Amnesia

By G.C. Vanhoose

A man (Frank) wakes up with a beautiful woman (Kim) in a plush hotel room in San Juan Puerto Rico to find that he has no memories back from that moment. As it turns out Frank is a very prominent, abundantly wealthy lawyer who owns his own firm based in San Diego but has offices all over the world. Kim is his long term life as well as his business partner. They are blessed with many interesting friends who have unique lives of their own.

As the mystery of who he is unfolds Frank seeks the help of prominent psychiatrist and medical doctors specializing in memory loss. After exhausting the mental and physical possibilities and with the help of friends, detectives and Kim they retrace Franks steps all the way around the world to a micro bionic research company in Beijing China. What they find out boggles ones mind as to the advancement of micro biotic organisms.
But wait; Im just about to give it all away.
Its time for you to read the rest of the story.
Enjoy!

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jun 15, 2015
• ISBN: 9781504913492

G.C. Vanhoose

The Author, G.C. Vanhoose and his wife Louise are retired from their own manufacturing business. They have a log home in the mountains of east Tennessee, a vacation home on the Texas gulf coast and enjoy traveling in their RV. G.C. Vanhoose is a published author and plans to continue writing during his retirement. Watch for his next novel which is a continuation of Frank and Kim’s exciting travels around the world. No Bad Days!

Book preview

1

Good morning, Frank. You slept like a log. I don’t think you even turned over during the night. It must have been the late night drinks and snacks we had at the bar on our arrival.

I didn’t know what to say because I didn’t know the person that just wished me good morning, or do I have any idea who Frank is.

She was very good looking, about 35, with long dark hair and a beautiful tan.

She was wearing a white hotel robe and her hair was still wet from a shower.

I could see the beach through the double sliding glass doors of the suite. The sand was pure white and the water a dark blue green. Tall palms were blowing in the breeze. I think I’m probably in the Florida Keys or Bahamas. It’s very hard to pinpoint exactly where I am from the limited view I have looking out the glass doors.

The room is large and well furnished with beach- type furniture. The bed has large, soft pillows and the sheets are bright colors. It looked like two people had slept there.

She said, I ordered breakfast, with fried eggs over easy, sides of pancakes and bacon with a pot of black coffee just the way you like it.

When I threw the covers back, I was only wearing briefs. I quickly covered myself. She laughed, I’ve never known you to be bashful before! Get up, and take a hot shower. We have a full day of boating, fishing, island exploring and sun bathing ahead of us. It’s warm and humid out; I’m wearing shorts and a tank top over a bathing suit, but will carry a cover-up. I laid out your bathing suit, shorts, sandals and your new island shirt. Thanks for making reservations at my favorite place to eat. I am really looking forward to it.

I just nodded in confirmation of having done something good but have no recollection of doing it.

There was a polite knock on the door. Breakfast is here, she said. I’ll have them set it up on the balcony while you shower.

That sounds great, surprised at the deep, mellow sound of my voice. I might be a radio announcer or TV anchorman. I got up and headed for the bathroom, still very confused; hoping my memory or at least part of my memory would come back soon.

The shower was hot and felt great, so I just stood there waiting for my mind to straighten things out. It didn’t. The longer I stood there, the more confused I became. I don’t recall taking a shower before. I guess there are some things one does not forget how to do.

Where am I, who am I, what am I, who is she, what is she to me? I decided to play it by ear hoping, I could fake my way through it until things started coming back to me.

First I finish my shower, dry off, put on my robe and go to breakfast. I passed a mirror and was shocked to find that I didn’t recognize my own image. Loss of memory is one thing, but a total loss of one’s own image is just too much!

I felt faint and had to sit down and try to pull myself together. I’m a good-looking guy, I’m guessing around 40 years old, six feet or so tall, well built at about 180 pounds, a thick head of brown hair, blue eyes and about three day old stubble. I have a body that looks like I spend time in a gym. Not bulk muscular, but a lean muscular body that is healthy looking.

