Chapter 5

Even running all the way from the hostel to the store, Alice was still a few minutes late for her afternoon shift. She burst through the door trying to catch her breath.

"Sorry I'm late," she said, rushing past Ambi and throwing her bag under the counter, "I got… caught up in some personal stuff."

"Alice!"

Mika's sweet voice rang out behind her. The little girl scrambled to her feet and rushed to Alice's side, clutching a simple rag doll tightly to her chest. If Alice hadn't known it, she might never have guessed that Mika had ever been sick. She felt her heart swell and tried to push the feelings aside. Her emotions were running rampant today. She smiled and ruffled Mika's hair.

"Hey, princess, how are you feeling?"

Mika pondered the question. Alice knew that, even though her English was excellent due to her parents' tutoring, she still sometimes had trouble with some phrasing. Alice waited patiently, letting her think it through.

Finally, Mika looked up and said proudly, "I feel fine, thank you."

Alice grinned.

"That's very good, I'm glad."

"Mika," Ambi said gently, "We will be going home soon. Pick up your things, please."

Mika obediently went back to the corner and began collecting her dolls in a little box. Alice turned her back, whispering as Ambi began to count the drawer.

"How is she, Ambi, really?"

Ambi smiled widely.

"She is wonderful, Alice. She will go back to school next week. Halim and I are so grateful."

Alice paused. She had been wrestling with the idea of telling the Takeris about Bruce. She knew that they wanted more than anything to repay him for what he had done, and she wasn't really sure how Bruce would feel about that. But when she caught a glimpse of Mika, humming quietly to herself in the corner as she packed away her toys, she knew that she couldn't keep this to herself.

"Ambi, I found him."

Ambi stopped counting and looked up at Alice, her eyes wide.

"You… You found him? The man who saved Mika?"

Alice nodded.

"I've been looking for a while now. I didn't want to tell you, in case nothing came of it."

"Where is he? Is he alright?" Ambi asked, her voice a frantic whisper.

Alice had to consider her words carefully. She didn't want to hurt Ambi's feelings.

"He's fine, Ambi. He's just… He's very private. He was actually pretty angry that I found him at all." The green form of Bruce's rage flashed in her mind, but she moved past it, "Everything is fine now, but he wanted you to know that he doesn't want anything from you."

"Will you see him again?" Ambi asked. Her voice was breathless and Alice could see her thoughts churning behind her eyes.

"Yes, but…"

Just then Mika walked up to her mother and tugged on her pants' leg, jerking Ambi out of her thoughts.

"Mama, I'm done. Are we going home to Papa now?"

Ambi smiled and kissed Mika's head.

"Yes, my darling," she said, "In a moment."

She turned back to the drawer and said nothing else about Bruce, but Alice was nervous now. She didn't want the Takeris to attempt to pay him through her. She was pretty sure that would be awkward for both of them. But she decided to let it go for now and deal with it if something actually happened. She'd had a rough night and a long day, and all she really wanted was just to stare out the window and think about nothing for a while. So when Ambi and Mika left, Mika grinning and waving until they walked out of sight, Alice did exactly that. Then, after she closed the shop, she went straight back to the hostel and took the opportunity to get the first good night's sleep she'd had in days. She was too tired to even have nightmares.

The next day, Alice showed up early for her shift to make up for the day before. Halim smiled at her when she walked in and she could already see the difference Mika's health had made to his own. He looked younger now, more energetic, and definitely happier. They spoke little as Halim counted the drawer, but before he left, he grinned broadly at her, a twinkle in his eye.

"I have something for you."

Alice felt her stomach drop and her mind started churning up excuses not to take his money. But instead of reaching into his pocket, or into the till, he opened the door that led to the cooler behind the beverage displays. There was a basket sitting on one of the shelves.

"For you and your doctor friend," he said.

