Chalk Butterfly: Part One (First Time Erotic Romance) (18 page)

“I can manage on my own, really,” Alexander
said, smiling weakly. “You don’t need to...”

“Oh, hush,” Natalie interrupted. She pulled
the door open and gathered up her purse. “Don’t be so silly. I’m
taking you shopping, and you’re getting some new shoes.”

Alexander scoffed. “Mum, you don’t like my
shoes?”

Natalie snorted at them and placed a guiding
hand on Alexander’s shoulder. “And those mittens are ratty. Who
would ever ask you to tea when you’re--”

Alexander just groaned and allowed his
mother to herd him out the door.

***

Daniel rolled on the last stripe of paint
and nodded approvingly.

“It’s...” he trailed off. “Horrible.”

He smiled.

“But it’s bright,” he added. “Yeah,
bright.”

With a feeling of misplaced pride, Daniel
gathered up the brushes and tossed them carelessly into his
spotless sink. Little drops of paint splattered all along the
clean, chrome basin. Walking back into the living room, he stood in
front of the end wall, which he hadn’t painted.

He had ideas for that wall.

Seizing the daylight, he grabbed his keys
and decided a trip to the paint store was in order.

He had things to do.

***

Alexander shifted in his seat, looking down
at the can opener his mother had purchased him. The thing looked
more complicated than the computer filing system at the
library.

“You’re setting this thing up,” he told her
and she hummed lightly in response. “Where does the can even go?
And what are all the buttons for?”

Natalie didn’t reply and Alexander looked
up, finding a strange, nervous expression on her face.

“Mum?”

“We’ve had a nice morning, haven’t we?” she
asked, her jaw clenching a bit. Alexander nodded, setting the can
opener down. “Just don’t be angry with me, darling. You can get so
irrationally aggravated sometimes and...”

She turned on her blinker and Alexander
snapped his head to look out the window. He clutched his hands
together and set his jaw.

“I can’t believe this,” he said through
gritted teeth.

“I told you not to be angry, sweetie.”

But Alexander couldn’t help the deep itch of
anger coursing through his body as they pulled carefully into the
hospital parking lot.

“Why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you ask
me first?” Alexander sat back and closed his eyes tightly.

“I knew you wouldn’t agree if I had asked
you, and I’m terribly worried about you,” Natalie replied, placing
a warm hand on Alexander’s shoulder. He flinched at the touch and
took a deep breath.

“You know I don’t like hospitals,” Alexander
said quietly. “Did you make an appointment?”

“Darling,” Natalie said sweetly. “Please
understand, I called Dr. Holmes a few weeks ago and he said you
hadn’t been in for ages to see him. You know he recommends
bimonthly visits, especially with the infection you had a bit
ago.”

“He told me that was optional,” Alexander
murmured.

“I haven’t seen your hands so abused in over
a year,” Natalie said sternly. “I swear, you don’t see things the
way we all do.”

“But you made this appointment before you
came to see me, before you saw my hands. I’m feeling great, Mum, I
am. I’m working and--”

“You’re working far too much,” Natalie
interrupted, turning the key in the ignition. The car hummed to a
stop, and Natalie popped the door open. “You’re a grown up now, I
shouldn’t have to do these things for you.”

Alexander sighed and pulled his mittens on.
‘I don’t want you to,’ he thought, leaving the car. “I’m sorry,
Mum,” was his actual reply.

Natalie wrapped an arm around his shoulder
and guided him across the parking lot and through the large, glass
doors of the hospital.

Alexander’s hands were sweating horribly by
time their stay in the waiting room was through, and the nurse
walked them to Dr. Holmes’s office. They rarely met in the
examining rooms, a fact that made Alexander a tad more comfortable
with his present surroundings.

Hospitals made him uneasy; the sterile
environment, the drab colors and that strong smell of antibiotics.
Especially now, unprepared for the visit, Alexander's entire body
filled with anxiety.

“Don’t be so nervous,” Natalie whispered as
they sat in the cold, leather chairs seated before Dr. Holmes’s
desk. The doctor wasn’t to be found, and Natalie took Alexander’s
hands gently in her own. “Don’t look so peeved, this is for your
own good.”

Alexander frowned, looking up at his mother
and attempting a smile. He knew she worried and he didn’t wish to
be ungrateful.

“That’s my Alex,” she said, carefully
removing Alexander’s knitted mittens.

Then the door cracked open and Dr. Holmes
appeared, nodding pleasantly at the both of them. The man was short
and balding in odd spots, something that always caught Alexander’s
eye. The remains of his hair were a salt and pepper grey, and he
had a professional, soft demeanor about him.

Alexander liked the man, mostly because of
his honest nature.

But those balding spots...

Alexander smiled goofily as he found himself
staring.

“Alexander, Mrs. Price,” he greeted softly.
“Wonderful to see you both again.” He shook Natalie’s hand and
squeezed Alexander’s shoulder. “Now, what can we do about
Alexander, here?” He sat stiffly behind his desk and then after
pulling out Alexander’s file, relaxed a bit. “Your mother tells me
you’ve been having some recurring blisters?”

“He has,” Natalie said, sitting up in her
chair. “I’m particularly concerned about his hands.”

Dr. Holmes nodded and turned to Alexander.
“I saw you back in July, your hands looked in excellent shape,
especially after the infection. How long have you been experiencing
the more severe blisters?”

“Far too long,” Natalie said sharply.

“A month or less,” Alexander answered
meekly, shifting away from his mother. “Probably three weeks or
so.”

“You know that’s too long to go without
seeing me,” Dr. Holmes said disapprovingly.

“And he wouldn’t have made an appointment
had I not come to see him,” Natalie added. “He’s working ridiculous
hours and I’m worried about him not wrapping before bed.”

