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Pyxelle
Chapter 9"I know, Dave, but-" Simon was pacing with the phone, and Theodore wondered idly if he had realized that he had twirled the phone cord around him three times. "I know its not the same as driving to L.A., but-" Theodore felt himself drifting, and had to force himself to focus. Darn painkillers. After they had finished eating, his stomach had hurt so badly that he had had to bite his lip in order not to cry...but it had made Eleanor so happy, seeing him eat, that he couldn't let her know the pain it had caused him. So he had asked Simon to take him to the park pavilion restroom and give him his pain meds. Still...he had kept the food down. He felt inordinately proud of that fact. He had kept it all down.
"Dave, I realize that, but you have to..."Simon actually growled in frustration. "Yes, I know, Dave!"
"You okay, Theodore?" Eleanor whispered. Theodore pulled his wandering attention back to her.
"Fine." There was more than one reason he didn't like the narcotics, however much he might need them. Right now it didn't seem all that important, but later, when the oxycontin had worn off, he knew that he would run over every conversation he'd had that afternoon in his head to make sure he hadn't said or done anything to embarrass himself.
"You sure?" She didn't look convinced.
"Positive." He smiled at her and squeezed her hand, hoping she didn't notice the unnatural dilation of his eyes.
"Dave, that isn't fair! I've always been very responsible about these things!"
"Doesn't sound like its going well." Eleanor whispered aside to him.
Theodore's eyes started to close, and he jerked them open. "Yeah, well, the phone cord is twirling about him a lot, after all."
"What did you say?" Eleanor looked at him in confusion.
Theodore realized that the words coming out of his mouth weren't anything like the words he intended to say. "I mean, He is asking a lot, after all."
She stared at him closely. "Are you absolutely positive you're all right, Theodore? You look, well, sleepy or something."
"I'm fine, Eleanor. Really." He wondered how much he would agonize over this conversation later. To his foggy recollection, he had managed to make sure that once he had any control over it, she hadn't seen him under the influence of the heavier pain meds. But today...really, the phone cord twirling? What had he been thinking of?
"Okay, if you say so." He could tell that she didn't believe him.
Theodore didn't know why exactly he was so afraid of letting Eleanor know how much pain he still had to endure. He didn't want to worry her, sure, but he knew she worried anyways. Embarrassment about the meds, certainly – he knew what the doctor said, that he needed it because fighting through pain was only going to make the healing process harder, but he hated that he was probably addicted to the narcotics by now. Absolutely, positively hated it. Both Dr. Rosewood and his brother assured him that when the time came, they would wean him off the drugs slowly, but it was difficult to take anyone with any sort of ostomy off painkillers – having a permanent hole drilled into your body didn't exactly make for the most comfortable life around. So until his stomach really woke up, they couldn't remove the j-tube, and until they removed the tube, they couldn't take him off the narcotics.
He still didn't want to let Eleanor know, even though he knew she would understand and, with her customary patience and caring, probably try to make it easier for him. But he didn't want for her to have make it easier for him.
Maybe he just wanted to feel normal.
Simon was really the only person who had any idea of just how bad it still was. It had been his older brother who administered almost all of his meds – Simon didn't even like Dave or his private nurse to do it, in all honesty – and knowing Simon, he catalogued each drop in the precise files of his mind. It had been Simon who had held his hand and slept by his bed for a week after they had moved home, when Theodore's body had to adjust to his new bed and he had woken up crying six days straight. It was Simon...it was...was...
"Wake up, Theodore!" Eleanor shook him gently.
"Eleanor?" Oh, no, he must have fallen asleep. "Sorry, I didn't mean to doze off like that."
"That's it, as soon as Simon's off the phone we're getting you into bed." Eleanor said firmly.
"No, I'm ok, really!" He realized that she didn't believe him and it was a wasted effort to try and change her mind, but tried anyways. "A little tired, but I don't want to go to bed before we figure out what's going on." Theodore opened his eyes very wide, dimly aware he probably looked like a deer caught in headlights but it helped him be a bit more conscious of his surroundings. They hadn't really started about talking anything until they had reached the car, after the meds had kicked in, so he only had the faintest idea of what was going on anyways, but he didn't want to let Eleanor know that.
"You really, really don't look ok."
Eleanor jumped as Simon slammed the phone down in its cradle. "Damn it!" He said with uncharacteristic heat in his voice, finally realizing how tangled up in the phone cord he had become. He spun awkwardly trying to disentangle himself. "Stupid cord!"
"I take it the news isn't good." Jeannette said, calmly taking the phone cord and helping Simon out of it. "By the sound of your side of the conversation, I would say Dave's answer was no."
"Emphatically no would be more like it." Simon said, sitting down next to Theodore. "He thinks we're jumping to conclusions, and although he wants to check it out, he thinks that when he gets back from New York next week will be soon enough. He doesn't want me going off to another country alone."