Alice pulled back the cloth that covered the basket and peeked inside. There was homemade flat bread, a hunk of cheese and a container that held some sort of meat and vegetable mixture. Alice looked up at Halim, surprised.

"It isn't much, but it is what we have to give," he said humbly, "Please, will you take it to him?"

Alice stared at him, then back at the food, trying to find a way to say no. But she knew that she couldn't. This was something that really mattered to Halim and Ambi. She couldn't just ignore it.

"I will, I promise," she said, forcing a smile.

Halim looked like he might burst with happiness. He took both of her hands in his and gripped them tightly.

"Thank you, Alice, thank you so much for everything."

Alice continued to smile and nod until he finally left, but once he was gone, she started twisting the chain around her neck anxiously as she stared out the window and imagined how Bruce would react. Would he be grateful? Irritated? Angry? Would it mean nothing to him at all? Honestly, she couldn't decide which would be worse.

At the end of the night she locked up the shop, the basket held in the crook of her elbow, and went to Bruce's house. He was lying on his mattress, pushed back into its original spot along the far wall, scribbling in his journal by the light of a candle perched precariously close to his head. Alice leaned against the door frame and cleared her throat. Bruce looked up over his glasses and she held up the basket with a wry smile.

"I brought dinner."

Bruce snapped his journal shut and sat up, hooking his arms around his knees. He studied her for a moment and Alice wondered what exactly he was looking at.

"Well," he said finally, "That was very… domestic of you."

She rolled her eyes and came inside.

"I said I brought it, I didn't say I made it."

"Then who did?"

"Ambika Takeri, the mother of the little girl you saved," Alice said, very deliberately placing the basket on the ground in front of him.

Bruce peeked under the cloth.

"And why, pray tell, are you sharing it with me?" he asked.

"Because she didn't make it for me, she made it for you."

Bruce's eyes jerked up. Alice crossed her arms and stared him down. She tried to keep her features neutral, but in her head she was daring him to say one word against it. For a moment, it looked as if he might, but finally he just sighed and stood up, stretching his back.

"Well, I'm sure it would be better warmed up."

He grabbed the basket and stepped around Alice, right out the door. A few seconds later, he poked his head back inside.

"Do me a favor and grab the skillet in my bag, would you? And a couple bottles of water too."

Then he disappeared outside again. A little of the tension Alice had been feeling relaxed. That hadn't been as bad as she'd expected. She rolled her shoulders to loosen them up and did as she was told.

Outside, Bruce was on his hands and knees blowing a flame into life in a handful of dead grass. As the tiny flicker began to char the grasses, he started stacking twigs in a formation that Alice recognized easily from her childhood. Before she knew it a steady fire blazed in what remained of the stool that had been obliterated the night before, and the contents of the basket were simmering on some hot coals Bruce had pulled from the heart of the fire.

Alice sat cross-legged against the trunk of a tree, the same tree she had spent the better part of three weeks in, and watched all this with quiet fascination. Bruce's movements were quick and precise, like he'd done this hundreds of times, and she supposed he probably had. With barely a glance up, Bruce handed her two branches, a round of flat bread skewered on each one.

"Wanna get those toasted up?"

Alice scrambled forward and took the skewers, holding them just out of reach of the flames. The memory of another crackling fire crept to mind unbidden, this one smelling of pine needles and clean earth, the fresh smell of rain on the air, echoing laughter and burnt marshmallows. She had always liked the crispy black skin. The memory was so painful that Alice physically ached…

"Alice!"

She jumped and realized that one of the rounds of bread had turned black. She swore and jerked them both out of the fire, examining them. Luckily, only the one had been burned. She sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. The memory had faded now, but it still hurt.

"A Southern girl with no camping skills?" Bruce said, a trace of humor in his voice, "What kind of childhood did you have anyway?"

Alice had to bite back a venomous retort. She didn't like the inquisitive look he was giving her. She dropped her eyes and handed him the bread that wasn't burned.

