy who attended in spirit only, whose lives were forever changed and interwoven. Four men had died, and not one of those present was left unscathed. All because one man felt he was more important than anyone else. Yet everyone here had learned that the only way to true happiness was in forgetting themselves and giving their all to help and build those around them.

It was a lesson none of them would ever forget.

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AMNESIA

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rick was born the youngest of three children, in Mesa, Arizona. His dad, Dick (an author in his own right, some of
whose writings can be found at www.RickSimnitt.com
) and mom were Special Education teachers. They moved around a lot, due to his father's work, setting up Special Education programs throughout the state of Arizona. Their teachings, and love of words and learning, lend greatly to Rick's own style and works.

Rick served in the England, Coventry LDS mission. He later moved to Boise, Idaho to help with his extended family
. There he met his wife
and they were married in 1995 in the Boise, Idaho LDS temple. They have three terrific
kids
. Rick is currently employed "baby-sitting computers" in Boise.

Rick loves music, woodworking, reading, serving in his church callings, and, of course, writing
.

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