Gravity | ONC 2023

Chapter 5

Eloise

Alice is smiling at me. And I'm trying to process the last five minutes. Two first dates in one night. Maybe that will make Katie less mad that I skipped out on James. And this might make up for the date with James being terrible. Actually, it already has. Alice is funny. And sweet. And cute. And she wants to go on a date with me? Be on a date with me. We are on a date.

What is my life?

Alice's phone rings. She checks the caller.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. It's my brother. One second." She raises the phone to her ear. "Peter? Everything ok?" She listens for a moment, and her face falls. "What? Is she ok? What happened?" A pause. "I don't understand. I was with her all day. She was fine." Another pause. "Um, yeah. I can be there in twenty minutes. As long as there aren't any delays on the subway. Yeah. I'll text you when I get there. Ok. Bye."

"That doesn't sound good."

"Um, it's not," she says. "My mom's in the hospital."

"Oh my God. What happened? Is she ok?"

"I'm not sure. They're not sure. But I, uh, gotta go. I'm sorry." She starts gathering her plate and bottle.

I do the same. "No, it's ok. Do you want me to come with you?" Where did that come from?

She freezes. "You want to come to the hospital with me?"

"I mean...if you don't want to go alone..." Oh, Eloise. What are you doing?

"My brother will be there," she reminds me.

"Right. Well, no worries."

She considers me for a moment. "It might be nice. To have you come along. But only if you're totally ok with coming to the hospital. It's not exactly a great first date location."

"It's ok. I -" I clear my throat. Do I tell her all of my baggage? Do I spill now that my mom died when I was fourteen, and I spent a lot of time in hospitals? And I know what it's like to get that kind of call? Maybe not at this very moment. Not a good uplifting story at a time like this. "As long as you're ok with me meeting your mom and your brother on the first date."

"Are you ok meeting my mom and brother on a first date?" She flashes a quick, tense smile. "And going to a secondary secondary location?"

I let out a laugh. "You haven't killed me yet."

"What if this is all just an elaborate plan to get you to my torture chamber?"

"I'll risk it."

She hesitates again, but eventually she stands and holds out her hand. I frantically grab the rest of my stuff and take it. It's cold, and her fingers slide between mine without hesitation. We drop our trash in a can and hurry to the nearest subway station. Except to go through the turnstiles, she doesn't let go of my hand. She actually kind of clings to it. It's the only indication that she's stressed out. Otherwise, she looks completely calm.

We stand together on the train, close enough that I can smell her perfume - something flowery and sweet - and see a tiny scar just above the neckline of her shirt. We don't talk, and it gives me time to think about how insane this night has been. From start to finish. From A to Z. So many things I have to tell Katie - and apologize to Katie about.

She's still gripping my hand when we finally get to the hospital. She calls her brother to find out where they are, and he has to give us turn by turn instructions to get the right floor and department and waiting area. She only lets my hand go when we find him. They look like twins - the same bright blonde hair, blue eyes, and muscular build. Is he a dancer, too, or is that a genetic thing? And he likes black, too, but he's in slacks and a black sweater.