I Will Follow You Into the Dark

CHAPTER 25

They made love in the shadows of the dusky sunlight. As caught up as he was in the experience, the vision of her in the light of that magical sunset was forever etched in his memory. Exhausted but deliriously happy, they finally lay back and held each other. He leaned over and kissed her tenderly as he pulled her closer to him. "I love you," he said sweetly, earning a loving smile and an "I love you back" from his girlfriend. "You can be in charge anytime......" he added with a mischievous grin that earned him a playful slap which only served to stir their passions to the breaking point once again.



"Uncle Derek. Uncle Derek!" Kelly yelled as she tried to get his attention, "Are you OK?"

"What?" Derek asked as he was snapped back to reality and away from that happy and incredibly steamy flashback. "Oh. Yeah.....," he said, his voice trailing off sadly.

"Did you remember something?" Kelly asked.

"Hmmm? Yeah. I think so," he said, his mind still clinging to the happiness he had remembered.

"What? Tell me! I wanna know!" Kelly almost whined.

Blushing a bit, he smiled at her, "Maybe when you're older....."

"I hate that. I hate when grown-ups say that," Kelly said starting a full pout.

"Sometimes they have to," Derek said sympathetically.

"If you say so.....," Kelly said obviously displeased.

"Kelly. Don't be too mad at me, OK? You're a really neat kid. You've been very sweet to me. I'm glad I'm your uncle," he said honestly.

"I'm glad you're my uncle, too!" Kelly said as she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. All anger and frustration were quickly forgotten.


**********

Later, back inside........


Derek shared in a festive meal with his sisters and their families. His mom was too exhausted to come back down and socialize, so Lauren had taken a plate upstairs to her. During the meal, Derek was fairly quiet except for responding to the occasional friendly question from someone else at the table. Kelly grinned at him whenever he looked her way, and he decided right then that he definitely wanted kids if they were all like that one. She really was a little angel.

For the most part, it seemed as if his family members were truly happy to see him and that they were willing to be patient with his memory loss. His sisters got a real kick out of bringing up embarrassing childhood memories in the name of "helping him remember." He was pretty sure that they invented a few "memories" of their own that weren't true just to add to the evening's laughter.

It was awkward not really remembering them, but the entire group went out of their way to make him feel welcome. They teased him about the menu since his mother had insisted that they serve all of his mismatched favorites. Once he heard this, he grinned. It was a delicious, carb-overloaded meal to be certain, and he was sure that he didn't often indulge in steak, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes and cheesecake all in one meal. However, he enjoyed every sinful bite, and he was certain that the children were thrilled with their meals. And at least he knew what his favorite foods were now.

Toward the end of the meal, Derek stood at his place at the table. There was no other way to get the attention of the crowd of family members and their cheerful chatter. "I just wanted to thank you all," he began. A hush fell over the room. Not even the children made a sound. "I'm so sorry for causing you to worry. And I really wish I could remember more. I'm sure I'll get my memories back, and I look forward to sharing them with you. I just......I just wanted to tell you how grateful I am to have such a warm, loving family."

Amid the "awww's" and the "we love you's" and the applause from the children, Derek sat back down to devour his cheesecake. After the meal, he was patted on the back and hugged more than he could imagine. Little Kelly's hug had been the biggest, and he returned it with true affection. "How about we go fishing sometime--just you and me?" he asked. "That would be great!" she responded with an enormous smile. She was still grinning as her parents took her home.

Slowly but surely the crowd diminished. Derek was exhausted from the evening. He had been sincere in telling everyone how much he appreciated the fact that he had a loving family—he was more than grateful to learn what a terrific family he had. But having to have all of those conversations in which people were nice and patient but in which he felt the need to try to be familiar and remember things he honestly couldn't recall had finally taken its toll. He had tried to help in the kitchen to escape the torture of not remembering people who obviously loved him, but his sisters had sent him out into the family room, insisting that he spend quality time with his family. He knew that they had meant well, but he was just so tired. He was also terribly disappointed that the one person he did remember—aside from his deceased father—had not been there that evening. And nobody had mentioned his adoring girlfriend being unable to make it or said anything else to explain her absence.

Nancy was the last one left. Someone had mentioned that she had moved back in with their mother after Derek had been kidnapped. Breathing a sigh of relief that all of the "visitors" had left, Derek sat lost in thought.

Nancy entered the room looking intently at her estranged brother. He was still the same man, but he had changed so much. She was heartbroken for him, but the tears in her eyes had much more to do with another emotion. One that she wouldn't even let herself feel.

Inhaling sharply and needing more than just fresh air to steady herself, she sat down on the sofa Derek occupied. The silence between them was deafening. Both were uncomfortable and emotional and afraid to voice what was on their minds.

Derek was the one finally brave enough to break the silence. "Nancy?" he asked softly as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the photo of the person he now remembered as his girlfriend. "Do you know who this is?"

Nancy paled and gulped hard as she realized what he was doing. She was going to have to talk to him about this tonight. She had hoped he wouldn't ask about her for a long while. All she could say in response was, "Yes."

"Tell me about her," he pleaded. "Please?"

It was bad. He might not remember his sister, but he could tell with absolute certainty when he saw the completely miserable look that flashed across Nancy's face that this was not a happy story. There was a reason the woman in the picture hadn't been there that night. His heart broke into a million pieces without hearing a word of response from Nancy. The shred of hope he had clung to after this afternoon's gripping memory of being madly in love was going to be ripped away from him. He almost hoped she wouldn't answer.

But it was her words that made his blood run cold.

"There'll be time for that later," Nancy said in a voice that was barely above a whisper.

What the hell? What was so terrible that he couldn't be told about it yet?

Nancy saw the frustration and fear and pain in his face. She tried to stay calm and keep her emotions at bay. "Focus on the people who are here now, Derek," she said, reaching out to pat his arm in an effort to console him.

"But I remember a little......," he began with tears pooling in his eyes.

Nancy was miserable knowing how much this would hurt him and she was desperate to flee the room and leave him to his confusion and misery, but she knew she had to tell him more. "Derek," she began, hating herself for being the one to tell him anything more. "She's not part of your life anymore."

He looked up at her in disbelief. Oh, God. He remembers loving her.....why that? Why not Mom? Why not his family?

Nancy braced herself to say more. She had no idea how he would react to anything she said. So she opted for the simplest, most direct approach. And she prayed that she was not making a huge mistake.

"She betrayed you. She hurt you. Don't waste your energy on her. Your family.......," Nancy was crying openly at this point, ".......we love you. We're all here for you. Try to remember us......."

"Oh......" was all that Derek said in response. He sat staring at the photo and trying to process his sister's words. Unable to take it any longer, Nancy stood up and walked past him, stopping to kiss his cheek on the way. "I'm gonna go check on Mom," she said as she left the room.

"OK," Derek said softly to himself as he sat alone on the sofa.