Alice, part two
Sep 24 '08
The Bottom Line Copyright 2008 David MacDonald
It wasn’t much later when Tina arrived at the bar to greet Alice, who then watched as her friend decided to have her own inaugural beer before she was prepared to face the party guests who were gathered at a house a few blocks away.
Tina would have suggested that it’s better if you’re already in the mood to party before you arrive to one. Party guests feel uncomfortable if you arrive looking more sober than they do.
“Most of these people will probably be strangers to you,” Tina said as the two were walking towards the house in question. “I”m sure I won’t even know most of them.”
“Nobody knows everybody. It’s always a chance to meet more interesting people....”
“They’re always interesting when you’re drunk,” Tina said when she rang the doorbell. “That’s why they call it social drinking.”
When the two were invited inside, Tina and Alice scanned the living area to see who was privileged enough to be at this party. Sure enough, there were enough complete strangers to give Tina and Alice some work to do in terms of ingratiating themselves with the party guests.
“I think we stepped into the wrong house,” said Alice.
“Or they did.” Tina said, before noticing one couple who stood out from the rest. “Oh, there’s Valerie and Douglas. Another one in my list of upcoming weddings to attend....”
Alice thought, Tina must be a professional witness to matrimony. Always the spectator, never the bride.
“Hello, guys!” Tina said to the couple, before focusing their attention on her friend. “I’d like you to meet Alice, a schoolteacher whose very name is synonymous with quality education.”
“Oh stop that,” Alice teased.
“A pleasure to met you,” said Valerie as she shook Alice’s hand.
“What school do you teach at?” Douglas asked.
Alice revealed the name of the school. “I’ve been there for so long - must be 18 years.....”
“I remember my high school days. When our school always had a rivalry with yours....” said Douglas, referring to another high school situated at the other end of Charlottetown. “I was on the rugby team and believe me during our games you could cut the tension with a chainsaw - and that was just from the people in the stands.”
“Everybody lived in the same city but that situation may have as well been Israel and Palestine,” Valerie laughed, figuring she made a wicked joke.
But Alice didn’t appreciate jokes like that. She still smarted over the time the principal gave her a chewing out over the time she gave out copies of an inflammatory article only days after the United States was attacked by terrorists to the students in her class. She insisted it was both a reality check and an illuminating example of the power of writing, and not at all a show of anti-Americanism just as the families of 3,000 people who had little to do with anything were healing from a senseless, seemingly random tragedy.
“Well.... I know we’d be Palestine,” Alice said, “because you just beat the sh*t out of us for no reason ... and steal provincial titles that we deserve by right.”
“Oh,” Douglas expressed, very amused at Alice’s boasting. “So the rivalry continues then.”
“And how. They have Facebook groups to trash talk on now,” said Tina.
“Well... it was nice to meet you....” said Alice, not wanting to talk about school sports and Middle East relations any longer.
“Wow, I didn’t think macho rugby hooligan was your style,” joked Tina as they moved to another part of the room.
“That wasn’t hooliganism. I just got ... irked by something. And now I feel like an idiot.”
“Well..... I think there’s a beer in the fridge that’s feeling lonely,” Tina laughed. “Or will it just make you start defending Osama Bin Laden?”
“Oh gee thanks....” Alice felt like she somehow had to defend something she knew in her own mind was absolutely correct.
“But seriously ... I can get you another beer. I know where the fridge is....just don’t pull off some guided missile attack while I’m gone.”
Tina walked away into the kitchen, while Alice began to observe some of the people who were scattered around the house. She noticed one particular male who cast his eyes upon her, even as he had allegedly been engaged in a conversation with another man who was speaking to him.
The man’s glance seemed curious, as if he saw her as a thorn protruding from what was otherwise an elegant creation, and couldn’t decide whether to accept it or to slice it off. There was no anger on his face - but it was somewhat unsettling to her, all the same.
She looked at him in a way that she hoped wouldn’t be too obvious. She could see the man as he looked back to his friend for a time, before once again granting his curious glare to her. And it seemed as if his very gaze pulled something out of the depths of Alice’s memory.
And that’s when she recalled, this was Brittany’s father. The fact she could recall this surprised her. She saw dozens of parents every year during those parent-teacher interviews. But perhaps that memory was provoked by the fact she never expected her school life to spill over into her regular life.
Tina returned to the living room with the two bottles of beer. The man who had been staring at Alice suddenly decided to reach over and steal one of the bottles from her hand.
“Hey, Thomas!” Tina laughed. “Get your own!”
