Free Liberty by Ginger Jamison Page B

dystrophy would react. He’s had a few small seizures this week, but as you know at this point all we can do is make him as comfortable as possible.”
    She nodded. She knew Kyle would only get worse but still it was hard for her to hear it. “I stopped and got him some ice cream before I came here. Do you mind if I give him some?”
    “What kind?”
    “Double-fudge chocolate swirl.”
    “Good choice.” He nodded. “Normally I would encourage my patients to eat fat-free, no-sugar-added frozen yogurt, but in this case I say whipped cream and hot fudge are in order.”
    Lexy smiled at the doctor. “A man after my own heart. I’ve bought that, too.” She turned to pull a towel out from her brother’s nightstand and placed it over his shirt. “You want some ice cream, honey?”
    His eyes lit again and she wondered what was going on in his brain. Did he understand what was happening to him or was he blissfully unaware of the course of his future?
    Dr. Herbert had the bag in his hand when she turned back around. “Thank you. I feel really terrible that I wasn’t here for so long.” She pulled out a spoon and began to feed her brother. A memory of her feeding Ryan in the hospital entered her head, but she didn’t feel the same way feeding him as she did Kyle. And that bothered her more than she could express.
    “Don’t feel bad. Half the people stick their family in this place and never walk through the door again. You weren’t here because you couldn’t help it. I know how far you have to travel, Lexy. There is no way you could have been in both places. And you were where you needed to be. With your husband. Everything that can be done for your brother is being done. There is no need for you to feel guilty.”
    “Is there anything else I should be doing to help him?”
    Dr. Herbert shook his head. “You’re a good sister. And I know paying for his care must be a financial strain.”
    “I’m happy to do it,” she said quietly. It was more than a strain but it was the most important thing to her.
    “Keep visiting. His time left on this planet is limited. Just be here for him.”
    * * *
    When Ryan woke up the next morning his wife was gone. She left him a note telling him to eat the oatmeal she left warming on the stove and that there was fresh coffee in the pot, but she gave him no clue as to where she went. He hoped she would stick around today, not because the urge to be near her was nearly overpowering but because he still had so many questions about their life together.
    Nothing in their home seemed familiar or felt right, but this had to be his place, their home, because the man in the pictures with Lexy looked like him. Not exactly. The man’s eyes were different, his face a little fuller, but they were so similar in appearance they had to be the same man.
    Of course they were the same man. How could they not be?
    But what kind of man was he? A cheater? A drinker? He hated to hear those things about himself, but those must be the reasons she was so averse to him. And they were valid. But it seemed to go against everything he stood for. He wasn’t the type of guy who would cheat on his wife. He wasn’t a drunk. Or maybe he was. He simply couldn’t remember.
    Lexy did remember and she thought he was her husband. And Mary thought him to be her son. And his friends... To them, he was the same man who went off to war. He needed to remember, to find out who he really was. And if he wasn’t the man he should be then he was going to have to change all of that.
    This town was the place he grew up. Something had to trigger his memory. After he ate and showered he put on clothes that didn’t feel right against his skin and he stepped outside their little house to go to town. The yard, the garage, the driveway were filled with cars, all in various states of disrepair. He shook his head. It seemed like such a waste. The money that had gone into the cars could have gone to giving them a better life.
    He