After the Storm (Chapter-4)

The next day Carissa found Paul rested, stronger, and up walking to the bathroom, steadying himself behind the walker. He had a towel draped over the front of the walker and a clean set of pajamas from a stack Carissa had given him to choose from. She figured the best thing to do now was to stay out of the way. She knew people often recovered faster if they were allowed to do things on their own, so she stood back to let Paul walk his way to a shower.

She said, “This would be a great time to change the sheets, so you get a shower and I will get a clean bed ready. If you need any help just yell out.”

Carissa had plenty of time and got the bed changed with time to spare.

Paul said when he came out of the bathroom, “That warm water felt so good, I hated to stop, but I started to feel weak and decided I better get out and rest for a few minutes”.

When Paul got settled back in bed, Carissa came over to check out his wounds.

She said, “I think we can leave the gauze off now and let some fresh air in. Everything seems scabbed over and I can almost guarantee there will be some scars.”

Paul said, “The scars will give me something to tell my grandkids if I have any.”

Carissa told Paul, “Tomorrow we should be able to make it to town, I got word the bridge is passable now. We can talk to the sheriff and see if he can help us find out who you are. It wouldn’t hurt to take you to see a real doctor while we are there.”

Paul replied, “I would love to find out who I am, it feels kind of empty not knowing.”

Carissa said, “I get that. I think I would feel that way too, not knowing what my past was.”

When Carissa finished the antibiotic salve she said, “I am going to go start cooking some breakfast if you want to come to sit at the table while I do.”

Paul slid behind the walker and began his journey toward the kitchen. It was obvious he was stronger than he had been the day before. He walked faster and seemed to put less pressure on the walker. After entering the kitchen, Paul pushed the walker to the side and made the last six steps without it.

Carissa said, “That is very impressive, considering you started in a puddle of blood on the highway.”

Paul sat at the table while Carissa prepared breakfast. She made biscuits, hash browns, sausage, and eggs.

Paul looked at all the food being prepared and said, “Are you trying to fatten me up?”

Carissa replied, “I am trying to get your strength back, you went without any food for a couple of days and limited food after that.”

Carissa was getting more comfortable around Paul, even though she still locked her bedroom at night. She placed the food on the table and Paul managed to walk to the cabinets and bring back a couple of plates and some silverware.

Carissa said, “Wow, you are doing good, you’ll be ready to race before you know it.”

Carissa and Paul sat, ate breakfast, and talked like they had known each other all their life. While they sat and talked, Carissa heard a crackle come over her CB and a couple of people were discussing the bridge to town. Carissa learned the repairs had been finished and traffic was now flowing across the bridge.

Carissa looked at Paul and asked, “Would you like to go to town today?”

Paul replied, “It’s as good a time as any.” Carissa just put their dishes in the sink and said, “I need to find you some real clothes.”

Paul managed to walk back to his guestroom without the walker and Carissa brought him some pants and a shirt. His shoes would be okay even though slightly bloodstained. Carissa’s dad was a little bigger and the clothes were loose on Paul, but with a tight belt, you could hardly tell. They loaded into the SUV and headed to town. It was a small town with tourist attractions nearby along with a ski resort. As soon as they arrived in town, Carissa made her first stop and the sheriff’s office. She had known Mark Thomas since they moved there when she was a little girl. Her dad had been crippled by a bullet when he was at the police department in Denver and they just wanted to get away from the city.

Her dad and sheriff Thomas had been friends almost immediately, especially after the sheriff found out about why her dad was handicapped. They went inside the office and sat down in front of the sheriff’s desk. The sheriff asked Paul if he would consent to fingerprints to help locate his true identity and Paul agreed to allow it. They took a DNA swab and the sheriff snapped a photo to send out as well to see if there were any missing person descriptions that matched the photo.

The sheriff asked Paul if he saw any terrain on the way up that reminded him of anything he may have seen before. Paul responded a big no to that, nothing was familiar at all.

Sheriff Thomas said, “I have everything I need, for now, I will keep you posted on anything I find out.” The sheriff looked at Carissa and said, “He doesn’t look like a man who has been stabbed multiple times to me, seems pretty healthy.”

