Page 8 of Just the Beginning

‘Well it looks like you’re going to have to, because I’m not going.’ Davy’s mouth closed in a tight, determined line. Oh yes, stubbornness ran in the Penrose family all right.

Rick closed his eyes for a second and willed himself to be patient. Something was very wrong for Davy to behave so unreasonably. Losing his temper would only cause the old man to put up even more barriers. He pulled out his phone and began fiddling with it.

‘What are you doing? Who are you calling?’ Davy snapped.

Rick turned the phone around so his uncle could see the screen full of cartoon fruits and vegetables. ‘Seems like we’re going to be here a while, so I thought I’d keep myself occupied.’

Davy scowled at him. ‘Don’t play games with me, boy.’

Rick turned the phone back to himself and began to swipe through the moves on the match-three game. ‘It’s single player only.’

‘Smart arse.’

‘Stubborn old coot.’

Rick carried on playing the game, his finger moving on autopilot, his eyes on the screen. He had no thought about actually trying to win the level because his focus was all on his uncle, who continued to sit in the chair, one elbow propped on the desk so he could keep the cloth pressed to his forehead. The handful of lives didn’t last long and Rick closed the app and opened another one with different graphics, but the principle of the game was the same.

‘You really going to sit there all day?’ Davy’s voice had lost some of its earlier anger.

Rick didn’t look up. ‘If I have to.’

His uncle grunted. ‘Don’t you have better things to do?’

Like get back to the shop and relieve his mum who’d been stuck on her own all morning. Or start tackling the list of calls and emails he needed to make and send to follow up on drop-ins at the Hub earlier. Or think about who might have a job that would suit Anya’s limited skills and experience. ‘Nope. Nothing that springs to mind.’ He ran out of moves and pressed the replay button. ‘We really going to sit here until you bleed to death?’ he asked, keeping his voice light and casual.

‘Good a way as any to go,’ Davy muttered.

Rick’s head shot up, the stupid game in his hands forgotten. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

His uncle’s eyes flicked towards him then away. ‘Just a joke.’

‘Not the sort of thing you usually joke about.’

Davy sighed, the sound deep and low like it had been dragged from his boots. ‘No, it isn’t, is it.’

Setting aside his phone, Rick shifted onto his knees and placed a hand on the arm of his uncle’s chair. ‘What’s going on, Davy? Why don’t you want me to take you to the surgery?’

Davy turned to face him and, this close, Rick could see beyond the pattern of age lines and the general fatigue a man of his great-uncle’s age was bound to experience. His eyes were red-rimmed, the skin at his neck looser, his cheekbones stark against skin that looked almost translucent. He looked… sick. Rick had to swallow twice before he could get his next words out. ‘What is it?’

His uncle’s mouth quirked up at the corner. ‘You always were too smart for your own good, boy. Cancer.’

The news hit Rick like a punch to the gut. ‘Where?’

‘What does it matter? I’ve got it and that’s all there is to it.’

‘When—’ Rick had to clear his throat. ‘When did you find out?’

‘A few weeks ago. I had to get one of my prescriptions renewed and the doc insisted on putting me through anMOT: blood tests, weight, a million questions.’ Davy snorted. ‘I told him it was a waste of money worrying about a clapped-out old banger like me. Wish he’d left me alone.’

‘Surely it’s better to know, because at least now you can do something about it.’ A terrible doubt flooded through him. ‘You are doing something about it?’

‘I’m making the best use of my time by getting on with what’s important.’

What could be more important that getting the treatment he needed? ‘If you’re worried about the hotel, we can help you with that.’

Davy barked a laugh. ‘How? Who? You’ve all got your own lives to live and that’s the way it should be. You’ve got better things to do than fuss around after an old fart like me, anyway.’

Rick reached for his uncle’s hand. ‘None of us are too busy to help you, Davy. We’re family, we look after each other, that’s just the way it is.’

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