Chapter Four

Jennifer and Charlie arrive at the hotel. She is excited to spend the weekend with Charlie. They are planning to visit Kennedy Space Center on Saturday and the beach on Sunday. Jennifer takes a shower and Charlie goes to pick up a pizza for dinner. When she gets out of the shower, she puts on a luxurious, unforgettable all silk red night gown. Made of delicately woven lace to create a lovely line at the neck. Gathered bust seam reveals her feminine shape. Shimmering silk sweeps gently from the bodice to fall softly to her ankles. She wraps herself in a petal soft silk robe. Shimmering silk highlights the Calais lace along the cuffs of the long robe. Jennifer stands in front of the mirror brushing her hair for the perfect look. She wants to look perfect for a romantic night. In the mirror reflection she sees Logan lying in bed with Charlie kissing. Jennifer turns to walk toward the bed and the image has disappeared. Charlie walks into the door with pizza in hand. Jennifer knows the image was not real. She cannot understand what is happening to her. Why did she see the image? The image represented Jennifer’s insecurity with her relationship with Charlie. She did not know how the night would turn out. Did Charlie want to be with Logan if she ever awakens? 

Sandy falls asleep, while laying her head on the bed with Logan. Logan opens her eyes. She has no idea where she is. What happened to her? She cannot speak. She tries to move her hand to touch Sandy. She does not have the strength. Sandy continues to sleep not knowing Logan was awakened. Logan is tired and falls to sleep.

Nurse Marie walks into the room to take the vital signs of Logan. When the blood pressure cuff starts to tighten around the arm, she opens her eyes. Sandy knows she has awakened. The ability to look into the eyes of Logan is a Miracle. The miracle that she has been praying for. The nurse summons the doctor to come and check on Logan. Logan is still unable to move or talk. Opening the eyes is a sign of regained consciousness. After days past Logan begins to recover more. Logan begins to talk to Sandy. Sandy explained to her what happened. She begins to remember everything. She asks to see Charlie. She remembers being in love with Charlie. Sandy calls to talk to Charlie. Charlie is on a trip with Jennifer and does not answer the phone. 

Jennifer eats the pizza with Charlie. The two of them lay in bed and watch a movie together. Jennifer starts to hold hands with Charlie. The movie is scary, and she uses it as an excuse to get physically close to Charlie. She lays her head on Charlie’s chest and starts to rub it. Soon after Charlie responds to her sexual advances. The two of them have an enthusiastic night together. They wake up the next morning for the visit to the Kennedy Space Center. While at the Space Center Sandy calls Charlie and tells him Logan is awake and wants to see him. Charlie does not know what to say. Last night he had an intimate night with Jennifer. Things have changed now. What will he say to Logan? 

Charlie tells Jennifer that Logan has regained consciousness and wants to see him. Jennifer tries to convince him it would be better if he did not see Logan. What would it do to her emotionally to find out he is in a relationship with Jennifer? Will it cause her to have an emotional breakdown? She has already been through enough. She does not need any added pain. Jennifer did not want him to see Logan. She was afraid to lose him. Would the relationship rekindle? Logan was in love with Charlie when she went into the coma. She would still be in love with him. Charlie must decide if he wants to visit Logan. Jennifer is happy the weekend still includes a trip to the beach. All she wants is for Charlie to love her. The intimate relationship between them made Jennifer’s love for him stronger. Charlie had to have felt love for her or the intimate relationship would not have happened. 

Charlie enjoyed the day at the Kennedy Space Center. Charlie enjoyed a Cubano de Versailles. Cuban bread piled high with sweet ham, slow roasted pork, Swiss cheese, pickles, yellow mustard, and caramelized butter over the bread. Cuban Chicken Soup made with chicken, pumpkin, potatoes, carrots, celery, corn, and noodles. Jennifer enjoyed a Chicken, Bacon & Swiss Melt. All white meat chicken breast wrapped in Brown Sugar Bacon. Juicy slices of tomato, lettuce, pickles, smothered in melted Lacy Baby Swiss cheese on a warm toasted bun. The meal was a delight. They were spending more time together and talking to each other. It was time for them to become closer. It was time for the relationship to grow. 

They returned to the hotel room. Jennifer takes a shower. While in the shower, she sees Logan standing in the bathroom with a gun pointed directly at her. Logan has a confused look on her face. Jennifer is afraid that Logan is going to kill her. Jennifer blinks her eyes and Logan is gone. Seeing Logan pointing a gun at her is because Jennifer fills hostile, and threatened by Logan. She could lose Charlie to Logan. Jennifer comes out of the shower and puts on her gown, hoping for another night like the night before with Charlie. 