Good to meet you Frank, whoever you are.

Wait a minute! Surely I have some ID somewhere, a wallet, driver’s license, passport, something! I made a search of the bath but didn’t find anything so I decided I would look around later.

Breakfast looked great. The balcony was set with a table and four chairs, two sun lounges, a hammock, tropical plants, flowers and greenery.

The view of the pool and beach was breathtaking. There were beautiful people clad in bikinis and a few children already scattered around the pool and beach. There was still a light breeze blowing through the palm trees. The beach sand was pure white as it was earlier when I first saw it. So, I was not dreaming and at least my short-term memory is still there.

The water was still dark blue green with a light surf. Small children were building various things from the sand.

I remember what eggs and bacon taste like because these were delicious.

It seems to me if one has lost their memory, all memories including taste, smell and feel memories would be gone.

I need to experiment a little. I closed my eyes and felt around the table to see if I could identify objects. I successfully identified a coffee pot, cup, spoon, knife, fork, large plate, small plate with toast, a fruit bowl which included banana, orange, pineapple, cherries and apple slices.

I can smell and identify the individual fruits, the faint chlorine smell from the pool, salt water from the ocean and flowers, all the classic smells from a hotel on the beach environment.

This seemed so familiar, yet I still don’t have an inkling of who I am, what I am, who she is or what she means to me.

Before I came out of the bath, she had walked into the suite’s living room to answer a phone call and was still on the phone; otherwise she would have surely thought me crazy for feeling and sniffing around the way I was.

Now that I think about it, I guess a near total loss of memory is sort of gone crazy.

By the time she returned to breakfast I had almost finished eating and was leaning back in my chair trying to at least enjoy the moment as best I could. I was also trying to devise ways of drawing information out of her without sounding like a fool. On her return, she told me the fishing trip had been cancelled because of a weather front with potentially high winds that was coming in within the next few hours.

No problem, I said. We can enjoy ourselves around here, and then go to dinner later. By the way, I’ve evidently misplaced my wallet. Do you know where it might be?

I put it in the nightstand with your other pocket stuff. I also sent the clothes you were wearing out to be laundered. You’re other clothes I hung in the closet. Would you like for me to get your wallet for you?

Not wanting to sound too anxious, I said, No, I’ll get it later when we are ready to go out.

In reality I wanted to rush in there to get the skinny about who I am. Do we have anything scheduled before dinner or are we free to relax and hang out?

We are free until dinner at 8:00, so the day is open. Shall we go back to bed? I didn’t know how to respond to that question as I wasn’t sure of our exact relationship. The only hint so far was that she told me, I had never been bashful before. The look on her face implied we had an intimate relationship, but I could not be sure so I yawned, stretched and leaned back in the lounge as if I had not heard her. Her phone rang, which saved me from an immediate response. I tried to look casual and stayed stretched out in one of the lounges warming myself in the sun.

She went inside to field the call. I began to wonder why I wasn’t getting any calls. Maybe I was, but my phone was in the nightstand where I couldn’t hear it. First opportunity I’ll go cipher through my stuff as she called it. Surely some insight about my life is contained in my stuff. She came out to the balcony and said she needed to go out and do a little shopping and asked if I needed anything.

I need information about who I am, what I am, what I do, who you are, what our relationship is, what we are doing here in this island paradise, I thought, but I said, No, I don’t need a thing that I can think of.

Ok, she said, I will call while I’m out and I should be back in a couple of hours. Would you like me to arrange for you to get messages? The last time we were here you had one every few days.

Maybe tomorrow, today I just want to relax until dinner. I’ll order refreshments later, thanks. I’ll be fine.

2

As soon as she closed the door, I jumped up in a dead- run to the night stand to get a look at my stuff. I opened the drawer and there it was!

What an exciting moment, a watch, wallet, keys. Good stuff. The watch is a Rolex with F O R with love from Kim engraved on the back. Two of the keys look like they are to a Bentley automobile, a couple of other keys I could not recognize, folded money that counted to be a couple thousand dollars in large bills.