“Share and share alike, I always say!” he laughed. He opened up the beer and began to drink, before walking back to his friend who laughed at his behaviour.
“That’s Thomas for you....” Tina said to Alice. “Thinks he’s entitled to everything.”
“Who invited him....?”
“Oh? Who invited him? He’s one of Douglas’s friends, I think... he’s somebody’s friend, anyway..... I’m sure somebody must put up with him. All I really know about him is that he separated from his wife a few years back. They got two children - one’s about to graduate from high school, I think. And they have a son seven years old. They really spaced them out quite well!”
Alice hadn’t recalled anything about Brittany having a brother.
Thomas walked over to the two women, drinking from the beer that was supposed to have been Alice’s. “Hello... I think I know you from somewhere....”
“My ... my name is Alice,” holding out her hand. She wasn’t going to give him any ideas as to where he may have seen her.
“Schoolteacher extraordinare!” Tina joked, giving the secret away immediately.
“Yes.... I remember you. You taught my daughter Brittany.....” he said. But he probably already guessed that before Tina’s outburst, thought Alice. Probably why he gave her that strange look. Or perhaps he was just checking her out.
“Well, I’m sure you know she did such a great job!” said Tina.
“Well, Brittany didn’t get 100 per cent, so ‘great’ may be a relative term,” he said, casually, trying to make it seem like he was just kidding around.
“So... you obviously do more than teach....” Thomas said.
“Yes, yes I do... is that a surprise to you....”
“Absolutely. I always thought you were plotting how to torture teenagers all day, and you didn’t have time to socialize with us commoners,” he grinned.
Alice began to laugh once again, still feeling awkward but beginning to tolerate his comments, at least for now. “No, I need a break once in a while. I need time to plot my strategies....”
Tina’s attention was aroused by somebody else nearby and she began to converse with her instead, leaving Alice and Thomas to figure out how to make the conversation less brittle.
“I really only noticed now - your accent.... you’re not from here, are you?” Thomas asked, like any Islander would when faced with the threat of someone “from away.”
“How surprised I am that you would point that out,” she teased. “You Islanders are always so aware of someone not born here. Even though I haven’t lived in Newfoundland for 25 years....”
“.... I had you figured out.”
“Exactly.”
Alice was impressed. He didn’t even call her ‘lady.’
“Well.... do you want a beer, Alice; something to recharge your wicked ways?”
“Don’t mind if I do....” Her eyes were downcast for a moment. She felt a slight embarrassment at his sudden positive attention. She almost wanted to suggest to herself that he might have had some ulterior motive for wanting to speak to her for this length of time.
But that didn’t stop her from taking the beer from his hand after he had returned from the kitchen.
“So....” he asked as he twisted the cap from his bottle, “.... here by yourself?”
“What... what do you mean?”
“Did you come to the party by yourself?”
“Oh.... not quite. I did go with Tina... although she’s off doing her own thing now, apparently.” She drank some of her beer. “So how’s Brittany doing?”
“She’s good. You must see her in school...”
“I see her in the hallways sometimes... but I don’t teach her anymore. I’m sure she’s forgotten all about me!” she laughed.
“You never forget your teacher,” Thomas grinned.
“Maybe *you* don’t.....” she said. “Was there a strict schoolmarm who would whip you into shape if you did bad?”
“If there was, I’m sure I’d remember it.”
“What would she use? A ruler across your backside....” she smirked.
“Some of those kind of teachers.... should have gotten a taste of their own medicine...” he said. “How would they feel about it then?”
“Well.... that depends, I suppose.” feeling a bit nervous.
“How would you feel about it?” He had leaned over to whisper it to her ear.
Alice felt a gasp of surprise bubbling inside her windpipe, and felt her cheeks burn red hot. “Oh my......” She wondered how much beer it took for him to be given that much courage. “So.....” Laughs. “... what do you do?”
“What do I do? Construction. Starting to get busier now; this is the time of year everyone’s getting their new houses built.”
“Good... this is the time of year I get ready for my vacation.”
“Privileged, aren’t you?” he laughs.
“Hey, two and a half months isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. By the end of August you’ll be so bored you’d be praying to go back to school, even with all the disagreeable kids!”
“I think I’d not want to go back to school ever again if I were in your position.”
“Not all the kids were bad. Your daughter wasn’t.”
Thomas wondered if it was just the beer that made him feel this way, but he wanted to spend some time with her. Something about that short hair and that personality of hers, perhaps. Or maybe she was just the most convenient person at the most convenient time.