Charlie gets into the shower. While taken a shower, he remembered the night before. Charlie sees Jennifer standing in the hotel room with a wedding dress on. He wipes the water out of his eyes and Jennifer is not there. The man is taking a shower. He sees Jennifer wearing a wedding dress is because the relationship is growing. He wants to be with Jennifer forever. For the first time, he realizes he is in love with Jennifer. The feeling he had for Logan has now transferred to Jennifer. He must see Logan to evaluate his feelings toward her. Is he just lonely? Is the feeling true? The only way to know is to visit Logan. Later, Charlie calls Sandy to arrange a time to see Logan. 

Charlie falls asleep as soon as he gets into bed. Jennifer’s plan for a romantic, intimate night was a disappointment for her. Charlie never gave her the chance to make moves on him. All he could think about was Logan. Jennifer wakes up in the morning looking forward to a romantic day on the beach with Charlie. Jennifer takes Charlie by the hand and starts walking on the beach. It is a place of peace and serenity. She smells the fresh salty water in the air. As she walks on the beach, soft warm sand between her toes feels comfortable to her feet. The sky is cloudless and light blue. She can hear the rolling clear blue waves crashing on to the shore. She is standing on the beach in front of the seagulls. As the sun reflects on the water, it is shimmering. A walk on the beach is relaxing and romantic. The sun sets. The sky turns into a pink hue with a bright orange as the sun is going down on the horizon. As the sun sets, the sky fills with darkness. The day has ended, and the night has begun. 

The night sky is vast. There are countless stars that can be seen in the sky for miles. The starry sky supplied an atmosphere of comfort, peace, and serenity. There was a gentle breeze blowing and the nearby trees were swaying. As Jennifer looked into the sky, it reminded her it was one of the amazing creations of God. Only God could paint the sky so beautifully. The sound of the waves crashing was like music to her ears. She never wanted the night to end. Charlie put his arm around her shoulder and pointed out all the constellations in the sky. Charlie showed her the Big Dipper. It comprises seven bright stars, three of which are known as the handle of the dipper and the other four as the bowl and the body. Jennifer felt closer to Charlie. He was excited to show her the Big Dipper. She could hear the excitement in his voice. The beach was closed, and no one was there except for Jennifer and Charlie. Jennifer gently kisses Charlie and shares the passion of love. It was a magical time for Jennifer. 

Logan becomes confused as memories fill her head. She has unanswered questions. As she tries to remember her life, she gets a headache. The doctor gives her a sedative to help her relax. The thought and memories are too much for her at one time. Charlie goes to the hospital to see Logan. She is asleep when he enters the room. He sits quietly beside her bed for hours and waits for her to wake up. Sandy explained to him that Logan had an exhausting day. It filled her mind with memories, questions, and confusion. It might be better if he visits another day. Logan needs rest to recover. 

Sandy was afraid that Charlie would say something to upset her. After a month of her being in a coma, he stopped visiting. Sandy was sure he had moved on without her. He did not show any interest in her anymore. Logan did not need to be upset. Sandy was not sure how it would affect her. She convinced him to leave and assured him that Logan would know he came to see her. Sandy just wanted him to leave and not hurt Logan emotionally. 

Logan wakes up. Sandy waits to see if she asks for Charlie again. Logan remembers her life. She remembers her family. She remembers going to the prom with Charlie. Logan asks to see Charlie. Sandy tells her Charlie came by last night, but you were sleeping. He did not want to awaken you. You need to rest. Logan then asks for Sandy to call him and let them talk on the phone. Sandy agrees. 

Charlie’s telephone rings. He is with Jennifer. They are at a candlelight dinner mystery theater. They solved a staged murder scene through the audience collaboration and interaction with the actor. The dinner menu items are mysterious and have obscure names. The names on the menu confuse the guest. Diners are interested in the food mystery. Once the dinner is served, the dinner will know what the food is. 

Costumed actors welcome into a world of mystery guest. They will set with Charlie and Jennifer to explain the rules of the game and assign suspect roles. The roles played by audience participants are usually those of suspects who may have committed the murder. They gave props such as hats or glasses to the audience members that take part in the show. Guests will be in teams with others sitting at their table and will work together as dinner detectives. The object of the dinner is to enjoy a meal and solve the crime. 

Charlie turns his phone off. He does not want to be interrupted during the dinner. This is the first time he has been to a Murder Mystery Dinner. He wants to be the one to solve the murder. Jennifer will do anything to be with Charlie. Jennifer hopes the dinner will be a night the Charlie will enjoy and always remember. The show is entertaining with comedy and mystery. The Dinner is an enjoyable event for them. After dinner, Charlie drives Jennifer home. He walks her to the door and kisses her goodnight. 

