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THE HOSPITAL
Antonio looked nervously at the two strangers standing over his bed. His eyes were wide and afraid as they glanced at each other quickly. "Antonio," Gabi started cautiously. "Do you remember anything?" Antonio looked away from her to her hand holding his. He raised his eyes as he pulled his hand away from her gently. Gabi felt tears stinging her eyes as she turned her head to Ricardo. "I think we should call in the doctor," Ricardo pushed the call button on the bed. Antonio eyed him carefully as he winced in pain once again. Gabi leaned forward to touch his cheek and Antonio swung his head in her direction and pulled his cheek away from her. Gabi stopped and recoiled her arm reluctantly. She sank into the chair and put her face down into her hands. Antonio watched her as she began to sob quietly. He felt sorry for this beautiful woman crying at his side. She was obviously very upset and he wondered why. He noticed the wedding ring on her finger and thought that maybe she was his wife. His brow furrowed in confusion sending a pain through his head. He moaned and Gabi pulled her head from her hands quickly. "Anto…" she stopped herself. "Are you okay?" She didn’t want to confuse him with names until they spoke to the doctor to find out exactly what was happening. "Yes," Antonio sighed as he closed his eyes. "I just…" He opened his eyes to find her dark eyes glistening with tears as she looked at him. "What’s your name?" Gabi blinked back tears as she answered him. "Gabi." Antonio turned to Ricardo. "And you?" "Ricardo…I’m your brother." Antonio eyed him cautiously and was about to ask him a question when the doctor and nurse came in. "Well, I see we have Antonio back with us." The doctor checked his pupils with the tiny light as the nurse checked his pulse and blood pressure. "How do you feel Antonio?" Antonio stared at the doctor with confusion. "Antonio? Is that my name?" Gabi let out a sob and Ricardo rushed to her side. Antonio watched their interaction and turned back to the doctor. "I don’t know…why don’t I know?" "Just try to relax…we’ll talk about what’s happening after I’ve checked you out." The doctor turned to Ricardo and Gabi. "Would you mind waiting outside for a minute?" Ricardo directed Gabi away from the bed and out into the hall. When the door closed behind them, Gabi broke down into his arms. "He doesn’t know who we are, Ricardo. He doesn’t remember anything." Ricardo held her tightly and tried to be reassuring. "I’m sure it’s just temporary, Gab. A side effect from the accident." He rubbed her back soothingly. "Let’s just wait to see what the doctor says, okay?" Gabi nodded and pulled herself away from him pacing the hallway. Antonio lay quietly while the doctor finished his examination. "Do you know those two people who were in here?" "No," he replied. "Who are they?" "Ricardo is your brother and Gabi is your wife." Antonio took a deep breath realizing that that was the reason the woman was so upset when he didn’t recognize her. "You don’t recall them?" "No," Antonio said as he looked down into his lap. "Why don’t I remember them?" "We’ll have to run some tests, Antonio, to be sure." The doctor patted his leg. "Do you want me to ask them to come back inside?" "I guess so," he answered. "What do I say to them…to my…wife?" "Just let them talk to you," the doctor smiled. "Maybe they will trigger something in your memory during the conversation." Antonio nodded and the doctor walked into the hall. Gabi turned quickly to the doctor. "How is he…why can’t he remember us?" "Antonio suffered a severe concussion in the accident, Gabi. There’s a lot of pressure on his brain from the bleeding and that may be what’s causing the lapse in memory." The doctor paused to make sure they were following him. "We’re going to have to run some more tests to rule out any permanent damage." The word made Gabi sick to her stomach. "For now, just talk to him normally and if he seems to be uncomfortable, let him guide the conversation. He may be very sleepy, he’s still taking quite a bit of morphine for the pain." "Does he know who we are…did you tell him?" Ricardo asked. "I told him that you were his brother and that Gabi is his wife," the doctor began as Gabi gasped. "I…is something wrong Gabi?" Ricardo realized what Gabi was reacting to and they looked at each other for a moment. "No," Ricardo answered for her. "Gabi’s just exhausted after such a long night." Gabi searched Ricardo’s eyes but he was paying attention to the doctor. After the doctor left, Gabi pulled Ricardo to the side. "Ricardo! We can’t let him think I’m his wife." Gabi’s eyes widened. "The nurse asked me when we first got here and I wasn’t thinking straight, I just said yes. I don’t want to lie to him when he doesn’t know who we are." "It’s too late, Gabi." Ricardo held her by the shoulders. "The