Catherine was silently weeping as she listened to his descriptions.
“She has her bad days when she’s in a fog, for lack of a better word. Those days are fewer as time goes on. Most of the time she is sweet and happy and eager to learn.”
“What does she remember from her past?”
“We’re not sure of that either. She remembers her babies died, and in time, she remembered both Franco and Ric, but to what extent we don’t know. We have a friend who’s pregnant. Gini hasn’t been able to understand anything about intercourse, conception, birth, none of it, even though we have tried to answer her questions many times. And then there are things she can’t remember, like how to wash her hands or turn the water on and off, even though we show her every day. It frustrates her.
“We keep her in the same routine every day. Brain trauma patients don’t like change. It’s confusing for them and difficult for them to change gears.”
“Oh dear, poor thing. Does she still wear a helmet?”
“Oh no, the helmet has been gone for some time. We placed a metal plate on the back of her head to reshape her skull. No, now, she has beautiful ringlet curls.” He smiled, thinking about his beautiful fiancée.
She wiped her tears again. “I guess she’s divorced from Franco?”
“He divorced her when she was in the rehab unit. He never could come to terms with her injury. We tried to get him help, but he was too macho to admit he needed it; Ric, too. It took him a long time to wrap his head around the fact that she would never be the same as before. Neither of them could fully accept she was different. They had known each other since childhood from what I understand, so I see how that could be hard. Anyway, Franco disappeared. I haven’t heard from him for some time. Ric remains a friend.”
“Well, as you can see, I’m a basket case. Please, help me to do the right thing tonight.”
“Ms. White, I suggest you just be yourself. Gini wants you there. Who knows, there may be tears from her as well.”
“Thank you so much for seeing me. I guess we’ll act like we haven’t met tonight so Gini doesn’t know I spoiled her surprise.”
“We can do that. If you love her as much as I think you do, you’ll know the right things to do tonight.”
Catherine was still leery about the evening. Robert hadn’t painted a much better picture than what she had imagined. But she had missed her good friend and wanted to be with her. She looked forward to meeting Debbie, and was eager to know more about Robert. He seemed to be a gentle soul. She liked him, a lot. It has to take a special person to fall in love with someone who is mentally disabled, she thought.
Catherine arrived at the condo at five-thirty. Debbie answered the door and introduced herself. Catherine immediately hugged her, surprising Debbie. When they walked into the living area, Gini was standing in front of Robert. She was excited, patiently waiting for Catherine to get there.
“Cat… ter… rin!” Her eyes were open wide, and the dimples dug deep into her cheeks with the smile.
Catherine walked to her and wrapped her arms tightly around her. “Honey!” There was a tightness in her voice.
A few seconds later, she stood up. Tears were running down her face. “Girl, I have missed you.”
“Oh… yes…” Gini carefully put her fingers around Catherine’s hand; her eyes slid closed. “Be… uff… ock… tor… rob… ber… ong. Be… hus… ban… soo.”
“Dr. Young, nice to finally meet you face to face.” She shook his hand and then wiped her tears.
“Please,” Debbie said. “Have a seat.”
“Can I get you a drink?” Robert asked.
“Boy… been.”
“Oh, honey, you remember.”
“We just happen to have some good stuff,” Debbie said from the kitchen. “Robert, pour us all a glass. Baby, I’ve got your drink.”
Robert held up the bottle for Catherine to see. “Yeah, that’s my brand.”
Now it made sense to Debbie why there were two unopened bottles on the top shelf. Gini kept them for Catherine’s visits. Debbie was surprised how relaxed she felt around Catherine, as if they had known each other before. Sure, they had corresponded through emails for a few weeks; but in person, Catherine made it easy to be with her.
Gini still had Catherine’s hand. They sat next to each other on the couch.
“Honey, you look just as beautiful as always. I like your hair shorter.”
The drinks were served, and Debbie brought in some appetizers. Debbie put a cracker in Gini’s hand. It took her a couple of tries, but she got it to her mouth and ate it.
There was a conversation about bourbon in general, and how smooth the one they were drinking was. Catherine talked about how many times she had stayed in the condo with Gini, the parties they went to, and all the politicians they met with. “Do you remember, Gini?”
“Oh… yes…” Gini let go of her hand and started signing.
“Our shoes hurt our feet,” Debbie slowly spoke.
“Oh, boy, did they.”
Through dinner there was talk about the weather and then the wedding plans. Catherine was over her fears. She was having a good time.
She watched as Robert softly rubbed Gini’s cheek when he was ready to feed her more food; his gentleness toward her was enviable. He truly loved Gini. And she was so happy to see that Gini was alert and functioning. It wasn’t clear whether Gini remembered much of the work, but it didn’t matter. She remembered and cherished the friendship just as Catherine did.
“Okay, Gini, I’ve got to get going. Thank you for inviting me. Just so you know, I approve of
