Chapter 13: Escaping Into The Bottle

4 weeks later ...

August 3, 1991 - Saturday

Alan had gotten himself to the front porch without much of a problem. Ellie was still inside and didn't even know that he made a dash out of the house. It was only a few minutes until she had figured it out, as he could hear her calling his name from inside.

"Out here!" he called, still adjusting his right leg, trying to get comfortable.

He heard the screen door open suddenly, and then saw Ellie stop in front of him.

"What are you doing?" she asked, hands on her hips.

"I'm sitting down. I'm resting."

Ellie gave him a doubtful look.

"You shouldn't be walking outside on your own."

"I had help," he said, pointing to the crutches.

"You know what I mean," she said, lowering her head and frowning at him.

"I've been out here before," he offered.

Immediately after the words came out, he regretted it.

"You what?" she asked, in a motherly tone.

He was caught now, mostly because of his own pride and stupidity.

"Well, a few days ago . . . I was out here . . . talking with one of the neighbors and getting the mail."

"Why?"

"Because the mail came."

"Alan," she said.

"Okay. I was bored. I practiced walking in the house first."

"Don't tell me you were practicing going down the stairs. Because if that's where this is leading, then just shut up right now."

"Uh, no. I didn't practice going down the stairs."

Ellie just stared at him. It was simple to see how mad she was, but he really didn't think it was that big of a deal.

"Look. I thought I could make it out here and so I did. I'm a grown man, Ellie. I think I can make a few decisions on my own, based on how I feel."

She continued to stare.

"I'm sorry," he finally said.

She still didn't say anything, standing there with her hands on her hips, in a defensive posture.

"I love you," he said, hoping this would get something out of her.

"I love you, too. But you're stupid."

"Fair enough. Want to come sit down and be stupid with me?"

She finally cracked a slight smile, as she sat down on a chair next to him. They sat there quietly for a little bit, observing the neighborhood. There was a man across the street, mowing his lawn, and then there was an elderly woman trimming her trees in the house next to that. It was a beautiful summer day, complete with singing birds and bright skies.

"Isn't this peaceful and beautiful?" Alan asked.

"Shut up."

He laughed at her. He was going to try and get her into a better mood, when a car horn disturbed the routine sounds of the neighborhood. Alan looked to his left and smiled.

"Hey, look, it's Rob."

Ellie looked, and then got up to meet Rob, as he parked his truck in front of the house and approached them.

"How's the sicky?" he asked, as he got closer to the porch.

"The sicky is stupid, but you probably already knew that," Ellie answered.

"Don't listen to her, Rob. She's not in a good mood today."

"Shut up, Alan," Ellie ordered.

Rob laughed and Alan pointed at her.

"See what I mean. She's mean and scary today," he said, still stabbing his finger in the air, toward her.

Ellie ignored that last comment.

"Can I get you something to drink, Rob?"

"Sure, I'll have a beer."

Ellie looked at Alan.

"I guess you can have a beer, too, since it's been a while since you had a pain pill."

"That would be nice, thanks."

Ellie went inside, leaving the men to their own conversation.

"She's really good for you. You know that, right?" Rob asked.

"Yes, I know that. She's the best thing to happen to me in years."

"I remember a very wise man telling you that, only a couple weeks ago."

"Well, that very wise man was indeed, very knowledgeable. I should have listened to him then."

"Yes, you should of," Rob agreed.

"So, what brings you here?"

"I wanted to see how you were doing."

"Awww. Wasn't that sweet," Alan teased.

Ellie came back outside with three opened beers. She handed one to Rob, and then handed one to Alan, keeping the third for herself. The three of them sat on the porch and talked for a few hours about each other's childhoods and things. Mostly they talked about absolutely nothing.

Rob suddenly laughed and pointed at Alan. Rob had a few beers by now and was starting to feel good.

"Hey! Remember that time when you and me and Kat went over to the next state over?" Rob shouted, thinking for a second. "What the hell is the name of that state again?"

"Wyoming."

Rob nodded.

"Wyoming! That's it! Well, remember when Kat got into that huge fight with that lady at the airport?"

"Yes, Rob," Alan said.

"And then they got into that fist fight?"

"Yes, Rob."

Ellie was finding this interesting. She sat up a little straighter, listening more closely, as Rob continued to ramble.

"And then you tried to stop them and that lady hit you . . . BAM! . . . square in the jaw!"

Alan nodded and slightly smiled, as he began to remember that humorous day in his head.

"Oh, my God," Ellie said, as she looked at Alan. "What did you do?"

"He fell down," Rob answered, laughing hysterically.

"That's about right," Alan concurred, as he began to laugh, too, "But I fell because you tried to move out of her way . . . and tripped me."

"Oh, yeah," Rob said, stretching a bit, "Sorry about that buddy. That lady scared the hell out of me!" he looked at Ellie. "I still have nightmares about that crazed woman, let me tell you."

Ellie laughed at the semi-intoxicated man in front of her.

"All is forgiven," Alan said, snickering.

Rob turned to look at Ellie.

"He has a very punchable face," he said, pointing at Alan and laughing.

Before Alan could protest, Ellie placed her hands on Alan's face.

"I think he has a very lovable face," she said.

Alan smiled.

Rob snorted.

"Eww, get a room, you two," Rob said, pointing inside the house.

Before anyone could react, Rob looked around and then glanced at his watch.

"Oh, shit. I've got to get going. I've got a big day tomorrow and it's getting close to nine already."

Ellie stood up quickly. She only had two beers in all the hours they had been talking, so she was still very much sober, as was Alan.

"Well, maybe you should just stay here? Or let me drive you somewhere?"

"I'll be fine."

"I think you are over the legal limit, Rob. I'll drive you home. No arguments," she said.

