Alice Denny

Alice Denny was Craig’s final obstacle, post Dr. Krone’s machine. He waited in her apartment complex’s parking lot in limbo. Visit her or leave. He couldn’t remove her from his mind. Months had gone by since his escape, and he couldn’t summon the courage to visit her. She still lived in the same apartment. What had she done since her miscarriage?—and what a way to remember somebody, he scolded himself. The hardest part would be breaking the ice. What would he say to an old friend?

“Sorry” would be a start.

He opened the car door. The door was halfway open when he paused. You can do this. You want to do this. If she doesn’t want to see you, she’ll make that clear.

He brought flowers. Carnations. In high school on Valentine’s Day, students could buy them for one dollar and have them delivered to their sweethearts during class. He sent them to her. She wasn’t the type of girl to catch any boy’s admirations, but he always had a special feeling toward her. He couldn’t describe it. Friendly love or just friends, he couldn’t decide, and at the time, it didn’t matter as long as they stayed friends.

Craig silently wished himself luck and approached her apartment. “Here goes nothing.”

Once inside and up the stairs to her floor, he knocked on her door once. There was a shuffle from within, and the door was unbolted and thrown open. There she was, Alice Denny. Her face was blank. Unreadable. She wasn’t mad, or excited, or angry. They stared at each other. She noticed the carnations. Her eyes teared up, and she finally smiled. Alice hugged him so hard he had to take three steps to absorb the impact.

He hugged her back. “I’m sorry, so sorry for what happened…”

She wept and clutched onto him, refusing to let go of him. “You can’t leave. I’m not letting you leave again.”

“No, I won’t. I promise.”

“I scared you off, didn’t I? I’m sure that night overwhelmed you. How couldn’t it?”

“You needed me.” He kissed her forehead. “I care about you so much. You were overwhelmed. You needed me.”

“I love you.”

And that’s when she kissed him on the mouth. It happened so fast, he was taken aback, but he wanted it. It was a sweet kiss. Craig kissed her back. “This…this is good.”

After a moment, she let him in. “What brought you back?”

He couldn’t give her an honest answer. Not the truth. He sighed, unable to commit to one explanation. “I have a lot of regrets I’m trying to address.”

“You mean ever since your ordeal? I heard about that in the news. Are you okay?” Alice traced her hands along his eyelids and the indentions of his skull. “A paper said a doctor was experimenting on his patients at the mental asylums. What did he do to you?”

“Wow, people are finding so much out about this. I thought it was kept quiet. Boy, I was wrong. The police swore there was a media blackout on this thing. Information seeps through the cracks, I guess. I can’t say exactly what he did to me,” he lied. “I was hooked to a machine. Poked and prodded. Why and for what purpose, its beats me. Investigators are still piecing it all together from the burned remains of his home. Hundreds of bodies were found there. I’m lucky to be alive.”

“Your eyelids, they’re scarred from…”

“Needles. I was going to visit Dr. Herbert, a psychologist, and undergo sessions for some issues I’m addressing. But I was kidnapped by this Dr. Krone asshole. He had access to my file information, and this doctor misled me into thinking I was undergoing a session, and then the rest is, well, a blur.”

She petted his hair and kissed his eyes and the scars. Then they sat together on her couch. “I’m so glad you’re back. I thought I’d never see you again. I believed I’d catch you in public, or something, but that never happened. And here you are. Is your visit just because of your near-death experience?”

“Yes and no,” he admitted. “Yes, because I’m trying to change my life, no, because I’ve always regretted the way things turned out between us. It’s about time I made a change. Losing Katie and my child marked a decline for me—and more so than the normal person, because I was already dealing with deep-down psychological shit and avoiding it. Katie’s death unraveled my coping mechanisms and I had nothing left but anger. My near-death experience was actually beneficial in some ways, though Dr. Krone wasn’t the right person to help me through my ordeal. Definitely not him.”

He smiled, digging deeper into the memories to share with her. “I should’ve followed you to your house that Halloween night and gotten drunk with you and become your blood brother.”

Alice’s face slackened. “Huh?—your blood brother?”

“Yeah, you remember that Halloween back in high school. You invited me back to your house, but I turned you down.”

“How did you know I wanted you to be my blood brother?”

Craig clammed up, then said, “I—uh—um, well…you told me about it once.”

“Gosh, that was forever ago,” she whistled. “I got really drunk that night. And high. Yeah, you missed out, buddy.”

She let it go, too happy to see him to be caught up in the details of high school. Instead, she clasped his hands into hers. “I’ve loved you for the longest time. You didn’t know it, though.”

“I didn’t,” he admitted. “I was a fool. But whatever we do, let’s take it slow.”

Alice kissed his cheek. She was still trying to catch up for lost time. “I’m so sorry about your father. I wanted to go to the funeral, but I wasn’t sure if seeing me would hurt you, or confuse you, or scare you, or what. Believe me, I wanted to be there for you. I know you and your dad weren’t the closest, but still, it’s hard for anybody to lose a father.”

“You have nothing to apologize for,” he reassured her. “It’s an awkward thing. I was going through some bad shit. It’s probably for the best I was left alone. I was drinking hardcore, hating my job, hating everything.”

“Your ordeal really turned you around. It’s amazing how much you’ve changed. Have you been in contact with your mom?”

“We’re drinking buddies now. Did you know she cheated on my dad?”

“I don’t blame her for one second. Everybody in the neighborhood knew your dad was philandering. A new girl every other month is what I heard. No offense.”

“It’s true, and none taken. She’s a strong woman. And she deserved better, though my dad had his winning qualities despite his less-desirable traits. Did you know who her fling was?”

“I have no clue.”

He paused for dramatic effect and then said, “Parker Stevens.”

She playfully slapped his arm. “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me! Parker Stevens, the priest? Seriously? Wow, that’s amazing. I remember when she tried to get you baptized when Brandon was at work. People gossiped like crazy about that. Your poor mother. What he put her through, I’m sure she’s living it up now being single.”

“God rest his soul, that man was an asshole. I had a strange childhood. I keep remembering more and more about it. My memories are pretty strange.”

“Then let’s give you some new memories.”

She kissed him full on the lips, their tongues meeting for the first time. He wrapped his arms around her, and they folded onto the couch, Alice on top. Their bodies grew naturally closer, and he couldn’t help but enjoy the warmth of a woman. “You’re such a good kisser.”

“It’d say practice makes perfect, but it’s been a while.”

“Me too. But that’s okay. Two tenderfoots make a chief.”

“What does that mean?” Craig laughed. “No seriously, explain it to me.”

Alice nibbled his ear. “I don’t have a clue. It makes no sense.”

“This does,” he said, kissing her nose. “I’m such an idiot. How come I didn’t come to my senses sooner? I’m so stubborn.”

“It’s in the past now. You’re here. It’s me and you and that’s all that matters. We have so much to catch up on.”

“We have all the time in the world,” Craig said, holding her in his arms. “Like you said, two tenderfoots make a chief.”