What Alice Forgot

Elisabeth’s Homework for Dr. Hodges:

In a journal entry, Elisabeth writes that her husband, Ben calls and is driving Alice and Nick’s children to their swimming lessons from school. Elisabeth hears Olivia, Tom, and Madison in the background. Elisabeth thinks that this task is bringing Ben great joy, and that drivers in passing cars assume he is the father of the three children; she suppresses the thought, knowing that “If I think too much about this, it will hurt a great deal” (59).

Elisabeth calls Alice and thinks that Alice sounds different than usual. Alice babbles about dinosaur stickers and a beautiful red dress and thinks it’s 1998. Elisabeth thinks it “felt sort of good. felt real” (59), hearing Alice cry, as opposed to the strained politeness that has characterized their recent conversations.

Elisabeth goes to the hospital to see Alice; she has memories of North Shore Hospital recently. When she sees Alice, she considers what it must be like to have lost 10 years of memory. She recalls Madison being born and realizes that Alice no longer remembers this. Alice looks pale, ill, and uncharacteristically still. Alice wears an expression Elisabeth hasn’t seen for a while.