Chance of Love

Chapter 17

When Amanda woke up, she was in the hospital. She wasn't wearing her glasses so everything looked blurry. Edith was sitting next to her bed.

"Oh! Thank God you're awake!" Edith exclaimed.

"How long have I been here?" Amanda rasped, her throat dry and croaky.

"Since last night," Edith said, offering her a cup of ice water with a straw.

Amanda sucked up some water gratefully, her throat needing some relief. Why was she in the hospital?

"What happened?" she asked. "How did I get here?"

"You collapsed on the ball field last night. You were extremely dehydrated and you've got a bad case of sunstroke. Why weren't you wearing a hat?"

Trust her mother to lay a guilt trip on her when she was in no condition to argue.

"We were in a rush and I forgot mine," Amanda answered. Edith continued to give her a hard time about being too skinny. Is that why she hadn't been to visit lately? She looked like she'd been neglecting herself.

"The doctor says you're anemic," Edith added. "Why haven't you been taking care of yourself?"

"Mom, please...."Amanda whispered, tears in her eyes. She couldn't take any more chastisement.

"Don't 'Mom' me. I've been worried sick about you. And I have a good reason to be. You could have died, Amanda."

"But I didn't," she argued.

"You're lucky Mark brought you here so quickly. They've been giving you IV fluids all night."

"Where is Mark?" she asked in a small voice. The last thing she wanted was for him to be angry at her, too.

"He had to go make a phone call," Edith replied. "You were sleeping so he didn't want to wake you."

That was thoughtful of him. Or was he just avoiding her, like usual?

"I have some great news for you, Amanda," her mom said, smiling. "Mark got his memory back. Isn't that wonderful?"

He remembered her now? She was too exhausted to summon up much excitement.

"I'm happy for him," she murmured. She wondered how it had happened.

"There you are," Edith said, looking toward the doorway. "I was just telling Amanda the news."

Amanda saw Mark standing in the doorway. He was looking at her the old way, the loving way. It was such a shock to her that she had to close her eyes for a moment.

Mark walked over to her bed and sat down beside Edith. He took her hand in his and said, "I remember everything now, sweetheart. I'm so happy you're going to be okay. You gave me quite a scare when you passed out."

He'd called her 'sweetheart'. It was too much. She felt fresh tears come to her eyes.

"Mom, can you leave us alone for a bit?"

"Sure," Edith said, standing up. "I'll be right outside."

After Edith left, Mark said, "Are you okay, Mandy? I thought I'd lost you."

Amanda closed her moist eyes, not wanting to see Mark's intent gaze.

"You lost me before I collapsed," she said, her heart breaking.

"What do you mean?" he asked, puzzled. "You're going to recover from this. Everything is going to be okay."

Amanda pulled her hand away from his.