Who carries around that kind of cash? My driver’s license with my picture tells me I am Frank Oliver Russell from San Diego, Ca. I’m 43 years old. I have a platinum American Express, Master and Visa cards, debit cards from several banks including San Diego National, The Bank of Grand Cayman Island and First National Bank of Puerto Rico.

I hope I have a lot of money in each location. Also, in the drawer is my passport which has my picture in it. It has been port stamped from countries all over Europe, Asia, Russia, Japan and China. There are several business cards that read Frank Oliver Russell (FOR) and Associates with offices in San Diego, New York and London, England.

It appears that I’m an attorney and the head of my own law firm. There’s also an iPhone which I have no idea how to operate. You would think all this information would jog my memories, but no cigar. I don’t remember a damn thing past waking up this morning. I’m only in the present with hints about my past.

I imagine the iPhone has a world of personal information in it with notes, schedules, pictures, etc. How do I know anything about iPhones at all? I guess it’s one of those things you just remember, but it seems if I could remember anything at all about an iPhone, I would remember how to operate it.

Now that I know my identity, next on the priority list is who is this woman I woke up with, what is her name, what is our relationship and what are we doing here?

At least now I know my basic identity by looking through my stuff in the closet.

According to the clock, I’ve used an hour and a half of the two hours she said she’d be gone.

The iPhone rings and startles me like I’m doing something wrong. The caller ID says Kim. After a moment or two, I figure out how to answer it and say, Hello. It sounds like her, Frank is that you?

Yes, it’s me.

You normally answer with an abrupt, Frank. Are you feeling OK? You don’t seem yourself today.

I’m fine, maybe its jet lag or something.

Well, you should be long over that by now. We’ve been in Puerto Rico for several days. Maybe you’re catching a cold. Are you sure you feel OK?"

Yes, I’m fine, just a little tired, I guess.

Well, tired you should be, Kim said. You were a real tiger in bed last night, and then afterwards you passed out without so much as a turn, for over eight hours. For you to be a tiger in bed is not all that uncommon, but, for you to sleep so soundly for that long is not like you.

Like I said, I think I’m fine. When will you be back?

That’s part of why I called, I ran across a girlfriend. We are having drinks and catching up a little. Do you mind me being gone a while longer and is there anything you might need while I’m out?

No, I’m good; enjoy your time with your friend, no need to hurry.

Ok, also, do you mind if I invite her to dinner with us? She is here on business.

Don’t mind at all, company for dinner is fine with me.

OK, do you want to call and add her to our reservations, she asked.

No, you call; I think the battery is going down on my phone.

OK, see you later. By the way, the phone charger is plugged up on my nightstand. With that we terminated the conversation.

Whew, that was a close one. I have no idea where our dinner reservations are, and besides, I don’t know how to operate this darn iPhone. The caller ID said, Kim. That could be short for Kimberly, but she’s in my phone as Kim, so that must be what I call her. I do know where I am now, but why Puerto Rico? I wouldn’t be in a hotel suite if I lived here and what did she mean that I was a tiger last night? She implied that being a tiger in bed was not all that uncommon for me. I must have more information before I make any glorious assumptions about our having an intimate relationship or possibly even being married. She certainly does bend over backwards to please me and knows me well enough to cater to my every need.

I sure could use my memory!

3

As I went through the closet I found several suits, shirts and shoes. Expensive things, like Dolce & Gabbana, Ralph Lauren, True Religion jeans, and Baker black ostrich cap Toe dress shoes, Nike, etc. Wow! This expensive stuff confirms that I’m either wealthy or I’m very deep in debt. Maybe I’m a kept man! Nah, not the way she treats me. If I were a kept man, she would be expecting me to wait on her, not her taking care of me as she does. It’s looking more like she is a very long- term special assistant turned partner and lover.

My phone is ringing again. It would sure be nice to know more about using the darn thing! Let’s see, surly I can answer it again. The screen says, Jack Webster. I pressed the send button and answered, Hello.

