Before I Saw You(39)
‘Do you want anything from Pizza Express?’
‘Pardon?’
‘Pizza Express. I’m going to get some food for Al – did you want anything? I’m hoping you’re the kind of guy that knows exactly what he wants, or equally can make a decision in about thirty seconds.’
Wow, this woman took assertive to the next level. He definitely approved.
‘I’ll have the American Hot, extra pepperoni and a share-size plate of dough balls.’ He couldn’t help but smile a little smugly at her. ‘Please.’
‘Nicely done.’ She nodded, turned, and walked off without saying another word.
*
His physio session with Darren turned out to be extremely successful, which did nothing to put Alfie in a good mood. He knew he should be celebrating his achievements, but every ounce of progress took him closer to leaving the ward and re-entering the reality of the outside world. Darren wanted to talk about it. What plans was he putting in place, how were his parents preparing for his return? He knew he’d have to face it soon, but every time he began thinking about it, he conveniently found something much more important and interesting to focus on. Although, he had to admit, seeing that pizza box by his bedside when he arrived back on the ward helped cheer him up a lot.
‘Sorry, we ate the dough balls – we got hungry and you were taking ages!’ Sarah called out.
‘Are you kidding me?!’
‘Obviously she’s joking. They’re in the box.’ There was a hint of exasperation in Alice’s voice, as if she was dealing with two unruly children.
‘Thank God for that. Don’t you underestimate me, Sarah. I may only have one leg, but you get in between me and food and there will be trouble.’
‘Don’t play the one-leg card with me. It won’t get you anywhere!’
‘Doesn’t get me very far now anyway, to be frank.’
‘Ha! Touché.’
‘I’m really not sure how I’m going to be able to deal with the two of you together. I thought having Alfie’s relentless joking was tiring enough.’
‘Jesus, Alice, when did you get so serious?’
‘Perhaps when I went and got 40 per cent of my body burnt in a fire?’ Alice shot back.
‘Ah, there she is!’
It was so funny having two voices to deal with from behind the curtain. He felt like he was back at school, trying to get on the good side of the popular girls. Alfie sat back in bed, pizza slice in one hand and dough ball in the other.
These next few days are going to be really fun.
31
Alice
The moment Sarah arrived at Alice’s bedside, it was as though she’d never been away. Everything felt so familiar that Alice would fleetingly forget about her burns and the bitterness and the bleak hospital surroundings. She felt like her old self again, the unstoppable, unflappable Alice Gunnersley. One look down at her arm, though, would bring reality crashing down around her.
‘Alice. You know that visiting hours are finished – please could your guest leave?’ Nurse Bellingham stood stony-faced at the end of the bed. ‘Quickly.’ Everyone else on shift had managed to turn a blind eye, but not her.
‘Sorry, nurse. I’m going now, I promise.’ Sarah hurriedly gathered up her belongings, which were already spread over every available surface. ‘I’ll be back tomorrow, OK, Al?’ She leant over and planted a gentle kiss on the top of her head.
‘Where are you staying tonight? How long are you even here for?’ Questions bombarded Alice’s mind. The day had felt like a dream, and there had been no space for logistics and practicalities until now.
‘Staying with Mum tonight, God help me, and then I’ll get an Airbnb or a hotel sorted tomorrow.’ Sarah looked at Alice apologetically. ‘And … annoyingly, I could only manage to get ten days off work. They said that with me still being quite new, they couldn’t afford to give me much more. I’m so sorry, Al.’
Ten days.
A hard lump was forming in her throat, tears pricking her eyes.
Just enjoy it. Day by day.
Since when had she got so goddam needy? Had she underestimated the extent of her damage after all? Perhaps nearly dying had left its emotional scars too. She swallowed down the disappointment and dragged a smile on to her face.
‘Don’t be silly. It’s amazing you’re even here.’ She prayed the sincerity had masked the disappointment. ‘Genuinely.’
‘Miss Gunnersley, if I come in there and find that your friend has not in fact left yet, I will be extremely unhappy.’
Sarah’s eyes widened as she tried her best not to laugh. She lowered her voice to a whisper. ‘It’s like we’re back at school again! Right, I’m going. I love you and I’ll see you tomorrow. Unless of course this woman murders me on the way out for breaking her rules.’
‘Just run really, really quickly.’
In one mad dash of bag, blonde hair and swearing, Sarah was gone. Alice couldn’t stop herself from laughing out loud when she heard her friend’s departing cry: ‘Alfie, I’m bringing pain au chocolat tomorrow for breakfast – hope that’s OK?’
‘Hell, yeah!’ her neighbour shouted back.
It turned out that Alice wasn’t going to be the only one benefiting from Sarah’s arrival. Alice didn’t mind. Before now, Alfie had started to become the closest thing she’d had to a friend. It might have changed her thoughts on him if Sarah hadn’t liked him. As brutal as that sounded, Sarah’s opinions were important to Alice. If she didn’t like someone, it would be hard for Alice to either.