My Life Had Stood
Chapter 15: Spencer's Date Part 1
August, 1995:
"Hey! Wait up!" A small child in a pink skirt-short and pastel striped short sleeved shirt ran after a slightly taller child. She struggled to keep up, climbing over the fallen branches and protruding roots on the forest floor. "Addie!"
The taller child glanced back at the younger girl. "Do you wanna see it or not?"
The smaller child nodded, running as fast as she could. When she reached the tree where the taller child waited, she stopped to catch her breath.
The older child made a face.
"What?" The younger child asked, but received no answer. Instead the taller child dug into her own pants pocket and took out an inhaler. She tossed it to the younger child. "Oh!"
"You should remember to bring that on your own." The older girl glowered and picked up a stick from a pile of leaves and twigs. It was almost as long as her forearm. She poked at the ground with it while the younger girl used the inhaler.
The forest was silent around them for a few minutes. Neither girl said anything, but simply listened. The older girl continued to poke at the ground, particular the spots covered with leaves or brush.
"..." The stick poked something soft, catching both girls' attention. It was partially covered by decaying leaves.
"What is it?" The younger girl knelt down, discarding her inhaler in her curiosity. She scrunched up her nose, catching the scent emanating from the pile. "It smells!"
"That's the smell of decomposition." The older girl said, bending down to check what she'd found rather than kneeling. She used the stick to push off the leaves. "Particularly of blood and flesh."
The younger girl's eyes widened, but didn't lose curiosity, at the sight of the dead cat beneath the leaves.
"Is that the Barker's cat, Jerry?" The younger girl asked, picking up her own stick to poke the corpse.
"It's quite decomposed, and without a collar, but I believe so. Its tail has the same stripes and white splotch as Jerry." The older girl said, and turned over the feline carcass with her stick.
"When did you find it?" The younger girl poked the belly of the poor creature.
"Three days ago." The older girl replied, her lips twitching. "...this is boring. The well's over there."
The older girl stood up and tossed the stick away. She barely waited for the younger one to do the same before heading northeast.
"Hey! Wait up! Hey! Addie!" The younger girl whined, following after the older girl.
0
2015:
"One medium size, dark roast coffee with whole milk, and one medium size, regular roast coffee with milk and four teaspoons sugar." Spencer ordered, glancing over the coffee shop's display case of baked goods. He thought about ordering a muffin or doughnut, but decided against it.
After paying he made his way with the coffees to the small table Alsie had picked out. He handed Alsie's hers with a small smile.
"Thank you." She replied, taking the cup. Spencer sat down across from her, while giving a polite response back. He watched while Alsie took a sip of her dark roast coffee.
"How can you drink that without sugar?" Spencer asked, while he drank some of his own coffee. Alsie simply gave him a look, and placed down her cup.
"...it's not that unusual. I prefer unsweetened coffee." Alsie took another sip of coffee, wondering what Spencer would think if she had him order her the double shot espresso she usually ordered on the weekends. "So, you'll be going back to work soon?"
"Yeah. Next Monday will officially be the end of my medical leave." Spencer thought about his team and work. A number of weeks had passed while he recuperated from the gunshot he sustained in western New York. Throughout his recuperation, though, he'd kept apprised of and tried helping out with the case of Rossi's son James.
"How about unofficially?" Alsie replied, smiling. She took a deep gulp of coffee while watching Spencer consider his answer. "You were speaking to your team just the other day about a case."
"...um, well, there's this ongoing case the BAU is investigating. One that hasn't required much travel, but mostly research and questioning." Spencer placed down his coffee cup, not wishing to elaborate.
The two of them were silent for a while.
"...I only brought it up because we were supposed to go to the Smithsonian that day." Alsie grinned, resting her chin on her propped up hand. Throughout the time Spencer spent recovering outside the hospital, he had planned yet broke off around three dates with Alsie. Each for different reasons.
"I'm sorry." Spencer bit his inner cheek, recalling each date he'd canceled.
The first had been three nights after he'd been discharged from the hospital. He had planned a dinner date for him and Alsie, but had canceled it in favor of the party Garcia had planned for his release from the hospital. Considering everything that'd been happening, especially with Rossi, that party was a much needed diversion.
The second date he planned and then canceled was for another dinner. Only he had had a dream about Maeve and couldn't bring himself to leave his apartment that day. He had stood home, clutching the book Maeve had given him.
The third time was four days ago, and he and Alsie had actually been on their way to the Smithsonian. However, that same day his team had gotten a lead on who leaked James' identity to the prison inmates. Only that lead led to two dead bodies. One which was Kenneth Connell, whose uncle had been responsible for James being switched.
"I promise today will be different. No interruptions." Spencer added, seeing Alsie's dubious expression, that he planned on keeping his phone turned off.
"All right. I'll keep mine off too." Alsie turned off her cell phone as she spoke, and slipped it into her pocket. It didn't take long for Spencer to do likewise.
