Full House(Alex)

Alex sat in the back of an ambulance, patiently allowing the paramedic to look at her arm and place it in a sling. She had protested to Will about being treated, telling him that it was just a minor wound but he wouldn’t hear of it.

“You might want to have a doctor look at this tomorrow so he can put it back in place” her arm was hung at a comfortable angle in a sling and taped to her side so that her shoulder wouldn’t be moving until she could see the physician. “This will keep you from doing any more damage to it tonight.” Alex smiled a ‘thank you’ at the man as he removed his blue latex gloves.

Will held a hand out to help her out of the vehicle. “Sam, gentlemen, I’m going to take her back to Nelly’s now.” He waved goodbye to the men still gathered in front of Al’s Diner and taking Alex by the elbow proceeded to guide her through the crowds gathered on the side walk and in the street.

“Did you get a chance to see that kid take out all of those thugs?” Asked Will excitedly after they passed through the congestion at the far end of the street.

“No, he must have been gone by the time I got to your end. I heard Sam and the other’s talking about him though. Glad he was on our side.” She kept a watchful eye on the allies and side streets knowing all to well that those were good places to hide when you’re wanted.

“Yea, too bad we couldn’t have cops like him, then we wouldn’t have problems like this.” Will opened the little side gate that led to the kitchen door of the bed and breakfast.

Alex noticed that there were several lights on in the house, "unusual at this hour." Together they entered the kitchen and were surprised to find Nelly and a man sitting at the table having a cup of tea. Alex eyed the stranger suspiciously while the older woman hastened to her side.

“Oh, you poor dear, come have a seat at the table.” Alex politely declined explaining that the bandage was just a precaution until she could see a doctor. “Oh, and look at your poor dress. Blood won’t come out of that, you know.”

The chiming of the bells at the front door put an end to Nelly’s mothering. Several locals had shown up looking for a warm place to stay due to damage in their flats. The round woman was only too happy to help and babbled non stop as she showed the various ones to their room.

“Looks like you’ll have company for breakfast,” remarked Will as he backed his way towards the screen door.

“Maybe I’ll skip breakfast tomorrow. Don’t much care for eating in large crowds. Besides, Nelly will have plenty of people to fuss over.” Stepping outside with Will she inquired as to who the man was in the kitchen.

“I was wondering when you’d ask me,” smiled Will rubbing the stubble on his chin. “That there is none other than Captain Edwardo, owner of the Sardine. Strange ol’ bird, keeps to himself quite a bit. I can’t fathom what he’s doing over on this side of town, not exactly his type of neighborhood.”

“Do you think he’s connected to the low life’s we just cleaned up?” she glanced into the kitchen window and was relieved to see that the captain was still sitting at the table.

“No, Captain Edwardo is a good guy even though he is friends with some questionable characters. . .”

“Like who?”

Brushing a lock of hair out of his eyes he continued, “Like Quint Yuhasz. Now there’s a fellow who has some stories to be told. He’s alright as long as you don’t give him reason to dislike you. Doesn’t blink an eye at killing people and does it well.” Scratching the back of his head he mumbled something incoherent. “Just keep your eyes open. If you need me, just call.”

Alex turned to go back inside but stopped in her tracks, “Will, thanks for the evening. I know it didn’t go as planned but I still enjoyed going into that Hotel Grande.”

Will smiled shyly and meandered on down the side walk his cheeks glowing bright pink. "Hey, how about we meet up for breakfast in the morning?"he added as an afterthought. It was now Alex's turn to blush as she accepted the invitation.

Returning to the kitchen Alex found the captain still seated at the table with his tea. “Hello, there. You must be Alex that Nelly speaks so fondly of.” Alex nodded her head still trying to size up the man. About that time Nelly flitted into the room her long skirt swishing about her ankles. She was glowing with the excitement of having so many people in her boarding house to tend to.

“The rooms are all filled, only the couch left but if somebody needs it I'll gladly give it to them to sleep on.” Without asking she fixed Alex a cup of tea and refilled Edwardo’s who didn’t seem very happy that she had done so. The look on his face reminded her of a mouse being cornered by a cat. She chuckled at the image causing the captain to raise one of his bushy eyebrows in question.

“Nelly, it be kind of ya to offer me another cup o’ tea but I best be gettin’ back to the Sardine. I don’t like to leave her alone fur to long with mischief like this goin’ on.” The kind woman looked heartbroken at hearing this but saw the old salt to the door with an invitation to come back again.

“What was that all about?” asked Alex the moment Nelly returned to the kitchen.

“The sweet man was just tending to a friend of his that fell victim to some hoodlums.”
Remembering what Will had told her Alex quickly asked if the ‘victim’ was a Quint fellow. “Certainly not!” Her face turned an angry red, “What kind of a place do you think I’m running here?”

Alex apologized for offending her and quickly changed the subject. After discussing the evening’s events, the girl excused herself to retire for the night. Upon entering the upstairs she found a line at the bathroom door made up of two young children an elderly man, and a woman about Nelly’s age. Too tired to wait, she accepted the fact that she would have to go to bed dirty and bloody. Slipping into her room she closed the door without drawing any attention to herself.

Looking in the large mirror she hardly recognized the image as her own. Her once waist length hair was now even with her shoulders and cut in a way that caused it to frame her face. The beautician had added blond highlights to her auburn hair, brightening her face and bringing out her green eyes. The beautiful yellow satin gown clung to her slight frame accentuating her tiny waist. She felt a little guilty at having ruined the delicate dress. Carefully she began removing the tape that pinned her arm to her side. Once the bandage was off she looked at the joint that stood out grotesquely from her body. Not wanting to bother with the doctor she decided to remedy the problem on her own, taking a deep breath she slammed her shoulder into the wall knocking her arm back into its place. She wiped the tears that streamed down her face from the pain and proceeded to dress for bed.

Sitting on the edge of the bed she opened the little box that had mysteriously appeared in her saddlebags. Expecting to see one of the many happy images she was dissappointed to see nothing. Furrowing her brow in confussion she peered into the box at the ornate key, “I wonder,” with tentative fingers she reached for the key and was surprised by how cold the metal felt under her fingertips. Holding her breath she removed the key, studying it under the light on the desk. “Now what do you suppose this means?” Not wanting to put it back in the box for fear of not being able to remove it again, she found a leather cord to slip it on and tied it around her neck. Where the key rested on her chest she felt warmth that seeped into her bones making her feel relaxed and at peace. Turning off the lights, she quickly fell into a peaceful sleep, an occurrence that didn’t often happen.