Just The Way You Like It - Under Construction

Chapter Seventy-Six

Chapter Seventy-Six

I spent the rest of the night tossing and turning in the bed I shared with Wallace. He frowned a few times early on, but finally rolled over and left me to it. Half of me desperately wanted to tell Sam what he wanted to know, the other half wanted to keep quiet and protect myself from damage. I decided to stay true and wait for proof that Blake was alive. As promised, Wallace had bought a night light for me, which helped me to see, but didn't help me to sleep.

The morning came with the sound of Wallace's alarm, waking him up to head back out to work. I hadn't slept, but my excitement for the day made me feel alert and focused. Impatiently, I waited for Wallace to leave, but he seemed to drag his feet the entire morning. I knew already that something had happened yesterday at the hospital, but Wallace never told me what. I could only now assume that he didn't want to head back to whatever it was that was waiting for him there this morning.

Finally, twenty minutes late, Wallace bent over and pecked my cheek before turning and walking out the door. I waited for a few more moments and then headed for the bathroom. After a quick shower, which I desperately needed, and a moment to pull my hair into a pony tail, I got dressed and headed for the kitchen.

The place was blessedly empty, and I set to work. It was going to be a long morning, but well worth it in my opinion. After two very busy hours, I had enough food to feed a small army. I piled the food high onto a tray and left it on the counter to go find help. I hated relying on these men, but my wheelchair demanded it, so I went straight for the lounge.

Mr. Max wasn't there, but the old doctor was. Sighing I wheeled myself over and smiled. “Hi, I'm sorry. I know we're not supposed to talk to each other, but I was hoping you could help me. I need a tray brought down to The Pit.” The old man smiled and stood up slowly.

“Is it in the kitchen?” He asked as we headed out the door. I was a little surprised that he had spoken at all, but welcomed it just the same.

“Yes, thank you. Can I ask what your name is?” I knew I was pushing my luck, but decided to try and strike up a conversation anyway.

“Dr. Kaga Nuardi. At your service, Ma'am.” The name rang a bell in my head, but for the moment I couldn't place it.

“Nice to meet you.” We shook hands and continued our journey down the halls in silence.

When I opened the kitchen door again, I was dismayed when I found four men stuffing their faces full of the food I had just prepared. As quickly as I could, I wheeled myself over and ordered them to stop.

“What are you doing? This isn't for you. Get away!” Three of the men stopped chewing, but didn't move away. The fourth just watched me as he picked up another slice of meat off the tray. “I said, back off.” I could feel my insides begin to churn as my anger rose. The man snorted a little and picked up yet another piece.

“Of course this is for us. All of this is for us.” At this the man swiped his hand through the air, gesturing he meant the entire building was for his pleasure and his friends' pleasure. The three men not involved with the argument backed away slowly, waiting to see where our fight would lead. Dr. Nuardi had already taken a seat at the table.

“I'll say it again slowly this time, maybe you'll understand.” My words began slowly creeping out of my mouth, as I feigned that I was speaking to a child. “This food . . .” I pointed. “Is not . . . for you.” I poked his lower chest, daring his to keep eating. I watched as his hand lifted, inching closer and closer to my food.

The second his hand touched it, I kicked him hard with the one good leg I still had left. Feeling my shoe nestle snugly into his crotch, I smiled as I heard him try and inhale a gasp of air. The food that was still in his mouth became lodged, and he began to choke. His three comrades began to come to his aid, but a fierce glare from me held them back. With one hand on his throat, the other between his legs, the man dropped to the floor. His knees slammed hard onto the concrete before he rolled over onto his side and curled up into the fetal position.

I leaned over my chair and smiled at him as nicely as my rage would allow. “Touch my food again without permission, and I'll have your body stuffed into a cooler and shipped to your mother's front door. Got it?” The man nodded, still grasping at his neck. I waved Dr. Nuardi over, and by the time I made it back over to the door, the man was breathing once again. “If you guys would like to wait,” I said, turning to face the room again. “I can come back and fix you up something to eat.” The three men looked at each other and then nodded in unison. The fourth man, still recovering from his ordeal, threw up in the sink. “Serves you right.” I mumbled to myself.

Dr. Nuardi grabbed the tray of food, and together we headed for The Pit. Once we made it to the room with all the boxes, Dr. Nuardi set down my tray and turned to leave. I quickly grabbed onto his sleeve and motioned for him to bend down so we could talk. “Thank you, Dr. Nuardi.” I whispered.

“You can call me Kaga. I can't wait to try your food. It smells delicious.”

“Thank you. Can you stay for a few minutes?”

“Certainly, Child.” Kaga took a seat on the floor and waited.

I quickly set about my task, doling out proper portions of still-warm food to the women. A few of them grabbed my hand and squeezed; their silent way of thanking me. “You're never going to eat gross bread and yucky water again. Not so long as I'm around. Things are going to get better. I promise.” I whispered to each one before locking their crate back up and heading on to the next one. I'd have to talk to Dr. Nuardi about this more when I went back up to cook.

After I finished my round and cleaned up the mess, I set the empty tray on my lap we left. It was all I could do for now. The rest of plans would have to wait until Sam and Max came back with my supplies. The Pit was blessedly empty, and we made it back up to the kitchen without a problem.

Now there were five men to cook for. The original four, plus Dr. Nuardi. “What would you guys like to eat?” I asked sweetly, trying to brush off our earlier altercation. The five men looked at each other, seeming to silently agree with one another.

“Something spicy.” Dr. Nuardi said. The other four nodded in agreement. “Preferably with peppers. Yellow Bells are my favorite, and there should be some up in that cupboard to your left.”

By the time we had all finished eating the spicy curry and thai grilled chicken I had made, the six of us were actually getting along rather well. They all still seemed nervous about talking to me, but I tried to ignore it. At least for now.

Kaga turned out to be the grandfather of the Dr. Nuardi I knew from St. Micheal's. Dr. Nuardi Senior quickly recounted his tale of himself bringing his grandson to America. It was a story of opportunity, hope, hard work, and dedication, which made me wonder even more what had gotten him into a place like this.

I could tell the elderly man was still very passionate for his trade. So, we spent the rest of our time talking about the over-all health of the girls downstairs. Together, we agreed that a better diet would be key to getting them healthy again. I knew I would have to talk to Wallace about it later.

Mr. Max showed up later that day, hauling in most of the items that were on his half of the list. Excited beyond words, I took everything back to the bedroom and set to work. I didn't stop working, even when Wallace came in, throwing himself onto the bed with a huff. After a few minutes, Wallace lifted his head, peering down to eye my stuff on the floor. “What are you doing?” He asked, letting his head fall back down onto the mattress.

“Working.” I replied, too deep into what I was doing to say more.

“I've heard you've been making friends.”

“Yeah.”

“I'm glad this is working for you, Allie. I was worried you would hate it here.”

“I hate that this place even exists, but since I'm stuck . . .” Again my work pulled my train of thought away.

A moment later a flash of silver pulled my head up. Wallace played with my bracelet, spinning it around his fingers as he let the light from the room reflect through the diamonds. “Here.” He said, casually tossing it towards me. I couldn't stop myself from scrambling to catch it. I slipped it on my wrist and sighed at the feeling of its coolness on my skin. I knew Wallace was watching me, so I pretended to get back to my work.

Only the words on the underside of my bracelet were emblazoned in my mind. “Never Change” No Blake, I wasn't planning on it. “Thanks Wal.” I said as nonchalantly as I could. “You're the best.”