Forget to Remember Read Free

Coast,
especially Massachusetts. They looked at pictures of the Boston
area, buildings and other landmarks, but those didn’t jog her
memory. Andrea finally said she had to go. They went back to
Carol’s room. Andrea gave Carol her card and told her to call if
she needed help or remembered anything.
    Carol shook her hand. “Thank you for helping
me, Andrea. I really appreciate it, even though we didn’t have any
breakthroughs. Maybe you can help me do one other thing.”
    “What’s that?”
    “I’d like to talk to the man who found me…”
she consulted a newspaper article, “…Rigo Ramirez.”
    “Oh, why?”
    “To thank him.”
    ***
    Rigo wasn’t a big fan of being inside
hospitals, but then who was? He was overcoming this reluctance,
partly because the young woman he had found asked to see him and
partly because he wanted to know how she was doing.
    He left his old Toyota in the parking
structure and found his way in through the main entrance. Senior
ladies with recently styled coiffures sitting behind a counter in
the lobby promised information for the confused visitor. He gave
them a room number and one of them pointed toward the
elevators.
    As he emerged at the designated floor, Rigo
had to admit the place exuded cheerfulness, from the pastel walls
to a nicely furnished waiting area. A nurse in uniform was talking
on the phone behind a counter and barely glanced at him as he
walked by. He found the room with no trouble. He stopped just
before the open doorway and took a deep breath.
    He wondered how she would look. The initial
newspaper and TV accounts had given him some pictures and
information, but the news reports about her had slowed to a trickle
in the last couple of days. He had thought about coming to the
hospital but wasn’t sure he’d be welcome. Then Andrea had phoned
and told him Carol, as she was calling herself, wanted to see
him.
    Getting up his courage, he walked to the
doorway and knocked on the door. She looked up from the chair she
was sitting in and smiled.
    “You must be Rigo. Come in.”
    Rigo smiled back. She didn’t look half as
bad as he thought she would. There were still a couple of small
bandages on her face. Her head had been shaved in several places,
and dressings applied to her wounds. However, her innate beauty
shone through. Her skin was a shade darker than his. She was
wearing a robe that was too large over her hospital gown.
    Before he could say anything, she stood up
and gave him a bear hug. “My savior.”
    Now Rigo was embarrassed. “I didn’t do
anything.”
    “If you hadn’t found me, I’d be dead.”
    Rigo wondered what would have happened to
her if he’d put the garbage in the other Dumpster. Or hadn’t seen
her and tossed the bag on top of her. Or what if she’d been placed
in the Dumpster on any other night except Saturday? Sunday was the
only day the restaurant opened before dinner. Confusing and
terrifying dreams disturbed his sleep.
    She released him and motioned toward a
second chair. “Sit down, Rigo. I’m Carol, by the way. Carol
Golden.”
    “Yeah, that’s what Andrea said.”
    “Of course, that’s not my real name. I don’t
know my real name.”
    This was awkward. Something welled up inside
Rigo, and he didn’t know what to say. “How do you feel?”
    “Much better. Of course, anything would be
better than how you found me. Although I look a mess, my head and
face are healing. So are my bites and the bruises on my body. I
have one scar on my abdomen the doctor said is old.”
    “Appendicitis?”
    “The doctor said no. He said it looked as if
I’d been cut with a sharp object.”
    Rigo was still having trouble finding words.
“When are you getting out of here?”
    “Tomorrow.” Carol brightened, but then her
smile faded. “Tomorrow,” she repeated, more softly.
    “Where will you go?”
    “That’s the problem. I have nowhere to go. I
think they’re going to send me to a homeless shelter in Los