That day had strengthened his resolve.
In fact, it turned his whole outlook around. When El had said to 'have faith', he didn't know if the kid meant in God, in himself, or in him. Hell, maybe it was all three. Either way, like a lot of things, he started with himself.
From that night forward, he did everything he could to instruct El, to help him learn all the forgotten pieces that were still missing. He wasn't going to stand around and wait anymore, wasn't going wallow in self-misery, he was going to be proactive with everything the kid had "lost" and help him regain it, take it back, make it his again.
In essence, he became a teacher.
He held out his arms with a big smile, motioning his fingertips eagerly. "C'mon, El, come to Nick."
The hick was standing on the other side of the room, slightly hunched, teetering ever so slightly, tongue propped in the right corner of his mouth. Cautiously, he lifted a foot, balancing on the other leg. He stuck it out, then set it down and shifted his weight onto it.
"That's it," Nick said encouragingly.
They had been practicing this exercise a lot; however, today had a twist. All the other times Nick had been close to the hick, either holding his hands or just being nearby to steady him, though primarily the former. Across the room they had gone, back and forth, over and over, sometimes faster, sometimes slower; Nick helped him make his way each time– it almost resembled a ballroom dance the way their feet worked in unison, the way he glided backward and Ellis followed, always in step.
One-Two-Three… One-Two-Three…
He had actually forgotten there was a time in his youth when he enjoyed dancing.
Now though El would have to traverse the entire front room, all by himself. The kid, however, seemed undaunted by the task. Ellis grinned now as he lifted the opposite foot and placed it down too. His form gave a waver, but he kept it together and took another few. "Lkkkk Nchhh!" he announced as he passed the halfway mark that was the couch. "'Mm d'nnn itkkk!"
"I see that," he nodded with a chuckle. Both his eyebrows raised, wriggling his fingers more. "Just a liiiiiittle further…!"
Ellis sped up to hurry across to him, almost tripped once on a dragging pant leg, and with three feet left to close, over-exuberance overtook him and he pounced into his arms.
Nick caught him and spun him around in a victorious circle. The kid laughed as he was swept off his feet. "Nchhh! Yewwwwrk m'kkk'nn me dizzzky!"
The conman stopped the swirling and pressed his lips to him.
The hick immediately crooned. When he pulled back just a moment later Ellis gave a toothy grin. "Ehhhl d'nnn gewd," he concluded.
"Yes, he did," Nick said, removing his hat to ruffle his hair. "And you're going to keep doing good. Now that you've managed, you're going to walk, just like me, everywhere." He eyed him carefully, then gave a poke to his nose. "No more crawling around."
Ellis reached for the hat, which immediately instigated a game of keep-away. Nick held it up just out of his reach tauntingly.
The kid blew a raspberry at him and launched upward on his hind legs. Nick laughed as it was easily snatched from his fingers; he'd never win that game again. Ellis landed and stuffed it back on his head with an air of confidence. "Ehhhl w'lkkk," he nodded in full-fledged agreement.
And so he did. At first he was unsteady and awkward, and sometimes he fell, but he always picked himself back up and continued resolutely, dusting off his knees if he needed to. Nick was unabashedly proud of him. Each day he grew better at it and before long he had regained that bow-legged gait he used to walk with all the time.
As a result, they started taking more frequent walks outside. Often they held hands– now that they could, what with Ellis being upright– and both reveled in the simple joy such an act brought. They had merely been walking one afternoon when Ellis pushed his palm into his hand, so quiet and unassuming, and at the touch his fingers curled around the claws and held fast the whole way home. Before all this Nick would have never been the type to do 'hand holding'– it seemed ridiculous, especially at thirty-seven– but with nobody to look, nobody to judge, no one but him and Ellis, he didn't think twice about it and his old prejudice against acting… sweet... began to wither.
A favorite destination for their walks had become a park about ten blocks away. It was open, and though the grass had gone wild, sprouting upward a goodly two feet, the playground wasn't in any form of disrepair. Ellis always insisted Nick push him on the swings, and he never refused, though one time he surprised the kid by asking to be pushed himself. He could still see that look of confusion on the hick's face and how hard it made him laugh.
Before he knew it, another three months had elapsed, just like that and they were staring at the upcoming summer.
So he decided to celebrate the kid's "turning day", a full year since his zombification. It was a little morbid maybe, but he had never known when his real birthday was, and it seemed as good a thing to celebrate as anything. He went down to the grocery and found the freshest package of Hostess Cupcakes he could find– though somewhat sickeningly, they all still seemed fresh after all this time– along with a little candle. He unwrapped one, put it on a plate, stuffed the candle in the center, lit it and presented it to Ellis with a big smile.
"Happy turning day, El."
Ellis lifted his hands and carefully, carefully wrapped his clawed hands around the edges of the plate, sticking his tongue out as he took it from him and balanced it in his paws. That had been something else they had been practicing. Motor control. Regaining the usage of his hands. Nick had at first made him hold and manipulate large objects, gradually working down to smaller and more delicate ones, like the glass plate. The toothbrush had been a challenging one too, but he had mastered that and brushed his own teeth now, no longer even slightly upset by the minty-freshness. And he was more than capable with a fork or spoon to shovel down his meal with lightning rapidity. Nick had even gone out of his way to find a carton of eggs (they were rotten, unlike the cupcakes) for him to practice with– Ellis had broken all but one, but when he finally held that one unbroken orb in his clawed fingertips, his glee was evident.
He grinned up at Nick now, a wide smile full of teeth, brimming with appreciation and accomplishment. "W'lll ainnn'tk th'sss a'srrr'pr'sss!" he growl-said. "Th'nkkss, Nchhh."
"You're welcome," he responded wholeheartedly. Another thing they had been working on. Vocabulary, enunciation, and pronunciation. Nick had been teaching El to speak from the mouth, not the chest. He emphasized the usage of his tongue and the shaping of his lips to create the sounds, along with the subtle constriction of his larynx and voice box, as opposed to utilizing his diaphragm for the projection of his speech. It all sounded pretty complicated, but Ellis caught on reasonably well. The kid was honestly still piss-poor at vowels and soft consonants, but he was getting better. By now he had developed a sort of "growl-drawl", so whether he wanted to call it a grawl or a drowl, he hadn't established yet. Nick smiled. "You know what to do with it?" he asked now.
The kid's head tipped, staring at the flame, as if stopping to think. A grin came over his features. "Hehhhl y'hhh!" Nick watched with subtle wonder as the hick closed his big yellow eyes and a moment later, blew out the candle.
"Did you wish for something?" he asked.
Ellis nodded and set the plate down on the kitchen table. "Ehhhl'sss g'nnn be Ehhhl 'ghnnn. Fhrrr Nchhh."
It was a good thing the whole 'tell your wish and it won't come true' thing only applied to birthdays. But he imagined the hick– the old hick– probably would've spilled the beans too if the situation had ever come up. He smiled as Ellis picked up the little snack cake and snarfed it down, licking creme filling from his nose.
"Yewww g'ttt 'nnymrrr?" he asked, rather unsubtly.
Nick chuckled. "It's a box of eight," he said, tossing the remainder to him.
Ellis caught it and started to tear into the packaging and he just watched with contentment.