After the Storm (Chapter-17)

Carissa called Paul, it had become a morning ritual to talk with him and she could talk to him on her way to work. They started with the usual pleasantries and then she mentioned finding the SD card in one of his pockets.

He asked, “What is on it?”

She said, “I don’t have anything to read it with, only my phone and it takes a micro card.”

Paul said, “You can pack it and ship it here, I have a desktop computer with an SD reader on it.”

Carissa agreed to do that sometime during the week. She told Paul about the car crash and commotion during the night and the lack of sleep that followed.

Paul said, “For a quiet place out in the country you sure have a lot of drama at your place. Maybe you should consider moving to the quiet of the city.”

Carissa replied, “All of the drama is a recent occurrence, in fact up until I found a body in the road, it was a pretty quiet place.”

After hanging up with Paul, Carissa arrived at the edge of town. The familiar buildings passed on both sides of her SUV reminding her of the history she had with this community. Her dad had been well known in the county and her mom had volunteered with the church and charity organizations throughout the district. She had made it early, in spite of the activities that robbed her of sleep the night before.

She stopped off on the way to work to pick up a padded envelope to send the SD card to Paul. She got a pack of index cards to put on each side of the SD card for additional protection. She decided to pack it when she got home later that night and drop it off at the post office on the way to work the next day. Her workday was uneventful but she did share the car crash details of the previous night with her coworkers.

Her best friend, among her coworkers, was a woman named Jan. She was off the first day Carissa returned to work but was at work on this day. Carissa shared the story about Paul, the memory loss, and the man she believed to be the one responsible for everything she had shared in the story. She told everything she knew about Richard and the fact that he would soon be in police custody whenever the police could get him from Honduras.

Carissa and Jan sat and joked while they ate lunch together. Jan had a way of making Carissa feel better at times when she was down for one reason or another. Jan just told her to “be careful” and Carissa planned on doing just that. Carissa was getting back into the swing of working again but Paul still invaded her mind frequently. There were so many questions she still had about what Paul had been through. She needed some reasons for them.

Jan said, “Why don’t we go out after work and have a few drinks and talk for a while? We don’t get to do that much anymore.”

Carissa replied, “I could have one, maybe. That road is treacherous and I saw what can happen just last night.”

Jan replied, “Okay, fair enough. I will make sure you can walk a straight line before I let you leave.”

Carissa and Jan finished their lunch and got back to the business of taking vital signs and handing out pain meds.

The afternoon dragged on more than usual. Carissa figured it was because she had plans for after work. She needed some bonding time with Jan and a drink couldn’t hurt either. She was trying to hurry so she could get everything done. She wasn’t in the mood for any issues and she certainly wasn’t in the mood to put up with any doctors. She didn’t think much of doctors, especially the older ones who just seemed to be interested in making money. Some of the younger ones were better, they were still ideologues and humble. The older ones seemed to be full of themselves.

That was one of the reasons she got along with Jan so well, they had similar opinions of doctors. The other younger nurses were all too busy trying to find a doctor to marry them. She certainly wasn’t interested in that. She was too afraid she would wind up having to use the pistol that was in her purse. Jan worked a different schedule on this day and was in charge of the wing across from the nurse’s station from Carissa. Lunchtime was the first time they had seen each other and the time clock would likely be the next.

She had figured correctly and Jan stood right in front of her in the line behind the time clock.

Jan punched out first and yelled, “I will meet you there.”

Carissa replied, “I am right behind you.”

This wasn’t the first time they had gone for drinks and they both knew where “there” was, a quiet little place near where they worked, where mostly older workers came after their day ended. It was as close to “Cheers” as they could hope for and everybody knew your name.

They knew most of the patrons there, not by name, but they recognized the same faces they had seen before. There was the short pudgy guy that sat at the end of the bar that they laughingly nicknamed Norm. They had a know-it-all they nicknamed Cliff, but there was no good-looking bartender that could fill Sam’s shoes. Instead, there was an elderly guy named Carl that manned drink duty and he looked like he had been there since the first day it opened. They judged that only because of the sign that said: “since 1937”.

Carissa wasn’t much of a beer drinker, she preferred either wine or a cocktail. Jan didn’t drink beer either and usually ordered a Margarita on the rocks and Carissa ordered her drink frozen. They could sit and sip their drinks and make them last as long as they needed. Jan was interested in learning more about Paul, but Carissa told her there was still so much that was a mystery. She did know that Paul was a businessman that seemed to be successful and was by everything she saw, single.

They sat and talked for a while, turning down the drink offers from several of the male guests, who had tendered offers. Carissa admitted there must be some kind of feelings for Paul or she wouldn’t have devoted so much time to him. She told Jan that for now she remained interested but guarded. She didn’t think Paul would be much good to anyone until he came to terms with his memory issues and she wasn’t entirely sure he would ever get his memory back.

Carissa had only planned on this drink stop to last a half hour or so, but after an hour and a half, they were still here. Carissa didn’t order any more drinks and the frozen one she sipped on was getting pretty watery when she finally decided she needed to head home. She told Jan she enjoyed their talk and hoped they could do it again soon. They hugged in the parking lot before they each headed for their car.

After she got her SUV started and on the road pointed home, Carissa dialed Paul’s number to let him know she would be sending the SD card on the way to work in the morning.

Paul asked, “Did you have to work late today? You are calling later than usual.”

Carissa replied, “No, I went for a drink after work with one of the nurses I work with. She is a character and we have worked together a long time.”

Paul asked, “You didn’t drink too much did you?”

Carissa responded, “I only had one. I saw firsthand last night the consequences of overindulging.”

Paul replied, “I could probably use a nightcap once in a while but I don’t have anyone to go out with. At least not anyone I can remember.”

Carissa said, “I am sure as soon as you get your memory back, you will remember several people.”

Paul replied, “I hope so. I know right now, I sure miss you.”

Paul was a bit guarded as well and knew he needed to know who he was before he could move forward with a relationship.

He kept saying, “I need to know where I have been before I can figure out where I am going.”

Carissa thought it made a lot of sense and she stole the phrase often when she was talking with others. She was anxious to get home. The lack of sleep the night before mixed with the alcohol of this afternoon was making her sleepy. She didn’t have far to go and she was forcing her body to stay alert for just a few moments longer.

She carried her phone with her as she entered her home. She started a bath running with bubbles, lit some candles, and poured a small glass of wine. She needed to relax and she had all of the ingredients together to make that happen. The water was very warm when she tested it with her big toe before putting the rest of the leg in place. She swung her other leg in and sat slowly down. The music was playing and she lay her head back against the tub.

She lay her phone on a nearby table and was still talking to Paul.

She said, “I am just relaxing now. Bathwater in place, music in the background with the flicker of candles keeping time, and the wine next to me on the table. If I stop talking, don’t worry, it will just be me sleeping.”