4. Alyssa
4
ALYSSA
Raphael sat down at the table next to me and pulled out a plastic bag.
“What’s that?”
“Your medicine.”
My stomach did a little flip-flop. There were quite a few blister packs of pills, plus some prescriptions scribbled in messy handwriting. It was a reminder that for the first time in my life, I had an injury that wasn’t going to go away in a few days.
Raphael pored over the array of meds in front of him. Probably that was something I should be doing, but I liked watching him when he was preoccupied like that. The tip of his tongue brushed against his top lip while he was focused. It was a familiar expression of concentration, one that I’d seen many times at the engineering library over the last four years.
“You should take these two now.” He slid two packets over to me. “The bigger one is supposed to be taken with food.”
“I’m on it,” Spencer said. “I’ve got to prepare an after-school snack for the kids anyway. What do you want to drink, Alyssa?”
“Tea?” Nothing really sounded good. My stomach ached a bit, perhaps from the stress of the last few days.
“Sure. Sweet tea?”
“No, thank you,” I said quickly.
I must’ve made a face, because he laughed. “Spoken like a non-Southern girl.”
That was definitely true. I was eager to try Cajun food, and I hoped to be able to take a trip to New Orleans some weekend to try the amazing restaurants there. Or that had been the plan, before my leg ended up like this.
Spencer moved easily around his kitchen. The ceiling was high, and so were the cabinets. There was an island that separated the kitchen and the dining room. It looked to be a newer addition to the house.
All in all, the place was rather charming. And homey. Well, I supposed all homes were homey, but when I was a kid, my mom had insisted on décor that made our place look more like a museum than a home.
Speaking of homes, I wondered where Raphael’s was. “Do you live nearby?”
He smiled. “I live here. This is my childhood home. My sister and I grew up in this house.”
I’d been picturing Spencer’s family living here for generations, but now I adjusted that mental image to Raphael’s. “And your sister’s married to Spencer?”
His expression stilled, and I immediately regretted my question. “She was.” His tone spoke volumes. It was obvious that he’d loved his sister a lot—and that she had passed away.
My heart ached for him, and then Lucas, Charlotte, and Spencer too. The kids weren’t even that old. I wondered how long it had been since their loss.
Spencer brought over my tea. I wasn’t sure if he’d heard my question about his late wife, but I hoped not. Feeling a bit awkward, I searched for a less depressing topic.
“What time do your kids get home?”
Spencer checked his phone. “Soon. I’ll walk down and meet them in a few.”
“I’ll do it,” Raphael said, still studying the medicine, notes, and prescriptions in front of him.
“They walk home from school?” That was surprising, since it seemed like this place was pretty far from the center of town.
“No, the bus drops them off at the base of the hill,” Raphael said. “Some days, I go meet them down there and walk them back. Other days, they stay at the afterschool program until Spencer’s ready to leave.”
Guilt filled me as he studied a pamphlet that the people from the hospital had sent with me. “I can do that.”
“Don’t bother,” Spencer said, from behind the kitchen island.
“Why not? It’s my medicine.” I didn’t mean it in an argumentative way. Clearly, I needed all the help I could get. But I was curious as to what he meant.
Spencer grinned. “Yes, and you have every right to read all about it yourself. But Raphael’s relentless. If there’s something to learn, something new in his orbit, he has to study it. That’s just how he’s built. By this time tomorrow, he’ll know more about your leg injury than the people who set the cast.”
Raphael smiled but didn’t look up from what he was doing.
Spencer brought over a plate. On it were apple slices, baby carrots, a hardboiled egg, and a blueberry muffin. “Thanks. That looks healthy.”
He chuckled as he took a seat at the table. “That’s what Charlotte always says, and she doesn’t mean it as a compliment.”
After swallowing the meds that Raphael had left out for me, I started in on the apple slices. Raphael got to his feet. “Speaking of my niece, I should head out. You’ll like Charlotte and Lucas. They’re good kids.”
Something tugged at my memory as he left the house. “Charlotte and Lucas… those names sound familiar.”
Spencer frowned. “I mentioned their names yesterday, but maybe you were tired.”
“No, it’s not that … it’s like I’ve heard those names before I moved here.”
“Ah, yes,” said Spencer. “My wife was a huge Jane Austen fan. Charlotte Lucas is a character in Pride and Prejudice .”
“I think I read that in high school,” I said. “Was that her favorite character?”
“No, she just loved the book and liked how the names sounded together.” Spencer stood up, possibly in an effort to change the subject. “The twins will be here in about twenty minutes.”