There was a long pause. Are you OK, Frank? You don’t sound like yourself. Most of the time you answer gruffly with just your name.

I guess I better start answering with just Frank from now on, I thought

What the hell, I’ll give it a shot and call him by name. What can I do for you, Jack?

Frank, I have some very good news relative to our class action suit. I hear through the grapevine that Wilier and Wilier want to settle for their client with an offer in the 50 million plus range, so there’s an outside chance we won’t have to go to court on this one. I’m pretty sure you are not anxious to go back to the States for a court battle with the good times you’re having lately.

You’re right about that, Jack, I would like to vacation for a while, so this is very good news indeed. Still playing it by ear I risk asking, What do you think about a settlement at that amount of money?

I think we could get more if we went to court, but we have a lot going on now. If they do make an offer in that range, I think we should try to negotiate it as high as possible then take a settlement out of court. I feel a case like this could possibly turn sour on us in court.

I think that’s a good plan, Jack. When do you feel we will get the offer?"

According to my mole in the Wilier & Wilier offices, she seems to think it will be within the next couple days.

That would be great, keep me posted, Jack.

OK, I will, Frank, and he hung up.

That seemed to go well. I think I convinced Jack, I was me (whoever that is) and that I knew what the situation was, when in reality I don’t have a clue. Sooner or later somebody will call wanting specific information from me, which will require my long-term memory and skills as a lawyer, and then I will be in real trouble.

I expect Kim back soon, so on with my search of the suite. The lower drawer of the night stand contained more of my stuff. There I find underwear, brief style, in colors and white tee shirts, expensive-looking socks to wear with dress shoes, other cotton socks for casual wear, handkerchiefs monogramed with the initials

F O R (cute)! I wonder if my parents thought of the initials when they came up with the name Frank Oliver Russell.

4

Kim returned, kissed me in greeting and said, Frank, we’re due at dinner in one and a half hours. I will need about an hour to get ready. May I have the bathroom for forty-five minutes?

Sure, but I think you look great.

I’ve been out in the Puerto Rico heat and humidity for several hours so I need to shower the sticky off me and change clothes. Frank, would you like me to lay out your clothes before I shower?

Wow! Saved again! I have no idea where we’re going, therefore not a clue as to how I should dress.

Yes, please, that will speed things up. Is your friend going to meet us there or are we picking her up?

I told her we would pick her up. She’s staying at a friend’s villa on the way to Restaurant Vida Ventura.

Great, now I know the name of the restaurant, another bullet dodged.

Kim exits the bathroom and says, Ok, Frank, it’s all yours.

Kim, do you feel like driving tonight? Or could we just take a taxi, I asked?

She looked surprised and said, You really are acting strange today. You have a new Bentley that you’ve had for only two days and you rarely let me drive. Frank, what is the matter with you?

I’m thinking, it’s time to give up and confess! Not an inkling of my memory has returned and the stress of the faking is really starting to get to me.

I’ll get dressed and on the way, I’ll try to explain.

Ok, I’ll have the car brought around. Are you sure you’re feeling well enough to go? I could call and cancel if you want and we could order in.

No, no, I don’t want you to miss dinner with your friend and I need to get out as well. I’m not physically sick, but have a very personal problem I need to share with you.

"I thought there was something wrong, you’re not acting like yourself.

The car will be around front in about fifteen minutes"

Kim was dressed casually in grey slacks and a white blouse, that fit like a glove showing off her slim, beautiful figure. Yes, she definitely qualifies as beautiful. Her dark hair is hanging straight and shinning even in the room lighting. She wore very little makeup, if any. A small gold chain and locket is around her neck with what appeared to be a matching chain around her left wrist. A delicate single diamond wedding ring is on her left hand. Does that mean she’s married and is she married to me? No other jewelry adorned her other fingers or wrist. To me she seemed perfectly portioned with shapely hips, small waist and perfect size breast. She’s around 5’10" tall wearing two inch heels which put her nose right at my chin.

