Once again, immense thanks to Phil Anderer for his extraordinary patience and skill in transforming my stream of consciousness into a narrative that's not only coherent but truly worth reading.
***
The knock at her bedroom door startled Alice awake.
"Alice?" Frank called out from the hallway, "Are you there?"
"YES! Sorry, yes!" Alice replied. "Be right out!"
Alice realized she had fallen asleep in her post orgasmic bliss and was a little disoriented. She pulled on her robe and went out to see Frank.
"Everything Okay with you dear?" Frank asked, concerned.
"Yes," Alice replied. "I accidently fell asleep."
Frank nodded but gave her a concerned look. She knew the look, she had seen some form of it from people in her life: teachers, care workers and guidance counsellors. Even strangers on the street who didn't try to hide it behind other questions. Only this time it wasn't warranted.
"As long as you are ok," Frank started but seemed to pause before completing his thought. He walked around unpacking the bag he had come home with and moved to the kitchen.
He watched her walk around and sit on the couch. She was always a little grumpy when she first woke up and the looks she was getting from Frank, were not helping.
"I managed to get you an appointment for tomorrow afternoon with Dr. Sarah," Frank announced from behind the kitchen wall.
"Great!" Alice snapped back more coldly than she had meant.
Frank peered around the corner and looked at her again.
"I don't do drugs Frank!" Alice bluntly told him, "Also, not an alcoholic."
"I didn't suggest that you...." Frank started before being cut off by Alice.
"I got myself off and fell asleep afterward!" Alice matter-of-factly told him. She couldn't stand Frank thinking she was a druggy or a drunk. She wasn't her mother. The truth was the only excuse she felt she could offer.
"Oh," Frank replied looking generally surprised. The surprise quickly faded and he was now smiling at her in a generally affectionate way.
Alice couldn't help smiling back.
"What?" she said, not understanding his sudden joy, but pleased to be believed. She buried her face in a couch pillow suddenly feeling embarrassed.
"I was just thinking what a wonderful sight that must have been," Frank explained. "Like Botticelli's Venus."
Alice had no idea what he was talking about but accepted the compliment all the same.
"I don't know about that Frank, but it sure was relaxing," she told him, once again finding her confidence.
"I'm sure, I am sure," Frank replied. "When I was young it was almost a second occupation of mine."
The combination of Frank's impish smile, his gentlemanly demeanor, and the subject matter all came together, making Alice laugh out loud.
"Bit of an expert are you, Frank?" she teased him.
"Still am, just not proficient as I used to be." He smiled back at her. "That is why I appreciated the helping hand last night."
Alice blushed a little, which was strange. Twenty-four hours ago, she was a whore, plain and simple. Literally a twenty-dollar whore. There was something about Frank that put everything on display for her. She felt like a woman again, not a commodity. She cared what he thought about her. She wanted to prove she was more.
She was sure some therapist would write this off as some sort of father figure complex, but she really didn't care. Frank was nice to her and not many people had done that in her life.
"Right!" said Frank with an air of action. "I got you something today."
Frank handed her a box with the picture of a high-end model phone on it. Opening the box she found inside, what was advertised on the box.
"Can't very well be my assistant if I can't get hold of you," Frank told her. "I don't really know all the details, but you can make as many calls as you want and as much data as you can use. The password is on a sticker on the back, but the gentleman suggested you use your finger or something."
Alice had never actually owned a phone. She had a 'pay as you go' phone once, but with no one to call and no one to call her, she didn't see the value in paying for it. She had ended up selling it for a hot meal.
"Frank! I don't know what to say," Alice exclaimed.