Alice's Story: Chapter 3
“Never commit yourself to a cheese without having first examined it.”
T.S. Eliot
It was so quiet, so empty. The place that had been home to Alice for so long was bare of any reminder that she had ever lived there. It still smelled like dust and the vanilla candle she had burned the night before. It smelled like home.
Well, this is it. There’s no going back… I’ve made my choice.
Her lip trembled for a moment, but she stood firm.
Alice’s steps dragged as she approached the bright red truck that held all of her possessions and a certain pink clad woman. The heat beat down on her like an oven, perhaps she would miss the smell of baked earth and the sun that never seemed to set.
“Hiya!” All set?” “Yup!” Alice tried to make her voice sound cheerful, but as Elizabeth got in the driver’s seat she couldn’t repress one last glance at the low sandy hills.
A thousand different feelings clamored for utterance. Fear, excitement, remorse, relief, sadness, which could she let out?
“You sure you want to do this?” Elizabeth’s voice was softer than it had been before, and she looked kindly at her passenger. “Yeah, let’s get the hell out of here,” Alice replied stiffly.
And then they were off. Off down the Road to Nowhere…
***
“Bridgemore is very different from Strangetown," Elizabeth explained as they navigated hair-raising turns and endless forests, "No deserts, a heck of a lot more water, trees, no mad scientists or creepy graveyards… I’m sure you’ll love it!”
“Your place is a little of the beaten track, but in such an up ‘n coming area you’ll soon have tons of neighbors.”
“And here we are!” The truck groaned to a stop in front of a small house facing the harbor.
“Oh, Elizabeth! It’s amazing! I can’t believe it!” Alice’s grin felt like it would split her face. A fresh breeze brought the smell of water and growing things and soft sunlight filtered through the trees.
“I’m going to look inside! I have the keys!” Alice skipped up the stairs. “You won’t be that happy when you see what the inside looks like,” Elizabeth called after the orange blur, “Crazy kid,” she muttered to herself, twisting a strand of hair.
Elizabeth soon followed Alice and found her delightedly examining the great room. “Look! There’s a fireplace! Oh, how lovely!” Alice squealed. Elizabeth coughed, this bubbliness was just too much.
“The bedrooms are over there if you want to take a…”
“Oof!”the breath was crushed out of her lungs by a huge hug from Alice. “Thank you so, so much, Elizabeth! This is amazing and it’s all thanks to you!”
“Yeah, well, let’s not get too excited. We still have to sign papers and get you checked out by a doctor,” Elizabeth disentangled herself from the other woman. “Shouldn't we get to work?”
And so they worked. Painting, cleaning, and unpacking…
Raiding the local flea market…
Moving furniture…
Elizabeth went back and forth from SimCity, but she left plenty of simoleans. So Alice was left to put the finishing touches on the house…
Burn the first grilled cheese sandwich…
And finally satisfy herself that the house was indeed perfect.
***
"Ms. Jones?" a male voice shook Elizabeth out of a brown study. "I'm sorry, what were you saying, Doctor?"
"Well, Ms. Dickens' paperwork all checks out and we'll have the results of the bloodtest sent out to the lab you mentioned. The name is not familiar to me, but it's in Sim City, correct?" "Oh yes," Elizabeth replied smoothly, "It's a very competent facility, to be sure."
The only sound that disturbed the quiet was the doctor's heavy breathing as he scratched a few notes on his papers and the groan of machinery in the other room. After a moment the doctor cleared his throat and said, "You can go in now, it's almost time."
Alice was pale, the air conditioning made the room feel like a freezer. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Elizabeth asked softly, "There's still time for you to change your mind, you'll still have the house no matter what."
Alice looked straight into Elizabeth's eyes, "I've made my choice. I can't go back. The least I can do is fulfill what I've said I'll do." For some reason, Elizabeth couldn't stand to look into those knowing brown eyes. "You have changed my life, Elizabeth. You have saved it, really, and given me a purpose. Don't worry! Whatever happens, I am content"
...
...
...
...
"Are you okay? How do you feel? Are you dizzy!?!" Elizabeth's voice was shrill and drowned out the softer words of the nurse. For a moment, Alice was still, one hand out to balance herself. Then, with her eyes round as melons, she said "I have the weirdest craving..."
***
"What a heap of paperwork!" It was later that night, back at Alice's house. The air was cool and the candle that Alice had insisted on lighting wafted a pleasant glow on the two faces, one contorted with emotion, the other expressionless.
"Well, here goes nothing!" Alice made a quick swipe with her pen and added a little heart above the "i"s.
"I propose a toast!" Elizabeth held up her glass that looked dull against the candlelight, "To the future, may it be bright!"
"To the future!" Alice echoed, taking a long drink. Elizabeth did not drink, she only stared fixedly at the painting across from her.
"Oh!" Alice exclaimed, her glass slipping out of her hand and shattering on the floor.
With a thud, Alice's head hit the table. Elizabeth sighed, "Well," she drawled, "That's that."
***
- First of all, I would like to apologize for it being so long since I posted the last chapter.
- I also would like to apologize for the weird quality of the pictures, I went through several graphics changes, a computer crash, and 2 different lighting systems while I was taking these pictures.
- Even though I crossposted this from Dreamwidth, the coding is still wacky :/ Does anyone know how to fix it? I am so sick of tweaking things, I am at my wit's end!
- Again, I am SO sorry! I hope you enjoyed it anyway! ^_^