Dr. Jensen’s office
Liza, Dr. Jensen and Dr. Tolan are seated around the desk.
Dr. Tolan: Retrograde amnesia is not what you see in the movies. All those old wives' tales of letting the patient discover his history by himself are not exactly true.
Liza: Define “exactly.”
Dr. Tolan: We’re going to encourage Adam to remember. Show him photographs, videotapes. When he asks questions, we’ll answer them simply, and with patience.
******
Adam’s hospital room
The nurse comes back inside.
Adam: Well, where is she?
Nurse: I don’t know, Mr. Chandler. She was right outside a moment ago. She hasn’t left the waiting area in hours. And now she’s not here. I’m sure she’ll be back shortly.
Adam: I wouldn’t bet on it. What about my brother? Hayley?
Nurse: They’re not there. If you’d like, I could go look for them. Or maybe you’d like to take a nap?
Adam: A nap? What am I -- six years old?
Nurse: No. But you’ve just passed the twenty-four hour period of consciousness. You can sleep now. You must be exhausted.
Adam grunts.
Nurse: I’ll go look for your wife.
The nurse leaves the room.
******
Dr. Jensen’s office
Dr. Tolan: What you don’t want to do is overwhelm him with a lot of information that he hasn’t asked for. He may or may not remember things in the order they happened. Follow his lead. Make him feel in control.
Liza: Believe me, “in control” is second nature to Adam.
Dr. Tolan: Well, not anymore. Imagine how frightening it is to not own your own memories. Imagine how threatening it must be to be at the mercy of the knowledge of everyone else around you.
Liza is quiet.
Dr. Tolan: Do you have any questions, Mrs. Chandler?
Liza: No, not right now.
Dr. Tolan: In that case, I’ve prepared a packet of literature for you.
Dr. Tolan hands the packet to Liza.
Dr. Tolan: Please feel free to come to me with any questions as they occur to you.
Dr. Tolan rises, and Liza and Dr. Jensen follow suit.
Liza: Thanks so much, Dr. Tolan.
Dr. Tolan: Of course. Let me know if you need anything.
There’s a knock on the door.
Adam’s nurse enters the room.
Nurse: Mrs. Chandler? Mr. Chandler is asking for you. He’s confused about the amnesia.
Liza glances at everyone in the room.
Liza: Excuse me.
Liza leaves.
******
Adam’s hospital room.
Adam is asleep.
Liza enters.
Liza goes over to the bed, and sees that Adam is sleeping.
Liza (quietly): Adam?
Adam sleeps on.
Liza puts her purse and Dr. Tolan’s packet down on the nurse’s desk.
Then she takes a chair and places it at Adam’s bedside. Liza sits in the chair.
Minutes go by as she watches him sleep.
The nurse comes in and sees Adam is asleep.
Nurse (whispers): Oh. I’m sorry.
Liza (whispers): Could you come back later?
Nurse (whispers): Of course.
The nurse quietly leaves the room.
Liza looks at Adam again. After a moment, she rests her head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat, listening to him breathe.
After a few more minutes, she falls asleep.
Adam’s eyes open. He sees Liza asleep on his chest. He begins to make a motion of protest and then stops himself.
He watches her sleep. Slowly, his hand comes up and touches her hair.
Liza sleeps on.
******
Adam’s hospital room. Hours later.
Liza is still asleep. Adam is still watching her, his hand resting on her head.
The door cracks open.
Adam takes his hand away and shuts his eyes.
The nurse enters.
She speaks in a low voice.
Nurse: Mrs. Chandler? Mrs. Chandler?
Liza wakes up, and carefully lifts her head, trying not to wake Adam.
She looks at the nurse quizzically.
Nurse: There’s someone outside who wants to speak with you.
Liza looks at Adam and then back at the nurse.
Liza (whispers): Can it wait?
Nurse: It’s a man named Barry Shire. He says it’s urgent.
Liza (whispers): Okay.
Liza goes to retrieve her purse and the packet. She stares at the packet.
Liza (whispers): Just a minute.
Adam cracks open his eyes a little and watches.
Liza opens her purse and takes out her wallet.
She looks through the wallet, and removes a photo of Colby.
She turns to face Adam, and Adam quickly closes his eyes all the way.
Liza places the picture by Adam’s bedside.
Liza and the nurse leave the room.
Adam opens his eyes and looks around. His eyes fall on the photo of Colby.
He lifts up the photo and looks at it.
Adam looks at the door, and then back at the photo. He touches the photo tenderly with his free hand.
The door cracks open again. In one swift movement, Adam places the photo back on the bedside table and closes his eyes.
The nurse enters again, looks at the apparently sleeping Adam, and goes and sits at her desk.