Just The Way You Like It - Under Construction

Chapter Forty

Chapter Fourty

IAlice spent the next few days very busy as she picked through her memories, learning more and more about herself each day. Wallace and Alice spent more time together as he helped her though the journey. Tess assisted her every night, as Alice doubled her efforts at physical therapy, and Hank was even kind enough to offer Alice a job at his repair shop. His receptionist was about to take maternity leave, and within a few weeks, there would be a slot available should Alice want it. For the first time, things felt like they were working in her favor, and she relished every second of it. Still, thoughts of Dr. Hansen slipped in periodically throughout the days, and Alice felt terrible for leaving him the way she did. Granted, she was still mad at him, but she thought she probably could have acted more like an adult as she took her leave from his home.

Alice had also made several phone calls to Luke, updating him every day on her newly found pieces of her missing childhood. Luke searched desperately to find her parents, and on Thursday, he finally got a message back from Alice's home town, alerting him to her parents where-abouts. Alice's phone rang late on Thursday night, and Luke gave her all the information she would need to contact her mom and dad. Alice decided to wait until Saturday to call the phone number she had just scribbled down, as it would give her time to think about what she would say to her parents when they answered their phone.

Wallace pushed Alice harder and harder every day, and the more she remembered, the better she felt. It was comforting to know that she could remember most of her childhood, and they decided together that they would take a break for the weekend and start working again on Monday. Wallace grabbed his coat and hat from the rack before turning and facing Alice again. He made a strange clicking noise with his tongue, and it sounded familiar to Alice, even though she couldn't recall ever hearing him do it before. She watched Wallace as he shuffled his feet a little and brushed a piece of lint off of his coat. He looked nervous, but she couldn't for the life of her understand why.

“Is everything okay, Wallace?”

“Fuck yeah. I uh, I was just wondering if you wanted to, uh. Shit, I suck at this.”

“What is it?” Alice asked, becoming seriously concerned for Wallace's nerves. She had never heard him swear before, even though it seemed to suit him.

“You wanna go out for drinks tomorrow night?”

“Just you and me?”

“Yeah. Not like a date or anything like that. Just, you know, shit, friends or whatever.”

“Um, yeah sure Wallace. Sounds nice.”

“Okay, sweet. I'll pick you up around eight.” Wallace made a hasty exit, and Alice chuckled softly as she headed back to her room. Even though she had never had alcohol in her entire life, Alice was excited to go out and try it. Adults drank, and she was an adult, doing adult-like things. Plus, going out on a non-date sounded like fun.

Friday morning, Tess and Alice went shopping at the same grocery store Alice had been to with Dr. Hansen. Thankfully he apparently wasn't there, as they made their way aisle by aisle, picking up food for the week. After leaving the store, Tess dropped Alice off at the car repair shop where her husband worked, so Julie the receptionist, could teach Alice the ropes before she went on maternity leave. The job seemed easy enough, and Alice could do all of it from the comfort of her wheelchair. All she had to do was answer the phone, make appointments, file the receipts, make coffee, and keep track of the bills. Her reading and writing skills had improved dramatically over the last few weeks, she already knew how to make coffee, and the phone never rang the entire afternoon.

Hank drove Alice home and she had just enough time to clean up, get changed, and eat a quick bite of food before her eight o'clock non-date with Wallace. The door bell rang at ten past eight, and Alice opened it to see Wallace standing outside on the porch with a bouquet of flowers in his hand. “I know I said this wasn't a date, but I wanted to bring you these.” He said as he shoved the flowers towards her face. His tongue began clicking again as he walked in behind her. Alice asked Tess for a vase and she helped quickly place the flowers in water before greeting Wallace and promptly pushing them both back towards the door.

“You two behave tonight. And Wallace, I want Alice home before midnight.” Alice grabbed her coat and Wallace helped push her down the porch steps and out to his SUV. He struggled a bit more than Blake had as he set Alice down in the passenger seat and put her wheelchair in the back. Wallace didn't drive very far before he pulled into a small parking lot and jumped out. They rushed over to a bar and Wallace held the door open for Alice so she could push herself inside. The place was warm and loud, a perfectly ideal setting for a drinking establishment. People were packed from one end of the room to the other and it took Wallace a few minutes to find them a table. A tiny slip of a woman came over and gave Wallace a sexy smile before turning and frowning at Alice. “A new one already Wallace?”

“Fuck, shut up Becky.” Wallace yelled over the din as he smacked his head with his hand.

“Whatever Wal. Like I care. What do you wanna to drink?”

“I want a scotch. What do you want Alice?”

“I don't know. I've never had a drink before.”

“Shit! Seriously?” Alice shrugged her shoulders and smiled at Wallace who ordered her a Cosmo. She had no idea what it was, but she was itching to find out. Becky left and Wallace and Alice smiled at one another for a moment before she spoke up.

“Who is she?” Alice had to almost scream for Wallace to hear her over the music and the other patrons.

“Just an ex-girlfriend, nobody important.”

“I think she still likes you.”

“What makes you say that?”

“The way she smiled at you, it's pretty obvious.”

“Yeah, well she's a whore, so I could give a rat's ass what she feels like.” Alice giggled at Wallace who seemed pretty oblivious to the fact that he was an apparent avid curser.

“You swear a lot, you know that?”

“Sorry, it's a bad habit. Don't know where I picked it up from.”

“I kinda like it.”

“Good, cause the more I drink the more I swear.”

Their drinks arrived a few minutes later, and Alice took a tentative sip of the pink concauction that was placed in front of her. It was sickly sweet, but she loved it and had her glass empty in a matter of minutes. Wallace finished his glass a few seconds later and flagged Becky down for another round.

By the time Alice was on my third drink, she could understand why so many people were in the bar. Alcohol was fabulous, and she was starting to feel its effects on her as she began to sway in her chair. As Alice waited for her forth, she began looking around the room at all the different people that were around her. Most of them were dressed casually, a handful were dressed up in suits and ties, while a few more were still in their uniforms from their various jobs. Most of the women were dressed up in skirts, low-cut shirts, and high heels.

Alice's eyes rested on a woman that for a second she couldn't place. The woman sat only a few tables away, and Alice turned back to Wallace poking him with her finger to get his attention.

“Who is that?” Alice shouted, blatantly pointing her finger towards the woman.

“Balls woman, don't play dumb. That's Holly and you know it.” Alice turned her sight back to Holly who was talking to someone across the table from her. Alice looked over to the man she was sitting with. Blake sat at their table completely ignoring Holly and staring straight at Alice. She felt her stomach surge and the growing sensation that she was going to throw up.

“I'm gonna go to the bathroom, kay?” Alice said to Wallace, who waved her away and haled Becky down for another drink.