“I know it’s distressing, but your symptoms are not uncommon after a concussion,” Doctor Robinson explained. “Your CT scan looks good. You can expect the memory loss to resolve itself within the next few days. We’ll need to run some more tests tomorrow, but if everything checks out, I see no reason why we can’t discharge you.”
“What if he doesn’t have his memory back by then?” Sonia cut in.
The doctor smiled at her. ”That’s where you come in. Ray will need someone to keep a close eye on him for the next few days.”
“Oh, I’m not his wife, she’s—” Sonia caught herself, her cheeks flushing. Now was not the time to break the news to Ray that his wife was dead too. ”I’m his next-door neighbor.” She pressed her lips together, suppressing the panic welling up inside. Why was all of this falling on her shoulders? She couldn’t possibly care for a virtual stranger with severe memory loss, not to mention his traumatized four-year-old son, especially with the gnawing suspicions she had that something was amiss. Not that that was of any relevance to the doctor—it was the police she should be talking to.
Doctor Robinson rubbed his chin thoughtfully. ”Does Ray have any family nearby?”
“Only his four-year-old son. I’m looking after him, for now.”
The doctor drew his wiry, gray brows together. ”It will be important for Ray to be with his son over the next few days. It will help speed his recovery.”
“How long before my memory returns?” Ray interjected.
“It’s impossible to predict,” Doctor Robinson replied. “It might be a day or two. Or it could take a couple of weeks.”
Sonia locked eyes with Ray. She couldn’t say for sure what she saw in them. Bewilderment? A plea for help? Or was he fooling them? He seemed genuinely flummoxed at the situation he found himself in, but could it all be an act? Beads of sweat formed along her hairline. She couldn’t invite a stranger into her home. He might be a serial killer for all she knew. At the very least, he was a negligent son and an emotionally distant father—and he was hiding something, that much she was sure of. A dull throbbing began in her temples.
“You don’t have to decide how to handle this just now,” Doctor Robinson said, breaking into her thoughts. “If you’re not in a position to help out, we can find an alternative solution.”
Sonia gave a dismissive nod. “Thanks, we’ll talk it over.”
The doctor took out his penlight and checked Ray’s eyes, and a few other vitals, before taking his leave. “Like I said, we’ll run some more tests in the morning. I’ll be back to check on you again once I have the results.”
Alone in the room with Ray, Sonia felt obligated to explain herself. ”I didn’t mean I wouldn’t help you. It’s just that … I have my mother living with me and she’s recovering from hip surgery, and I run my interior design business from home and Jessica has after school activities and—”
”I wouldn’t dream of imposing on you. I’m sure I’ll be perfectly capable of looking after myself by tomorrow,” Ray responded, his eyelids fluttering closed.
Sonia got to her feet. “I should let you get some rest.”
“Henry,” Ray muttered, so softly Sonia almost missed it. ”How old did you say he was?”
“He’s four,” she replied, a smile breaking out across her face. “Just the cutest little thing with dimples and dark curls.” She waited for Ray to respond, but he said nothing. Was he already asleep, or did he want to hear more about his son? What would she tell him? It would be disingenuous to say that Henry was going to be excited to see him again when she knew he wouldn’t. Instead, she turned and tiptoed toward the door.
“Thank you … for taking care of my son,” Ray called after her.
She threw him a parting smile and hurried out of the room.
Safely back in her car in the hospital parking lot, Sonia rested her head on the steering wheel and released a tired breath. Of all the scenarios she’d imagined regarding her mysterious neighbor, this was not one of them. Up until the accident, he’d kept her at a distance, dodging questions, acting secretive, and dropping strange comments about Henry. Now, apparently, he had no recollection of any of that. In fact, he’d quite happily given her permission to enter his home and retrieve whatever she needed for Henry. Her heart begin to beat a little faster. This was her chance to find out more about the real Ray Jenkins.
It wasn’t that she wanted to snoop around, but she needed to reassure herself that he was who he said he was, and that everything was above board with Henry—especially in light of the worrisome anomalies she’d picked up on. She owed it to her mother and daughter to make sure they were safe with Ray living next door. Her mind made up, she put the car in gear and pulled out of the hospital parking lot. If nothing else, finding Henry’s birth certificate—or even adoption papers—would put her mind at rest.
Twenty minutes later, Sonia pulled into Ray’s driveway and switched off her car. She had debated talking her plan over with her mother but decided against it. She’d wait and see what she found out first. If it could be avoided, she’d rather not admit to snooping around in Ray’s house. Evelyn would never approve of her going through Celia’s things.
After climbing out of the car, Sonia threw a hasty glance over her shoulder. Despite having Ray’s permission to pick up a few necessities, she felt somewhat guilt-ridden at the liberties she was about to take. She walked around to the back of the house and picked up a broken piece of terracotta to dig through the dirt in the planter with. Halfway down, she found the Ziploc