“Twins,” I repeated. “I thought they were twins when I saw them at the park, but they were too far away to be sure.”
A shadow crossed Spencer’s eyes. Maybe he wasn’t ready to talk about what had happened at the park? “Did you want anything else to eat?” he asked.
“No, thank you. This muffin is really good, though.”
“Nana made it,” Spencer said, and then clarified. “She’s our next-door neighbor.”
“The one who knitted the socks?”
“Yes. She’s an unofficial grandmother to the kids and, well, to the rest of us, too. How are you feeling?”
He asked right as I bit into a carrot, so it took me a while to answer. Plus, my brain felt foggy again. Pain meds had their place, but I was glad this hadn’t happened last year. No way I would have been able to keep up with homework or take an exam with my mind this fuzzy. “I’m pretty tired.”
He nodded. “Then let’s get you settled in the bedroom. That way, you can meet Charlotte and Lucas when they get home, and then take a nap.”
It sounded like a good plan to me—until I tried to push up from the table without thinking about it. I stopped instantly. Not only did my leg hurt, but a lot of other body parts did, too.
“Definitely time for some rest,” Spencer observed. He bent down and picked me up again. Were all elementary school principals this strong? Dr. Meyers, the head of my grade school, certainly hadn’t been. He hadn’t smelled this good, either.
Or, well, I hadn’t paid any attention to how he smelled. But Spencer smelled great. I wasn’t the best at identifying colognes or aftershaves, but the scent reminded me of a fresh pine forest.
Though my body still ached, it was hard not to enjoy being cradled against his broad chest. At least, until he said seven words that struck fear in my heart. “Do you need to use the bathroom?”
Oh no, no, no, no. Somehow, I hadn’t thought about this part of it. Before, trained hospital staff had helped me. Now, it was a handsome man I barely knew.
This could be bad. Very bad.
Spencer seemed to be following my thoughts. “I know I’m not a nurse, but I am a licensed parent. We play many roles, and I’ll do my best to help you without embarrassing the hell out of you.”
His words were comforting, but I didn’t know how much I believed them. I was already mortified. But it wasn’t like I had much choice.
“It’ll be all right,” Spencer assured me.
Throughout this conversation, he was still holding me. The man clearly had muscles to spare. With two children and an important job, I couldn’t fathom when he had time to work out. Perhaps lifting strange women was his main form of exercise?
“You okay, Lyss? Let me help you out. And there’s a stool in the bathroom.”
A giggle escaped my mouth and took us both by surprise. Spencer raised an eyebrow. “I’d say those pain meds are kicking in.”
Apparently, they were. I’d have to watch what I said.
He carried me through a bedroom to a small bathroom. There was a door opposite the one we came in. It was only partially open, but it was clearly a kid’s bedroom.
“Rafe said you’re supposed to elevate your foot even while you’re in here.” He set me on my feet—well, on my one foot—by the toilet. I immediately grabbed onto the edge of the sink for balance.
Spencer pointed to the crutches that were leaning against the wall. “After you’re done, you can use those.”
“I don’t know how.” I’d seen people use them, but I’d never tried them. Plus, I wasn’t the most coordinated person ever.
“Just to get yourself back up. Once you’re decent, give me a call and I’ll take you to your room. Okay?”
“Okay.” Hopefully I wouldn’t end up falling in the toilet or something.
“And in a day or so, we’ll have crutches lessons. Raphael probably already knows the top ten ways to teach someone to use them.”
“Does he work in medicine?”
“No, but companies hire him to research various things. He writes a lot of papers, and sometimes manuals, that explain complex procedures in simple ways. So he’s a researcher, but technically, he’s a technical writer.”
That struck me as funny again, and I wondered what the hell was in those pills I’d taken. But my sense of humor vanished after Spencer left, shutting the door behind him.
It hurt like hell just to ease the sweatpants and panties down my legs. And then it was hard to lower myself to the toilet without putting any pressure on my bad leg.
It felt like it took hours, but finally, my sweats were back in place, I’d washed my hands, and I was leaning on a crutch for support.
“Mission accomplished?” Spencer asked when he reappeared.
Feeling foolish, I nodded.
“Then you’ve earned yourself a rest.” He gently picked me up again and carried me into the bedroom we’d passed through before.
Dark curtains were drawn over the window, so I couldn’t see into the corners, but that was okay. I only had eyes for the queen-size bed Spencer was heading for. The quilt and top sheet were already pulled back, like it was waiting for me.
