Private Lessons Read online

  Just as Scott sauntered off and Dustin got the last horse tacked up and ready to go, he heard talking behind him and knew the Whitehurst family had arrived for their one o’clock ride. As he introduced himself, he was pleased to find out the two girls, who were twelve and fourteen, had both ridden horses before, and so had the parents. He loved getting people who were experienced riders because it offered them more opportunity to trot and canter, while if he had a group that had never rode before, he kept those tours to walking only. It was a beautiful September morning, and as he helped everyone get on their horses, he told them a little bit about how McCullough Gulch was a beautiful trail along a mountain creek that eventually leads up to a glacial lake. “The initial trail is a 2.7 mile round trip, which is what we’re doing today,” Dustin explained. “But if someone wanted to continue on a rougher trail, the path continues on to showcase even more lakes. I think you guys will enjoy the scenery and the ride.” As Dustin got on his horse, everyone was in great spirits, and as they left the stables, Dustin was looking forward to telling Dennie tonight about the gulch ride and proposing the camping trip with Scott and Amie.

  About ten minutes into the ride, as Dustin sat a bit sideways in his saddle so he could look over his shoulder to have eye contact with the group as they chatted, suddenly, in the blink of an eye and unbeknownst to Dustin, a fox exploded out of the woods onto the horse path at high speed, running right between the legs of his horse. The next thing Dustin knew, his horse reared up in panic, propelling Dustin from his saddle into the air and crashing toward the ground. The second he felt his head hit hard against something, everything went black.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Although Dennie was grateful for the extra business, it had been a non-stop day. Not only did they have their usual local patients who were under regular care, but they had also taken on some new patients who were in the area on vacation and had injured themselves while in the throes of taking on unfamiliar strenuous activities. At five o’clock, with the day finally winding down, as tired as she was, Dennie was looking forward to a nice, quiet dinner with Dustin. She was thankful he was cooking. She couldn’t wait to curl up on his couch with a nice bottle of wine. As she concentrated on cleaning up her desk and getting things organized for tomorrow, Sharon suddenly appeared in the doorway of her office with a concerned expression on her face. Looking up, Dennie asked, “What’s up? Is something wrong?”

  Sharon didn’t know what to think. She had been behind the reception desk looking over the appointment schedule for tomorrow when Scott, the owner of Breckenridge Outfitters, walked in the door. Sharon had known Scott for many years, as he was an occasional patient of hers. She knew he didn’t have an appointment and could read instantly from his expression that something was wrong. She was well aware that Dustin worked for him and that Dennie and Dustin were good friends with him and his wife.

  “Hey Scott,” Sharon said tentatively. Trying to see if his somber expression was just her imagination, she teased, “Come to get one of my killer adjustments? I hope that nerve hasn’t gotten pinched again, has it?”

  Without a word, Scott approached the reception desk, and with an unreadable expression, he asked quietly, “Sharon, by any chance is Dennie around?”

  Sharon could feel instinctively that something was wrong. She nodded that Dennie was back in her office and that she would go get her. As she walked down the hallway to get Dennie, a feeling of dread crept through her veins, but trying to not overreact, she poked her head into Dennie’s office. “Dennie, Scott is in the waiting room for you.”

  Feeling a bit surprised that Scott would be at her office, she put down the x-rays she was examining, silently stood up, and with a furrowed brow she followed Sharon back to the reception area. By this time all of the patients were gone for the day and her staff had just recently left. Greeting Scott with a big smile on her face, her expression instantly froze when she saw the serious look on his face. It was abundantly clear that he wasn’t there for a social visit. “Scott,” she said tentatively as she approached him. “Is everything all right?”

  Gently putting his hand on one of her shoulders, he said quietly, “Dennie, there’s been an accident. Dustin was giving a guided horseback riding tour and evidently a fox shot out of the woods unexpectedly and frightened the horse he was on. Dustin got thrown and landed hard on the ground. He was knocked unconscious. Once the father raced back to the stables to tell us what happened, an ambulance came very quickly. All I know right now is that they’ve taken him to St. Anthony Summit Medical Center. I came over here as soon as I could. But that’s all I know right now. They won’t tell me anything because I’m not family. Perhaps you can find out more about his condition.”

