Life goes on... (by Mallory Quinn)
Chapter 4: “A surprising reaction”
Alistair woke up in the morning with Candy in his arms. It took him a few seconds to realise where he was and what Candy was doing in his arms. He looked at her. Without his glasses, he had to be close to see her well. He looked at the freckles on her nose, he was counting them, he felt like kissing them…
Candy was sleeping and she opened her eyes. She felt good…
”Where am I???” She thought
Then she remembered. She had come to be with Alistair during his crisis over the night…
“I spend the night in Alistair’s arms! And it was the best night I’ve had in a long time… Oh my God!!!!” she thought
She moved…
- Candy? He said
- Yes, she said with a little voice
- Are you awake?
- No I’m talking in my sleep! Of course I’m awake, she said laughing or I wouldn’t be talking to you!!!! Silly!
They burst out laughing.
- You know this is weird, do you? She said
- I’m in seventh heaven actually… waking up with a beautiful woman in my arms…after the war…
- Don’t tell me you didn’t fool around with some slutty nurses in Europe…
- You’re a nurse, do you know many slutty nurses?
- Yeah!
- But you’re the one I kissed…
She was still in his arms; for some reason, they weren’t moving…
- I’m not the first girl you kissed… you must’ve kissed Patricia
- Did she tell you I kissed her?
- Well… no, but I just assumed…
- Did you kiss Terry?
- Yes…
- Then, you had more experience than me…
Candy was stunned. Boys always had more experience than girls; fooling around with the maids… but Alistair was always inventing things, that’s where is mind was…so girls… aside from Patricia… well he was kind of absent minded…
- Oh my God! Said Candy blushing
- Are you blushing Candy?
- How do you know?
- I just assumed and I felt you get warmer…
- Warmer? Said Candy laughing
- Yes, when you blush all the blood goes to your face and…
- Ok, smarty pants, you’re hilarious!!!
Candy was laughing out loud and Alistair too. For some reason they just loved their position and they weren’t moving. It was perfectly innocent.
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Archie was on his way to his brother’s room to see if he was fine. He got there, knocked and just came in without waiting for an answer. What he saw; Candy in bed with Alistair shocked him.
- What the hell is going on in here? He asked upset
- Archie, said Candy smiling, hi…
- What are you doing in bed with him!? Asked Archie angry
- What? Said Candy freeing herself from Alistair’s arms
- I asked you a question?!
- Leave her alone! Said Alistair, how dare you barge into my room and start yelling!!! I’m still your big brother!!!!
- What are you doing with her in bed!!!???
- Why do you want to know?
- Tell me!!!
- Actually bro, this is none of your business!!! Said Alistair standing up to his brother
Candy was looking at the scene like in a dream. What the hell was going on? Why were the two brothers fighting???
- Get out of my room! He said
- I came to see how you were doing and this is the thanks I get?
- As you can see, I’m fine! Now get out! And next time wait for my answer before you come in… You don’t see me barging into your room when you’re in bed with your wife
- Candy is not your wife!!!!!!!!
- That’s beside the point!!!!
- GUYS!!!! STOP IT!!!!!!! Yelled Candy
The two brothers stopped and look at her.
- Archie, leave, said Candy
- Not without you, he said
- I’m not a little girl! Said Candy upset, just leave!!! Please!
Archie was looking at the scene…
- How…
- Leave! Archie! Now!
Archie walked to the bedroom door like he had all the time in the world. Annie was standing at the door looking at the scene; she had heard the yelling from her bedroom. She went back to her bedroom. Archie came back a little while later. His wife was back in bed coming back from the bathroom due to her morning sickness.
- You’re proud of yourself?
- Annie…
- You’re not Candy’s guardian that would be your uncle Albert!!!!
- She spent the night in his bedroom!
- She was helping him last night and probably just fell asleep…
- She spent the night!!!
- A platonic night!!!!!!!!! She didn’t sleep with him! Even if she did, that’s none of your business!!!!!
- How could you say that?
- How could you be so obvious???
- What?
- You’re still in love with her!!!!
- Annie…
- You’re jealous of your brother, first for the kiss they shared and now for the night they spent together…!!!!
- You have to calm down…
- Yes, I do and having you in my room right now is not calming me down…
- What are you saying?
- Get out!
- What?
- You heard me!!! You can stay in the other room full with your clothes; I don’t want to see you right now!
- You’re being ridiculous!
