Loading ...Part 4
The Hart Remembers – Part Four
Jonathan returned to the apartment at lunch time. After a quick lunch they packed up and headed back to the beach house.
Jennifer had been very quiet and subdued all through the move and Jonathan was becoming increasingly concerned about her.
After they unpacked it was late afternoon. Jonathan showed Jennifer around the house and she seemed quite taken with it.
“This is a lovely house Jonathan” she said as she was looking around.
She spied some framed pictures around the living room and went over to look at them. There were several of her and Jonathan in differing poses. They looked extremely happy and she felt warm inside. She sighed loudly. Jonathan had been watching her but said nothing as she reacquainted herself with her surroundings.
She came to a picture of a young boy and wondered who he was. She picked it up for a closer look. She figured he was probably about 10 years old with blond hair and blue eyes. She looked up at Jonathan and said “Who is this?”
He smiled and walked over to her. “That is young Maximilian. He was a little orphan boy and you saved his life last year”
At this Jennifer raised her eyebrows and looked stunned.
“He was very sick and needed a bone marrow transplant. You were a perfect match and being the kind and generous, loving person you are you donated your bone marrow to him. He is a very healthy little boy now thanks to you. He lives in Germany with Peter and Simone Donner, who are in the process of adopting him.” He decided against telling her anything else about what happened the time that they were in Germany.
She could see the pride in his eyes as he was speaking. It bought tears to her own eyes. Overcome by emotion all she could say was “Oh” She continued to look at the photo for a bit trying to remember the boy but it was a blank. She put the photo down and continued to look at the other photos.
“I am just going next door to pick up Freeway Jr” Jonathan said and at Jennifer’s puzzled look he explained “Freeway Jr is our dog.” She smiled at him then and said “Ok, see you in a bit then” As Jonathan left to go and get Freeway she continued to look at the photos. There were so many wonderful scenes captured that she was once again struck by the intensity of her need to remember.
Jonathan returned a few minutes later with the most gorgeous looking little dog. The dog ran straight to her when he saw her and she bent down to pet him. He was so excited to see her and was intent on licking her hand, her face, what ever he could reach.
“He seems happy to see me” she said, smiling up at Jonathan. Her eyes were glowing and Jonathan was once again struck speechless by his feelings for her.
“He has missed you terribly, he loves you so much” Something in his voice made her look up at him once again. She got the feeling that he was talking about more than the dog.
“I am going to get dinner started” he said as he left the room kind of quickly. Jennifer stood and went back to looking at the photos.
Suddenly Jennifer gasped for there right in front of her was a picture of the man from her dream. She reached out gingerly and picked it up. She looked closely at it and yes it was definitely the man from her dream. She traced her finger around the edges of his face. Who was he?
“Jennifer….” Jonathan entered the room again and stopped short. Jennifer was completely mesmerised by one of the photos. He knew exactly which one it was and wondered why that particular one was so fascinating to her.
He quietly approached her. She seemed almost entranced by it. He gently touched her arm and she slowly looked up at him. He was smiling at her and said “Do you know who that is darling?”
She shook her head slightly “No I don’t think I do and then again yes, maybe. Oh, I don’t know” she looked confused.
“It’s ok” Jonathan put his arm around her.
“I had a dream about him. I can’t remember the dream though. It is so frustrating. Who is he?”
“His name was Max. He was our friend, houseman, chauffeur…He lived with us. He was like a father to me. He saved me when I was fifteen and headed down the wrong track. He pulled me back and put me on the right track. I am what I am today because of the start he gave me.”
“Wow, he sounds like a great guy”
“Oh yeah, he was the best”
“You said his name was Max. That is the past tense, does that mean….”
“Yeah, he died a couple of years ago. Lung cancer. He was having an operation but didn’t survive it”
“Oh, I’m so sorry Jonathan. That must have been very hard for you”
“And you as well, my love.”
“Yeah, I guess so, but I don’t remember it.” She took one last look at the photo and then placed it back where it belonged. She looked at Jonathan and could see he was really upset. She put her arms around him and hugged him tight. He hugged her back with all the pent up emotion he was feeling.
“Oh Jonathan what if I never remember anything. How could I forget Max and what he meant to me? How could I forget saving young Maximillians life? How could I forget you and our life together?” Jonathan just held her tighter. They stayed like that for some time.
A little while later, after they had eaten some dinner, Jennifer was reading the paper when she remembered the other part of the dream, Willow Pond. She decided that she would ask Jonathan about it when he got out of the shower.
——————————–
Jonathan had needed some time alone and went upstairs on the pretext of needing a shower. The emotion of the last few days, and months, was getting to him and Jennifer not remembering about Max and his death was too much.
