Before I Saw You(51)

Come on, Alfie, you’re in a hospital ward full of sick people all waiting to be saved; it’s definitely her.

He knew now more than ever that the plans he’d been formulating to keep her entertained were important. If he could find some subtle ways to get her to open up then maybe the life of Alice Gunnersley would be demystified at last. So far in their friendship he’d been privy to small glimpses of her life before the accident, but it wasn’t enough any more. The deeper their connection grew, the more Alfie wanted to know about her. He set to work immediately.

‘Nurse Angles. Hey, Nurse Angles!’ He tried not to shout too loudly but he needed to get her attention. Trying to catch up with the busiest woman on earth while negotiating walking with a prosthesis was no easy task.

‘Come on, baby, walk with me if you’ve got to talk – I’ve a long list of stuff to do.’ She didn’t even look up from her clipboard but he knew he had her attention.

‘OK, OK! Basically, I need to ask a favour. Well, two actually. Firstly, I need an A3 sheet of paper and a thick black pen. Secondly, I need you to stick what I’m going to write on said paper with said pen to the inside of Alice Gunnersley’s curtain.’

Immediately she started to shake her head. ‘Oh, no no no! What the hell are you up to? I can’t be shoving things in patients’ faces without permission! Plus, we’ve only just got her talking and cooperating. I’m not doing anything to jeopardize that. You know better than this, Alfie.’

‘But she’s asked me to do it … kind of.’ Technically that was a lie, but he knew some things were worth taking a risk for. ‘And you know there’s no way she’ll let me inside her cubicle! Please, Mother A. I know how much this will cheer her up.’

She stood there for a moment, clearly thinking carefully about her answer. Alfie hoped that she could see how important this was to him. How important this would be for Alice. Suddenly a noise erupted from her trouser pocket; she was being beeped.

‘I have to go. Look, if I say yes and this turns out to be one great big mistake, I will make your life hell on this ward, Alfie Mack. You do know that, right?’

Oh, he knew. He knew that Nurse Angles meant every single word.

‘I know that, and I also know this won’t be a mistake. I promise you that.’

‘Fine! I’ll get you the paper and pen, and then leave whatever you want me to put up on the desk.’ She patted him on the cheek and sped off to deal with the ever-growing list of demands being thrown at her.

‘Remember, it needs to be put there overnight so she sees it in the morning!’ He didn’t want to push his luck but it was an important part of the plan.

‘Jesus, Alfie, the things I do for you,’ she called back over her shoulder.

His bubble of excitement was quickly followed by a sharp pang of nervousness.

Please God, don’t let this be a massive mistake.





41


Alice





‘Right, Big Al, it’s 10 a.m. You know what that means?’

‘You’re never going to call me Big Al again?’

‘Incorrect. It’s the quick-fire-questions game. One hour of relentless questioning, no time for thinking: just the first answer that comes to mind. Them’s the rules, remember!’

Much to Alice’s surprise, she’d woken up that morning to a handwritten ‘Daily Fun Schedule’ attached to her curtain. The moment she saw it she felt sick.

How the fuck did that get there?

Did he come inside my cubicle?

No, he wouldn’t have.

But who else would have put it there?

‘Alfie, what on earth is th—’

‘Before we go any further, Alice, I want to assure you I did not set one foot inside your curtain. I promise you. I pulled a few strings and got one of the nurses to help me.’

For some unknown reason she trusted him on this one.

‘OK … but still, what the hell is it?’

‘It’s our daily fun plan. A regular schedule to keep you entertained, courtesy of moi. It’s pretty great, I won’t lie.’

Alice scanned the sheet of paper.

The early morning was assigned to the nurses’ rounds and then there was time allocated for breakfast and washing – a generous hour and fifteen minutes – before the supposed fun and games began. She sensed the extra fifteen minutes had been added in a slight panic. Alfie probably wasn’t sure how much time a badly burnt woman needed to get herself ready for the day. Bed baths with burns weren’t a fast or enjoyable experience.

The rest of the day was laid out and time-boxed to within an inch of its life.

10.00–11.00: Quick-fire questions.

11.00–12.00: Reading. (She wasn’t quite sure if this meant out loud to each other or silently. She prayed for the latter.) 12.00–13.00: Lunch.

13.00–15.00: Physio for Alice and Alfie (depending on the day).

15.00–16.00: Puzzle books.

16.00–17.00: Nurses’ afternoon rounds.

17.00–18.00: Musical round. (Give me strength.) 18.00–19.00: Dinner.

19.00–20.00: Group walk. (In his dreams.) 20.00–21.00: Bedtime stories.

21.00 onwards: Sleep or DMCs.

‘Do I even want to know what a DMC is?’ Alice could only imagine what he was going to come out with.