Yellowstone Heart Song Page 21

  “Okay,” Jana said slowly. She inhaled deeply. “You look like you could use a shower,” she offered. “How about I order a pizza while you get cleaned up, and then we’ll talk, alright?”

  *****

  Aimee stood in the doorway of her bedroom, looking around without really seeing anything. Everything appeared as it had been the afternoon she left to see Zach Osborne at the hospital. To her, that had been three months ago. But in this time, according to what Jana said, she had only been gone two weeks. Time seemed to be moving in slow motion as she walked into the adjoining bathroom and removed her worn and dirty clothes. She stepped into the shower, standing under the hot water spray, not really feeling anything. Her tears mixed with the water cascading down her face. Aimee squeezed her eyes shut, and her body began to shudder.

  “Daniel!” she screamed his name in anguish. “Nooooo! Why did you do this to me, Zach? Why?” She sobbed, and fell back against the shower wall. She slid down onto the cold tile floor, her knees drawn up to her chest. Burying her face in her hands, she cried loud and hard.

  “Are you ok in there?” Jana’s muffled voice called from outside the door. “Aimee?”

  An icy sensation squeezed her heart, radiating from the center of her body outward, into her arms and legs. She struggled to draw a breath. Her heart raced. She didn’t care. Nothing mattered anymore. Everything had been taken from her. Vaguely she heard the shower door open. The water stopped flowing, and someone wrapped a towel around her.

  “Aimee, you’re scaring the hell out of me.” Jana’s voice sounded far away. “I’m going to take you to the hospital.”

  Arms tried to lift her up from her position on the shower floor. They were not the strong arms she yearned for.

  “Aimee, please. Should I call 911?” Jana’s terrified voice finally prompted her to glance up.

  “No. No hospital. Please . . . ” She didn’t recognize her own voice.

  “Then please get up and out of this shower. Let’s get you dried off and dressed.”

  Trembling, Aimee slowly rose from the ground with Jana’s supportive arms around her. She managed to stumble out of the shower, feeling numb all over.

  “I’ll get some clothes for you,” Jana hurried into the bedroom.

  Aimee stood before the vanity mirror. She stared blankly at her reflection, and hardly recognized herself. Her face and arms were tanned from hours in the sun. Her hair was definitely longer, and her entire body had a much leaner, toned appearance. Three months of long days working without modern equipment, along with a diet of wholesome natural foods had done to her body what years of going to a gym couldn’t do. She let out a bitter half laugh, half sob at the thought.

  Jana reappeared with fresh underwear, pajama pants and a tank top, and gave her an encouraging smile. “I’ll be right outside if you need me. Get dressed and we’ll talk if you’re up to it.” Aimee nodded solemnly.

  She dried herself, the sensation of the plush fabric of the towel foreign on her skin. How often over the last three months had she wished for a soft towel rather than a scratchy blanket to dry herself after washing? Be careful what you wish for. She inhaled the fresh laundered smell of the towel, but it was a different scent she ached for.

  Please, Zach, I’ll gladly give all of this up. Please come back for me. I want to go home to Daniel. Aimee squeezed her eyes shut, tears escaping down her cheeks. She had to tell Jana the truth. She had to make her believe what had happened. And she had to find a way to get back to Daniel.

  “Hey, feeling better?” Jana asked brightly when Aimee came down the stairs and walked into the living room. “The pizza should be here in a few minutes.”

  Aimee’s face remained stoic.

  “Sit down, Jana. I have a long story to tell you, and I just need you to listen, no matter how unbelievable it sounds, ok?”

  “Umm . . . sure,” Jana sat beside her on the couch and stared at her with an uneasy smile.

  Aimee started at the beginning with that first night in the ER and meeting Zach. She left nothing out, concluding with her return a few hours ago to this time. Jana listened, open-mouthed. The pizza delivery boy interrupted them momentarily, but the meal was forgotten while Aimee told her story.

  “I don’t expect you to believe me,” Aimee finished. “I didn’t believe any of it either, until it actually happened. But it did,” she stared at Jana. “It did happen, and I met the most wonderful man in the world, and . . . and . . . now he’s gone forever.” The tears flowed again, her voice cracking.