He climbed into the shower and collapsed in a sobbing heap. All of the pent up emotion came pouring out of him. He hadn’t really allowed himself to cry that much when all this started. He had needed to be strong to get through it, but now that Jennifer was physically well and not in danger any more there was no need to stay strong.
He cried for their lost life together. He was beginning to think that she would never remember. They had had a wonderful life and it grieved him to think that she may never remember any of it.
He was so thankful that she was alive and with him but he couldn’t help feeling that it wasn’t fair that she couldn’t remember anything. He knew he was being selfish but he wanted their life back how it was. He felt cheated.
Jennifer was getting a bit concerned when an hour had passed and Jonathan still hadn’t returned. She didn’t know whether she should go and check on him. She had got the feeling that he needed some time alone and the shower was just an excuse. She decided to give him another half hour and then she would go and check on him.
She got up and wandered around the room. She could hear the surf pounding as the wind began to pick up. It seemed like they were in for a storm and she thought that it perfectly matched her mood. She felt somewhat stormy herself as she was getting impatient with her lack of memory recovery.
She stood at the glass doors and looked out at the darkening sky. Yes, there definitely was a storm brewing, she thought. It was making her feel unsettled. Her thoughts eventually wandered to the man named Max. She wished she could remember more of the dream she had. She felt that it was important. But the more she tried to remember it the further away from her it got. She would just have to start with what she did remember.
Willow Pond. Ok, so maybe it was a place. She would ask Jonathan, he was sure to know. Maybe then they could both work on getting her memory to return. She knew that the key was with those two words. She was not sure how she knew this but only that she did.
She looked at her watch and found that another 40 minutes had passed and there was still no sign of Jonathan. She decided it was about time to check on him. Something was wrong. She headed for the stairs and the little dog, Freeway Jr., who had been sleeping on the chair, followed her.
Jennifer entered the bedroom and could hear the shower running. How long had he been in there? She wondered. She listened at the door and thought she could hear sobbing. Should she go in? Would he want her to go in? Would he be embarrassed? She waited a little longer but the sound of him sobbing wrenched at her heart and she knew that she couldn’t ignore it.
Jennifer quietly opened the door. She could see the shape of him huddled on the floor of the shower through the frosted glass. How long had he been there? She moved quickly and opened the shower door. Jonathan didn’t acknowledge her presence. She felt the water and it had run cold. She shut it off. He was still sitting there not moving, just sobbing.
Oh God, what should she do? She felt his skin and it was cold to touch. He was shivering quite badly. She needed to get him out of there before he got sick. She knelt down next to him and touched him on the shoulder “Jonathan” she said quietly so as not to startle him. There was no response. He was quietly sobbing now. He must have had some sort of melt down she figured. It had all caught up with him.
Jennifer grabbed one of the big fluffy bath towels and tried to wrap it around him. She would never get him out of there on her own; she needed to get through to him so that he could move himself.
“Jonathan, please you need to move. You will get sick if you stay here. You’re getting too cold. Can you hear me? Can you move?” No response. “Jonathan, darling, please listen to me, hear my voice, please” She waited and the sobbing slowly stopped. He moved his head slowly and looked at her with swollen red rimmed eyes.
“Jennifer?”
“Yes, it’s me. Can you get up? We need to get you out of here and warmed up”
She put his arm around her shoulders trying to ignore that fact that he was naked and the reaction that her body was having to his nakedness. Between the two of them he got to his feet. He was a little unsteady but she was able to wrap the towel right around him and get him out of the shower and into the bedroom.
She rubbed him dry with the towel. She rubbed vigorously so as to get his blood flowing again. She towel dried his hair. She then dressed him in his pyjamas and got him into bed under the covers.
“I am going to get you something warm to drink…”
“No, no, please just stay here with me. Hold me. That’s all I need”
Jennifer slipped off her shoes and crawled into bed with him. She snuggled up next to him and he wrapped his arms tightly around her. He was holding on to her for dear life. He was still shivering but it had diminished a little. She could feel him warming up. After some time Jennifer felt him relax, the shivering had stopped.
Soon after that his breathing evened out and she knew he was asleep. She slowly untangled herself from his embrace and prepared for bed herself. She came back into the bedroom and stood at the side of the bed just looking at him now peacefully sleeping. How would he feel in the morning when he realized that she had seen him so vulnerable? Would he be upset or embarrassed?
She slid back into bed and lay there for a while. She wanted to snuggle back up to him but she wasn’t sure it was a good idea. If he woke up he might want some space.
The storm had now arrived and was raging outside. But compared to the storm of emotion she had just witnessed in the shower stall, the storm outside was fairly tame.
