“What did she say?” Chloe wanted to know everything as they sat around the Thorensens' kitchen table.
“She said 'Mama.' “ Page cried again as she told them everything, and Trygve did too as he listened. And then Chloe cried, and Bjorn, because when people cried it upset him. He and Andy held hands as they listened.
It was the happiest day of their lives, and the next morning, Page took Chloe to the hospital with her. Allyson opened her eyes and stared at her for a long time and then she frowned and looked at her mother. “Girl,” she said. “Girl.” And then she lifted her hand and pointed.
“Chloe,” her mother said carefully. “Chloe is your friend, Allie.” Ally son looked at her again then and nodded. It was as though in some part of her she knew, but she had lost the words for everything. It was like being on another planet.
“I think she knew me,” Chloe said when they left, but she admitted to her father that she was disappointed that Allie hadn't shown more recognition.
“Give her time. She's come from a long way. It's going to take a long time to get her back where she was, or even close to it.” If she could even do that.
“How long, Dad?”
“I don't know. Dr. Hammerman told Page it could take years. Maybe two or three years before she's as rehabilitated as she can be.” She'd be eighteen years old by then, and in the meantime she had to learn how to sit up, how to walk, how to eat with a fork …how to speak English … it was awesome.
Page told them more about her progress that night. The therapists were busy with her night and day now. She had a physical therapist, a specialist for large motor skills, a speech therapist, who worked with people with aphasia, or language difficulties common after strokes. She was going to be a busy girl for the next few months. And so was Page.
“What about Tahoe?” Trygve asked her that night. They were all going back up in the morning. And he wanted to take Andy with him, after he visited his sister.
“I don't know,” she said, looking worried. “I hate leaving her now.” What if she slipped back into the coma again? What if she stopped moving and talking? But Dr. Hammerman said that wouldn't happen now, and in fact, it was safe to leave her.
“Why don't you wait another week, or two. You weren't going to come until later anyway and then you can commute every few days. I can drive you down if you want, we could stay overnight and go up in the morning. It's tiring but it's not nearly so bad as what you've been doing for the past four months. What do you think?” He was always willing to do anything to make her life easier and better.
“I'd like that.” She smiled as she kissed him.
“Why don't I take Andy up with me now? I think he'd love it.” And they both knew he'd be disappointed if Allie didn't recognize him at first. It was better for him to be away and distracted.
“I think it would be great for him,” she agreed. She wanted all the time she could have to work with Allyson. They had a lot to do now.
“I'll come down and pick you up next week, and if it's too soon, I'll spend a couple of days with you, and you can come up the week after.”
“Why are you so good to me?” she whispered as he pulled her closer to him.
“Because I'm trying to seduce you” was the answer.
She had called Brad in Europe the moment Allie had woken up, and he was ecstatic to hear it. He said he couldn't wait to see her when he got back. But when he did, like Chloe, and Andy when he'd seen her before Tahoe, he was disappointed. He had expected her to scream “Daddy!” the moment he walked into the room, and throw her arms around his neck when she saw him. Instead, she looked at him suspiciously, and then nodded and looked at Page. “Man” was all she said for a long time. “Man.” She looked at him as though struggling to remember his face, and then suddenly as he was leaving the room she whispered, “Dada.”
“She said it!” Page said, beckoning him back to them. “She said 'Dada.' “ He had held her and cried, but he was relieved when he left the ICU. He couldn't bear seeing how limited she was. She was sitting up, but she still couldn't walk, and she struggled with every word and movement.
But when Trygve came back a week later, he was impressed by her progress. “Chloe,” she said, when she saw him, “Chloe.” She knew who he was, and that he belonged to Chloe.
“Trygve,” he explained. “I'm Chloe's dad.”
She nodded at him, and then a moment later, she smiled. It was a new action for her. She could smile, but never at exactly the moment she wanted, there seemed to be a delay. Similarly, when she cried, it always seemed to come late. But Dr. Hammerman said that all of those things would eventually fall into place, with a lot of work, and tremendous effort.
“She looks great,” Trygve said to Page, and meant it. It was a hell of an improvement from where she had been a month before, or before that.
“I think so too,” she beamed, “she understands a lot more than you think. She just doesn't know how to say it anymore. But I can see it in her face, and she tries so hard. Yesterday, I held her teddy bear out to her, and she called it 'Sandwich.' His name is Sam. But that was close. And then she laughed, and scared herself and burst into tears over it. It's kind of a roller coaster ride, but it's terrific.”
“What does Hammerman think?”
“It's kind of early, but he says that from the tests now, and what he's seeing of her progress, he thinks ninety-five percent recovery is realistic.” It sounded incredible to him. A month before they were resigning themselves to her never coming out of the coma.
“It means she'll never balance her checkbook perfectly, her reflexes may not be fast enough to drive a car, or they may, she may not be the greatest dancer in the world, and simultaneous translation may be beyond her. But she can have a normal life, go to college, hold a job, have a family, laugh at jokes, enjoy a good book, tell a story. She'll be like the rest of the world, and like herself, just maybe a hair off what she might have been if all this hadn't happened.” It was a lot to be grateful for considering the fact that she had almost died and spent four months in a coma.
“Sounds terrific to me.” It was not unlike Chloe. Her dreams of being a ballerina had gone down the tubes, but she could walk, dance, move, live. She had lost something, but not everything. Not like Phillip, or the other people Laura Hutchinson had killed in La Jolla.
Page explained to Allyson about going to Lake Tahoe the next day. She cried when her mother said she was leaving her, but then she smiled again when she explained that it was only for two days. Page hated to leave her, but she would drive down every two or three days to see her. It was a grueling schedule, but Page wanted to do it, and Trygve understood that. She wanted to spend what little time she could with Andy, Trygve, and his family, but not abandon Allie completely.
Page felt like a new person as they drove through the mountains. She felt freer than she had in years, stronger and more alive. She turned to look at Trygve, and she felt like her heart was about to fly out of her chest, she was so happy.
“What are you grinning about? You look like the cat that swallowed the canary.” It made him feel good just to see her. He had missed her during the past two weeks, and he hoped the day would come soon when they could be together.
“I'm just happy,” she said, smiling.
“I can't imagine why,” he teased.
“I can. I've got everything in the world to be thankful for. Two miracle children …and a miracle man …and three more children I'm crazy about.”
“Sounds good to me. There's still room for more though.”
“Maybe we shouldn't push our luck. Maybe five great kids is more than anyone deserves.”
“Baloney.” He was determined to have more children, but after all they'd been through she didn't dare ask for anything more in their lives. Allie's recovery was more miracle than she had ever hoped for.