Chapter 2

Angie was feeling sheer panic as Tina continued to stare at them in confusion. Bette remained more calm as she called the nurse into the room.

"Mum," Angie sobbed sitting beside Tina, "please I’m your daughter, don’t you remember me?"

Tina looked at her thoughtfully, "I’m a mother? And who am I exactly?"

Bette was starting to feel sheer panic as she snatched Tina’s wallet from the bedside and handed Tina her Driver’s License.

"Tina Porter-Kennard," Tina read, "is that me?"

"Yes," Bette said.

"Why do I have two last names?" Tina asked.

"Cause you’re married," Bette said, "Porter is my last name and Kennard is yours."

Tina looked surprised, "YOU’RE my wife?"

Bette nodded.

"Mum," Angie said grabbing Tina’s hand gently, "please remember."

Tina started to get agitated, "I’m trying!"

"Angie don’t pressure her," Bette said.

"Angie, is that your name?" Tina said.

Angie nodded and handed Tina the picture she had been holding the entire time. "And what’s your name?" Tina said taking the picture with her good hand.

"Bette," Bette said.

"Bette," she repeated softly. Tina looked at the picture thoughtfully then looked up Angie. "You were younger here," Tina noted.

"I was twelve," Angie said gulping back a sob. There were no more recent pictures of them because she had refused to be around her. Bette saw the guilt in her daughters and gave her a sympathetic smile.

"And that’s me?" Tina asked, "I look happy."

"You were," Bette said handing Tina a mirror, "you’re a bit bruised up but you’ll see that it’s you."

Tina looked in the mirror thoughtfully. "What happened to me?"

The door opened and the doctor who had operated on Tina walked in.

"Dr. Peterson," Bette said, "she…"

"She can’t remember us! Please do something!" Angie cried desperately.

Tina looked at her in surprise then looked up at the doctor. The doctor pursed his lips and looked down at his clipboard, "there’s very little we know about the brain and its reactions. If she has amnesia I can’t really help. There’s a chance she’ll get her memories back and there’s a chance she’ll never get them back."

"No!" Angie cried.

"Angie," Bette said walking around to her, "come on baby, we’ll help Momma T, we’ll tell her stories just like she used to tell us and she’ll remember again."

"I used to tell stories?" Tina asked.

"About when you used to live in North Carolina," Bette said turning to her and leaning down beside the bed.

"Where am I now?" Tina asked.

"London," Bette said.

"Mrs. Porter-Kennard if you’ll please wait outside for a moment I have to run some cognitive exams," Dr. Peterson said, "then we can talk about some therapy programs and getting her home. The sooner she’s home the more chance she’ll have of recovering her memories."

"Here momma keep the picture," Angie said handing her the picture and kissing her cheek.

Bette handed her the wedding ring and said, "whenever you can you can put it back on."

She leaned down and gently kissed Tina’s lips. It was a short, soft kiss and Tina froze in surprise at the contact. Butterflies invaded her stomach as her brow furrowed.

Bette and Angie started walking out of the room and Tina called out, "I may not remember who you are Bette, but I do remember that I love you."

TBC