“So are you free at all?” he asked.
“Not a lot,” she sighed. “There’s a lot of school stuff going on.....”
“I see.... no time to just go out and have some fun.....”
“Well..... I can always arrange something... it’s never an impossibility.”
“Well.... I’m always free on evenings.....”
“Oh, you are, are you?” Alice asked. She was surprised once again. Would she go out, with him?
“We could just slip into the club and have a drink. Apparently we both like to hang out at the same place,” he said.
“What do you mean?” she asked. And then she realized he was probably the single guy at the club earlier this evening. He was obviously aware of her presence for a number of hours now. She felt marginally unsettled.
“Hmm.... Thomas, I don’t know what to say.” Alice laughed, her body disturbed by what she should do next. “Well... if we do go to the same club, maybe we ought to do that when it’s not so dreary like it is on a Saturday afternoon.”
“Sure.... we’ll listen to some loud rock band that Brittany would probably go for more than we would.”
“Does she have a fake ID? Maybe she can help us get in,” said Alice.
“Hm... I never asked her if she had one,” shrugging his shoulders.
But they did get in without anyone’s help. And the band was one of those house bands that played a mix of oldies and some Maritime music like The Last of the Irish Pirateers.
Alice had a wine while he had a beer. The two of them sat at a table of their own near the middle of the club, possibly drawing attention to themselves if anyone happened to know them.
But then she knew men would probably look at her differently if she had a glass of wine in her hand. Even Thomas, who seemed like he dated a lot of beer drinkers, watched her with something close to admiration. At least she hoped that’s what it was.
In any case, Thomas seemed quite eager to keep her in his sights. He didn’t want to turn her loose - he would grab her by the arms and take her to the dancing floor in front of the band, where a mix of older and younger people had already been well underway with their movements.
Once they got tired of dancing, they went back to their table.
“Well, that was fun!” Alice said. “It’s been a while since I danced like that.... I’m not sure what you were trying to do, though.”
“I was dancing!” Thomas laughed.
“That’s what you call it. You were swaying as if all the bones in your legs turned to rubber.”
He laughed. “Well, I didn’t say I was a *good* dancer!”
“Or was it just that you were doing the wrong dance?”
“Well, some places aren’t fit for certain kinds of dancing....”
“Don’t you know it.... especially if there are too many people in the room,” Alice smiled.
“Well, that could make it all the more... interesting....” Thomas said.
Alice opened up her smile. “A devil’s mind you have....”
The two went back to their drinks, letting their conversation, what little they could have of it amid the noise of the bar, wander. They saw other people come in, people whom they knew, casually recognized, or were complete strangers to them. There were those who came over to say hi, to gather around the table where they sat, and who would occasionally join in the conversation, or break off into their own out-of-context dialogues. They didn’t seem to ask why Alice and Thomas were together - those questions didn’t get asked on a Saturday evening.
As the night grew late, the two decided they would go their separate ways. They didn’t dance again that night.
“You know.... no matter what dance we end up doing.... I don’t think we can do it when Brittany’s around.”
Alice laughed, blushing. “I see.... she probably wouldn’t want to see her father dance - with a woman like me...”
“Or indeed any other woman. It’s not appropriate.”
The two walked atop the darkened sidewalk, listening to the squealing tires along the asphalt.
“She’s probably out cruising the streets of Charlottetown anyway!” Alice joked.
“No... she’s supposed to be at her mother’s tonight. She’ll probably not let Brittany get too far this evening....”
“You sound almost disappointed....”
“Me... no, no, not really.... Besides, I’m sure Brittany will have her fun sometime in the future....”
“You sound like you’re a very tolerant father....”
“Well, maybe not tolerant. Maybe too much so for my ex-wife.....”
Alice cast her eyes toward him. She wondered if perhaps his open attitude tonight was only a prelude to some sort of wallowing over his failed marriage. And she didn’t want to be witness to such a display, so she cut him off at the pass. “Anyway... you’re taking a taxi home, I assume. I don’t want to find out I’m in the company of someone with a long list of DUI’s...” she teased.
“Yes.. yes I am....” speaking with uncertainty, as if he had wanted to say something else to Alice.
“I don’t live too far away,” Alice said. “The wine doesn’t usually affect my walking ability - I haven’t bumped my head on a brick wall yet.”
The two had widened the space between them by only a few steps. They both felt their legs vibrating as if they weren’t sure on when to draw away and walk on separate paths.
“So...” Thomas began to ask. “Are we going to meet again?”