Charlie walks into his room and looks at the phone. He has two missed calls from Sandy. He returns the call to Sandy. Sandy told him that Logan wanted to talk to him. He asks if it would be all right for him to come to the hospital. Sandy informs him visiting hours are over. He will not be allowed to see her tonight. Charlie asks if he could come by after school to see her. Sandy agreed.

Charlie lies on his bed to go to sleep. He wonders what he would talk to Logan about. Logan and he were dating when she went into the coma. He does not want to hurt her. But he cannot lie to her either. Could the truth devastate her? Would it send her back into a coma? He never thought she would wake up. Will she ever understand? He feels that he should not see her. Sandy was right. He needs to stay away from Logan. 

Jennifer walks up the stairs to her bedroom. While on the stairs, everything twirls into darkness. The pain of falling and the fear of death consumed her. She wished her fear was not real. She wished it were another vision she was experiencing. When she lands at the end of the stairs, she cannot move. She sees her life flash before her eyes. She thinks about all the mean things she did to Logan. In a faint voice, she yells for help. She is terrified that no one would hear her. What was she going to do? She could not get up. She could feel the pain flowing through her body. 

Jennifer has a severe headache. She remembers what happened to Logan. She feared being paralyzed. Would Charlie leave her like he did Logan? She was living in a nightmare. Lisa, Jennifer’s mother, darted into the hallway with panic on her face. She did not know how to help Jennifer. She was in shock at seeing her beautiful daughter at the end of the staircase. Lisa called the Emergency Medical Response to help with Jennifer. She was taken to the hospital and admitted for testing. 

Doctor Alexander, Neurologist, ordered test to figure out her condition. X-rays showed she had many broken bones. CT scan and MRI showed she did not have a brain injury. Myelogram showed Jennifer has a spinal cord and nerve injury. A spinal cord injury is permanent. The spinal cord cannot heal itself. Jennifer was distraught, thinking she could never walk again. While in the hospital, she began physical and occupational therapy. They taught her coping strategies for dealing with pain and the use of wheelchair. 

Charlie visits the hospital to see Jennifer. Jennifer tells him she is now in a wheelchair and unable to walk as tears filled her eyes. He holds her hand to comfort her. He knows that the incident changes everything for him. They can no longer experience the things they have in the past. Walking on the beach, dancing, playing sports, and other physical things. He does not have the heart to tell her how he feels. He only hopes she will walk again. It changed forever her life. Charlie does not want someone that he will have to take care of. He wants someone that is not dependent on him. 

Sandy sees Charlie walking out of the room down the hallway. Then he turns and walks to Logan’s room to see her. It overcame Logan with joy. She had been wanting to see him ever since she awaken. Charlie sits by her bed, and they talk for hours. Charlie tells her how much he missed being with her. He is glad she is better and looks forward to their next date. Happiness radiated through Logan. She could not wait until they released her from the hospital. She wanted to be reunited with the love of her life. The months in a coma had been hard on Charlie. He was still there, waiting for her to recover. The love he has for her is special. It takes true love to withstand the test of time. The moments she could not be with him. She still loves him, and he loves her. Nothing has changed. 

Sandy walked down the hallway to see whom was in the room Charlie walked out of. She saw it was Jennifer. Sandy went to the gift shop and bought Jennifer a get-well balloon. She delivered it to Jennifer. Jennifer was alone. Sandy sits and talks to her for hours. She only told Jennifer she knew her from school. The purpose of the visit is to find out what the relationship is between Charlie and Jennifer. She asks Jennifer to tell her about her friends. Jennifer was delighted to talk to someone about her boyfriend, Charlie. Her eyes sparkled with happiness as she talked about him. She told her about their trip to the beach. She relived the experience as she told the story. Sandy knew that Logan was going to be hurt. 

Sandy walks to the waiting room and sits down in a quite private corner. She calls Charlie on the phone. He did not answer. She waited about an hour, and she called again. His phone was turned off. Charlie did not want to talk to Sandy. Sandy knew the truth. He only started visiting Logan weeks after she awaken. She knew he did not care for her. She wanted to know why suddenly he wanted a relationship with her. Jennifer had told Sandy she was paralyzed. Was he walking out on Jennifer like he did Logan? She wondered how Charlie could be so nasty. How could he just hurt the girls without a second thought? Sandy is determined to confront Charlie about her suspicions.

Next chapter