- I’m not the one minding my brother’s business!!!
Archie went to the other room and used another bathroom to get ready.
Candy and Alistair where looking at each other after Archie left.
- I’m sorry Candy for blowing up like that…
- You don’t have to apologise, he had no right to treat me like a little girl just because I spent the night in my big brother’s room…
“Right! She sees me as her brother! Well I’ve always treated her like a brother… well maybe if you stop treating her like a sister; she might understand what you really want…”
- Candy, he said, thank you so much for coming last night
- Don’t mention it… I’m going to be there for you every step of the way and we’re going to fight your post traumatic stress together… that is if you want me with you…
- You want to be my personal nurse?
She looked at him and smiles.
- Is that a job offer? She said
-You’re the best nurse I know, you treat your patient well you even kiss them on the lips and then slap them!
- Alistair!
- But you’re the best nurse in the world, so I want you… you come highly recommended
- Well if you put it like that, there’s no way I could refuse…
- I need to get the check up…
- Right! You’re coming with me to the hospital… we also have to see the doctor for you mental therapy… you’ve been through a lot, during this stupid war…
- All right, he said looking at her…
- You get ready, and I’ll go get ready, we’ll have breakfast and we’ll go together at the hospital
Candy went back to her room to take a shower and get ready to go to the hospital. She was wearing a beautiful dress and her hair was down. She got to the dinning room for breakfast. The Great Aunt was there with Archie. Annie was having breakfast in bed. Alistaire was there too. Candy sat down.
- Good morning, she said smiling
- Good morning, said Alistair smiling to her
Archie was sulking.
- Didn’t you two already saw each other? He said
- Archie!
- You did spend the night together…, said Archie
- You what??? Said Aunt Elroy stunned
Alistair looked at his brother with mean eyes.
- Aunt Elroy, it’s no big deal…
- What was Candy doing in your room
- She came because I was having a nightmare about the war, that’s all
- And she spent the night?
- As a nurse!!!
- No, said Candy as a cousin… he needed my help, I wasn’t going to let him suffer on his own!
- But spending the night
- Just think about him as a patient said Candy; I have to go, Alistair?
- Where are you going? Said Archie to his brother
- To the hospital to get myself checked out, you have a problem with that? He said a little irritated
- Oh…
- Alistair, I’m going to be late, said Candy walking to the door, bye!
- I'm right behind you, Candy, said Alistair following her
Aunt Elroy and Archie looked at them go.
- I don’t like this… he’s falling for her she said
- Aunt Elroy, you were ready to let Neil have Candy…
- And she shamelessly refused! She’s not getting another one of my nephews…! Neil was too good for her!
- Aunt Elroy, with all due respect, I beg to differ… Candy is too good for Neil!
- You want your brother to be with her?
- No…They’re just friends…
- If you say so, said the Great aunt
Archie was hurting. He couldn’t help it …
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Candy and Alistair were in the car, talking and laughing. They got to the hospital.
- All right let’s go do those test! She said
- You’re coming with me? He said
- Unless you don’t want me to…
- What? No! He said, I’m fine! Let’s go. I’m so happy you’re here with me…
- You came back after years and you probably planned to be with Patricia…
- I did, and I thought I would’ve found you married with children, that you would’ve stayed with Terry…
- Well, life is full of surprises… don’t ever take it for granted
- You’re telling me? I’ve seen my friends getting killed one by one, we all had girls, fiancée to go back too, girls we thought about to have some courage, to get through what we thought was our duty… but it was like we were standing in line waiting to die every single day…and every day new soldiers would arrived full of hope…
- Alistair
- I told you I thought about Patricia, but I thought about you too Candy… you gave me hope…
They were walking to an exam room while he was saying that and they instinctively looked for their hands…they stopped and hugged each other…then they continued their way.
- I had the little box you gave me, the happiness box, she said and I gave it to Patricia when she had a very bad feeling about you when she got your letter about your friend Dominic…she was happy, but the box stopped playing a little while later…
- Maybe the happiness wasn’t meant to be with Patricia
Candy looked at Alistair. They looked at each other for a while.
- Well she is dead now, then yes, it wasn’t meant for her to be happy, said Candy sadly
Alistair, was feeling great, he was sad for Patricia, but the girl he thought about the most, the girl he was really in love with, was Candy, from the moment they meant and he gave her a ride and she climbed on his head and they fell into the lake… but he knew how much Anthony loved her, since he couldn’t stop thinking and talking about her. Then Anthony was gone, and he watched his brother finally telling him how much he wanted Candy and how much loved her… He had to remain silent again, look at his brother getting angry with Terry and fighting him, because of Candy…
- There’s our room, the doctors are waiting for us!
