Chapter 4

Alice

I waited at the part of the emergency room where relatives or people, in general, could wait for whoever it was they were waiting for. I knew my smile was goofy, but I just couldn't hold back the excitement I felt. I raised the hand which had the ring on it, studying for the umpteenth time, the ring that I was given by the love of my life. To me, this ring marked the beginning of a new life, a life with someone who loved me, someone who cherished me. Soon, I would leave my family behind, and begin afresh with Dave.

Your debts won't go away, you know... A voice in my head said, but I immediately shut down the thought before it could ruin my afternoon.

"Hey, babe." I heard a familiar voice say and I rose sharply, almost forgetting that I had things on my laps.

"Easy there." He said, helping me steady the cup of hot coffee I knew he'd appreciate. He didn't like the hospital coffee and said it tasted like death, so I made it my life mission to bring him coffee whenever I could.

"Hi!" I took a strand of my red hair, setting it behind my ear. I knew he was watching me, and I liked it, revelling in the thought that I had this beautiful man wrapped around my finger.

"Must you look beautiful every time I see you?" He teased and I slapped his arm, even though I enjoyed the compliment.

"Yes, I must. It's to remind you of the gem you have." I told him and he agreed with a nod.

"Come on!" He took the brown bag containing the lunch I brought for him and used his free hand to grab mine, leading me to my favourite spot in the hospital, the rooftop.

When we got to the rooftop, I sat down on the bench I always sat on whenever I had the chance to come up there. I took a deep breath in, blocking the sound of life going on below.

"Stay that way." I heard and I did as I was told, already aware he wanted to take a picture of me. Dave believed that I should try being a model because I had the body for it, but I didn't want to because I detested showing skin.

I waited till I heard the sound of his camera before turning away.

"You have amazing eyes." He complimented, looking at the picture while walking towards me.

"Yeah, yeah... Time is ticking and you still have to eat, just flatter me after you're done." I told him, opening the brown bag to bring out the cheeseburger I bought, handing it to him.

"Thanks." He took it and sat down before me. For the next few minutes, we didn't say anything because Dave didn't like talking while eating; said it was horrible table manners.

Dave was from a middle-class family, with a father who was now a retired judge, and a mother whose full-time job was to run a charity foundation for young ladies with no support, and widows with children.

I met Dave's mother twice and I could tell from both meetings, even though she was extraordinarily polite with me, that I wasn't what she wanted for her son. She had probably envisioned a woman on their social level, not one who had enough baggage to fill a small country. The thoughts of the debts I had got me thinking again. I had to look for ways I could make serious money, not the usual small change I was making because it wasn't paying my debts off as fast as I wanted. I also wanted to go back to school to study my dream course: accounting.

It had been a big dream of mine that I had to put on hold to take care of my father's medical bills and his gambling debt. The thought made me sigh without planning to, and it caught Dave's attention; luckily he had already finished eating.

"What's up?" He asked me before he took a sip of his coffee.

"It's nothing," I answered, not wanting to share my burdens with him when he was already stressed from work.

"You don't sigh over nothing, and I was watching you the whole time, you were lost in thought. I even asked you if I should send you the picture I took but you didn't respond." He told me, turning to give me his full attention.

Sighing, I spoke, "I was just thinking about getting a well-paying job, something better than the shifts I run now. A job where I don't have to do as much, I can relax, take my time, take care of myself and still earn good money." I watched his face as I spoke, looking for signs that would tell me what he thought.

"You're thinking of the debt, yeah?"

I nodded because it was the main reason why I was considering getting a new job.

"I could help you ask around, but then I don't know what you're looking for."

I smiled because I thought what I was looking for was already obvious, "Anything that pays big time."

He laughed, shaking his head as he used his hand to draw me close to him so I could rest my head on his chest.

"There are a lot of paying jobs out there, but I know you won't do them because of your morals. It's one thing about you that I find the most old-fashioned, but surprisingly, it's a turn-on for me because it's rare to see nowadays." He spoke the words above my head, his voice sending vibrations down my body.

"Well when it comes to having sex with you, I am not so old-fashioned now, am I?" I teased and he laughed. I liked his laugh, it made everything in the world right for me.

"You deserve a medal though because when we started dating three years back, you were twenty-four and you were a virgin. We had sex on the night of your twenty-fourth birthday, after almost two years of dating."

"I had to be sure you were the one." I raised my eyes to look at him, smiling as I remembered the night fondly.

"Yeah, sure." I laughed when he gave an exaggerated eye roll. "I was so stunned when I found out, it made me more panicky than I already was."

"Why would you panic?" I asked, still smiling.

"Because all that ran through my mind was how to please you, it was super important to me. Only for me to find out you were a virgin too....whew!" I laughed out, not caring who heard me.

I used my hands to squeeze his handsome face, "You did well, so don't fret."

He cocked an eyebrow at me, and I widened my eyes in response, wondering what was wrong.

"I did just well?" He tried to act disappointed, and I gave a small smile when I realized what he wanted to hear.

In all honesty, before Dave, I had never done any coupley stuff. I hadn't even kissed any boy till him; that was how messed up my life was then. I didn't have anyone to compare him with as he was my first and hopefully, my only. But so far so good, the beneath the sheet action has been pretty good at best. There is something to be said for not being left hanging, and Dave tried his very best to make sure I enjoyed the act.

"You're good," I said, trying to keep a straight face.

"Just good?" He asked again, sounding a bit surprised, his eyes were wide open like he couldn't believe my rating.

"Okay, you were amazing." I finally said, not wanting to make him angry or disappointed.

"Now you're talking!" He yelled in a way that I could almost picture king kong in front of me.

I shook my head and rolled my eyes at his very male behaviour. It's not like they were awarding degrees for performance in bed now, were they?

His phone beeped, indicating his time was up and he had to return to work. Anytime we got to this part, I was always disappointed because it was like we spent a few minutes together and it was not enough for me since he was always busy.

"When will I see you again?" He asked me, bringing me in for a hug that wasn't brief.

"Tomorrow?"

"Would be working, then I'll attend a seminar, my presence is required if not I would have spent lunch with you."

I nodded, understanding that was the way it would be for now. Soon, things would improve.

"Go ahead." I nodded towards the door leading back to the hospital.

"Let me escort you to the entrance." He held my hand, leading me towards the door.

"Go ahead, I'll be fine. I want to take in the sights for a while before I go."

I could see on his face that he didn't agree with what I wanted to do and I suspected he would protest again, but his phone beeped.

"Fine. I'll go ahead then, call me when you get home." He told me and I nodded, blowing him a kiss which he pretended to catch and place on his chest. I loved how corny he could be sometimes, especially when he was happy.

He waved one last time before he disappeared into the hospital, leaving me alone with the wind, traffic, and most importantly, my thoughts. I stood there processing how I was going to solve the huge problems in front of me. The wind picked up, sending an involuntary shiver down my back. I looked up and saw dark clouds gathering, knowing it was time to leave if I didn't want to get to work late.