Sheriff Delsmann waited in the main lobby of the hospital. In one hand she had a bouquet of balloons, and in the other a box of candy. People passing by smiled at her. Talia smiled back. They probably thought the gifts were for a loved one. In fact they were for Andrew. It wasn’t that Talia cared about him or anything like that. The real reason she was here was to see if Andrew Knight had managed to regain his memory. Talia wanted to observe the reunion with his wife. She was hoping to catch some glimmer of recognition in Andrew’s eyes when he saw his wife. That’s all Talia would need. She couldn’t wait to put Andrew Knight in the place he should be; not at home, but in jail! Talia straightened her taupe pant suit and brushed aside some loose strands of hair. Talia was almost giddy at the prospect of exacting her revenge on Andrew.
Megan parked the red AC Cobra and immediately got out. She walked somewhat briskly to the main entrance of Bayport Memorial Hospital. As soon as Megan entered the main lobby she saw Sheriff Delsmann standing there with balloons and chocolate. Megan was not happy to see her and the displeasure was quite evident on her face.
“Hello,” Megan’s voice oozed with displeasure.
“Hello Missus Knight,” Talia replied in opposite.
“Why are you here?” Megan asked.
“I just wanted to express my happiness that Mister Knight is finally going home,” Talia answered smiling. “I also wanted to apologize for my behavior.”
“I see,” Megan answered coldly.
When the elevator doors finally opened to the lobby, what Andrew saw caught him completely off guard. There was Sheriff Delsmann holding a bouquet of balloons in one hand and box of chocolates in the other. Presumably, there were for him, but why and what was she up to? The other was Megan. She was dressed to the nines in a black skirt and camisole. She had smoky eyes and blood red lips. Holy crap, Andrew lamented. How was he going to convince both of them that his memory still hadn’t returned? Andrew closed his eyes and drew a deep breath to regain his composure. Veronica moved him forward as they headed towards the two women.
Megan and Talia turned at the same time and saw Andrew being escorted by a nurse pushing him in a wheel chair. Megan was jumping up and down inside, but on the outside she was very composed. Talia was the opposite, very bubbly and excited.
“Hello,” Andrew greeted them.
Megan thought his eyes had an expressionless look to them. He still didn’t recognize her. So dressing the way she did had no effect on him. Megan felt embarrassed.
Talia was also frustrated. When Andrew saw his wife there was no expression of recognition on his face at all.
Andrew was using every once of both his mental and physical abilities to convince both of them his memory hadn’t returned. When Sheriff Delsmann looked away for a minute, Andrew stole a longing glance at Megan. She was beautiful. His arms were aching to hold her; to kiss her full, red lips. He just wanted to end the charade right now and tenderly caress and kiss her growing tummy. Andrew knew he couldn’t and it was killing him on the inside.
When Sheriff Delsmann turned back, Andrew had already composed himself again and sat emotionless. Talia handed Andrew the balloons and box of chocolates.
“This is a peace offering,” Talia smiled widely.
“Thank you,” Andrew said. He put the box of chocolates on his lap and held onto the balloons. “I don’t know what you’re apologizing for, but hey the chocolates sound really good about now because I’m starving.”
“Well, you’re welcome,” Talia laughed.
“We better get going,” Megan insisted.
Talia stepped aside as Megan and Veronica escorted Andrew outside. She watched Megan go and get the car. Talia quickly left and went to her own car.
It was a quiet drive home. Megan glanced at Andrew from time to time as he slept. Soon they were home. Andrew woke and stared at the Victorian-style house. Megan got out of the car and walked around to his door. She opened it and Andrew emerged. She grabbed the candy and bouquet of balloons.
As Andrew opened the front door and walked inside the foyer, he gazed at everything around him. Megan thought it seemed like it was the first time he was ever there.
“Let’s go into the family room,” Megan suggested.
“Okay,” Andrew answered.
Megan led him to the family room. She set the gifts from Talia on the coffee table. Andrew wondered around the room taking it all in before sitting down on the sofa. Megan sat in one of the chairs across from him. It seemed like a very long time until Megan broke the silence.
“So is any of this familiar?” Megan asked hopeful.
“Ta beaute fait mon coeur se remplir de l’amour.” “What are you saying?” Megan uttered.
“J’ai manque la chaleur de tes levres, le confort de ton etreinte et l’amour dans ton coeur.”
“Why are you speaking French?” Megan angrily asked. She thought Andrew had finally snapped. Megan stood and was about to walk out of the room.
“Ne t’en va pas, plait,” Andrew pleaded with her not to go. He got up and went after her.
Megan was standing there crying. Andrew walked over to her.
“Tu parlez-vous francais?” He asked if she spoke French.
“Oui,” Megan answered yes. She wiped her eyes. “Tu m’as enseign” She was annoyed and him that he had taught her. She asked if he lost his mind, “Avezvous perdu votre esprit?”
“T’es amusant,” Andrew teased that she was being hilarious.
“Tu paries francais? Pourquoi?” Megan demanded why Andrew was speaking in French.
“II y a un dispositif d’ecoute sur les ballons,” Andrew told her there was an bug the balloons.
“Qui l’a fait?" Megan demanded who did it.
“A qui penses-tu?” Andrew asked who she thought.
“Evidemment, Sherif Delsmann,” Megan replied. Suddenly she realized something else. “Ta memoire est retournee!” Megan exclaimed estatically that Andrew had his memory back. The embrace they both were longing for finally happened! When they parted, Andrew led Megan into the kitchen. They slipped into the breakfast nook and sat down. Andrew told her it was safe to finally not speak in French any more.
“When did you get your memory back?” Megan asked, caressing his hand.
“Just yesterday at the hospital,” Andrew answered.
“Today was just an act,” Megan said. “For Sheriff Delsmann…”
“And for you,” Andrew finished.
“Why is she so determined?” Megan asked.
“I don’t know, but as long as she believes I still have amnesia, it will be fine.” Andrew kissed her hands.
“There’s something else,” Megan turned more serious now. “Chloe and Roxanne are missing. Chloe took over the case for you and she asked for Roxanne to help her locate the missing teenagers. When the authorities arrived at JFK Prep, the only traces they found were Chloe’s gun and nothing else.”
“Damn it,” Andrew cursed angrily. “Didn’t the authorities find any other trace of them in all this time?”
“No, not according to Peter,” Megan answered.
“This complicates things greatly. He sighed. “I need to find them all and time may be running out.”
“What about Sheriff Delsmann?” Megan asked.
“Are you up to more French?” Andrew had a devious grin on his face.