Alice & Dorothy (15 page)

The window of opportunity finally opened two days later. The head nurse burped, and then blew her breath out and waved it away with her hand. Then she laughed.

“Oh god,” she said. “Don’t get me wrong. I love my husband, but that man needs to stay away from shellfish.”

“Sounds like you do too,” the other nurse said. She was much younger, and new to the ward.

“Garlic clams,” the head nurse said. “I don’t know what else he added, but I’ve got a double dose of the turkey trots today.” She laughed, and the younger nurse curled her nose.

“Better make that a triple dose,” the head nurse said. She pawed at her stomach. “I’ll be right back.” She got up and waddled into the nurses office, where their private bathroom was located. The younger nurse sat at the desk struggling through paperwork, a sour look etched across her face. The air was ripe with brine and garlic.

Dorothy approached the desk carefully, her cup of water tight in her hand. “I’m going to go get a little air. Something
stinks
.” She felt like she was stepping outside herself with the very first lie. She was on her way now, no turning back. No chickening out. She’d told Alice she could deliver, and Dorothy wanted to be known as a girl who could be depended on. That kind of thing would probably impress a girl like Alice.

“Ugh,” the nurse said, “Tell me about it. You need to sign out first.
Wait
, are you allowed to leave the floor?”

“Sure am,” Dorothy said. She put her cup of water on the counter. Had she said that too defensively?
No
. The duty nurse wasn’t even looking at her. She was shuffling papers. Maybe she was trying her best
not
to look at Dorothy.
Did she know? If I blow this Alice will hate me forever. Please God don’t let me blow this.

Dorothy pressed the pen hard onto paper.
Is the nurse watching?
She felt like a hundred pairs of eyes were on her. She didn’t dare look up because she knew if she did she would lose it and chicken out. Sweat broke on her brow. She didn’t dare wipe it away.
Would I be sweating if I wasn’t doing something wrong?
She didn’t want to seem out of the ordinary.
I’m just a normal girl signing out for some fresh air
, she thought.
I promise
. Stretching her legs.
Maybe I shouldn’t have gone off my meds
. The pen was slippery in her hands, and she fumbled with it as she wrote.
Oh God, what if they look at my penmanship and see how nervous I am?
She felt like she was in a roller coaster with nobody at the control switch.

She finished writing her name and put the pen down. It clunked on the table.

The duty nurse smiled at Dorothy and hit a switch behind the counter, unlocking the elevator. It would be allowed to travel up to the psychiatric floor now. Ward Nine.

Dorothy smiled at Alice, pleased as punch that her plan was going off without a hitch.
I am dependable
, she thought.
You can love—

The water!

Dorothy spun around, unsure of what to do next. Her original plan was to spill water on the desk when she was writing her name in the book. But she was done that now. She felt exposed and guilty. She considered throwing the cup of water on the desk anyway. That would be too suspicious.
How did I screw this up so bad?

The elevator would be there any moment, she was sure of it.

“So,” Dorothy said. “
Uhm
, what are you doing?”

The duty nurse looked up. “Me? Paper work. What else?” She had a light accent Dorothy couldn’t place. She couldn’t focus on the nurse’s voice at the moment, however.
Spill the water!
She thought.
Spill it now!

“Maybe I could help,” Dorothy said. The words were falling out of her mouth before she could register them. Any moment she’d say something completely ridiculous and blow the entire thing.

“I don’t think so,” the nurse said.

“
No I’m good with paperwork!
” Dorothy exclaimed. She stepped forward. The cup of water hit the counter awkwardly, its paper shell crumpled, and Dorothy tipped it onto the corner. The water ran across the tabletop and spilled down onto the pile of papers below.

“
Oops,
” Dorothy put her hands over her mouth.

“Ahh shit!” the nurse exclaimed. She started grabbing sheets and pulling them off the counter. “I’m supposed to have these in before lunch!”

“
I’m so sorry
,” Dorothy said, backing away from the desk. The elevator behind her beeped. It had reached the floor. Dorothy turned.

“I’ll just get out of your hair,” she said. She stepped toward the elevator. On the other side, of the room Alice stood up and went to the wall beside the elevator door. With the duty nurse distracted, she’d be able to get into the elevator unseen. The plan was as easy as it was simple.

A bell went off. Dorothy walked toward the elevator. Alice leaned back against the wall, her hand resting on the doorway. Dorothy stood halfway between the desk and the elevator, trying to block any prying eyes. Her heart was in her chest. The doors clunked open.

I’m doing it! I’m doing it! I’m do—
Dorothy froze in her tracks. Her stomach lurched.

