Dan’s father was staring out of his window. Another day was turning into one all about waiting for something to happen, just to break the monotony. Cricket was showing on the television, but he wasn’t paying any attention.
The visit to the pub with Dan had been good, but it had depressed him too, because it got him thinking of all that he’d missed out on since his stroke. He’d shut himself away, ashamed of his damn withered left side, his arm useless, his leg not strong enough to support himself, either stuck in his bloody wheelchair or confined to an armchair in front of the television.
He could lift himself about using his right arm, so he didn’t have to suffer the indignity of being helped onto the toilet, although it involved falling onto the seat rather than any nimble use of his body.
The cider blunted his dignity and, at the end of a long day, he’d been known to drag himself along the floor when he’d had too much, when it didn’t bother him how he got to his bed, but the mornings after brought shame. Was this what he’d come to, staring out of a window? The pub visit had reminded him that the world just carried on. He hadn’t wanted anyone to see him like this, a shadow of the man he used to be, but in the end no one cared. He was a five-minute distraction, because people got on with their lives. He had let his come to a halt.
There was a knock on his door.
He thought about not answering, he wasn’t in the mood for much talk, but the venture into the outside world had whetted his appetite for more. Wasn’t this the point, that he wanted more things to happen? Was this Dan, ready to take him out again?
He pushed his wheelchair round and wheeled it slowly towards the door.
His electric wheelchair was to one side, too bulky to be used indoors, not when he could manoeuvre himself in his old wheelchair. It was slow work, using only one hand, his right foot used to push against the floor, so that the wheelchair zigzagged through his flat.
When he opened the door, there was a woman there. Young, pretty. Perhaps a new assistant at the home.
‘Can I help you?’
‘Mr Grant?’
‘That’s me.’
‘This is really embarrassing, but I felt I had to do this. I’m your son’s new girlfriend and I know we haven’t met before, but he means so much to me and I just want to meet his family. We’ll be going public soon, and well,’ and she laughed and blushed, ‘I want to know more about him. Sounds sad, I know, but we’re getting serious and I should know his family better.’
He was surprised. Dan had never mentioned a girlfriend. Then again, why should he? He was a good-looking young bloke, shades of himself in him, so he was sure there’d been plenty.
‘Yes, sorry, come in.’ He pushed himself backwards as she went past.
He tried not to look at her behind as she walked in front of him, but he was an old man from a different time, and what the hell, even if it felt wrong because she was his son’s girlfriend.
As she went in, she looked around.
‘Not much to see,’ he said. ‘Where I’ve ended up, but what went before was good, so I’ve got my memories.’
‘It’s cosy. You get all the help you need but your own space too. Do they bother you much, the people who work here?’
He came to a stop and put the brake on. ‘They leave me alone. They have a communal dining room along there, but I’m not interested in that. I can work a microwave and I’ve got an alarm if I need something. They’ll check on me a couple of times a day, but that’s it.’
‘It’s good that you’ve got some independence.’
‘What did Dan say about me?’
‘He’s proud of you, even if he doesn’t show it. He talks about you all the time.’
He smiled. It was good to hear that. ‘How long have you been seeing him?’
‘Just a few months, but I can tell it feels right.’
‘He’s a good man. He’ll look after you. Tell me about you though. If you’re going to become part of the family, let me know more. What’s your name?’
Her smile was broad and bright, and straight away he saw what Dan saw in her. Her eyes glinted, and her blonde hair was long and luscious, even though it was tied up.
‘It’s Leoni,’ she said.