I dressed in the clothes she had laid out for me, grey slacks, white shirt, soft black slippers, blue blazer sport coat, no tie. I look great, if I say so myself.

The phone rang. The car is waiting. I guess we need to get going in order to make our reservations on time.

I’m ready, let’s go, I said.

5

I was anxious to get this loss of memory off my chest and get her to fill in some of the blanks. Had I been thinking, I would have taken her up on the offer to stay in, so we could have more time to talk. Oh well, good idea for her to drive, since I have no idea how to get to where we’re going. I will disclose my memory loss on the way. Hopefully I will have time to be informed as to our relationship at the very least. After our respective you look great compliments, we headed for the elevator.

Both elevators were on the first floor. Kim was anxious to hear my problem. Frank, what’s up?

I turned to look her straight in the face so I could get her immediate reaction.

Kim, I have a complete loss of memory before waking up this morning.

She smiled and said, You have to be kidding me.

No kidding, I have no memories of my past!

The look of surprise on her face changed to a look of confused concern. The elevator door opened and closed and we stood in the hall, her in total shock and me waiting for the info to soak in. She repeated what I said, You have absolutely no memory past this morning?

That’s correct. Other than what I’ve learned today, I have no recollection as to who I am, what I am, who you are, what our relationship is, what we are doing here in Puerto Rico, NOTHING! I saw your name on caller ID and only know about myself from what I found in my stuff."

I know the name Jack Webster, also from my phone caller ID. Jack gave me a few details about a case we evidently have going in the States. I’ve been faking it all day, hoping my memory would return enough for me to at least function near normal, but as hard as I try, I have no memories.

Kim is still in shock and the elevator door has opened and closed several times.

Wow! She finally said.

Yes, wow! I said.

Without speaking, we stepped on the next open elevator. I felt relieved that I no longer had to fake my way through every conversation. Kim was still in shock and, I could tell she was looking for an approach to the situation. No words passed between us as we headed for the car.

I asked if she was still OK to drive as I had no idea how to get where we are going. She came out of her trance and said, Oh, sure, I’m OK to drive.

We got in the car and Kim took off. Finally she said, Wow, again, and then we drove in silence. I broke the silence by trying to change the subject.

This is a great car, did I pick it out? There was a long pause then she said wow! again.

Yes, I agree, wow!

You bought the car in the states over a week ago. You were so anxious to have it; we had it shipped over for however long we were going to be here."

That’s kind of an extravagant thing to do. Renting one would be a lot less expensive.

That’s just the way you are, but you can’t know that, I guess. Are you sure you don’t know me or our relationship?

Nope, I said, we are starting off fresh and new. So if we’ve made any drastic mistakes, now is the time to start off anew and fix what we can.

Wow! She said.

Yes, wow! I said. Silence again.

Was there some kind of accident or event that you feel might have caused my memory loss?

Wow! she said. Yes, wow! I said. Can we move on?

In answer to your question, I can’t think of a thing that might have triggered your memory loss. Things have pretty much been clicking along as usual. We’ve won some cases and lost some, as they say, but we’ve done very well financially in the firm as well as in our investments. Let’s see, where do we start?

I see part of the results of financial success in the expensive clothes and car. I figured I was one of two things: either wealthy or very much in debt. To hear that I am financially well off, verses very much in debt is quite a relief. What about you and me? What are we to each other?

This is so strange, she said. Are you sure you’re not just playing with me?

No, I don’t remember.

A long pause, then she said, Well, you and I have a long-term intimate relationship and partnership.

Wait, I said, back up, what is your name?

Amazing! she said.

My name is Kimberly Renee Lion, as in lions and tigers. You call me Kim.

What about the wedding ring, I asked.

"You bought it for me to wear as a token of our relationship. You did not stipulate that I wear it on my wedding finger, but I like to wear it there. We, you and I, have been together for a long time and have an understanding of commitment