It's a lovely Saturday and I am feeling especially cheerful today. As I make my way through London ignoring all the honks from the backward drivers, I finger the plans that sit beside me in my truck. I stop in front of the house, there's another car. I wondered briefly, who it could be. Until I saw Francoise make her way elegantly down the porch and walkway. My truck door slammed leaving an echoing bang throughout the street. "Hiya! I said cheerfully as she paraded past me haughtily. She stopped and turned, at the edge of her sleek black car, to address me.
"Bonjour, I don't know why you are here, but Alice is horribly sick, she isn't well enough for company." Francoise was pretty but she was really bad at speaking English. She left out her H's and pronounced things wrong. I suppressed a giggle.
"Oh, well I shouldn't be too long. Just showing her some plans for a new fighter jet. But I'll see you later, kay?" she didn't seem to care whether she saw me ever again or not. She made a hmpf sound and left. I
skipped inside ignoring the minuscule feeling of worry knotting up my gut. "Hey Alice!" I barged into her room. She did seem to be unwell, she lay face down on her bed in her underwear. "Erm… are you… alright there?"
"It's so hot!" she whined. it could have been snowing outside and it seemed she had the AC on and her fan was going full speed.
"That's funny, it feels kinda cold to me." I remarked sarcastically.
"I've never been this hot in my life!" she moaned and rolled so her belly was facing up. Her skin was alabaster as if she had a sun phobia. Her straw colored hair was strewn about her and her cheeks and chest were flushed pink.
"Heh, take you to visit Arizona in August." I mumbled below my breath. I placed my blueprints on the neat, moderately used desk that was kept in her room, and made my way to feel her skin. She shied away from my touch, shouting. My hands wrapped around the back of her neck and my other hand slid from her forehead to her cheek and back again. She looked up with blue ponds and made a face that showed she didn't want me touching her. She was pretty hot and a light film of sweat came off on my hand. "Yup you're burning up." I thought for a moment, I don't have anything I need to do today. Then I mentally kicked myself for not having anything to do on a Saturday. "Guess I can stay here and help you out." She gave me an incredulous look, "first order of business, go take a shower, a hot one."
"No! It's too hot!" she protested. I pulled her from her bed pointed her towards the door and spanked her to get her moving. She yelped, covered her butt and marched sullenly toward her bathroom.
Within a few moments I heard water running, I meandered down the long hallway to get her a towel. When I came back in the bathroom, she was squealing and shouting behind the crystal door for her shower, I couldn't see her but I knew she was blessed. Her underwear lay on the floor. I picked them up and set them on the counter. Her toothpaste clattered to the bottom of the sink, "Amy? Is that you?" she called.
"No Alice, it's the boogie-man." I said my voice continued to drip with sarcasm.
"Ha ha, well can you get me a tow-" she began.
"Already did." I cut her off.
"Then why are you in here?" she said in her high pitched British accent.
"I'm gone," I threw over my shoulder as I strutted out. I went on the quest for some Pajamas. I found blue flannel ones with what appeared to me as baby ducks on them. I dropped them on the bed and went to the desk to unroll my brilliant plans. After a good 7 minutes Alice's semi-naked figure was in the doorway. She had redonned her bra and panties and wore the towel on her head to dry it.
"there are you happy?" she said angrily as she stepped past me. I looked and her skin was littered with goose bumps. She snatched up the pajamas and then noticing my staring said, "Do you mind?" I turned and waited for the creak of her bed springs alerting me that I could turn, as I knew she wouldn't tell me. Her bead squeaked and I turned she lay on her bed and she covered herself with her blanket so that only her eyes and nose protruded.
"Okay Al, I wasn't expecting you to be sick today so I brought over these plans…" I began to explain how the rotating Gatling guns would emerge from the wings. I lost myself in the plane, I turned and saw her eyes had drifted shut. My hand went to her forehead, she was still hot but she had seemed to cool down. I looked about the room and had the urge to clean. I tidied the bedroom up then migrated to the kitchen. I raided the cupboard, Alice had horrible taste buds but I managed to find something for me to eat and a can of soup for her. I heated that up as it was close to one and made my way back to her with an old ice cream bucket in case she tossed her cookies. (Er, soup.)
I shook her gentle at first but I shook harder when she did not wake. She blinked blurrily at me, I held out the bowl. Her lip quirked and she sat up. She slowly and silently devoured the soup. I watched her hair fall into her eyes and her chest rise and fall contentedly as her pink lips, warmed by the soup slurped at the spoon. She kept her eyes lowered staring at the soup, her darker lashes brushed her cheeks.