"...so, Shelly gave you tickets to a movie?" Spencer asked, feeling slightly uncomfortable at turning off his cell. He was still on medical leave so he didn't need to worry about being called in, but he worried about something happening.
"Two of them, yes. And I think she's gonna stake-out the lobby to see if I use them." Alsie laughed and finished the last of her coffee. "She doesn't yet believe we're dating. Of course, considering we haven't had an uninterrupted date yet..."
Spencer was about to reply when he noticed someone entering the cafe. "...it seems Shelly isn't waiting until the theater to spy on us."
Alsie followed Spencer's gaze, spotting Shelly at first attempting to approach her before hesitating. Shelly's shocked, embarrassed expression revealed all. She had obviously thought Alsie had been lying about the date and had come, expecting Alsie to be either alone or not at the cafe.
"..." Alsie waved at Shelly, forcing the woman to realize she'd been seen. The two of them watched as Shelly waved back and then ducked outside. Alsie crocked an eyebrow considering her friend.
"...does Shelly not trust you?" Spencer's curiosity got the better of him.
"No, it's not that. I just haven't been on a date that Shelly hadn't set up for me in nearly three years." Alsie shrugged, turning back to Spencer. "Though, technically, she did set the two of us up on that first cafe date."
Spencer simply gave a demure smile, finishing his coffee. The two of them chatted a while longer before deciding to leave the cafe. Once outside, Alsie glanced around, obviously looking to see if Shelly was still nearby.
"I think...oh, yeah. There's her car." Alsie pointed out Shelly's car parked two blocks north. She paused, twisting her mouth in silent contemplation. After a moment she nudged Spencer in the opposite direction.
"Um, the movie theater is that way." Spencer protested, slightly confused.
"Yeah, well, I don't feel like being spied on while on a date." Alsie replied, grabbing Spencer's arm so he'd follow.
"All right. Understandable." Spencer replied, making a face at Alsie holding onto his arm. Just when it started feeling uncomfortable, Alsie let go. "But what are we going to do if we're not going to see a movie? It's a bit early for lunch, let alone dinner."
Alsie shrugged, still walking away from Shelly's car. She rubbed her forehead, the beginning pangs of a migraine starting up.
"Ah, how about that shop over there?" Spencer spoke and pointed at a vitamin and supplement shop across the street. "Certain combinations of vitamin and mineral supplements can help with migraines, and it's likely that shop will have them."
"All right." Alsie said, reaching the crosswalk. Spencer's brow furrowed, and he wondered for a moment how he knew Alsie was getting a migraine just from her rubbing her forehead. Though, considering what Alsie had told him before about her headaches and prescription, it wasn't that unusual to be suspicious of her having one now.
"...if you're getting a migraine, though, maybe you should go home to rest." Spencer mumbled as he and Alsie entered the shop. Alsie however simply asked him what supplements to get, and after he answered, she headed down one of the aisles.
It took less than ten seconds for Alsie to return with the supplements, and place them at the counter to purchase. Spencer crocked an eyebrow, intrigued at how quick Alsie had been picking out what to buy. He had gone shopping with Garcia and with JJ before, and neither had been that fast. On the contrary, both had been insistent on finding the best deals and products.
Though, he conceded, neither had been shopping for medicine or such at the time. It still seemed strange however.
He and Alsie were already outside when he considered that Alsie's headache had driven her to just buy the supplements she saw, rather than shop around.
"Um, Alsie...if you're not feeling w..."
"I'm fine." Alsie looked up at Spencer, standing just five inches from him. The close proximity made the difference in their height that more noticeable. Despite her heels, Alsie barely reached the average height for a woman.
"I've been meaning to ask, but are you really in your thirties?" Spencer asked, his curiosity overcoming his knowledge of the adage to not ask a woman her age. He immediately regretted doing so when Alsie glared at him. "Sorry. I...you just barely look twenty, let alone thirty-three."
"I'll take that as a compliment." Alsie replied after a pause, flashing a small, bemused smile. The next moment telling Spencer her birth-date.
Spencer's eyes widened, looking her over. "You're a week older than me? Seriously?"
Alsie gave a bemused glance at Spencer, then chuckled. "I guess I am." Her brown eyes met Spencer's. "Let's get away from the topic of age, and find something to do." She added a quip about Spencer not knowing to not ask a woman's age despite being a genius.
"I know that," Spencer protested. "I just don't get why a woman's age should be such a big deal that she has to hide it."
Alsie simply smiled.
The two of them walked in silence for a while, gazing at storefronts and wondering where to go. Spencer bit his inner cheek, wondering what would be a good place to take Alsie now that the movie theater option was null. The Smithsonian was also about forty minutes away by public transit, and in the same direction as the movie theater.
"Oh." His soft brown eyes alighted on a bookstore a few storefronts down. The sign outside it indicated a moving sale, 30 to 70 percent off. "That bo..."
"Let's check out the bookstore." Alsie said, interrupting Spencer at the exact moment he too was about to mention the book store. He gave Alsie a curious, bemused glance before following her to the store.