- Mr. Cornwell! Said the doctor smiling, we were waiting for you!
Candy looked at the doctor who usually was grumpy, smiling like there was no tomorrow. She thought it was odd…
- Did I miss something? Said Candy, this doctor is usually wakes up on the wrong side of the bed…
- I think you missed a phone call from our dear great aunt Elroy, said Alistair
- Right! Said Candy smiling, but it’s not so fun when it’s for the opposite
- What do you mean?
- I’ll tell you later…, said Candy, come Master Cornwell, the doctors are waiting for you!
Master Alistair Cornwell was treated like royalty. The doctor looked at Candy and said:
- That would be all, Miss Andrew…
Alistair looked at the doctor…
- What? He said? I want Miss Andrew to stay!
- But Master Cornwell
- I want Nurse Andrew! Said Alistair with authority
- All right, Master Cornwell, nurse Andrew will stay… Brenda, why don’t you go replace Miss Andrew
Brenda was not happy. She wanted to stay with Alistair, which was not a very demanding job…
“That little tramp is seducing the patient, now he only wants her!!! She thought”
Brenda left the room sulking she met Nathalie another nurse and Candy’s friend.
- That little tramp! She said
- Who? Said Nathalie
- That Candy Andrew! A patient just asked for her specially, Alistair Cornwell
- Oh… that’s her cousin…
- What but he was looking at her with…
- By adoption, she was adopted by his uncle…
- Oh…
- So it’s normal that he wants a familiar face after the horror of the war…
- Right, said Brenda
But she was still sulking…
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Alistair was glad to have Candy with him all the time. He felt good with her, there was something about her he missed while he was away… By the time the tests were done, it was lunch time and Alistair took Candy to a little restaurant close by. Candy was happy to spend time with him.
- We had a lot of fun together, said Alistair
- Yes, we did
- You have a date tonight
- Yes…
- Have you been dating a lot?
- No…I’ve been working a lot
- Thinking about Terry…
- I have to move on, I can’t spend the rest of my life crying over Terry
- I’m sorry I know how much you loved him…
- I still do… I will always love him, like I will always love Anthony…
- But we have to move on
- What are you planning to do?
- Well, when I was at the war, my friend and I, who both love engines talked about opening a place together, just for fun…
- Really, that would be great!
- Only… I think I might be able to improve my work and actually sell engines…
- Really?
- Yes… so I’m going to work on them, night and day and make it work.
- I’m sure you’re going to make it work… you built cars, when you were very young and they worked!
- For a while…
- How many 14 years old build their own car? Not only that, it’s not like you couldn’t afford to buy one, but you built one!!! Maybe at the time we didn’t really paid attention to it, but now that I think about it, you’re a genius, Alistair Cornwell!!!!
Alistair blushed. Receiving such a nice comments from Candy was music to his ears.
- Oh my God, said Candy, you’re blushing? I’m sorry I didn’t mean to embarrass you
- No, I’m just happy you called me a genius! My brother always made fun of my inventions…
- You were younger… he might take you seriously now…
- I don’t think so…
Alistair thought about Archie’s reaction to his kiss, then to his spending the night with Candy…
- Come on! Said Candy, he’s your brother! He’s happy to see you!
- I know he is, but…
Candy was trying to keep the peace between the brothers…
- Ok, I’ll tell you what; you work on your engine and test it… then we’ll present the project to Archie at the company and see if he’s going to finance it…
- Wow Candy! You believe in me!
- Of course I believe in you!!! She said smiling
He looked at her with fondness.
- You really think I can do it?
- Yes, I do…
- I think so too… to hear it from you, makes me feel more confident. Thank you so much Candy…
- You don’t need to thank me, just show us what you can do!!!
They finished their lunch and they went back to the hospital. Alistair was able to see a psychiatrist to talk about his dreams…He felt even closer to Candy because he had realised she knew him pretty well, very well, as a matter of fact, even his dark deep secrets from the war now…
Candy was so happy Alistair was alive! Every time she looked at him, she felt such a joy. Life was surprising; it gave her back Alistair… At a time when… She didn’t want to think, she was just enjoying the presence of her friend!
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