Rest was one of the things the doctor had ordered, and it seemed like a pretty damn good idea to me.
Spencer lowered me down so that I was sitting with my back propped up against the pillows and the headboard. I reached for the covers and was about to settle in when he put his hand over mine.
“I think I hear the twins now. Do you want to meet them?” Then he studied me. “Or, if you’re too tired, we can do it later.”
“No, I want to meet them.” It struck me as ironic that I’d pushed Lucas out of the path of an oncoming car but had never exchanged a word with him.
“Good, because they’re eager to meet you.” He hesitated. “They might be a bit shy at first, but this morning at breakfast, they asked a trillion questions about you, and were excited that you’d be here tonight.”
Aww, that was sweet. Spencer turned on some lamps while I listened to the sounds coming from the other room. Raphael and Lucas were talking about what he’d done in gym class that day. It made me wonder if the twins were in the same class or not.
I heard what sounded like bookbags hitting the floor, and then footsteps heading this way.
They were beautiful. That was my first thought when I saw them. Both had light brown hair and smooth, creamy skin. Their eyes were green, which contrasted with Spencer’s deep brown. Charlotte’s hair was long and gathered in pigtails that curled slightly at the ends. Lucas’s was shorter than hers, but still long enough to have a bit of wave to it.
They stopped in the doorway, suddenly silent. Suddenly shy.
For some reason, I felt a little shy myself.
“Charlotte, Lucas, this is Alyssa,” Spencer said.
“Hi,” Lucas said in a small voice, and Charlotte gave a little wave.
“It’s nice to meet you,” I told them.
“Alyssa’s going to be staying with us for a while,” Spencer said. “She needs lots of rest so that she can get better, so you’ll have to keep from running around and making too much noise, okay?”
They both nodded as they watched me with curiosity on their faces.
“She just moved to town,” Spencer continued. “Maybe you two can help her learn more about what there is to do in Lake Boise, since she’s new.”
“Okay,” Lucas said. Charlotte nodded and made a rapid movement with her hands.
My head swung around to Spencer. I’d been watching the kids’ reactions while he spoke, so I hadn’t even noticed his hands moving, too. “No, she can’t walk right now, but she’ll be able to soon.” His hands danced as he spoke, and I realized he was using sign language.
Charlotte signed something back.
“She’s going to need a lot of help, yes. Are you two up for the job?”
Both nodded eagerly, and then signed to each other. Lucas was obviously fluent in sign language, too. “Can I see her cast?” he asked.
“Why don’t you ask her?” Spencer said, still signing as he spoke.
“Can I see your cast, Miss Alyssa?”
“Sure. And you can just call me Alyssa.” His eyebrows rose, and I wondered if I’d made a mistake.
Belatedly, it dawned on me that adding “Miss” in front of a first name was pretty common in the South—or at least TV and movies seemed to think so. Before moving here, I’d done plenty of research on my new company, but not much about the culture in Louisiana.
Oh, well … staying with a family was probably the best way to learn. Then again, Spencer didn’t sound like he was from here, either. He didn’t have the Southern lilt to his voice that Raphael did.
Lucas drew closer and stared in awe at the hard plaster that encased 80% of my leg, while Charlotte hung back. “Does it hurt?” he asked.
“A little, but I think that’s because it’s new. It’ll keep my leg still while it heals, and that’s the important part.”
A movement in the corner of my eye let me know that Charlotte was signing with her father again. It had never occurred to me that if you were looking in the wrong direction, you’d never know two people in the room were conversing at all.
Spencer nodded. “Yes, those are your socks. We haven’t gotten Alyssa’s things from her apartment yet.”
She signed again, and I glanced at Spencer for a translation. “She says you can keep them.”
“Thank you.”
Spencer looked back at his daughter. “Can you come say hi to Alyssa?” I wasn’t an expert, but it looked like he’d spelled out my name. I’d never thought about how personal names were said in sign language, but I’d seen interpreters on television spell out words before.
Charlotte turned to me and signed something. I smiled at her, but I didn’t know what else to do.
Spencer did, however. “She doesn’t understand ASL,” he said. At least I knew enough to know that that stood for American Sign Language. “She’s the one who saved Lucas the other day. Can you say hello to her?”
I waited, unsure about what kind of speaking skills a deaf child her age had. But she didn’t speak as she walked toward me. Instead, she crawled onto the far side of the bed, made her way over to me, and gave me a big hug.