  “Oh, Aimee,” Jana hugged her friend close. “I remember when your parents died. It was awful. You were distraught then, too, but,” Jana paused as if searching for the right words. “This . . . the way you’re shutting down . . . frankly it’s scaring the life out of me.”

  Aimee didn’t respond. She sobbed on her friend’s shoulder. Her body shuddered involuntarily.

  “I can prove to you that Daniel was real.” She looked up suddenly with a hiccup and raspy voice. “According to Zach, he was born here in California, I think at Anaheim Memorial. Is there a way to access the medical records archives from twenty-five years ago?”

  “This sounds so weird, Aimee,” Jana shook her head. “You’re saying this guy lived in the past, but was born in the present? Do you realize they’ll lock you up in the psych ward if you talk like that?”

  “I’m not crazy” Aimee whispered.

  “I know that,” Jana reassured her. She was silent for a moment. “Listen, I think I know someone who works in the records department at the hospital. Let me make a phone call, and we’ll look into this. It’s important to you, so it’s important to me.”

  “You’re the best friend in the world.”

  A half hour later, Jana hung up the phone. “I talked to Allison in the HI department. She said it might take some time, but she’ll research it. If she can’t find anything in the computer, we may have to see if someone can look up an actual file at Anaheim Memorial.”

  “Thank you.”

  “It might take her a few days to get back to me. Did you still want to catch that flight tomorrow? If so, I need to pack.”

  “It won’t be the backpacking trip we planned,” Aimee said, “but yes, I need to get back there. Only for a few days.”

  “Okay.”

  Aimee slept fitfully in her bed that night. She kept waking up, sobbing. Several times she called out Daniel’s name in agony.

  The next morning, as Aimee and Jana headed for the airport, Jana asked, “don’t you want to call Brad and at least tell him you’re okay? “

  “No,” Aimee shook her head. “I’m not ready to face him.” She looked Jana square in the eye. “I broke it off with him before I went to see Zach at the hospital, before I ever met . . . Daniel.” Fresh tears threatened to spill out of her eyes. “Brad was smothering me, controlling my life. I couldn’t take it anymore.”

  “I know that. I’ve seen it for a long time. I should have said something to you a long time ago. I never liked the way he treats you. He never mentioned you had broken the engagement.”

  “I did. I gave him back his ring.” She held her face in her hands and cried quietly.

  “My God, Aimee, this guy, whoever he is, has really gotten under your skin, hasn’t he?” Jana said sympathetically. “I heard you crying out to him last night.” She squeezed Aimee’s hand. “What will you do if you find him?”

  “I’m not going to find him, Jana,” Aimee said desperately. “He’s long dead. Don’t you understand?” Aimee had really hoped that Jana would believe her.

  “Right, the time travel thing.”

  “You of all people have to believe me,” Aimee pleaded. “How do you explain my longer hair, and everything else about me that has changed. That didn’t happen in two weeks. Those changes happened over three months, the three months I spent in Yellowstone in 1810 . . . with Daniel.”

  Jana seemed to think this over for a minute. “Suppose I do believe you,” she began. “What exactl
y are you hoping to find when we get there? “

  “I don’t know,” Aimee sighed. “Somehow I think it’ll make me feel closer to him.” She stared out the window of the cab, not really seeing anything at all, letting the tears roll down her face in silence.

  *****

  They landed at Jackson airport in Wyoming, rented a car, and drove north to get to the park. Aimee stared silently out the window while Jana drove. The grandeur of the snow-capped Teton mountain range went unnoticed, and there was none of their usual excitement as they entered the park through the south entrance gate. From there, it took them the better part of three hours to get to their destination.

  As they approached the Madison Junction area, Aimee said, “Pull into the ranger station parking lot.”

  Jana had barely put the car in park, and Aimee rushed out the door. She made her way down the gravel walkway and stood next to the log cabin ranger station and bookstore, looking across the Madison Valley. New tears began to well up in her eyes. Up on the rise of her familiar meadow, Aimee gazed down at the river.

