Chapter 7
Adam
‘So yeah, I think I can do it.’ I sit back in my seat and smile at Hugh, who is engrossed in the television. ‘I mean, it’s not like anything I’ve ever done before, but I’m up for the challenge.’
Hugh looks at me and grins, his mouth wide open.
‘Knock knock!’ A nurse slips in through the door. She’s young and blonde and pretty. ‘How are we today, Hugh?’ She turns to me. ‘Hi, I’m Becky. I’m new, so you won’t have seen me before.’
‘Hi Becky.’ I hold out my hand and she shakes it. ‘I’m Adam, Hugh’s brother.’
‘And are you a fan of Moana , too?’ She winks at me conspiratorially.
‘I don’t think my opinion means anything, to be honest.’ I laugh, and Hugh claps his hands, singing along delightedly as Moana sails across a choppy sea.
‘I know all the words off by heart, and I’ve only been here three days.’ She starts stripping the sheets off Hugh’s bed, bundling them into a laundry basket. ‘He’s a very handsome man. You two aren’t twins, are you?’
‘No.’ I laugh again, because it’s a common question. We are remarkably similar. ‘He’s a year older than me.’
She brings a freshly pressed sheet out of the cupboard and billows it out, sending the smell of lavender detergent across the room. ‘He certainly gets a lot of visitors, there’s been someone here every day since I started.’
‘Who was here yesterday?’ I ask.
‘Short guy, quite skinny? Had a bit of an accent. He brought this.’ She holds up a stuffed toy of Hei Hei, the accident-prone rooster from Hugh’s favourite film, and then passes it to Hugh, who clutches it gleefully.
‘Piotr.’ I grin. ‘He’s just encouraging the obsession.’
Piotr is one of my best friends; we’ve known each other since we were fourteen, and his love for Hugh almost matches mine. He’s here every week, and the other members of our group, Fergus and Bil, often pop in, too. When everything happened — when Hugh and I lost everything — our friends rallied around us, forming a tight and impenetrable circle that now feels as encompassing to me as any traditional family unit.
‘He was nice,’ Becky finishes plumping a pillow and turns to me. Her eyes meet mine and she blushes, averting her gaze.
‘He’s married,’ I say, laughing.
‘Oh, no, I didn’t mean that.’ She shakes her head, her face bright red now. ‘Never mind.’ She picks the laundry basket up and moves towards the door, brushing against my shoulder unnecessarily as she goes. Wait, is she flirting with me ? No, that’s ridiculous. ‘I’ve got to do the rest of the beds now, but I’ll be somewhere on the corridor if you or Hugh need anything.’
She slips out, and I sink back into my chair. ‘That was weird, wasn’t it?’ I ask Hugh.
Hugh bounces up and down in his chair, clapping excitedly.
I try to get into the film, but I’ve seen it so many times it doesn’t capture my attention anymore. My eyes drift towards the window and I sigh.
‘Everything feels a bit off at the moment,’ I admit. I do this often, come and talk to Hugh when things aren’t going too well. I’ll tell him my good news and my bad news, and even though I don’t know whether he truly understands what I’m saying, it helps.
My brother was born with the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck. He suffered oxygen deprivation, and as a result has cerebral palsy. He’s bubbly and friendly and completely obsessed with Moana , and he’s the most important person in my life.
‘I mean, I’m really happy with work and everything. I’ve got loads of summer students booked in looking to get a head-start for next year. But things with Katie... I don’t know. She’s being really distant with me.’
Hugh squeals as Maui, Moana’s nemesis-cum-ally, is thrown into the ocean.
‘I wonder if it’s work, or stress, or boredom, or just me?’ I ponder out loud. ‘Or maybe I’m imagining things; maybe everyone has a few off days.’
Even as I’m saying this, I know that Katie’s attitude towards me recently is more than just a bad week. After six years together, I know her almost better than I know anyone, and she isn’t being herself. We’ve always been one of those couples, blissfully happy and in sync and irritating to everyone around us. The boys used to pretend to gag when we sat with our arms around each other at the pub, but they were happy for us. Recently, it feels like a chasm has opened up between us, and I can’t seem to cross it to get to her.
My phone beeps and I check it; it’s a message on the group chat. I tap out a response as Hugh stares intently at the television, clutching poor Hei Hei by the throat and throwing him around in his lap.
Piotr: So are we all up for Dublin? Weekend of the 23rd?
Me: Yes, holiday definitely needed!
Bil: I’m in. What’s up, Ad?
Me: Nothing major, I’ll FaceTime this week?
Piotr: Add us all to the call and we’ll go through the plan. You at Hugh’s?
Fergus: Only coming to Dublin if we can go to the Little Museum
Me: Will do, and yeah, here now. Thanks for the rooster — he’s even more infatuated now
Piotr: That’s not possible
Bil: You can go where you want Ferg, I’m not stepping foot in a place that stinks of soggy anoraks and doesn’t serve alcohol
I lock my phone, smiling. We all know we’ll end up spending at least three hours wherever Ferg wants to go, just to stop him grumbling while we do the less highbrow stuff. And we all know that Ferg will secretly have a great time drinking pints on Temple Bar, but will never admit it.
Moana continues, and I see it through to its happy end before standing up to leave. Hugh reaches for me and I wrap him in a hug, letting him plant a wet kiss on my cheek. ‘Ugh, slobber chops,’ I tease him, ruffling his hair, and he shrieks happily. ‘I’ll see you in a couple of days, OK?’
I put Moana on again from the beginning and leave him fixated on the TV. His therapists will be in later to play games with him, but Hugh would watch Disney on repeat for his entire life if he could. Before Moana came out, it was all about Mulan . Hugh likes a strong female lead, it seems, and I can’t blame him. Both stories are great until you’ve seen them eight thousand times.
I go out into the corridor and close the door behind me. As I’m leaving, Becky comes out of one of the other residents’ rooms.
‘Nice to meet you, see you later.’ I smile, and head towards the exit.
‘You too, Adam.’ She stops in the middle of the corridor. ‘Hope to see you soon.’
I leave through the exit doors and jump back on my bike, suddenly feeling strange. I push off, heading home to talk to Katie.