Her emotions were in turmoil also. She hated seeing him like that and she was sure that he would also hate the fact that she had seen him like that. She turned on her side facing away from Jonathan and soon was asleep also.
——————————————
Jennifer woke briefly some time just after dawn to the feel of Jonathan snuggling her from behind spoon fashion. He had a death grip on her that told her that he wasn’t about to let her go any time soon. But even so she could tell he was still asleep by his even breathing. Satisfied that he had sought her out in his sleep, she sighed softly and snuggled deeper into his embrace. Before long she was asleep again.
A while later Jonathan began to wake up. He remembered his melt down from the night before and felt a little uncomfortable, embarrassed even, about the fact that Jennifer had seen him like that.
Then he felt Jennifer in his arms and felt comforted by sensation of holding her and thought that she was still there with him, she hadn’t been repulsed by what she had witnessed, in fact she had acted like a wife would act and had taken care of him.
He wondered if she was even aware of the fact that she had called him darling last night. An automatic reflex to a stressful situation perhaps but it warmed his heart that she had said it. He felt a surge of love for her so powerful that he was tempted to wake her and show her how much she meant to him. But he didn’t, he just kept holding her.
When next Jennifer awoke Jonathan was not in the bed with her any longer. She lay for a few moments just listening to see if she could hear him but all was quiet.
She got up and had a quick shower. She then went looking for him. She could see him walking along the beach and decided not to go to him. She would let him come to her and she would take her cues from him on how to act around him after last night.
It was some time later before Jonathan came in from his walk. Jennifer looked up from the paper she was reading and her breath caught in her throat at the sight of him. He looked flushed and wind blown and so very sexy that she thought that she might combust just by looking at him.
He grinned at her and she thought she might faint. Each time she was taken by surprise at the intense feelings he evoked in her. She smiled back at him but didn’t speak.
“How are you this morning my love?” he asked her. His manner was easy and he seemed to have got past whatever the problem was last night.
“I feel great” she replied and then looked at him seriously “how are you?”
He tensed slightly because he wasn’t really ready to discuss what had happened last night but he knew he would have to address it sooner or later, so sooner it should be.
“Um, I’m sorry about what happened last night Jennifer, I’m not sure what happened really….I just felt overcome with emotion all of a sudden and I couldn’t stop it….”
“Jonathan, you have nothing to apologize for. You have been under an incredible strain these last few months and I guess my not remembering Max was the last straw for you. It’s good that you let it out, it’s not healthy to keep it all inside.”
He smiled at her then and she went to him and wrapped him in her arms. He held on tight. They stayed like that for some time just taking comfort in each other.
——————————————
It was almost lunch time when Jennifer remembered that she was going to ask Jonathan about Willow Pond. So much had happened since yesterday morning that she had forgotten to mention it to him.
“Jonathan”
Jonathan was reading some papers from the office and was a bit distracted.
“Jonathan” she said again with a bit more force behind it.
“Mmm” he murmured still looking at the papers.
Jennifer was getting a bit frustrated by now. “Jonathan” she said even more forcefully. At this he realized he was being spoken to and looked up. He smiled apologetically.
“Sorry my love, what did you want?”
Now she had his attention she wasn’t sure how to proceed so she decided to just come out with it no matter how silly it sounded.
“You remember I told you I had a dream about Max?”
“Yes I remember”
“Well, there was a part of the dream that I have recalled and I think it might be the key to me getting my memory back. I was hoping that you would help me with it. You may know what it means.”
Jonathan sat up straighter. She had his full attention now. “Ok, I’ll help if I can, go ahead” he said.
“Well…I remember two words that he said to me” She looked him straight in the eye and continued “Jonathan, what is a Willow Pond”
Jonathan gasped. He couldn’t help it. She’d remembered Willow Pond, well not exactly remembered it but the words at least.
Jennifer looked at him intently. She could tell it meant something to him and she waited patiently for him to speak.
Jonathan got up and went to her. He took her hands in between his and gently squeezed them. “Jennifer, my darling, Willow Pond is very significant. You see it is where we spent the first nineteen years of our marriage”
All of a sudden Jennifer had a need to see this place; she felt very strongly that this was the key to getting her memory back. “Jonathan” she said urgently “I need to see Willow Pond, will you take me there?”
“Yes, of course, I will take you anywhere you want to go”
“Great. I don’t know why I need to go there all of a sudden but I do, it is almost a physical thing. I think this might be the answer to everything. Can we go there right now?”
“Yes” Jonathan was a bit stunned by the speed in which things were happening but he was happy to go along with it if it meant getting his wife and their life back. “I will go and get the car. We can leave immediately if you want”
“Yes let’s go” she said urgently.