His urgency didn’t hurry the old doctor. He had long ago learned to think before speaking and that words are impossible to get back into your mouth. Biding his time was a tool of his trade. Up until this very moment, he had not decided what he’d tell or how much. That was unlike him. He recalled why that was so.
An old professor in medical school once counseled his students with words that now rang in Nick’s ears: “Second to your degree, poise and planning are essential to a successful medical career. It’s popularly called bedside manner. No matter how critical the conditions may be, or how slight the illness, when facing a patent with a diagnosis, always enter the room knowing exactly what you are going to say and how you will say it. Remember, every patient thinks of a doctor as a father-figure to one degree or another. Consequently, more than anything else, a patient and their family need a firm, strong, convincing doctor to lean on. It makes a difference, gentlemen, it makes a difference.”
Right now, Dr. Romano was uncertain as to what he was going to say. His old professor would not have liked that. But this wasn’t a patient and circumstances were very different from the norm. He felt justified in the thought and excused himself the weakness. Nonetheless, ready or not, he had to make up his mind.
It took several cups of coffee for Romano to complete his story. He told all. At the end, he felt more exhausted than he’d ever felt in his life. Like a balloon with all the air let out of it, he felt unable to mouth another word. Yet, he knew it wasn’t over. Dees would have questions.
He did, but he tried not to show disbelief in his eyes or disrespect in his manner. Dees had already heard Dr. McNally’s version and he’d been advised that the dentist was highly skeptical. Dr. McNally assured Frank Dees that he felt it was “all some kind of a hoax.” Doubt was cast. It would take a great deal of convincing documentation to make Dees believe. He had to acknowledge that although Mona and Rob were always truthful reporters, sometimes a lark looked very appealing. Often the dramatic appeared quite easy. They could seem to be sensible adults, but a great practical joke such as this could have tempted them past their power to resist.
“Hell,” Frank said, “I don’t know. There are so many things that I don’t understand these days. Maybe they did just think this would be great fun. But accepting such a bizarre story as true — it can’t be.” With his own words, Dees convinced himself.
As for Romano believing that story, Dees wrote it off. Nick was an old alcoholic probably looking for a thrill. According to McNally, he’d “gone down the drain” the past few years. Any form of excitement probably appealed to him. Part of it could have been hallucinations, too.
Romano believed because he wanted to believe, Dees convinced himself. It had to be. Old Doc swallowed the story whole because it made his own life interesting again. What it looked like was that Mona and Rob had their little joke.
Right now, there was no urgency. So, Frank decided to let Mona and Rob recuperate before confronting them. Eventually, he would though; it would only be fair to hear their side of the story. Maybe then he’d find out all that he needed to know to make an honest judgment.
Two weeks later, Mona and Rob were fully recovered and were back at work. Dees was glad that Dr. Romano had left and returned to his practice in Pensacola. Why disillusion the old man? Maybe he didn’t need to know the truth after all.
Now, Frank Dees sat at his desk facing Mona and Rob. After a polite inquiry as to their health and being reassured that both were fine and back to normal, he asked them point blank, “Please tell me your story. I want to hear it all.”
Mona looked at Rob and he looked back at her. In unison, they answered, “We can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Neither of us can remember what happened, Frank,” Rob said. “Before being in the hospital, the last thing I recall is being out there in that gully and looking for Mona.”
“And all I remember is being in my car and flying into that gully,” Mona said.
Dees kept the story out of the papers. Other reporters on the staff made up their own versions of where Mona and Rob had been. Whispered gossip circulated around the office for a while, then it died down, picking up again when Mona and Rob were seen together constantly after hours, and even more so when they announced their engagement.
For the record, Dees called the case unsolved. And the mysterious deaths of the two deputy sheriffs remained on the books unexplained. Doc Romano never knew of Rob and Mona’s amnesia. He often wondered why they never came back to Pensacola or at least gave him a call. But he explained it away with the reasonable assumption that the harrowing experience was one they’d rather forget entirely. He often thought of going to see them and visiting his estranged son in Mobile. However, he and Tony had never resolved their differences and Doc wasn’t at all sure that Tony would even agree to see him.
But Mona did have to go back to Pensacola. One year after she and Rob were married, when they were expecting their first son, she requested a leave of absence, but Frank asked her to do one more assignment first.
“Mona,” he told her, “This could story could win you a Pulitzer Prize. It’s a real scoop. I don’t know why, but our paper was chosen exclusively to break this news. They specified that you should do the interview. Of course, only time will tell what the outcome is. But this medical scientist in Pensacola claims that he has a cure for cancer. He acts like he’s from outer space and he’s an odd-looking duck, but he has very impressive credentials. His name is King. Dr. Eric King.”
Acknowledgments
I really appreciate the encouragement and support of all who critiqued this book. I would especially like to thank my editor, Jessica Robinson, my book designer, Coreen Montagna, and my cover designer, Kelly Shorten.
About the Author
I have co-authored and published five books: Memoramobileia and False Gods (with Elizabeth T. Coffman, Ph.D), The Callings (with Loretta Theriot), Quest for Forgiveness (with James McEnery), and To Catch a Fish (with David V. Wilton). I teach English at Faulkner State Community College and at Faulkner University. I have also taught Creative Writing in the past. I love to travel and have been to all fifty states and to every continent except Antarctica.
Website: http://maryspalmer.com and http://maryspalmer.org
Blog: http://maryspalmer.blogspot.com