When Ally wakes, she opens her eyes slowly. She still feels nauseous but, at least, now she knows why. She pushes herself up in a sitting position. Her body is sore from laying still for so long.The room is dark. There is a feint light shining into the room through the open door. Ally looks around and is able to see more as her eyes adjust to the darkness. The curtains are drawn and there is a throw over her bed that was not there when she went to lay on it.Ally slides her feet off the bed and remembers how she struggled to stand up, when she feels the soft carpet under her feet. She closes her eyes and draws in a deep breath, which she lets out in a rush. She opens her eyes quickly when she hears a soft shuffle in the room. She focuses her eyes on the spot where she heard the sound come from. The corner of the room where she heard the movement, is too dark for her to make out what is hiding in the darkness.Ally fumbles until she reaches the bedside table. There has to be a lamp on
Benson Ash.Ally tries to remember ever hearing the name. She cannot. It doesn’t even sound remotely familiar. The frown on Ally’s forehead deepens. She watches Benson closely. He has strong features and she can imagine that she would have found him very attractive when she met him. She may even have swooned when she met him. He is a very beautiful man. She tilts her head to the other side. She just cannot remember anything about him.“Well then, Ally. Let us find out how much time you lost. How old are you?” Benson asks Ally. His voice is less soothing now and more inquisitive. Ally looks up towards the ceiling, trying to remember her own age. The last birthday she can remember is her twenty first birthday. She had to do a very difficult culinary exam on her twenty first birthday. It was her final exam and it lasted for hours. She was exhausted when she finished and her feet was so sore. Her legs were aching and she just couldn’t keep her eyes open anymore. She went straight home aft
Ally waits patiently the following day for Benson to come visit. She is not sure what time he usually comes; she was asleep the previous day when he arrived. She only woke when he was already here. She stays in her room for the entire day.Ally is not really sure if she is allowed to leave the room. Even if she could, her legs do not carry her very far. Gayle checks in frequently with snacks and drinks. Ally found a book that she liked and started reading it. She sits in the winged back chair where Bennet fell asleep and read while listening to the birds and horses outside. The atmosphere is peaceful and even though her loss of memory makes her nervous at times, she feels at peace.Ally puts the book down on the table and stands up slowly. She still finds it a bit difficult to walk the entire stretch of the room. There is a soft knock on the door and she slowly turns her head to see who is there.A strange man is standing in the doorway. He is wearing a denim pants and white sneakers.
Ally goes to sleep with a heavy heart that night. Benson never came to visit her. She asked Gayle to call him and ask why he didn’t come. Gayle only told her that she could not reach him. Ally lays in bed, staring at the ceiling in the dark room. She tries to remember anything she possibly could about her life with Benson. Ally finally falls asleep just after midnight. Her mind is tired of thinking about the life she cannot remember.Ally wakes just as the sun rises. Her heart feels heavier than before. She gets out of bed and makes her way to the bathroom. She is glad that, even though she is in a hospital of some sort, she is still able to wash herself in a private bathroom. She pours herself a hot bath and adds bubbles in the water. Ally lays in the hot water for a few long minutes. She feels her body relaxing in the hot water as the tension seeps out of her body.When she leaves the bathroom, she feels a lot fresher than when she woke up. She wraps a large towel around her body an
Ally spends the rest of the day trying to keep her mind busy. She tries not to think of the dream she had. It upset Benson and the details in the dream is nothing what their wedding was like. She wishes that Benson could show her some pictures. Maybe if she saw some pictures she would remember something.Gayle comes in with snacks and drinks.“It’s time to eat something.” Gayle says as she puts the tray down on the table. “Ronald will be by later today, also. You will need to start moving around a little more.” Gayle tells her with a smile. Gayle is always smiling. Ally cannot imagine how it must feel to smile all day long. “This afternoon you have a checkup with the gynaecologist. He will check if the baby is okay. You will be able to get little sonar pictures.” Gayle tells Ally as if she needs to make her excited to see the doctor.Ally listens to Gayle as she picks something from the plate and eats it slowly. She does not really feel like talking to Gayle. Gayle can tell. She takes
Ally looks down at her feet. Her ankles look puffy. She frowns at them. She didn’t realise they were swollen until Ronald said so.“It’s okay. It is a common occurrence during pregnancy. You can just lay on your bed and raise your feet a bit. The swelling will go down.” Ronald tells Ally. He rubs her calves and feet with oil and massages her ankles for her. They do not talk a lot during the session. Ally feels a little under the weather. She closes her eyes and lays back, enjoying the massage her feet are getting. It does not long before Ally drifts off to sleep.She wakes when there is a knock on the door. Ronald is gone. Her legs and feet feel cold from the oil cooling on her skin. She raises herself onto her elbows and looks at the woman standing in the doorway. She is dressed in a neat, white uniform. There is no doubt that she must be a nurse. Ally looks at her as she enters the room.“Good day. I am Nurse Clayton. I will be taking you to your next appointment.” She says, her han
Ally is still a little shaken by the flash image she saw of the dark-haired man with the greying temples. She tries to remember who he is as the doctor helps her onto the bed next to the sonar scanner. She lays down and tries to relax.The doctor first asks her some questions that she does not really know the answers to. He presses on her stomach and makes notes on his clipboard. A little bit later he takes out a large tube and squeezes some of the contents onto her stomach. Ally sucks in a deep breath when the coldness touches her skin.“Yes, it is a bit cold. We will now see if we can find your baby.” The doctor jokes. Ally wonders if it is possible to not find the baby though. The doctor puts the scanner from the sonar machine onto her skin and rubs it around a bit. He looks at her and smiles.“Uh oh. Mommy, did you know?” Doctor Clayton looks at Ally with a surprised expression on his face. Ally looks at him and wonders what he is referring to. She looks at the screen of the sonar
Ally wakes the next morning feeling worse than the day before. She waits for Benson to come around but he never does.Ronald comes to give her therapy but she cannot find the light heartedness to enjoy his banter today. She also cannot really joke back towards him. Ally’s heart feels heavy and it shows.After Ronald left, Gayle came to bring her food. She took a few bites but wasn’t really hungry enough to eat a whole meal. Gayle checks that Ally takes her medication and tells her what the events for the day are. Ally listens to everything that is available for her to do but she does not feel like leaving her room today. Gayle leaves eventually and Ally lays back down in her bed.Ally has no energy to take on the day. She spends most of the day laying in bed and waiting for Benson to come visit her. By late afternoon, Gayle comes back to check in on her.“Are you feeling sick?” Gayle asks Ally. She is worried. Ally turns around and looks at Gayle.“I am just tired.” Ally tells Gayle.