"I hate to say it, but he's sort of right, Simon." Jeannette said hesitantly. "We're not sure of anything at this point. Maybe waiting isn't such a bad idea."
Simon shook his head. "But it is a bad idea to wait, Jeannette. I just know it."
"How?" She asked.
"I don't know, I just do. If we wait, by the time we'll get there it'll be too late." Simon ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. "I just have this feeling..."
"They call those hunches, Simon." Jeannette reminded him. "And remember what you've said about the hunches Alvin always had. 'A hunch is just a guess you're-"
"Hoping will turn out to be true." Simon finished with her. "I know, I know. But still...I have a hunch."
"Do you know how much you sound like Alvin right now, Simon?" Theodore asked, trying very hard to stay on track with the conversation but still drifting a little. "Alvin was always having 'feelings' and 'hunches' and 'instincts' and stuff. It used to drive you crazy. You used to get so mad at him –"Suddenly he realized how dreamily he was speaking, and just how sharply Simon was looking at him. "What? What did I say?"
"Of course!" Simon's face broke into a smile, and Theodore breathed a little sigh of relief. He didn't think he had said anything odd in that speech. "Theodore, how much money do you have in your account?"
"Money?" Theodore blinked, the quick change of subject throwing him for a loop momentarily. He shook himself a little. "Uh, quite a bit, I think. I haven't checked for a while."
"I know I have a lot in mine, too. Definitely enough for a plane ticket and a couple of nights stay in a decent hotel."
"Simon..." There was a warning in Jeannette's voice. "I know where you're going with this."
"Theodore's right, Jeannette." Simon told her excitedly. "It might be crazy, but he's right."
"I am?" Theodore wasn't so sure of what he was 'right' about.
"Yes, Theodore! Maybe to find Alvin, we need to think like Alvin." There was a mischievous twinkle in Simon's eyes that was familiar to Theodore but not in this particular brother. "And that," he continued, grinning, "means getting into a little trouble."
"A little trouble? You're talking about a lot of trouble!" Eleanor pointed out.
"Yes, well, it always worked out for Alvin. Maybe we just have to trust it will for us."
"This is crazy, Simon. And not at all like you." Jeannette's face was disapproving.
"I know, but like I said...I have this feeling..."
Theodore was having trouble following the conversation and he felt a wave of frustration break through the chemical haze. "What are you guys talking about?"
"Theodore, do you feel up to a little trip?"
"A trip? To where?" Theodore suddenly realized that he had never actually caught exactly where they thought they had found Alvin. That scared him. Just how out of it had he been?
"London, Theodore." Eleanor told him gently. "Haven't you been paying attention?"
"Yes, I was," Theodore defended himself. Eleanor watched him critically.
"Theodore can't go, Simon." She turned and told his brother decisively.
"He can't stay here alone, Eleanor." Simon pointed out. She waved him away.
"This kind of trip is too much for him right now. And he has a nurse."
"But I don't think that its fair to-"
"He's not going, Simon! Stop channeling Alvin long enough to be rational for a moment. This trip would be too hard for him. He's in no condition for a cross-country tour right now."
He was sitting right here, for goodness's sake! Didn't he even get a vote? "I'm going." Theodore said firmly, but they didn't seem to hear him.
"You're right, Eleanor, I'm sorry." Simon calmed down a little. "I'll call his nurse and see if she can stay for a few days."
"I'm going too, Simon." Still no response from either of them. For crying out loud, he was a paraplegic, he wasn't a mute!
"I can help out too. I'll call Miss Miller-"
"Hello! Right here! Not deaf! Still able to make my own decisions!" Theodore finally shouted, realizing that if he didn't they would plan out the entirety of his next few days without him. "I'm going, Eleanor. If Alvin's out there, I'm going."
Simon looked at him with regret. "Theodore, Eleanor's right. I just got caught up in the moment – I don't know what I was thinking."
"I'm going, Simon."
"Theodore-"
"I'm going!"
Eleanor sighed. "I'm sorry, Theodore, that was rude of us. We should have consulted you."
"Thank you." Theodore accepted her apology.
"I'll even help you pack. Jeannette," She turned to her older sister. "Could you do me a favor?"
"Sure, Eleanor."
"Go home and pack me a suitcase with enough stuff for oh, say two weeks just to be safe." She flashed a smile at Simon and Theodore. "I think we'll be leaving real soon."
"Eleanor! Miss Miller will kill you!"
"I don't care." Eleanor grinned impishly at Simon. "Simon's not the only one who can channel Alvin here."
"Really, Eleanor. You don't want to get in trouble-"Simon began, and Eleanor shushed him with a wave of her hand.
