‘Do I need a catch-up?’ Sarah asked.
‘Don’t worry, we weren’t that far in and I’m sure Alice won’t mind if we start all over again.’
Alice groaned but couldn’t keep the smile from creeping on to her face.
‘Fine, but be quick!’ she shouted.
And so he began again, painting the walls of the ward with the colours and sounds and smells of this other magical world. Sarah curled up against Alice, her warm body encasing hers in its curve. How wonderful it felt to be held by them both, each in their different way.
‘Ladies. Sorry to interrupt.’ The voice of one of the nurses jolted both of them out of the world of Muggles and wizard duels. ‘Mr Warring just called. He said he’ll be down to speak to you within the hour.’
‘Thank you!’ Sarah practically launched herself off the bed. ‘Sorry, Alfie, but we might have to cut this story time a little short.’
‘Oh. That’s OK.’ He hadn’t quite mastered hiding his disappointment yet.
Alice’s insides twisted over themselves.
‘It will be fine,’ Sarah reassured her. Clearly Alice hadn’t quite mastered hiding her anxiety yet.
‘I know.’ She smiled.
You’re still a good liar though.
42
Alfie
Alfie had hoped the schedule would work. He had prayed that it would help get her to open up and not push her further away, and this time his luck had come through. Although there was a slightly hairy moment when she’d picked him over Sarah (much to both their surprise), all in all it had been a wonderful day. He’d loved reading to Alice and Sarah. For a while he was transported back to his school, surrounded by eager wide-eyed kids hanging on his every word. He loved losing himself in books, and the art of creating worlds and characters from sheets of paper never grew any less exciting. As much as he wanted to carry on, he closed the book and turned to his other trusted pastime, puzzles.
Just as he was about to finish a particularly good arrow word, Alfie noticed the doctor arriving on the ward. He recognized him from his previous visits to Alice’s cubicle: tall, wiry and angular. There was nothing soft about him. Even his eyes were sharp and piercing. Did all doctors grow a sharpness over time? Maybe it was the only thing that stopped themabsorbing all the grief that lingered in the air. Alfie didn’t envy them one bit.
‘Hello Alice, it’s Mr Warring. May I come in?’
For some reason, watching the doctor enter Alice’s cubicle made Alfie feel very nervous. What was he going to say to her? Would they be able to help her? He shuffled over in his bed to edge himself closer to her side. So what if someone caught him? Something was pulling at him; he needed to hear what was going on.
‘I understand that you saw yourself for the first time the other day.’ Mr Warring’s voice remained calm and steady. ‘I know that must have been hard for you, Alice. How are you feeling about it now?’
‘I want to know what my options are.’
Alfie’s heart strained at the hurt in her voice.
‘Of course. Firstly, you can never underestimate the value of time. In six to twelve months, your scars could look very different, depending on how well you heal and look after yourself. In the short term, there’s also a variety of different topical solutions that can help reduce scarring. But if you are looking for significant improvements quickly, I’m afraid it will have to be another surgery.’
‘I don’t want to wait. I want results. I want the surgery.’
‘OK. If you do want to proceed down that route, then first I need to make you aware of what the surgery involves and also make sure you understand the risks. Essentially, we will be performing another graft but taking a large portion of skin from your shoulder area. We will also try, if we can, to rebuild some of the structure.’ Mr Warring was clearly trying his best to explain in layman’s terms. ‘The risks are the same with any large operation. Firstly, we can’t guarantee the results youwant – it depends on how the skin graft takes, how you heal, and if we can harvest enough healthy skin in the first place. Secondly, there is always the risk of … complications. Your body has been through a lot, Alice, so we need to be mindful of that.’
The more he spoke, the quicker Alfie’s heart raced. Surely she wouldn’t be willing to put herself through all this?
‘Whatever you say to me, doctor, I’m going ahead with the surgery. So just tell me what I need to do and how quickly we can get it scheduled.’
He knew that Alice could be stubborn. Anyone who could be silent for weeks on end clearly had extreme willpower, but he was shocked at how forthright she sounded and how determined she was to have this operation, in spite of the risks.
‘Al, maybe give it a day or two just to think it over. We can discuss it and see how you feel in the morning.’
Thank you, Sarah.
‘I think your friend is right. This isn’t a small undertaking, and I would ask that you take some time to think about it. I’ll check back in a couple of days and we can work out a plan from there, OK?’