“Sure...” Alice said. “We have to do that dance that nobody else is allowed to watch us do ....”
Thomas seemed to stand more steadily on his feet. “I’ll be waiting....”
She would have to let him wait. Her habit was to take the lead, and she wasn’t ready. “I’ll be seeing you....” she smiled, waving as she began to walk home.
As her shoes clicked against the concrete sidewalk, Alice’s body felt a thrill. She had taken control of the story, and began to write the next chapter.
Her narrative had gone beyond her control in the past few months. Thomas was the first man she had spent time with in - oh, must have been six or seven months. That was a significant gap of time, even for her. She was quite used to forming some clandestine affair with somebody - something that would rest in secret, unknown by anyone else while it occurred, forgotten by her when it was over.
She hadn’t spoken to Tina about that night’s date. As far as Tina was concerned, Alice only saw some guy who was divorced with two kids at a party one night, and never saw him again afterwards. Alice didn’t expect she would need to bring him up in a conversation.
If she had, she would have been forced to tell Tina tonight, at the cafe, that after you leave to be a witness to the next matrimonial event, I’m going to be meeting with this man you pointed out to me, the man you said thought he was entitled to everything. I’m sure you would approve.
Alice waited until after six pm before giving thought to leaving the cafe. In the meantime she had a few teas - and realized she had to use the bathroom. It was as much her nerves as it was the liquid putting pressure on her bladder.
A few minutes later, she was no longer full but her nervousness persisted as she walked toward the parkade where she left her car. Perhaps it was her deliberate attempt at hiding her personal life which made her paranoid at every turn. It was as if she were concealing an illicit affair with a married man, that she was the unfulfilled mistress who was desperate for anything.
In reality there were few obstructions. The only thing separating her from him was the bridge spanning the Hillsborough River, and so she got into her car and began to drive.
She wanted to drive faster - faster - to his place of residence. But the cars ahead of her were taking their time in her view, as they were only speeding at a rate of 10 kilometres beyond the posted speed limit. Alice felt the blood surging in her veins as a result of her lost time.
Once she turned off the main highway and onto one of the side streets, her anticipation grew even more. And so did her paranoia, as she saw clearly the row of houses on either side of the street, illuminated by living room lights. She knew people could very well be peering out the window, to check out who pierced through the imaginary gates of their sacrosanct neighbourhood.
As she approached Thomas’s house, she parked on the opposite side the road, a couple of properties past the property. She hoped the placement of her car would throw off the scent of anyone who happened to peek out the window.
The sky was an orange twilight as she got out of her car and walked toward his yard. She felt her heart pound beneath the cage of her ribs with each and every step. Thomas had obviously expected her arrival, because he was opening the door just as she was about to walk up the front steps.
“Hi Alice,” Thomas said. “Looking smart as always.”
“Oh stop it, you’re putting way too much pressure on me this early in the relationship,” Alice teased. “One of these days I’m bound to slip up and you’ll see my intelligence is a facade.”
“Well, I’ll buy you a dunce cap for your birthday so you’ll always have it when you need it.”
Alice walked into the living room, to see the TV tuned to a baseball game, and a pair of empty beer bottles resting on the table next to the couch. Had he drank from those bottles this evening, or were they standing there for a day or two neglected due to Thomas’s laziness?
“Don’t mind the mess,” said Thomas. “My housekeeper quit on me the other day. Gave some excuse about being a figment of my imagination so she had enough.”
“That’s rough,” Alice said, playing along with Thomas’s humour. “Maybe you could hire one of my select elite of students to help you out. If they do a good job, it may be enough for me to bump up their final grade to 51 per cent.”
Alice retained her smile and her humour, but all the while she was considering her next course of action. And apparently so was he. The crowd noise from the baseball game grew in intensity, and Thomas appeared to question whether he ought to keep the television on and inadvertently ignore his guest.
“So... Brittany isn’t home, I take it,” Alice said. She wanted him to touch her, to look at nothing else but her presence.
“Nope... big teen dance at the North River rink.” His head turned toward the television screen, as the batter soared past the first and second bases.
“Ah.... so that’s why school dances aren’t so popular anymore,” she said, giving a subdued smile as Thomas struggled to give his undivided attention to both his date and his game.
“Yea....,” Thomas uttered. The batter fell on the front of his body as he skidded to third base, a split second before the third baseman caught the ball from the outfield. Portions of the crowd went wild. “I... think it’s because anyone can go to those all-ages rink dances, not just people who go to her school...”