"You're not thinking like Alvin, Simon. Did Alvin ever turn down help for one of his schemes?" She looked down at Theodore and he could see determination in her eyes. "Besides, you can't search for Alvin and take care of Theodore all by yourself. You're going to need some help."
Theodore felt a momentary panic at that. He didn't want Eleanor to have to see him like that, but Simon spoke up before Theodore could say a word.
"You're right, Eleanor." A little of that twinkle returned to his eye. "I'd love to have you as my partner-in-crime."
"I don't believe this!" Jeannette said in exasperation, standing up from her chair. "This is ridiculous. I'm going home."
"Jeannette?" Simon looked at her in shock.
"And Eleanor, about packing for you?" Jeannette paused at the door, glancing back. "I'll be a little bit. I need to pack for myself, too."
Simon grinned at her before running up and kissing her soundly. "Hurry back." He told her, stroking her cheek gently.
"I will...partner." And Jeannette was out the door and gone.
Simon looked at the clock. "Okay, we've got a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it."
"Right!" Theodore agreed just before his mouth opened in a jaw-cracking yawn.
Simon looked at him as if he had forgotten Theodore was there. "Oh, no, not you, Theodore."
Eleanor looked at him sternly. "You are going to bed."
"Eleanor-"
"She's right, Theodore."
"But Simon-"
"Nope."
Theodore sighed and rubbed his slightly unfocussed eyes in defeat. At least he could sleep off the remainder of the drugs, then.
"Okay, okay." He surrendered and allowed Simon to wheel him into their bedroom.
"Don't worry, Theodore." Eleanor assured him, giving him a quick kiss before Simon went to help him get ready for bed. "The next few days definitely won't be dull for you."
"Not if we're thinking like Alvin, they won't." Simon agreed.
OoooOoooO
"At least you gave notice."
Alvin glanced up. He was stuck doing dishes again, and probably would be until the end of the week, since Mr. Collins had finally fired the frequently absent dishwasher. Isabelle was standing there, an inscrutable look on her face. He hadn't seen her since the party the night before. "It's only polite." He said.
"Sure, luv, polite." She dragged over the back cashier's chair and sat in it, watching him do dishes for a few moments. "So you're leaving when? Friday?"
"Saturday, actually."
"Oh. Where to?"
He hadn't actually decided yet, but just shrugged. "Not sure. Paris, maybe?"
"Do you speak French?" Isabelle asked casually, inspecting her bright green nail polish as if the answer interested her not at all.
"No."
"They why do you want to go to France?"
"I don't know. Sounds as good as anywhere else. And who knows?" Alvin gave her a small smile. "Maybe I'll learn French."
There was a silence where the only real noises were the clinking of the dishes he was washing. "Aren't you going to warn me that Mr. Collins will catch me 'goofing off' again?" She finally asked.
"He's not here. You're safe."
"What happened last night, Theo?" Isabelle asked suddenly, her face going from nonchalant to tight and hurt in a moment. Alvin grimaced at that look of pain. "I thought things were going well...we were dancing...and you kissed me back..."
"I know, Belle. I'm sorry." Alvin looked at her helplessly, but all that did was seem to anger her.
"Sorry, sorry, you're always sorry! Why can't you just let go? What are you hanging onto so tightly that you can't even live your life anymore?" Isabelle looked on the verge of tears. "What was so wrong with kissing me?"
"I don't think this is the right place for this conversation, Belle." Alvin put down his rag. "Somebody might hear."
"I don't give a bloody damn if anyone hears. Why did you run away after I kissed you?"
"Please, Belle-"
"Is it another girl? You've never mentioned one, so I thought whatever you were running from wasn't romance-related, but last night...is that it? Another girl?" The tears brimming in her eyes spilled over. "Or is it that you just don't like me."
"Its not like that, Belle, please." Alvin begged. "Not here. Not now."
"Then when? You're leaving, remember?" Isabelle accused. "When exactly am I supposed to talk to you? After you've left for Paris? Because I don't fancy visiting the French, luv. Never much liked the buggers."
Her lower-class accent got heavier when she was upset, and Alvin knew that he had to calm her down – fast. Isabelle was famous for her temper. "Tomorrow, okay? We can have dinner or something, I promise. Just...please, wait until tomorrow."
She wiped a tear from her eye, smearing her fuschia eye shadow a bit. "You promise?"
"I promise."
"I'm holding you to that." Isabelle stood, glancing at her watch. "I should get back to work." She gave him a penetrating gaze. "Tomorrow, right? I'm holding you to that promise."
"Tomorrow."
"Okay.Just ring me upand let me know what's going on, then." She turned on her heel and left without another word.
Alvin just stood there for a moment. He just had to get through tomorrow night, that's it. Get through tomorrow night and he had just one more week to go.
Just one more week. And then he could be gone.
End of Chapter 9
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