  “This is where Daniel’s cabin was,” Aimee said quietly, distantly. “This is where I’ve been for the last three months.”

  She began walking towards the river. Gone was the pristine state of the meadow and riverbank. In its stead were several well-worn trails where countless tourists had trampled the grass. Aimee stopped at the river’s edge, gazing longingly into the water. This was where Daniel had forced her out of the river. She smiled slightly at the memory. Back then she thought he didn’t like her.

  “Oh, Daniel, what became of you,” she said quietly. Impossible as she thought it was, she cried again in earnest.

  “Can someone dehydrate from crying too much?” Jana asked teasingly.

  “It hurts so much,” Aimee sobbed, her voice raspy, and the tears streamed down her face. She sank into the grass and put her face in her hands. Several people strolling the riverbank stared. Jana sank down into the grass and held her tight. Tears trickled down Jana’s face as well.

  “Is everything ok?” someone asked.

  Jana responded quietly, “she lost a friend, and this was their favorite place.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” the tourist said, and stared at Aimee with pity before moving on.

  “Aimee, we really should get going,” Jana finally said. “We can go and get a hotel room in West Yellowstone. It’s closer than driving all the way back to Jackson tonight.”

  “I can’t leave.” Aimee’s voice was barely above a whisper. “I can’t.” She sniffled and wiped her nose along her shirtsleeve.

  “We have to, Aimee. We can’t stay here,” Jana said gently. “It’s time to let go.” She stood up and stretched, then gently pulled on Aimee’s arm.

  Aimee stood slowly, staring at the peacefulness of the meandering river. Every now and then, a circular ripple appeared on the water’s surface as hungry fish bobbed their heads out of the water to snap at one of the countless evening bugs that swarmed the river. Swallows darted up and down to take their share of the insect feast in the dimming light as well.

  “Daniel,” she called. “Daniel, I love you . . . you are my heart song.” She had no more tears left in her. She was hollow, empty. Something squeezed her heart as if wringing out a sponge, wringing out all the happiness. Reluctantly, she allowed Jana to take her by the arm, and with her head bent towards her chest, she turned and walked back up the slope towards the parking lot.

  Chapter 20

  Three days later, back in California, Jana received a phone call from her friend Allison in the health information department at the hospital.

  “Hey Jana, I have some information on that patient you were asking about.”

  Her heart rate sped up in surprise. “Oh? What did you find out?”

  “Well, there was nothing in the computer system, so I made a call to someone in HI at Anaheim Memorial. She did me a huge favor and went into their archives.” She hesitated, then went on, “Please, if any of this gets out, both her and my jobs are toast, you know that, right?”

  “I’m aware we’re breaching patient confidentiality, Allison,” Jana sighed impatiently. “This is really important, and I swear to you that no one is going to find out.”

  “Ok,” Allison sounded eager to spill the information she had. “Well, this is a really strange case. Twenty-five years ago, on January 20th, 1985 a man named Zachariah Osborne brought his wife Marie Osborne to the emergency room. The woman was in labor. She had a seizure brought on by eclampsia, and the seizure caused a brain aneurysm. They were able to take her baby by c-section before she died. It was a boy. The birth certificate has his name listed as Daniel Osborne.”

  Jana inhaled sharply. “You’re kidding me.”

  “I thought that was information you were expecting.”

  “I don’t know what I was expecting.”

  “Well, here’s the really weird part. The man disappeared not minutes after his wife died,” Allison paused for dramatic effect. “And not only him, but his baby and his dead wife disappeared along with him . . . poof . . . not a trace. The little information on his paperwork has a fake address and nothing else.”

  “Wow, that is weird.” My God, Aimee’s story is panning out.

  “Why did you want to know about this case?” Allison asked. “It’s like something out of the twilight zone.”

  “Yeah,” Jana said absently. “Look, Allison, I really, really appreciate this. I owe you big time. I need to go.” Without further explanation, she hung up. She stared out the kitchen window for a few moments, digesting the information she just received. So, this Daniel Osborne really did exist. But did it mean that he was from a different time? It sure corroborated the story Aimee had told her.

