Just The Way You Like It - Under Construction

Chapter Forty-Eight

Chapter Forty-Eight

Spring came and went, turning over into a hot summer in the town of New Coven. Blake and Alice never saw the other, and eventually their worries over each other turned into some sort of dream for the both of them. Alice settled into a comfortable relationship with Wallace, insisting that she not move in with him until she was ready. Wallace agreed, although he wasn't happy about it, and faithfully showed up daily for Alice's session before taking her out for a date. He did his best to treat her kindly, and the memories of their fight in the first few hours of Christmas vanished from thought. Alice grew to be happy with Wallace, content to have someone who cared for her. His kindness did not go unappreciated throughout the months, and they grew used to their company.

Willub had decided to hang on to his job for as long as he could, fearing the stock-market would crash and he would lose his life-savings. Blake impatiently waited, asking Holly daily if there had been any change in the matter. Each day, Holly would shake her head, never looking up from her stacks of bridal magazines that sat on her desk outside of Willub's office. They too had finally become a pair, as Holly relied on Blake for more than she wanted to admit. While Blake kept Holly around for their contract. Knowing their wedding date was quickly approaching, Blake picked up the habit of pacing his office, fearing the worst. If Willub didn't let go of his job soon, Blake would have no choice but to marry Holly. And even though Alice never returned his letter, Blake held out a faint hope that she would wait for him.

Alice spent most of her days at the repair shop. Her temp job had suddenly turned permanent in the month of May when the original receptionist suddenly decided to become a Stay-at-home-mom. Luke had helped Alice get a savings account at the local bank, and Alice religiously deposited a portion of her checks into the small fund, in the hopes of buying a ticket out the Los Angeles. Asking Hank for a raise was out the question, knowing that he had already given her so much. Instead, Alice asked for a promotion, and Hank was only to happy to start teaching her the ins and outs of automotive repair.

It wasn't until June when Alice's life really shifted gears. Dr. Tunstall came to their daily therapy session with a pair of braces and a set of crutches. Eyeing them greedily, Alice snatched up the chance when Dr. Tunstall offered to let her try them out.

Walking on her own was hard work, but Alice relished every second of it. Dr. Tunstall warned her to take it easy and not push herself too hard. But, Alice ignored the advice and used her crutches for the rest of that day, only to crawl into bed that night with terrible leg cramps and tremors that didn't subside until the following afternoon. By the time July rolled around, Alice was walking on her own.

Life was so much easier when she was no longer confined to a wheelchair, and Alice would dance wobbly around Tess' kitchen table, showing off her new legs, mostly for Hank's amusement. Rarely would Tess ever comment about Blake while Alice was in ear shot, and when she did, it was always an off handed remark about an interesting event. Tess would sit with Hank on the sofa and say things like, “Oh Dear, I almost forgot to tell you. We had an emergency today at work. Poor Mr. Canters came in with a terrible headache, ended up with an aneurism. Blake's pretty confident though for a full recovery.” Alice tried to ignore Blake's name, when ever it was mentioned, but usually her attempts failed and Alice would find herself digging under her pillow for her note pad. She would read his note over and over, wishing she had the guts to write him back.

Wallace would bring Alice's name up on a rare occasion around Blake's presence, and Blake's ears would pick up every time. Wallace never spoke directly to Blake though, not after their huge blow-out, days after Christmas. Usually, Blake would over hear Wallace talking to another co-worker about his date with Alice the night before while Blake filled up his cup by the coffee cart. “Ah, man, you should have seen her. Alice was like an angel! I swear, I don't know how she does it. She wore this sexy little blue thing, I don't know what its called, but anyway, fuck it made her look hot.”