Page 25 of The Wish
‘I hope so. I didn’t really want to be around strangers. At least here there’s Amy, Ryan and Luke.’
‘I’m sorry, Jesse.’
‘You already said that.’
‘Would you like me to come back when you’re feeling better?’
Before Jesse can answer they are interrupted by the sound of her name being called out as a young boy runs into the room, a woman right behind him. Alex recognises them from the photos.Sam and Jesse’s mum, Mandy. Sam stops stock still when he sees Alex, a look of apprehension on his face.
‘Hey, Sammy, come and give me a hug,’ Jesse says to her brother. ‘There’s someone here I want you to meet.’
Walking slowly to the bed, his eyes never leaving Alex, Sam hops up and is enveloped in a hug by his big sister.
‘Is this him?’ he asks Jesse cautiously.
Alex stands as Mandy walks towards him, her hand outstretched.
‘Hello, you must be Alex. I’m Mandy, Jesse’s mum, and this is Sam.’
Alex takes Mandy’s hand and gently shakes it, not knowing what to say.
‘This is Alex,’ Jesse proudly says.
‘It’s a pleasure to meet you, Alex,’ Mandy says with genuine warmth.
‘Nice meeting you too, Mrs—’
‘Mandy is fine.’
‘Thank you, Mandy.’ Alex turns to Sam who hasn’t stopped looking at him. He holds out his hand. ‘Hi, Sam.’
Sam shakes Alex’s hand while Mandy is making herself comfortable on Jesse’s bed. She hugs Jesse tightly, kissing her on both cheeks, then hugging her some more.
‘How are you, my darling?’ she finally asks. ‘I’ve just spoken with Sandy and Dr Christine; they said you tolerated the chemo really well today. How are you feeling?’
‘I’m fine, Mum, but you have to let me go so we can talk to Alex.’
With her arm still around Jesse, Mandy turns to Alex.
‘I want you to know how grateful I . . . I mean, we, are for your making Jesse’s wish come true. It’s so important—’
‘Mum, he’s not doing it on his own, he’s working with me, we are doing it together.’
Mandy gives Alex a conspiratorial look, as if to say, ‘That’s teenagers for you!’ but Alex knows she’s not criticising her daughter. She just seems to want to be beside her, hug her, comfort her. Sam is acting the same way. Alex is not used to such overt displays of affection, though he recognises that these are special circumstances.
‘Well, we won’t interrupt you any longer, we just stopped by on our way to Sam’s tennis lesson. We’ll be back later. Will you still be here, Alex?’
‘Yes, he will, he needs to meet all of you.Allmy family,’ Jesse answers firmly for Alex.
The look of concern on Mandy’s face doesn’t go unnoticed by Alex. But with one final hug, Mandy takes Sam’s hand and helps him down from the bed. Then, calling out goodbye, they leave. Sam hasn’t said a word.
‘Did my mum make you feel uncomfortable? I mean, you looked uncomfortable.’
‘I don’t know what you mean,’ Alex says, his tone defensive again.
‘Didn’t you like your mum hugging you?’
‘Which one?’ Alex says bluntly.