  She headed up the stairs to Aimee’s bedroom. Since coming home from their very brief visit to Yellowstone, Aimee had pretty much shut herself in her room. She came out only to use the bathroom, and Jana had to almost force her to come to the kitchen for something to eat.

  Jana didn’t know exactly what to do about Aimee’s depression. Aimee was her best friend, and in all the years growing up, high school and the dramas of teenage breakups, losing her parents, and going to nursing school together, she had always envied Aimee’s positive outlook on life. This experience, whatever it was that she had experienced, was killing her. And Jana didn’t know what to do about it.

  She took a deep breath, and went to knock softly on Aimee’s bedroom door. When there was no answer, she quietly entered. Aimee lay in a fetal position on her bed, in the same pajamas she had worn for the last two days, hugging her pillow.

  “Aimee?” she called softly. “Are you awake?”

  “I’m not hungry,” Aimee’s muffled voice responded automatically.

  “Good, because I didn’t bring you any food,” Jana said lightly. “I just got off the phone with Allison.”

  No response.

  “Remember?” She prodded, sitting down on the bed. “Allison from HI at the hospital.”

  No response.

  “Aimee, I believe you.” She tried a different tactic. “There is a record of a Daniel Osborne born on January 20th, 1985.”

  Aimee turned her head, wide eyes blinking up at her.

  Jana continued, “the mother died due to complications, and then everyone – the father, dead mother, and baby – they all disappeared and haven’t been seen or heard from again. Aimee, I believe your story is true.” She squeezed Aimee’s hand.

  “You believe me?” Aimee asked tentatively. “Daniel is not a figment of my imagination. He is . . . was . . . real!” Aimee sat up, looking at her through bloodshot, swollen eyes.

  She hugged her close. “I believe you that you went back in time and spent three months with him. As crazy and unbelievable as it sounds, I believe everything you’ve told me.”

  “Thank you,” Aimee said with a relieved sigh. She raised herself to a sitting position. “I just needed you to believe me. I didn’t make it up, I didn’t make Dan
iel up, and I didn’t make up how wonderful it was being with him.”

  After a long silence, she tentatively asked, “What happens now, Aimee? You can’t go on like this. Frankly, you’re scaring me to death.”

  “I don’t know,” Aimee sighed. “All I do is think about him, what became of him. He was the best thing that has ever happened to me. He was so right. Everything I experienced in that time felt so right. I am so out of place here.” Her shoulders slumped.

  “Well, it’s natural to grieve when you lose someone. But you are still alive, and you have to go on living. What can I do to help you get on with your life?”

  “I just need more time.” Aimee sounded as if she was trying to convince herself as well as Jana.

  “I will do anything for you, you know that, right? I just want the old you back.”

  “I’ll try to be more cheerful.”

  “Just come back to the land of the living, okay?”

  “I’ll try.”

  “Then come down to the kitchen and have something to eat,” Jana coaxed. “I haven’t touched that triple fudge chocolate ice cream in the freezer, but I can’t hold out much longer. How about we have some of that?”

  After a long pause, Aimee sighed and got up off the bed. “Okay,” she said slowly. “You’ve hit on my weak spot.”

  They headed down the stairs to the kitchen, and Jana took the container of ice cream out of the freezer, and started scooping it into two bowls.

  “What did you do in Yellowstone for three months without ice cream?” she asked lightly. “You always swore you’d never be able to survive without that for very long.”

  “I found a new passion,” Aimee said quietly. “Something much more delicious than ice cream.”

  Jana smiled at her.

  “Tell me more about him.” At least she had Aimee talking. She hoped asking questions about this Daniel person wouldn’t turn the waterworks on again.

  Aimee began telling her in greater detail about Daniel and their budding relationship.

  “Sounds like something out of a romance novel,” she said. “The dark and mysterious hero rescues damsel in distress and sweeps her off her feet.” She made a dramatic sweep of her hand through the air.