“In my day, school dances were the most exciting thing we ever did,” Alice said. “Right next to squealing your tires on the road and drinking beer in a parking lot.”
“They still do those sorts of things now....” Thomas said. The attention he gave to the baseball game faded, at least until the next great play.
“You worried about Brittany doing those things?”
“Of course. Our generation is allowed to do those things, our offspring is supposed to know better.”
“A fountain of wisdom you are,” Alice smiled.
Their nervous laughter lingered like a patient morning fog. They knew if the fog didn’t lift, all they would do is fill lengthy seconds with idle chatter. “So.... how do we do this?” Alice asked, her fingers moving in anxiety. “Make the transition from this to what we really came together for....?”
“Why are you asking me?” he asked, grinning. “You don’t seem to be shy about getting what you want...”
“I told you... I may not be as clever as you think I am....”
The baseball commentators were chattering about some player who would be out for three weeks because of a broken thumb. She deduced that the player would not be able to hold the bat, or catch the ball, with a broken thumb. And yet if she broke her thumb, Alice wouldn’t be able to take three weeks off of work, even if she found it difficult to use her red pen to correct papers.
The only clever thing Alice could think of was to rest her hands flat against Thomas’s chest and eliminate that physical space between them. Thomas then grabbed Alice’s waist, his hands squeezing the flesh enough to make her gasp, before moving his face closer to hers.
“When do you expect Brittany to be home...” Alice asked, after he kissed her.
“In another few hours, the dance isn’t over until 11,” he whispered.
Thomas no longer was concerned about the baseball game. The two continued their kisses, before Thomas reached for Alice’s hand. He led him away from the living room and took her into the bedroom.
Alice stood as Thomas switched on the lampshade. She drew deep breaths, and found herself dizzy from anticipation when he once again closed in on her and placed his hands on her waist.
But she noticed something odd in his renewed kisses and the caress of his hands along the curve of her back. The nuances of his touch suggested a lack of certainty, and yet an unwillingness to ask for directions.
What’s wrong... she wanted to whisper, as one caring soul to another, but all she could do was stand silent as he formed desperate kisses along her cheeks and neck. She gently broke the embrace so she could rest on the bed, and encourage him to follow her lead. But he stood and watched, as if he were studying her.
“I don’t bite... unless that turns you on,” she said. Alice spoke as if telling a cute joke, and not trying to seduce him.
“I know... I’ll remember to ask that of you whenever I’m in the mood.” He stepped a few inches closer but a separation remained.
She reached out her hand. “Am I the first... since your wife?” she asked.
“No... no....” Alice’s question embarrassed him. It was true that she wasn’t the first. There had been a couple of incidents since the separation, but despite that, he could never quite reconcile the idea of taking another woman to his bed when for nearly 15 years he shared that same bed with the same woman, night after night. Alice was almost like the mistress he brought home when his wife wasn’t around, so they could make love on the marriage bed.
Alice, on the other hand, never married, never had to think about how unusual it would be to have more than one person visit your bed. But she believed she could understand the root of Thomas’s apprehension. “All I can be to you is another woman. A woman who wants you to come to bed with her.... “
Thomas reached out to grab Alice’s outstretched hand, and moved in beside her. Alice considered whether her words did in fact encourage him to come closer, or if he would have done so anyway after a few seconds of thought.
He began to unbutton her blouse, his fingers lined with tension as he did so. He didn’t want to get too carried away, and accidentally rip her shirt in anticipation. Such an act may be a passionately romantic gesture when told in some romance novel, but in real life, he’d have to pull out his wallet and pay for that blouse. And he wasn’t very good at picking out ladies’ fashion.
Alice felt his fingers spread like wings as they caressed her waist and stomach, as they reached over to her back to unsnap her bra. She felt her body grow more sensual, and her eyes grew dreamy. She felt a cold shiver when her nipples were suddenly exposed to the open air.
With each second that passed inside the darkened room, Thomas’s apprehensions faded until they were safely ignored and tucked away. He just wanted her body now.
He felt her body swell each time Alice drew a slow and deep intake of oxygen. He visualized the precise outline of her mouth, loose and warm from the passion stirring inside. He bent down to her chest and slipped his tongue around a nipple.
“Suck from me... drink from me... until there’s no more.....,” she sighed. She wanted to be consumed, she wanted to justify her fervent desire.
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Member: David Macdonald
Location: Prince Edward Island
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About Me:
Alice, a story in nine parts, posted on Sept 24, 2008 - http://www.epinions.com/content_5241348228
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