Rob looked at Alan.

"Is she always this bossy?"

"Pretty much."

"Okay. Okay. I'll let you drive. Here," he said, handing her the keys.

He wasn't too drunk to walk and make sense, but Ellie didn't want to take a chance on him getting into an accident. She looked at Alan.

"Let me help you inside first. The mosquitoes are going to get bad."

"Okay," Alan said, nodding and already reaching for his crutches.

Ellie pointed at Rob.

"You. Stay there. I'll be right back."

"Yes, ma'am."

Alan shook his head and smiled, as he knew she would get him back later for that "ma'am" crack, even though he had no clue what he might have done.

Ellie settled on just smiling for now, and helped Alan to his feet and into the house. After making sure he was safely situated on the couch, she headed back outside.

"Hey, how are you getting home?" Alan asked.

"Good question. I'll just walk back. It's not that far really."

"But it's already dark."

"I'll be okay."

"Why don't you just drive his truck back here. He has another vehicle there. He can just drive his car tomorrow."

"Okay. Think I should inform him of the new plan?"

"No, he'll figure it out in the morning I'm sure," Alan said, laughing.

She nodded and left the house. Rob was still standing in the exact same place she had ordered him to stay. She rolled her eyes, as she thought about just how child-like men could be.

"Okay, ready to go?"

"Yep," Rob answered.

Ellie and Rob got into his truck, and then drove away.

After dropping Rob off, Ellie pulled Rob's truck into Alan's driveway. The clock on the dashboard said 9:30pm. Most of the half an hour was spent getting Rob to shut up long enough, for her to leave. When she had finally talked him into going inside to sleep, she had left and had come directly home.

She quietly went inside and found that most of the lights were already off. Alan wasn't on the couch anymore, either. She made her way to the bedroom and found him already fast asleep in the bed. He had propped up two pillows under his leg, and from where the pill bottle and a water glass were, it looked like he took a pain pill. She stood there, just looking at him, watching him sleep. He looked very peaceful. And handsome. For some reason, the way he was positioned made him look very handsome indeed. She gently touched his face and then bent down and gave him a soft kiss on his forehead. He stirred just a little. She quickly changed her clothes and turned in for the night, sleeping by his side.

A few hours later, Ellie was awakened by a noise coming from near the kitchen. She sat up and noticed that Alan wasn't in the bed. She quietly and quickly slid out of bed, grabbed her robe and went looking for him. She hoped he hadn't hurt himself, as he was beginning to walk around on his own before he was really ready. When she got to the kitchen doorway, she found him sitting at the table. There was an opened bottle of Jack Daniels, just to the right of him, well over half gone already. He was sort of slumped in the chair, with a hand resting on his forehead. As she walked closer, she could hear him sobbing.

"Alan?" she whispered.

He moved his hand from his face and straightened up a little bit. She wanted to know what was wrong, but she didn't want him to feel uncomfortable. He glanced her way and motioned with his arm.

"Care to join me?" he slurred.

He was pretty drunk and it looked as though he was one of those unhappy and depressed kinds of drunks. She pulled out the chair next to him and sat down.

"What's wrong, Alan?" she asked, not really figuring that she would get a straight answer.

"I should have let her have a dog," he said.

"What?"

"The dog," he repeated, and then he looked right at her. "I should have said yes."

"Uh, okay," she said, nodding her head.

"Now she's gone and she never had that God damned DOG!" he screamed and pounded a fist on the table, knocking over the liquor bottle.

He began to sob again. Ellie put an arm around him and he leaned on her, crying into her shoulder. She sat there, letting him settle down.

"It's okay, Alan," she whispered over and over.

"I loved her so much," he said, his face still buried in her shoulder.

"I know you did. And I'm sure she loved you, too."

"I didn't know what to do when she stopped breathing. One minute she was looking at me and the next minute, she was gone."

"She went to a better place."

"You think so?" he asked, looking up at her.

"Yes, I'm sure of it."

Alan slightly smiled, as she continued to hold him.

"I should have never married her. It was a curse," he said as seriously as an intoxicated person could.

"What do you mean?"

"I married her. She died. I'm cursed."

"No, you're not."

He didn't answer her. He only held her tighter. Ellie wasn't prepared for this outburst, but she had handled it well. It seemed he had been carrying some locked up feelings inside for quite some time. She wanted to comfort him in any way that she could. She was about to suggest that he go back to bed, when he moved away from her and leaned back on his chair.

"I need to get out of here," he said, trying to prop himself up using the table.

Ellie grabbed him, as he was just about to fall.

"Where are you going, Alan?"

"Outside."

"That's not such a good idea."

He was standing now, with her help. He looked at her.

"Why not?"

"Because you should be sleeping."

"I don't want to sleep," he said, complaining like a child.

"You have a broken leg, do you remember that?" she asked, as she pointed to his leg.

He looked down, staggered a little from looking down, stared at his leg for a few seconds, and then looked back at her.

"Yeah, you're right. I'm sleepy," he agreed.

"Good, good. Come on, I'll help you get back in bed."

As Ellie began the long and tedious task of getting him in the direction of the bedroom, he stopped and placed his hand around her chin.

"You're so very good to me," he managed to say.

"I know I am. Now let's get a move on."

"Where are we going?" he asked, totally forgetting.

"Bed. Remember?"

He slapped his forehead and sighed.

"Ooohhhh, yeah."

Ellie smiled and helped him back into the bedroom. It was around this time when she began to wonder how he got into the kitchen in the first place. His crutches were still propped up next to the bed. She shook her head, as she wrangled him into the bed and covered him up. She caught him looking at her as she went around to the other side of the bed. She got into her side of the bed and glanced over at him. She smiled, as she noticed he was already sound asleep, that quick.