"Sorry," she managed to grind out through clenched teeth. It wasn't what she wanted to say, but it seemed to be all she was capable of.

Bruce took the bread and pulled it off the branch in one smooth motion.

"Where did you go?" he asked, his eyes turned back to the steaming skillet of meat and vegetables.

"I'm sorry?" she snapped.

Even though he was no longer looking at her, she still felt tense. But despite her sharp tone, Bruce's voice remained calm and even.

"Where did you go?" he asked again, "Your body was present, but your mind was definitely somewhere else."

Alice wanted to say it was none of his damn business, but instead she took a deep breath and got control of herself. Acting defensive wouldn't win her any favors. And the secret she shared with him, the creature that resided under his skin, made it difficult to deny him even a partial answer to his unassuming question. She dropped her eyes and pulled the burned bread off her stick.

"I was home."

"Go there often?"

The touch of humor had returned to his voice and there was the trace of a smile on his face. She had to remind herself that he didn't mean anything by it.

"I try not to."

To her surprise, Bruce turned back to the food without saying another word. He used the edge of his shirt to grab the hot handle and pull the pan off the heat to sit steaming between them.

"So, any news on the philanthropic front?" he asked, casually but pointedly changing the subject. Alice scrambled for a moment to switch gears.

"Not yet. I'm sure word has gotten around about Mika though, and now the Takeris know I can find you I'm sure it won't be long before people start asking."

Bruce worked his way around a full mouth as he replied, "That's great because this stuff is amazing! What is it?"

Alice shrugged and took a bite. Even though the bread was burnt the hearty filling touched with spices was divine. She'd had something similar to it before, but she had no idea what it actually was. Bruce scooped up another mouthful with a piece of bread.

"Well whatever it is, if this is how I'm getting paid I can see this working out."

They ate in silence for a while. Alice glanced up at Bruce and found herself drawing parallels between him and the beast that lingered just underneath the surface. The hair, the facial structure, they were roughly the same, just bigger and greener. But it was difficult, even now, to imagine that Bruce and the 'Other Guy' were the same person. She wondered how that had come to be. Was he born like this? Had something happened to make him this way? She wondered what Bruce even called him, or if he called him anything at all.

Bruce caught her eye, "What?"

Alice shook her head, dropping her eyes back to her bread.

"Nothing."

Bruce raised an eyebrow.

"You already know my deepest, darkest secret," he said, "If you want to ask something, ask it."

Alice was tempted by the offer, but it was a trap and she knew it, even if he didn't. Such doors opened both ways. If she asked about Bruce's past, he could in turn ask about hers and she would feel obliged to answer. And she wasn't ready to give up her deepest, darkest secret. Not now. Not ever.

"Just forget it."

She could feel him watching her for a moment longer, but just as he had before, he dropped the conversation without any other comment. It was strange for Alice, knowing that she had backed herself into a tight corner twice in one night and yet didn't feel trapped. She felt more like a wild animal that had been tagged and released for observation. The feeling was unnerving. But what distressed her even more was that she had put herself into the situation in the first place. She wasn't accustomed to sharing secrets with people. The obligation she felt to share herself as a response to knowing Bruce's secret was stronger than she'd expected. It was something new she would have to learn to control, but in a way she was grateful for the experience. She was sure it would turn out to be a useful skill.

They finished the last of the bread and filling, and after cleaning up and kicking dirt over the fire, Alice gathered the basket and container to take back to the Takeris.

"Tell Mrs. Takeri that the food was excellent," Bruce said, standing in front of her with his hands shoved into his pockets.

"I will," Alice said, "And I'll drop by if something comes up."

Bruce nodded, shuffling and worrying his glasses in his hands. Alice could feel the beginnings of an awkward pause, so she made a show of slinging her bag over her shoulder and smiled.

"Well, good night, Doctor Banner."

Then she abruptly turned and headed into the darkness, feeling the adrenaline rush of a narrow escape.