  Dennie felt like she couldn’t breathe. Dustin in the hospital? Thrown by a horse? Unconscious? It was almost too much to process. She could feel her heart beating in overdrive. She was so scared and overcome that she stood frozen in place, just looking at Scott in disbelief.

  Seeing her friend in shock, Sharon stepped in. “Thanks so much, Scott, for letting us know so quickly. I’ll take Dennie to the hospital. I don’t want her driving by herself.”

  As Scott nodded his approval, he thanked her. “I’ll try to get by the hospital as soon as I can. We have tours up until eight o’clock tonight and I won’t be able to get away until then.” Handing Sharon his cell phone number he said,. “Please call me when you know something. You can call this number any time, even if I’m with a tour.”

  Not wasting a moment, Sharon quickly got her purse and Dennie’s, turned off the lights, ushered her outside, and locked up. Opening the passenger side door for Dennie to get in, Sharon could see her starting to come out of the temporary shock and as they drove to the hospital Sharon recounted what Scott had told them. Dennie had only heard bits and pieces of it because she’d gotten so frightened.

  When they finally reached the main desk at the hospital and were told which floor Dustin was on, they rode up the elevator in silence, both praying that he was okay. It was perhaps the longest elevator ride Dennie could ever remember, and he was only on the third floor. When the doors finally opened and the women stepped out, they immediately saw the nurse’s station with a couple of staff members working behind it.

  When they reached the desk, Sharon spoke up and announced, “We’re here to see Dustin Walls. He was brought in a couple of hours ago?” When the nurse questioned if they were family members, thinking quickly, Sharon said casually, “This is Dustin’s fiancée, Denise Spencer. Can she see him? Can you tell us how he’s doing?”

  Satisfied, the nurse replied, “The doctor will be here shortly to do a full evaluation. We don’t have any more specifics other than what was diagnosed in the ER. It appears that he hit his head very hard. It’s swollen and bruised. The ER also ascertained a broken arm and some ribs. Fortunately, he just woke up about thirty minutes ago and he’s talking a little bit.”

  Upon hearing this, both women let out a big sigh of relief, grateful that he was no longer unconscious. Finally speaking up in a shaky voice, Dennie asked, “May I please see him?”

  The nurse nodded her approval and indicated that only Dennie could go in the room. Sharon sat down in a little waiting area just down the hall and looked on as the nurse ushered Dennie a short way down the hall.

  Upon reaching Dustin’s room, Dennie thanked the nurse and stepped inside with a big smile on her face. Seeing him sitting up in the bed watching TV made her heart skip a beat. As he turned to her, she gave him a heartwarming smile and asked with deep concern in her voice, “Hey babe, are you okay? You gave us all such a scare. The nurse says you have a broken arm and maybe some ribs, but the doctor will be here soon to really check you out. How do you feel? Are you in pain?”

  As she gently cradled one of his hands in hers, she leaned in gently and brushed her other hand across his cheek, looking deeply into his eyes to see if she could see any pain reflected there. She could see cuts and bruises on his arms and one s
ide of his face and her heart swelled seeing him in this condition.

  Just as she was about to lean in further to give him a kiss, he asked quietly, “I’m sorry. Have we met?”

  ***

  What followed the next week was nothing short of gut-wrenching anxiety and sadness for Dennie. She couldn’t concentrate on anything. She found herself walking around in a daze. The doctor’s assessment of his condition was more frightening than she could bear. He told her that amnesia is common in people who get a hard blow to the head. But what scared her to death was learning that some people never come out of it. While the doctor tried to encourage her by saying that most times amnesia was temporary, there still was a chance it could be a good long while until, or if, he came out of it. Dennie cried herself to sleep every night and came to work every day with puffy black circles under her eyes. Even though she went to the hospital every day, Dustin only recognized her as the young lady that came regularly to visit. Although he called her by name, he spoke to her like she was a stranger and had absolutely no recollection of the love they had built together and the future they had been planning for.