As the door opened fully, two uniformed police officers stepped out into the room. They looked like two bulldogs with guns on their hips.

“Alice Pleasance?” One of them said.

Dorothy simply stared at them, too terrified to react.

Alice shrank back against the wall the moment the door opened. She’d caught a glimpse of a badge and instinct took over. Dorothy, apparently, didn’t have that particular instinct. As the two cops stepped off the elevator she froze, a look of guilty horror on her face.

“
Alice Pleasance?
” One of the cops said to Dorothy. His badge said
Sgt Pepper
. Any other time Dorothy would have laughed at that. Now all she wanted to do was piss herself and then crawl away to hide.

Dorothy said nothing. She stared at the cops like she’d just been caught red handed murdering a kitten. In a way, it worked perfectly, because their attention was now drawn away from their target: the blond woman slinking against the wall. Alice made her move, sliding along the wall and stepping into the elevator. She stood very still against the wall closest to the two policemen, jammed into the front corner and well out of sight if one of them should happen to look back.

“Are you Alice Pleasance?” The other cop spoke this time, a brick wall with a shaved head and a badge. His eyes were bloodshot, and they were mean.

“I
uhm
...
no
,” Dorothy said.

Come on
, Alice thought.
Come on, get in here
. Any second now the elevator would close. Not a disaster, but she really wanted Dorothy away from those cops before she said something stupid and set off their bullshit radar. Plus if she headed downstairs by herself she’d have to find somewhere to hide until Dorothy could get down, and she wanted to be out of the hospital as soon as possible.

“What’s your name?” The Wall said.

Alice couldn’t see which one was speaking. They seemed to be interchangeable though. Carbon clones pumped out of a factory in some hidden industrial complex to keep the machine in place.

That’s right
, The Hater whispered.
You got it girl, spot on.

“
Oh
,” Dorothy said. Her voice was getting higher and higher in pitch, ambling toward all out panic. “
Maybe...I think. Actually, no, I don’t.
”

“Tough question, hey?” Sgt Pepper said. He raised his hand to wipe his brow and revealed an armpit dark with sweat.

They can smell her lies,
Alice thought.
Why can’t she just shut up and get into the elevator?
She still had her hand clamped over her mouth.

That idiot is going to blow it. They’re going to catch me and put me away forever.
The elevator bell went off and the doors began to close. Alice would have to hide downstairs and pray Dorothy could make it on her own. Hopefully she was smart enough not to give them away.

She looks like she’s about to pass out.
Alice thought.
If she does, they’ll be in here in a heartbeat. Maybe she should have stayed behind.

Dorothy stared at the ground and gasped for air. She kept her head down as the elevator bell went off. She collapsed into Alice’s arms as the doors were closing, but nobody seemed to notice. The elevator lurched, and the two girls began their trip down to the main floor.

“Hey,” Alice said. “You alright?”

“I feel sick,” Dorothy whispered. “I almost blew it.” Her eyes were wet.

“You did real good,” Alice said. She pulled the girl into an embrace, and Dorothy wrapped her arms around Alice. She ran her fingers through Dorothy’s hair. “You’re a real pro.”

Alice opened her mouth and gently sucked on the girls bottom lip. Dorothy responded by turning her head and running her tongue along Alice’s teeth. Alice put her hands in Dorothy’s short hair, directing traffic, as she’d done a hundred times with a hundred different men. A few women as well.

The girls turned and looked to see a fat old woman in expensive clothes eyeing them in disgust. Her son stood beside her, maybe sixteen or seventeen, sporting skinny pants and a
Rise Against
T-shirt. He was watching them with a smile on his face.

“Come on,” Alice said, taking Dorothy’s hand. “This is our stop.”

Dorothy smiled at the woman as she stepped past She wiped the kiss from her mouth with the back of her hand. Alice winked at the boy beside her as he stepped aside to let them pass. His smile widened. He was part of their little secret now, three against one. His mother would not approve. At that age, it was a good thing.

The main floor of the hospital had a balcony that overlooked the cafeteria, straight across from a large waiting room for ingoing and outgoing patients. In the center, in front of two sets of automatic doors, the receptionist smiled at the girls as they passed. Alice was still wearing her hospital gown, but down here nobody seemed to care. Dorothy was fully dressed in her street clothes. They looked like everyone else at the hospital; just a good friend coming to check on someone who’d had a rough go of things. They acted natural, holding hands and walking quickly toward the front doors. Dorothy wouldn’t stop smiling at everyone, and the look was infectious. Everyone they passed returned the smile in kind.