Alice smirked. She did have to admit she enjoyed hearing their little back and forth every day. Maybe she just liked hearing someone put this Alfie character in his place.
‘I’m trying to do my duty as a patient of this ward, and let our friend Alice here know what she’s let herself in for by rejecting my mum’s roast dinner.’
‘It meant more food for me in the end, so I’m not complaining.’
‘As long as you’re OK, Mr P, that’s all that matters, isn’t it?’
‘Too damn right.’ The old man chuckled.
‘Anyway, I’ll leave you all alone now and get on with this puzzle book.’
Alice turned on to her back. It seemed the only time he really was quiet was when he was distracted by food orpuzzles. Perhaps she could do an anonymous order of the world’s hardest puzzle books and get them delivered directly to him?Do Amazon deliver to hospital beds?
‘Oh, for God’s sake, why don’t they make these things easy?’ A sigh followed by a frustrated groan. ‘Don’t suppose you’re any good at puzzles, are you?’
Really?It had literally been five minutes.
‘I mean, COME ON, who in their right mind is meant to solve these things!’
His words hung in the air, knocking louder and louder at the barrier between them.
Maybe if you answer him he’ll shut up for a bit?
Don’t you dare …
‘I think I’m too close to it – if only there was someone who could help me …’
It’s the morphine and the boredom, Alice.
You give him one word and he’ll take a mile.
ALICE …
18
Alfie
‘Is there a clue then?’
If you’d blinked you would have missed it. One cough from Mr Peterson and it would have been lost. But Alfie had heard her. It was as though his senses had been poised, ready to snatch her words from the air.
She’d spoken. She’d actually spokento him!
He wanted to shout it out loud so the entire ward knew what a ground-breaking moment this was. But instead he smiled and waited, biding his time. His whole brain buzzed with excitement.
‘Is there a clue or not?’ The voice, a little louder now, was tinged with frustration. Her voice had an intriguing lilt to it, the shadow of an Irish accent lurking gingerly in the background. It spoke of wide-open spaces, of luscious greenery and bracing winds. There was a beauty to it but he could also sense the defensiveness, the anger and the fiery edges waiting to attack.
‘Sorry, I got lost in my thoughts for a second. No, there isn’t a clue. It’s not a crossword puzzle. It’s more of a … visualchallenge.’ He couldn’t stop the smile on his face from seeping into his voice. Thank goodness the curtain was drawn, or he could see a bedpan being thrown in his direction very shortly.
‘Well, how can I help when I can’t see it?’ The fire licked her every word – he could feel the heat in the air.
Suddenly, through the curtain a hand appeared. Just one pale hand with nails bitten down to their red-raw beds and friendship groups of freckles scattered across the surface. If it hadn’t been only a few inches from his face, he would have told himself he was dreaming.
Slowly, he reached over and handed her the book.
‘It’s on page 136.’
He waited. Listening.