  The day after the accident, Dennie called both Rick and Dustin’s parents. Rick flew into Denver immediately and was scheduled to be at the hospital any minute. Dustin’s parents were en route from Denver and were scheduled to arrive around dinner time. Dennie was praying that maybe seeing Rick, his longtime best friend or his parents would jog his memory. As she stood out in the hospital hallway, wringing her hands and pacing up and down, she heard the elevator beep, and when she saw Rick step out into the corridor with a somber look on his face, she ran to him with tears streaming down her face.

  Wrapping her up in his firm embrace, he just held onto her as she wept with uncontrollably. All he could do was hold onto her and rub her head softly. “Shhh…it’s going to be okay, Dennie. Dustin’s tough. He’s going to pull himself out of this. You just wait and see.”

  Hearing the panic and devastation in Dennie’s heartfelt sobs broke his heart. He only hoped that he was right about Dustin coming out of the amnesia. He knew his best friend and Dennie were deeply in love with each other and he was well aware of the fact that the accident, which only took seconds to happen, could very well have permanent consequences.

  Wiping away her tears as she started to calm down, he asked, “Has there been any change?” Seeing her nod her head from side to side, he said quietly, “Take me to his room.”

  As Rick followed Dennie down the hall, he hoped that by some miracle, Dustin would recognize him and be pulled back to the present. He had never met anyone with amnesia before and found himself a bit nervous, not knowing what he was going to encounter. As Rick entered the room behind Dennie, he watched her step aside and then looked over to the bed where Dustin was resting.

  Putting on a big smile, Rick sauntered over to the bed and said in a loud, lively voice, “Hey buddy. What’s this I hear about you falling off a horse? You must be losing your stellar riding skills, my friend.”

  Unbeknownst to Rick, Dennie knew right away from the all too familiar blank look on Dustin’s face that he didn’t recognize Rick. She was crushed.

  It only took a few more friendly jabs before Dustin smiled politely at Rick and asked, “I’m sorry. I can’t remember where we met before. What’s your name?”

  Dennie could see Rick’s shoulders slump, and wanting to give him time to adjust to the fact that Dustin had no idea who he was, she hurried to his side and explained to Dustin that he and Rick went to college together.

  Regaining his emotional balance, Rick proceeded to share stories of some of the things they did together in college, hoping to trigger a memory of some kind. After fifteen minutes of doing the ‘remember this, remember that’ dance, Dennie could see that Rick was finally giving up the ghost, realizing that Dustin’s amnesia was much more serious than he had thought.

  ***

  Day after day nothing changed. Dustin could not recall his parents any more than he knew who Dennie or Rick were. Even Scott and Amie were strangers to him. Dennie’s mom was inconsolable and his father looked like he wanted to kill someone. Both Dustin’s parents and Rick were staying at Dustin’s townhouse, hoping he would come out of the amnesia in a few days. Although Dennie loved finally meeting Dustin’s parents, she hated meeting them under these horrible circumstances. Despite the tragedy that had befallen them all, they did manage to go out to dinner each night and try to cheer each other up. Rick hadn’t seen Dustin’s parents in years and it was evident to Dennie they had a great relationship and enjoyed listening to them catching up. As fun as it was listening to them, Dennie couldn’t help but wish like hell that Dustin was sitting right beside her. They had been told by the doctor he was going to have to remain in the hospital for a while because of the serious trauma to his head. They weren’t worried about his broken bones, but they were very worried about the swelling in his brain. The doctor explained that until the swelling went down, it was imperative that he stay as still as possible.

  As every day went by, Dennie saw her future with Dustin disappearing. She was reading everything about amnesia she could get her hands on, and no matter what question she asked him about either past events as a child, or more recent events in the past year, Dustin remembered nothing. As brave as she tried to be on her visits, there were times she would get so despondent that she’d have to excuse herself and go into the bathroom to cry.