Alexander felt attacked from all angles and
slouched down a bit. “I’m sorry,” he said lowly.

“Don’t be sorry, just take care of
yourself,” Dr. Holmes said. “I’m not here to chastise you, but I am
worried about how seriously you’re taking this condition. We’ve
been down such a good road this past summer. I don’t want you
relapsing back to the condition you were in this spring.”

Alexander frowned at the memory of how
severe his blisters had become.

“I understand.”

“Now, why don’t we take a look at your
hands? Should see the feet as well,” Dr. Holmes said, standing.
“We’ll just pop on over to examining room next door.”

“We can’t just do it in here?” Alexander
asked, his nerves picking up.

“It wouldn’t be a wise idea,” Dr. Holmes
admitted. “It’ll just be a few minutes.”

“He’ll be fine,” Natalie said with a stiff
smile. “This is important.”

Alexander could only nod and stand. “All
right.”

***

Daniel set down the tubes of special paint
and shucked off his jacket, allowing it to fall to the floor.

“What a mess,” he murmured. "I hope this
works." The sun had risen higher in the sky then, and the room felt
warm. The light from the window bathed the wall in a light yellow
and Daniel nodded in satisfaction.

"Yeah, should be perfect." Daniel hurried to
the kitchen, digging through his cupboards and finding a large
mixing bowl. He brought it back to the living room, dragging a
small coffee table to the far wall and placing the bowl atop
it.

With a look of determination on his face, he
opened the first tube of paint and squeezed it into the bowl. One
by one he squeezed each tube, the paint filling up the bowl. Then
he mixed the paint, its consistency thick and the color the same as
that on the wall.

Bone white.

With a clever little look on his face, he
covered a large brush in the paint and began painting the wall. The
process was slow and he made certain to cover every bit of the
surface. Once he was finished with the laborious work, he sat back
in the messy room and smiled.

The wall looked no different than it had
before, but he nodded approvingly.

"There's a trick to it of course," he
thought aloud. “The bedroom next. Maybe green... or red.”

The smile endured and he didn’t bother
wondering over what had gotten into him, why he was so motivated
and, well, sunny.

He already knew.

***

“I don’t know what else to say,” Dr. Holmes
said, winding the last length of gauze around Alexander’s hands.
“I’m surprised at these blisters, especially the one on your lower
leg. You know what you need to do in order to take care of these,
you just need to actually do the work.”

“I know,” Alexander replied. “I just...
forget sometimes.”

“Or maybe foregoing the wrapping at night
seems easier,” Natalie said quietly. “But you must.” Alexander took
a deep breath and nodded.

“I promise I will from now on,” he said,
offering her a barely there smile.

“I assure you, the results will be
positive,” Dr. Holmes added. “Now, about your workload...”

“The work is fine,” Alexander said quickly.
“The walk to the subway is fine, I love the fresh air, and we’ve
gotten a whole new filing system so I’m not digging through great
tomes each time someone wants to check something out.”

“But it isn’t just the physical aspect,”
Natalie said. She was standing beside Alexander, a constant hand on
his shoulder. “You know that. You’re fidgety lately, and the
anxiety and stress alone does just as much harm as physical
activity.”

“I’m fine,” Alexander insisted. “I am. I had
a little fall,” he told the doctor. “But I’m being extra
cautious.”

“Alexander,” Dr. Holmes began. “I tend to
agree with your mother on this. You’re working five days a week,
fulltime.”

“And I know you’re proud of that, dear, but
really now,” Natalie said. “You need to know your limitations.”

Sweat broke down Alexander’s back and he
felt a small lump in his throat. He wasn’t going to lose control
and snap at his mother or Dr. Holmes. Work was all he had, all that
kept him going and there was no way he was allowing himself more
time to sit about his apartment.

“I know my limitations,” Alexander
whispered. “And I can do this.”

Natalie sighed and shared a look with the
doctor.

“I thought if you didn’t listen to your own
mother, you would at least pay some mind to Dr. Holmes,” she said,
pulling out her handkerchief and dabbing at her eyes a bit. “You
worry me constantly. I tell you, night and day.” She sniffled and
Alexander bit at his lip.

“Don’t cry, Mum,” Alexander said, his
voice cracking as he stood to meet her. “I’ll take another day off.
I’ll not work Mondays, or maybe Thursdays. All
right?”

She sighed again and pressed a hand to
his cheek.
“Thank you,” Natalie said, immediately
brightening. “Dr. Holmes, do you think four days a week is
advisable?”

The doctor nodded, leaning back against the
counter. “As long as he keeps up his appointments and takes care of
those hands, yes. If the blisters don’t improve at all in a week or
so, we want to see you back in here.”

The effort it took Alexander not to run
right out of the office was massive.

“Yes,” he replied.

“I don’t want to drive all the way from
Plainville and find you haven’t been making your appointments,”
Natalie added tersely. “Alexander?”

“Yes,” he said, looking out the window. “I
promise.”

***

When Alexander got back to his apartment, he
felt utterly exhausted.

“Don’t just throw your things about,”
Natalie scolded him as they walked in. She bent over and picked up
Alexander’s discarded mittens. “I didn’t clean all night for you to
immediately mess up the place.”

“I’m sorry,” Alexander said, as if on
autopilot. It worked best just to agree with her, usually. He
flopped down on the couch and closed his eyes. Cat trotted out of
the bedroom at the sound of their arrival and curled up on the
couch beside Alexander. Alexander patted the fat creature on the
head.

“I’m setting up this can opener and then
I’ll bring the groceries up,” Natalie called from the kitchen.
Alexander nodded and stared blankly at the wall. “Alexander?”

“Yes, Mum,” he called back.