Just The Way You Like It - Under Construction

Chapter Eighty-One

Chapter Eighty-One

For the few weeks everyone stayed busy. Alice spent her time running between The Pit, her GED studies, and Wallace. Wallace spent most of his time trying to keep his act together. A bad case of the coughs had set in, making him miserable and sore. His energy was quickly draining, and most nights he would simply collapse into bed and fall asleep. Sam and Holly desperately tried to find a way to get Wallace's D.N.A., but the man made it impossible. Short of breaking into his apartment, or his office, they were stuck. Sam called his boss at the F.B.I. several times, but was denied clearance to break into any such place. Without more proof it was against the law, and Sam had already overstepped his bounds enough during this case. Blake made no change in recovery, seemingly happy to stay in a coma, although the swelling in his brain finally subsided and the doctors were able to take out the shunt.

By the time the end of July rolled around, Alice had finished all of the repairs and adjustments she could in The Pit, and the girls were doing much better. Solid food did the most good for them, along with regularly timed trips to the bathroom, and a twice daily notice of the date and time. It kept Alice busy, but she enjoyed the work, especially once she was able to get out of her wheelchair.

Alice hadn't seen or heard from Sam since their last encounter when she had given him the list of items she needed bought. It wasn't until much later on that Max informed her of Sam's demotion. No longer being a Councilman apparently meant that he wasn't allowed to communicate with Alice, or any of the other Council members, unless given permission from The Chairman. And, since there was no reason for Wallace to give Sam that permission, Sam had been absent from the scene for quite some time.

Alice watched Wallace begin to quickly fall into ill health during the month. He seemed a little worse every day, making her heart break to watch him suffer the way he was. His skin had turned an odd shade of gray, his eyes were now sunken deep into their sockets, and his cough was enough to scare anyone away. The few times Alice suggested that Wallace seek medical attention, he shot her down. “I don't need a doctor, Alice. I need a miracle. Besides, it's not as bad as it seems, I'm just tired.” It was obvious to Alice that he was avoiding the truth of the matter completely.

“Wallace, can I ask you something?” Alice said, sitting down on the bed where he lay.

“Yeah Babe, what's up?”

“What happens to us when you die?”

“How do you mean?”

“This place. The girls, and myself. What will happen?”

“I'm supposed to pick someone to replace me, but for now, I don't have anyone in mind. It was going to be Sam, but his actions over the last few months have made me change my mind. I suppose it will probably be Max. Then it will be up to him, what happens to everyone, though I would guess he will probably keep everything the way it is.”

“Why can't we just shut the place down?”

“Because it's not just my ass on the line, Alice. Everyone here has a stake in this.”

“I guess I just don't get it. The world would still revolve if the warehouse was closed.”

“True, but it's really not up to me. Let's say I die tonight, with full intentions of closing down the warehouse, who is going to respect my wishes? Nobody, that's who. I've told you before, this place has a mind of it's own. I'm just here to make sure nothing gets too out of hand.”

Alice sat in silence for a few moments, mulling over what Wallace had just told her. The more she understood, the less she liked it. But it was better than being naive or stupid. Wallace pulled her out of her thoughts by speaking again. “Hey Alice?”

“Yeah?”

“I don't want to give away too much, it's going to be a surprise. But I just thought you should know that I've got something planned for your birthday. I know we didn't do anything to celebrate last year, what with you being so busy with your therapy and all, so I want to make this year extra special.”

“You don't have to do anything special, Wallace. I'm fine.”

“I want to. You deserve something special after all the hard work you've put in down in The Pit. You deserve a break.”

“Well I suppose you won't take no for an answer. So, thank you.”

“Don't thank me yet. Wait until you see what I have planned.” Wallace's face was beaming, despite his illness, and Alice couldn't help but feel good for him. It had been a long time since he seemed that excited about anything. With only a few days until her birthday, Alice decided to enjoy the secrecy and wait until the day to find out what he had planned.

The morning of her birthday went by the same as all the others. The fact that it landed on a Friday meant that Wallace had to go to work, but before he left, he promised to give her the surprise before she went to bed that night. Alice couldn't help but feel the build of her own excitement grow as the hours passed by. Mr. Max and Kaga stopped by The Pit in the afternoon to wish her a happy birthday before they both disappeared upstairs for their daily card game.

Once lunch was out of the way, Alice hobbled upstairs, finally free of her wheelchair, for a long overdue shower. After brushing out her hair and getting dressed, Alice made her way to the kitchen to get an early start on the girl's dinner. An hour and a half later, she gently set the plates in the refrigerator and headed for the lounge. Mr. Max was there, as usual, sitting next to Kaga. They both eagerly agreed to take the food down at dinner-time if Alice were unavailable to do it herself. The three spent the next few hours chatting away about their lives.

Wallace popped his head in, wearing his mask of course, to pull Alice away from the table for just a moment. “Whenever you're ready, Alice.” He said, visibly excited about the entire situation.

“Are you going to tell me what we are doing? Or do I have to remain in suspense forever?”

“I don't want to tell you just yet, Dear. Go put on something warm and meet me by my office.” And with that, Wallace disappeared. Alice turned her head back to the other two, who both met her gaze with blank stares. Sighing, Alice left and headed for the bedroom.