  Rick and Dustin’s parents finally had to go back home because of their work responsibilities but promised to be back soon. With them gone, Dennie felt more alone than ever, and if it wasn’t for her job and Sharon, she would have sunk into a deep depression. She was beginning to accept the fact that Dustin’s amnesia was going to be permanent and that he would never be coming back to her.

  ***

  As Dennie sat with Sharon at the end of the day in her office one month after the accident, she said with a heavy heart, “Share…I don’t think I can go to the hospital any more to visit Dustin. Every time I walk into the room and he doesn’t know me as anything more than this woman who comes to visit him every day, it chips off a piece of my heart.” I think I have to let him go, but I just can’t bring myself to do it. I love him, Share. Since we’ve been together, he’s become the best part of who I am. Since the accident, I feel that a part of me has been ripped away. What am I going to do?”

  Listening to Dennie was breaking Sharon’s heart. She loved her best friend and partner and hated to see her hurting like this. It was an impossible situation but there didn’t seem to be an easy answer about what to do. She knew that if Dennie tried to walk away, she would feel guilty for abandoning Dustin, but if she continued to stay by his side with him not remembering everything they had shared and the relationship they had built, it could quite possibly cause Dennie to suffer physically and emotionally because of the stress and anxiety. She felt so helpless not being able to guide Dennie through this difficult time, and frustrated that there was no easy answer.

  Looking at Dennie, Sharon said thoughtfully, “Well, I guess the good news is that he’s being released from the hospital next week and will be going back to work with Scott if they find that he can still remember how to do all of the activities that he knew how to before. If he does, then Scott will be able to keep an eye on him and keep you in the loop of his progress, if there is any. I think at this time, Den, you need to think about starting over. You’ve been so stressed this past month that I’m worried you’re going to have a breakdown. You’ve been by his side the whole time and you’ve done a great job keeping his parents and Rick up to speed on what’s going on. At the very least, I think you need to visit him once more in the hospital before he’s released and then back away for a while.”

  As Dennie listened to her friend, she knew Sharon was right. She had been feeling sick to her stomach ever since the accident and she could barely eat or sleep. Her work was starting to suffer because of it and as much as it was breaking her heart to emotional
ly say goodbye to him, she knew she had to.

  Although the doctor tried to remain positive, he hadn’t given them any hope that something was going to change any time soon. That night walking out of the office to go home, she felt more tired and drained than she had ever felt before. As she pulled out of the driveway, a single tear slid down her face as she accepted the fact that it was time to say goodbye to the man she loved.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Frustrated didn’t even begin to describe the way Dustin felt every day. The fact that he could remember all of the horseback riding trails, the history behind each of them, and all of the white water rafting routes…but couldn’t remember anything about his past was downright infuriating and frightening. Every so often his boss, Scott, would bring up a ‘remember when’ and Dustin had no idea what he was talking about. It was like living in some surreal after life. His townhouse was vaguely familiar, but every day when he went home and found something like an iPod or camera, he had no recollection of it. What was most haunting was when he got a telephone call each week from the people he was told were his parents. He didn’t even know their first names! All he could go on was what they, and some guy named Rick, who also called, would tell him. It seemed like someone was playing a big joke on him, and he waited every day for the joke to be over. It was the most petrifying feeling…walking through the world with only a handful of days in his memory banks. When his parents and Rick would ask him how Dennie was doing, he didn’t know why. He had just met her in the hospital and hadn’t seen her since he left. Why were they all asking him about a woman he’d only known for a few weeks? Every week he faithfully met his doctor. His broken bones had long since healed but his doctor put him through a battery of questions each week to assess whether any memory was coming back. When he walked around town, many people waved and stopped to talk to him, but he had no idea who they were. He had perfected the skill of pretending he knew them and he had learned to ask generic questions that could be asked of anyone. Although some of his closer associates knew the situation, many of the casual acquaintances had no idea.