Page 62 of With Love

Adrienne

Courtney walked us through the center, showing me around. Everything that I saw, I remembered seeing before, but it was as if I’d only seen it in a dream. The nursery, preschool, and toddler rooms. The dormitories, the library, the cafeteria, the game room, and the movie room.

We ended the tour in one of the meeting rooms, which is where we are now.

“I just can’t even believe that you’re here right now. I’ve been waiting for this day for years,” Courtney says. “How much has Marshall told you about the center?”

“Nothing, until the drive over here.”

“I’ll never forget the day I found out you were missing. You didn’t show up here that morning, which never happened. I called your cell phone, but it went straight to voicemail. I called Marshall’s cell, but it was the same. I thought maybe you both overslept or something, so I called you at your house. Nothing. I called Marshall’s office but his receptionist said that she hadn’t seen him yet either. I decided to wait it out a little, but the entire day came and went and I hadn’t heard one peep from either one of you.

“After leaving here, I went straight over to your house to see what happened, but you guys weren’t there either. I checked in the parking garage and your cars were there. I called everyone I could think of. Marshall’s parents, all of your friends. I called Marshall’s office again and left a message for his receptionist to call me first thing in the morning. I also could not get ahold of Lochlan that day. No one knew where you were. No one could get ahold of you.

“Everyone was terrified of what could have happened. We knew that you guys were going through a rough patch, but the last thing anyone would have thought is that something would have happened because of that. No matter what you were going through, there was no question that either of you would hurt the other.

“The next morning, we went to the police. All of us. Me, Marshall’s parents, your friends, everyone. When we got there, they told us that they had called you, but you didn’t answer. Moving to the next emergency contact that they had on file, they were getting ready to call Marshall’s parents to tell them that he was in the hospital. That he had multiple gunshot wounds and was in critical condition. When we asked about you or Lochlan, they said that he came in alone.

“I checked in with his dad almost every day for three months. Finally, one day he woke up. Marshall explained to all of us the role that Lochlan played the night of the shooting. To say we were shocked would be a grave understatement. At that moment our fears about you were confirmed. We knew you were in danger, and we prayed every day that we would be able to find you and bring you home safely. We stayed in contact here and there, but the longer we went with you gone, the further apart our phone calls and visits became.

“Then, Marshall contacted me a couple months ago when he finally had you back home. We all knew that you had lost your memory, but he was determined to try and figure out how to reverse whatever it was Lock gave you. Once he realized that you were remembering little things here and there, he let me know that he wanted to bring you by one day to help jog your memory. And here we are.”

“My God, I didn’t think that one person could cry this much in a lifetime!” I say.

The door opens as I reach across the table to grab another tissue. I look toward the door and I see a little boy, maybe about 3 or 4 years old, standing there hand in hand with the woman who Courtney was talking to when we got here. He has a tear-stained face and a runny nose and he is one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen in my entire life.

“Alexander woke up from his nap screaming again,” she has a heartbroken look on her face as she speaks.

“Alexander was taken from his mother a few months ago. He was horribly neglected. His mom is a drug addict. It’s awful,” Courtney explains. “He suffers from night terrors. I feel so helpless sometimes.”

She holds her arms out and motions for him to come to her, but all he does is stand there, his eyes locked on me. I smile at him and he points at me. Then, he turns and walks out into the hallway. He stops and looks at me again, but points at something on the wall.

I stand up and go to check what he is looking at and notice that it’s a picture of me holding a baby. I look down at Alexander and he points to me and then back to the picture.

“That’s me, that’s right! Good job, buddy,” I say smiling down at him. He walks over and hugs my leg with one arm and sticks his thumb in his mouth.

Smiling, I look up to catch Courtney watching me with a shocked expression on her face.

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

“He hasn’t voluntarily hugged or had any other personal contact with anyone since he’s gotten here.”

“Really? Hm. I wonder what makes him comfortable with me, then.”

“He must know that you have a beautiful soul,” Courtney answers as I smile down at him once again.

“While I really, really do hate to break this up, we have to get a move on to our next destination. I promise the next time we come here, it will be for a much longer visit,” Marshall explains.

“I’ll come back and visit you again real soon, okay?” It breaks my heart to tear Alexander from my leg, but I know I have to.

He starts getting fussy, but the girl picks him up and tells him that they can stop in the cafeteria for a snack on the way back to the classroom.

“I am so thankful to you for bringing me here, Marshall,” I say in front of him and Courtney. “Other than our house, this is the first place I’ve felt at home in a really, really long time.”

“This will always be your home away from home,” Courtney says as she brings me in for a hug.

“We will be back as soon as possible. I can promise you that,” Marshall states.

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