Chapter Thirty-One
The next week flew by quickly for both Blake and Alice. Dr. Tunstall and Wallace had sessions with Alice on a daily basis. A few other doctors had extra tests to run on Alice, only this time it was much less scarier. In their free time, Blake usually took Alice out for long walks around the hospital grounds, pushing her through the snow and slush. December was quickly approaching and the closer it got, the colder the weather turned. Blake and Alice would make small talk on these walks, not really discussing anything of real importance. Finally, the day came when Blake, Dr. Tunstall, and Wallace all agreed that Alice was healthy enough to make the trip to Blake's home.
Tess cried softly as she packed up a few clothes for Alice to take with her. Alice reassured Tess that they would always stay in contact, and told Tess how much she appreciated her warm and loving character. Alice was pretty sure that this wasn't going to be the last time she stepped foot in St. Micheal's, but Tess moped around the room just the same. Blake left Alice's side for only a few minutes to run out to the parking lot and bring his car up to the doors.
Alice looked around her room, taking a mental picture of everything so that she would never forget. It had been as close to a home as she could remember, and she was sad to say goodbye. Still, with all the tears and sadness that came along with leaving St. Micheal's, Alice was excited to leave. Mostly, she was looking forward to seeing where Blake lived and was nervous about meeting Holly.
Tess pushed Alice's wheelchair out to Blake's waiting car. After a quick kiss and a nice long hug, Tess said her goodbyes and shuffled back into the hospital. Blake jumped out of the driver's side door and ran around to help Alice into the car. Alice still couldn't walk, it was going to take months for that, so Blake gently lifted Alice out of her wheelchair and placed her in the passenger's seat of his vehicle. Then Blake collapsed the wheelchair and tossed it in the trunk before climbing back into the driver's seat.
Alice was softly grazing her fingers along the interior trim of the car as she bit her bottom lip, appearing deep in thought. Blake always thought it was adorable, the way Alice looked when she was mulling something around in her mind. “You ready?” Blake asked, wanting to get Alice home as soon as possible. Alice nodded, turning her gaze out the window. He pulled the car out of the round-about and set off towards his house, giddy with excitement to show Alice her new home.
They spent the most of the car ride in silence, not because there was nothing to talk about, but mostly because Alice's face was glued to the window. It was hard for Blake to keep his eyes on the road and watch Alice at the same time. She seemed enthralled with everything outside of the car, and even tried to take a deep smell as they passed the coffee shop. Finally, Blake spoke up. “Are you hungry, Alice?”
“What? I'm sorry.” Alice said as she finally broke her stare of the outside world and turned her head to face Blake.
“Are you hungry?”
“Um, yeah. A little.”
“Do you feel up to eating out? I really don't have much at home that is ready to eat.” Blake felt like an idiot for not stocking up the fridge with company on the way.
“Sure.” Alice responded, sounding not sure of the idea at all.
“I know a great place just a few streets away from my house. We can get a quick bite, and then settle you in at my place.” Blake flipped his turn signal on and headed them in the direction of his favorite restaurant.
Once there, Blake repeated the backwards process of getting Alice back into her wheelchair. He pushed her inside and let the delicious aromas of the kitchen waft over him. Blake looked down to see Alice doing the same thing, and then heard her stomach growl. The waitress quickly seated them and brought Blake his usual order of coffee. Alice ordered a water and began looking over the menu. There were no pictures, and Alice was still not very good at reading. Her vision hadn't yet fully recovered, and Dr. Madany wasn't sure if it ever would. Still, she was determined to order something for herself. Alice hated the idea of needing help, especially for the small stuff like this. It was one thing to need help getting around, seeing as how her legs were still useless, it was completely different to not be able to read a simple menu.
“Do you know what you are getting?” Blake asked, watching Alice as she focused hard on her menu.
“No.”
“Their sandwiches are really good.”
“I don't want a sandwich.”
“Okay, well get whatever you want.” Alice didn't respond, or even look up from her menu. A few minutes later the waitress returned, ready for their order. Alice calmly closed up her menu, and looked up to face the waitress.
“Blake, you want the usual?” The waitress asked.
“Yes please.”
“And for you, Sweetie?”
“Can I have pancakes and hash-browns and some fruit please?”
“Sure, you want syrup too?”
“Yes please.”
“Commin' right up.” The waitress left to turn in their order to the cook. Alice was proud of herself. She hadn't been able to read anything off of the menu, but knew exactly what she wanted to eat. It was the first meal she had eaten with Tess, the one that got away. This time though, she was going to eat it, all of it, and it was going to stay down.
Blake watched as Alice ate every last crumb off of her plate. For such a small woman, she could pack food down like it was air. Blake figured it was good though for Alice to get a lot of calories. With all of the physical therapy and her being waif like already, Alice could use to put on some pounds. Still, Alice had managed to eat an entire full stack of pancakes, a full plate of hash-browns, and a small cup of fruit before Blake had gotten through half of his BLT.
Alice looked up and Blake with a huge smile plastered across her face. “Can I have more?” Blake's eyebrows arched, but he flagged down their waitress who came over quickly.
“Is something wrong with your food?” She asked.
“No, it's delicious. Its the best food I've ever eaten. Can I have more?” Alice was licking her lips at the thought of all the possible dishes she could try to order.
“Sure Hun, what would you like?”
“Do you have ice cream? I haven't had ice cream for years.”
“You wanna sundae?”
“Mmm, yes please. And can I get some of those too?” Alice pointed over to Dr. Hansen's french fries.
“Alice,” Blake interrupted. “You can just have mine.”
“I know, I was planning on it.” The waitress smiled and again left the table, taking yet another order to the cook.
“Be careful Alice, you eat too much and you're going to get sick.”
“I know, its just been so long since I've actually had real food. The hospital's stuff was good, but this is way better. Besides, I'm still hungry.” Blake always felt hungry when ever he got nervous, so he could understand where Alice was coming from.
Finally, after stuffing herself to the brim, Alice sat back in her wheelchair and let out a ginormous belch. Quickly she covered her mouth, and felt her cheeks stinging red. Blake only laughed and got out his wallet. He paid their tab and pushed Alice back out to the car. The rest of the trip home was quite short, and Alice enjoyed every second of it by staring out of the window. Blake thought it must be strange for her to finally be able to be free. They had gone on walks numerous times already, and Alice had yet to lose her sense of wonder over the great outdoors. Summer was going to be magical for Alice. Blake hoped that by then, Alice would be able to walk, and could maybe even go swimming in the bay.
Blake pulled his car into the driveway, and threw the car into park. A quick look over to Alice and Blake was pretty sure that she liked what she saw. “Come on Alice, lets get inside where its warm. I'll give you the grand tour.” Blake once again helped Alice out of the car and into her chair. The side ramp that Blake's father had used to get in and out of the house was still in place, and Blake easily pushed Alice up onto the wrap around porch. Fumbling just a little with his keys, Blake managed to get the door open. “Welcome home, Alice.”