Chapter 36
House managed to get his job back, it seemed not many people wanted volunteer janitor assistant jobs. He was doing his rounds when he heard footsteps behind him.
"Hey stranger" Said a familiar voice.
"How did you know where to find me" He said as he turned around.
"I can smell you a mile away" She deadpanned
"nice!" He said laughing
"I wanted to ask you a favour?" She said quietly
"What could I possibly do for you?" He said sarcastically
"Well, you know those classes you told me to take, I'm taking them, but am having some issues with it, well with the anatomy really. I've tried asking my immediate family but to be honest they were useless, couldn't pronounce any of the medical terminology" She said smiling. I just thought….you have this way of bringing things to life for me and….."
"I thought I'd be the last person you want to see" He said quietly
"You really are an idiot! How many texts have I sent you, how many messages have I left" She said sounding frustrated.
"Well maybe you're the idiot then, maybe ignoring you means I don't actually want to see you"
"Maybe? But I think that's what you want me to think, so anyway, would you help me or not?"
House stood silently for a moment…"ok, what do you want me to do?"
"can you come to my place after work, it will be easier for me to show you than tell you" She said hopefully
House nodded his head to her. "yeah ok," He said with a chuckle
"You just nodded your head again didn't you?"
"yep"
House finished his job with more enthusiasm than usual, he texted Wilson to tell him that he wouldn't be home after work, he didn't want him to think that he had gone awol again. But he would be at Marcy's anyway so no biggy.
He went straight round to Tammy's and knocked on the door. "Oh, Hi Gerry, if you are looking for Tammy go round the side of the house, she is in the Granny Annex"
"oh ok"
House found the entrance to the annex and knocked on the door
"Coming" he heard from the inside "Who is it?"
"Gerry"
The door opened and before she could say another word "You do realise that if I was a murderer I wouldn't tell you just because you asked"
"yep I know that, but as my guests are vetted by my in-laws at the moment I am pretty sure I am safe, but thanks for caring. Come on in, glad you came" She said with no expression
"So, this is new!"
"Yes, a little bit of independence without losing the security of having someone close by. If all goes well hopefully I will get a place on my own one of these days" She said with a smile on her face.
"I like it, it's good, just what you need right now" He said looking around the place and genuinely liking it.
"You want something to eat before we get started?"
"Um, yeah why not"
They sat an ate a simple pasta dish together, mainly in silence, but not too awkward.. "So, come on be honest, how was the pasta?" She said tentatively
"hmmm, it was…"
"Not nice!"
"Well it could have done with a little of something more" He said honestly
"What would you have suggested?"
"A little more salt, some basil, onion, garlic and mushroom"
"Ok, thanks I'll remember that for next time…I'm still learning"
"I'll be happy to test it next time too…..you know see if you've improved"
"Can you cook?"
"When I want to"
"hahaha, that sounds about right" Then she got up and put some music on, at which point House decided to clear the dishes away.
"You didn't have to do that"
"You cooked, it's only fair that I clear away"
"You don't normally do that with James" She said curiously
"That's because it's Wilson, he has to clean up, it's part of his personality, the need to mother" He said laughing
"I have the stuff laid out in the bedroom, I thought it would be easier than falling all over it here"
"ok, lead the way"
"whooahh! Is that a cadaver?" He said as he entered the bedroom and saw it laying on the bed.
"No! just a full size imitation human, with parts that come off and peel away…and I don't get any of them" She said with a frustrated sigh
"What part don't you get?"
"I can't get the names to start with, by the time I have read them in braille, its gone, I've tried listening to the audio book instead, I can't seem to get which parts of the body they are talking about and when I feel the parts of the body, it's just rubber…or whatever it is….doesn't feel real …..if you know what I mean.. and half the time I'm not even sure if I have put them back in the right places. I have all the 'tools' I could want, the Refreshable Braille display, I have audio books, even bought myself a printer to see if reading it rather than listening would help….but alas it does not. Maybe I am just too stupid to be able to do it" She said sadly.
House sat silently for a moment " Ok, so what muscle in the body do you know….any of them?"
"Yeah the calf muscle" She said sarcastically laughing.
"Good enough…we'll start with that one then"
She stood up to turn the laptop on "Don't do that, we don't need that for this, I promise I know all about the muscles" He said stopping her from turning it on.