Paul raised his shirt to show the wounds and the sheriff seemed to be shocked.

The Sheriff said, “Young man, I would say you are very lucky that Carissa happened along when she did. I think she probably saved your life.”

The sheriff asked Carissa, “What are you two going to do next?”

Carissa replied, “We are going to head over to Doc Harvey to let him check out Paul, to make sure I did everything okay.”

Carissa knew Doc Harvey from the hospital when she attended to some of his patients there. She knew everyone in the office and they worked her into the front of the waiting list, without it being detected. They sent her to the back entrance and let her in. They were afraid the other patients waiting would be upset at them for allowing someone to come in ahead of them.

It was determined that Carissa had done a good job taking care of her patient, especially since she had limited supplies and the bridge was closed.

The doctor even said out loud, “Nice work.”

That wasn’t something doctors did very often but Carissa was glad to hear it when it did happen. They left through the back door when they finished and no one in town knew any different. They loaded back into Carissa’s SUV and headed back to her house. She gave Paul the wallet she found in his clothes that she had put aside. There was a small amount of cash and some debit and credit cards. It was all the proof she needed to know that Paul wasn’t attacked as a result of a robbery.

They hadn’t been back very long when Carissa heard the crack of static on her CB and heard the sheriff call for her.

She replied, “Sassy Lassie here; what’s up?”

The sheriff replied, “I already got a hit on the fingerprint. It is a match for the dead guy, Paul Daniels. I don’t know who is buried in the grave with the marker that says Paul Daniels, but you have Paul Daniels there at your house.”

Carissa supposed that she would have to explain to her patient that he was dead.

When Carissa went back into the bedroom that her patient had occupied for the last few days, she found him sitting in a chair.

He looked up at her and said, “I figured if I was going to improve, I needed to be up and around. Maybe there are things around I could work on to earn my keep.”

Carissa replied, “I think you should not overdo things just yet, you were badly injured, in addition to being dead for a while.”

Paul stood with an open mouth and a degree of shock on his face.

He said, “Excuse me, but you seem to have stopped making any sense.”

Carissa explained about the man with the same name who lived in the same town and was reported dead.

Paul shrugged his shoulders and said, “I have no explanation for that.”

Paul was in an even deeper state of confusion. Not only did he not know why somebody wanted him dead, but he also didn’t know why he already was. Paul’s physical strength and wounds were healing fast, his memory was still a jumbled mess. It was like buying a book, only to find blank pages where its only content was.

Carissa was becoming more comfortable with Paul, now believing his memory loss was real and that perhaps he was just a victim of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. She would still be cautious, a natural trait taught by her father, but she could relax a little more than in the beginning. Paul followed Carissa back into the kitchen to offer his help with dinner preparation. Being in town all day had worked up an appetite for Paul but Carissa told him she had things ready to be placed in the oven; then all they had to do was wait and let the oven work. Paul noticed there was a wooden deck just outside Carissa’s kitchen and asked if it was okay to walk outside and take a look.

Carissa followed Paul outside and they each took a seat at the outdoor table. Paul told her how beautiful the scenery was around her house. She told him there was a stream not far from the house, but that was a problem when they get heavy rain.

He replied, “I remember what happens in heavy rain, at least the part where you found me.”

She asked, “Do you have any flashes of what happened to you?”

Paul replied, “Nothing at all, it is like a blank canvas, there is nothing there.”

Paul told Carissa that he was getting back to normal and he should get out of her hair and figure things out. She pointed out that since he didn’t have any memories, he wouldn’t know what skills he may have had. She was correct, he didn’t know what he did for work or even if he had a job. They talked for a while, at least long enough that the timer on the food in the oven was going off.

Carissa said, “Sounds like dinner is served. It is nice outside, we can eat out here if you want. I will get the food and you can grab some plates.”

The dinner was typical comfort food, a pot roast, potatoes and carrots, and dinner rolls. Paul thought there was everything there he could want, aside from a memory. There was a healthy meal, and beautiful scenery, including an attractive woman. Paul was hoping he didn’t remember he was gay, but so far he didn’t feel gay so everything was good. Paul was very thankful at this moment that a caring woman decided to stop for him.