Alice, the Dentist, and William sat at the small table in the cramped dining space. As there were only two chairs sitting at the table to accommodate Alice and the old man alone. Seeing as how he never had any company, and Alice was prohibited to invite anyone over to dine with her, as it would be a breach of her contract with the old man. Not that she would have had many friends to invite As all the people she had known in her childhood in the orphanage were barred from the "outside world," as the headmistress had called it. To this day, years later, she hadn't so much as dared to visit. For she knew she would not receive a warm welcome. She hadn't had the pleasure of making many acquaintances in town either. Save for the jovial cafe shop owner, Ezra. As she dragged a chair from the waiting room over to accommodate William, Alice realized that her world was very small indeed. "William, help her with that chair." The old man gruffed at his son, and William sprang upwards to her aide. The chair was not particularly heavy, it was simply wide and cumbersome. She could have moved the chair over on her own but supposed it would be faster if he did. And she was hungry. The old man and herself hardly ever had any warmed or heated food for supper, despite the small stove that resided beside the ice box. Oftentimes, the two of them would simply pull whatever they had from the ice box and eat it cold. Which more often than not consisted of sandwiches and hardboiled eggs. That was all they had at the moment, and Alice found herself strangely embarrassed to serve William a plate. If the old man noticed her embarrassment, he made no show of it; nor did he seem to mirror her reservations. He accepted the plate she handed him with a nod and a brisk thanks and bit into his sandwich. If William thought anything about the dining situation was amiss or awry, he said nothing. To his credit, he took boisterous bites of the sandwich and exclaimed that he had no idea where she had managed to find tomatoes this time of year. "Oh, Ezra, the man who works the cafe in town grows them! His husband has a beautiful indoor garden!" "The cafe in town? The Last Drop?" William asked quizzically between bites as Alice realized that they had no beverages that she could offer him. Not even a cup of tea. Although there was tap water to be had, I suppose Alice thought. But abandoned the thought as quickly as it had arisen because she could not in good conscience offer tap, unflavored and unseasoned, to the foremost confectionery in the world. What a pair we must be. Alice thought. The Dentist and herself must seem abysmally grim. "Yes, across the road from the library!" She answered, trying to keep her voice cheerful despite her rising embarrassment. "Oh, I shall have to visit sometime! Please say you'll take me!" Alice laughed at his palpable excitement. "Of course, I will!" she looked at the old man. "On the condition, of course, that I get to see your illustrious factory." The young confectionary concierge beamed, "Of course! You shall, and you simply must!" "Wonderful," said Alice. "I am sure that your father and I will have a splendid time." As she bit into her egg and watched as father and son shared a look of shock and horror. Both had fully believed that the invitation had been extended solely to Alice. Neither made a sound to the contrary. Finding it strangely impossible to oppose her. A hush fell upon the table then, a silence that was not entirely uncomfortable but grew more so with each passing moment. Alice attempted to fill the silence with chatter but struggled to think of anything to say. In truth, there were only so many minutes that one required to eat a hard-boiled egg and a sandwich, and the "dinner" was over shortly after it had begun. Alice rose to take the plates, and William took them from her and placed them into the washing bin. "No need to worry about these, Alice! I'll give them a good rinse!" Before Alice could object, the old man arose as well. "Goodnight, Alice. I will be retiring to my office. Please lock up behind him." he said briskly, and which that, he was gone. William sighed deeply as he watched his father walk away. "Goodnight," he whispered after him. So softly Alice wasn't sure if he had even meant to say the word aloud. He seemed so absolutely crestfallen by his father's seeming disinterest in who he was and anything that he did. Alice patted his shoulder from behind as he dried his hands on the hand towel by the sink. "He will come around." She told him. William glanced up at her with his sad brown eyes. "How do you know?" He asked. "Because. I simply do." She answered. William laughed his pleasant laugh. "Well, I suppose I can't argue with that! I just..never know how to talk to him." Alice put on her coat and handed William his. "He doesn't know how to talk to you either. But you will both learn. Because you are both trying to learn, William. Give it some time." William put on his coat and hat and followed her into the snow, always taking her arm and watching her feet as she stepped to ensure that she would not fall. "You seem so sure, Alice. I wish I could bottle up your confidence and carry it around with me." He said, laughing his easy laugh as his breath made clouds in the dwindling grey of daylight. Alice laughed with him, as she found she often did. The two exchanged their goodbyes, and Alice waved and watched him go until he was nothing more than a sliver of marron in the fog.
Upon re-entering the dentistry, Alice happened to glance at her reflection in the small mirror she kept above her desk in the upstairs bedroom. She noticed that her cheeks were rather flushed. It must be from the cold. She thought. Or perhaps I am coming down with a fever. No other reason. She told herself as though she were trying to dissuade herself from discovering some secret she was not ready to acknowledge or admit. But as she lay in bed that night, just before she fell asleep, she thought of William. She hoped would visit again soon. In truth, despite themselves, all who slept under the dentistry roof thought of William that night, and wished he would return soon.