He started with the calf muscle of the dummy, explaining what the Gratoc was and how it worked and the Achilles and the whole make up of the Calf. He got her to hold them and tell him what she felt and what she also knew. But he could tell by the look on her face that although she understood, the dummy parts where not doing it for her.
"Can I lift up your pant leg" He said to her
"yeah sure"
"So now feel your muscle and flex your foot"
She stood for a while, flexing her foot and moving her leg around and things were starting to fall into place. "Wow, I get it now and how the tendons work too, can we do some more?"
"ok, we might as well carry on moving up to the next group of muscles….thigh muscle"
He explained the whole thigh to her in great detail, gave her the dummy parts so she could feel the difference to those and the calf muscles, but she had the same blank expression that she did when they started.
"If I go and put some shorts on will you do the same as you did for the calf, cos right now these all feel more or less the same"
"Sure, if that is what helps you the most"
She retrieved her shorts and went to the bathroom to get changed and when she came back in House snorted at her "Yeah your muscles really aren't big enough to do this"
"thanks!...well get your pants off then!"
"Fine!"
House hopped up and took his left leg out of his jeans and took hold of both her hands. He held onto the dummy muscles while she felt around the muscles of his thigh. She took her time feeling everything and he felt a little uncomfortable while she was doing it. Then she took the muscle he had in his hand felt that one and put in the right place on the model and said the name correctly, she proceeded to do that with each of them and the tendons too.
When she had finished he put his leg back in his jeans while she was putting the last muscle back in the dummy. But she turned round to him "This is what is missing from your right leg?"
House took a deep breath "Yep…well most of it anyway" He said quietly
"Wow!" Was all she said and then put the model away. "I think my brain has had enough for 1 night, thank you, I have learnt more from you tonight than I have in the past 3 weeks. Would you help me again?"
"How did you know – about my leg, you've not felt it properly" He said quietly without actually answering her question.
"When I massaged your leg through your jeans I knew that something wasn't right. Then when we made love the first time, I purposely went around it, but the other muscles felt different too….it's hard to explain exactly. When I felt your left leg and the model I just put 2 and 2 together" She said softly
"I need to pee where's your toilet?" He said deflecting so that he could remove himself from the conversation.
"Turn right out of the bedroom and you can't miss it. Would you like a drink?"
"Coffee please" he shouted back.
House took his time in the bathroom and paused to look at the artwork on the wall in the hallway. Not an artist he recognised. He made his way back to the living room and sat down next to Tammy "You have some nice artwork on your walls, not an artist I recognise and they are a little crooked"
"if it bothers you then straighten them, doesn't bother me" she said as seriously as she could.
"I think I can live with it…for now" he said
"they are mine" She said
"Wow! They are good"
"Thanks, they were the last ones I painted. They were going to go into a gallery when I returned from my vacation…but they never made it"
"They seem like they should have been done a long time ago, like another century not another decade"
"That's good then that was my plan. I had spent most of that year learning about the old masters and how to mix the paint and what materials to use. I guess I learnt well if that's what you see" She said with a big smile on her face.
"You have a nice smile, but how does that not make you sad, you would have been a great artist if they were your first masterpieces"
"Well nobody else has really seen them. I mean my family did, but they never understood what I was trying to do. But you do, so it means that I did actually do well, that I achieved what I set out to do and that makes me happy"
"The world is missing one great artist"
"Thanks, but I think it will survive"
"How can you not feel bitter about what might have been, all that was taken away from you" He said starting to get angry
"Oh I do …sometimes. But I can't change anything, I can't get my sight back. I am only just beginning to realise that I can live a normal life…whatever that is. Holding on to what if just holds you back"
"Do you regret living and working in the school for all those years?"
"No not at all. I loved Jack, he gave me so much, I would probably still be living with my sisters if I hadn't married him" She said smiling again "I just feel different now, I feel like I'm ready to live my life properly, oh I don't know it's hard to describe really. So you gonna help me again or what?"
"yeah sure, but it's your turn to get naked"
"hahahaa"
"I'd better go, let me know when you're ready for the next lesson." He said walking towards the door, she opened the door for him and as he stood within a few feet of her he wanted more than anything to put his arms around her and kiss her goodnight.
"Good night, Gerry and thanks again for everything, I'll be in touch" She said as he went through the door. She closed the door and leant against it, if only she could have put her arms around him and kissed him goodnight.