doctor already told him. If we go in there now and tell him you’re not his wife, he’s going to be even more confused and probably not trust us." "We have to tell him, Ricardo." Gabi insisted. "Gabi. Think about it. He doesn’t remember who he is or who we are." Ricardo looked her in the eye. "If we go in there and tell him that you’re my wife, but you’re in love with him and pregnant with his baby, what’s that gonna do to him in his condition which still isn’t completely stable?" Ricardo raised his eyebrow. "Our situation isn’t exactly…normal." Gabi shook her head in agreement. "This is only temporary…he’ll have his memory back in a few days and then we will all laugh about it." "I guess you’re right," Gabi relented. "Let’s go back inside then." Gabi stepped in the room to find Antonio resting his eyes. She walked quietly to the chair at the side of his bed and sat down. His eyes opened slowly and he turned to her. Gabi smiled softly. "Hi." "Hi," Antonio answered her feeling quite self-conscious and strange speaking to his wife who he didn’t even recognize. "How do you feel?" Gabi stood up and straightened his blanket. Antonio noticed the way her hair fell forward softly as she leaned over his bed. His wife was very beautiful. "Okay," he sighed. "A little tired." "Do you want to go back to sleep?" Her dark eyes were warm and smiling as she looked down at him. "Are you in any pain?" "No…and yes," he smiled as he felt a pain shoot through his head again. "Ohh." Gabi winced at his pain as he scrunched up his eyes and tensed his body. "Do you want me to call the nurse?" Gabi leaned over to reach the call button and her hand brushed against his softly. When he didn’t pull back, Gabi placed her hand gently over his. "I was so worried about you." Her touch was soft and warm and Antonio liked the way her fingers caressed the top of his hand. "We both were." Ricardo stepped up to the bed. "How are you doing, T?" Calling him T was a habit Ricardo would find difficult to ignore. "T?" Antonio queried the man who was his brother. "Yeah," Ricardo chuckled. "That’s what I’ve called you ever since we were kids." Antonio smiled shyly as he looked away from Ricardo. It was a strange feeling to be in a room with people so important to you and not remember a thing about them. "Mama should be here soon with Maria." "Maria…is that your wife?" Antonio asked noticing the ring on Ricardo’s finger. Gabi bit her lip as she waited for Ricardo to handle the question. "No, Maria is our sister." Ricardo glanced down at his wedding ring and hesitantly slid it off. "I was just holding this for you…for when you woke up." Gabi raised her tear-filled eyes to Ricardo as he handed her his ring. Ricardo smiled at Gabi as he placed the ring into her palm. "Gabi will hold it for you for now." He winked at Gabi as a tear slid down her cheek. "I’m going to go wait for mama outside." He wanted to be alone and also to explain things to his mother and Maria before they saw Antonio – and his wife. Ricardo touched Gabi’s arm and left the room. Gabi was stunned by Ricardo’s gesture. She sniffled and wiped away her tears with her fingers. "Why did they take off my ring?" Antonio asked Gabi. "I don’t know," she replied noncommittally. "I’ll just put it in my purse." She started to stand up when Antonio grabbed her hand. "Can I put it back on now?" Gabi felt her breath catch as Antonio looked at her questioningly. He extended his left hand for her to slide on the ring. Gabi blinked away tears as she nervously took his left hand in hers and gently slid the ring onto his finger. Luckily, it fit him perfectly. Her hand was trembling and Antonio raised his eyes. "Are you okay?" He didn’t understand why she was so upset. "Yes," she smiled widely. "I’m fine." Antonio took his hand back from her and fingered the ring with his other hand. "It feels so strange…like I’ve never worn it before." He looked at Gabi. "Have we been married long?" "We’ve been in love for a very long time," she replied with a smile. "We’ve waited a long time to be together." Antonio smiled shyly as he closed his eyes again. "I am kind of tired. I think I’ll just close my eyes for a minute." "Okay, I’ll just go and…" "Please don’t leave," he interrupted her gently as he opened his eyes. "Would you stay with me? It’s strange not to know anything about who you are or where you are and I really don’t want to be alone." Gabi sat back down in the chair and pulled it close to his bed. "Thank you." Antonio closed his eyes again as Gabi watched him. Her eyes fell to the wedding ring on his finger. She loved seeing it on him, there was nothing she wanted more than to be his wife, but she didn’t like to lie to him. Ricardo was right that it would be better for the time being given the situation. They would all be laughing about it in a few days anyway, right?
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