Our relationship is complicated. If someone asked I would have to say Alice and I are friends. She thinks I'm, as she puts it, 'Off my rocker' and I think she can be rude and argumentative. But we are closer than most friends… I'm not sure it counts, but after we've gone to the bar we almost always end up tangled in my sheets. I'm so drunk I don't remember how, why, or what we did. I care about her. She never brings up those times, neither do I but I know that if we go get drunk again, I'll wake up with a snooty currently sick Brit in my arms. Not that it was a bad thing, in fact I wished I could remember sometimes, she was so beautiful and smart even if she was sometimes insufferable.
I imagined for a moment, my hands gliding down the sides of her body, her lips sighing my name, her cheeks flushed and voice shaky our lips together…
I was brought out of my inappropriate thoughts by an empty bowl of soup clattering into my lap. I picked it up and looked at Alice, she was fluffing her pillow getting ready to lay down again. The first button on her Pjs had come undone and I could see her chest. I looked away.
She looked up at me, after she laid down watching me eat the food I had previously neglected. "I think I drifted off right when you were explaining the cannon coming out from under the cockpit."
I smiled and began to explain the plane to her again, this time she submitted questions I was always able to answer. Eventually I finished explaining the blueprints when she asked how I'd build it. I said "I'll need a little Ka-ching, and some nerds to help me actually get it together…"
She sighed, "You want money and engineers? Was that the only reason you came over?" she wasn't happy, unhappy people don't give out money.
"No! I just wanted your opinion, I was actually going to ask Anya for the workers and I would try to come up with some Moolah on my own."
"Oh," she said as she rolled over, "Good, because I wasn't going to give you money anyhow. I'm proud of you, how do you plan to raise the money?" that backfired. I thought she'd be caring and say that I had no chance of making any money and just hand it to me.
"Um, not sure, I think I'll try a fundraiser, like I'll sell cookies or something." she turned and looked at me.
"how much do you think your plane costs?" she raised one delicate eyebrow, and propped herself on her elbow. That button was still undone.
"Dunno." I said shrugging my shoulders, my bomber jacket making a loud shhf sound.
"My god, Amy! Didn't you even make an estimate?" she didn't really shout it, but she was exasperated. I guess I won't get the money unless I beg.
I decided with throwing myself a pity party. "Al, I'm bad with money. I just really want this plane built! I'll pay you back!"
Her lip quirked, and her eyes were gloating, I knew what was coming, Al can be really mean sometimes. "On your knees," She demanded, "And ask me again but this time, call me, Your Majesty."
I complied, "Her Majesty, Queen Alice, if I, your humble servant may, Borrow the 60,000 dollars required to build my plane." I followed this with placing my nose to the ground.
"Oh, I suppose I can lend you that small sum of money, since you asked so nicely." She smirked and then began to giggle into her blanket, quite cutely.
"I guess since you're feeling better, I'll leave then." I said standing, feeling very lame. I picked up my blueprints and started rolling them back up as I shuffled to the door.
"Wait!" She protested, " You don't have to go." I gave her a confused glance, "Actually, can you stay? I'll be bored, and I'll have to take care of my food and such all by myself. Please stay."
I smirked, "Alright, I suppose I can stay, and take care of you for a while longer, since you asked so nicely." I stayed and fed her and talked to her. throughout the day I kept her busy, at one point I looked up computer games and kicked her ass every single game. I learned how to make tea, and I fed her ice cream. We watched a crappy British movie and both fell asleep. Around dinner, she brought up one of those times we never spoke of. She asked me what I thought about it, I said I didn't know, because I couldn't remember it at all. She said she didn't remember it either. My mind began to wander as I watched her eat, I kind of wished I could remember, I knew Alice hated me and thought I was dumb, even though I respected her and thought she could be fun if she wanted to. I wondered, how it started, who was the instigator? Who was the pitcher and who was the catcher? My mind began to imagine us again. Personally I thought it was really hot.
After dinner, I found her thermometer and took her temperature she was almost back to normal. I took that as my opportunity to leave. I was a tad reluctant to leave. She was laying on her bed again, I sat own on the edge. I was going to try something.
"Hey, Alice, wouldn't it be really cool, if we could remember?" I said awkwardly.
"What are you getting at?" She asked with her adorable lilt. Gazing at me cautiously.
I leaned forward and made to kiss her, but she stopped me with a flat, "I'm sick."
"Do I look like I care?" I pressed my lips to hers, and I felt her yield beneath me.
For the first time, we remembered every second of our tender loving care.