Page 63 of The Wish
He just kept asking how much longer you’d be.’
‘I’m sorry, we were as quick as we could be.’
‘Mandy, I’m just next door and there is nothing Greg or I wouldn’t do for your family.’ Judith gives Jesse a kiss and a hug. ‘See you later, Sam, make sure you show Jesse the drawings you did.’
‘Thanks, Mrs Newman,’ Jesse says. Judith looks at Mandy, at Sam then at Jesse. Mandy reads her mind – it’s an expression she’s seen so often since Jesse became ill. There but for the grace of God.
The sound of a car beeping its horn breaks the moment.
‘Dad’s here,’ Sam says with excitement.
Dean, carrying Jesse’s bag, passes Judith as he enters the house. They exchange a genuine quick kiss and hug. This family might be broken right now but no blame is being apportioned.
‘You looking after yourself?’ the older woman asks Dean, twinkling up her eyes as they embrace.
‘Getting there, Judith, getting there.’
‘Well, you just make sure you do,’ she says, before leaving the family.
Sam gives his dad a hug before taking Jesse’s hand. Together, they slowly climb the stairs to Jesse’s bedroom.
Jesse stands inside her room and looks around at her life displayed in front of her. Memories flash before her as she regards each object, each brimming with meaning: posters of pop stars and athletes; precious mementos on her dressing table; photo frames covered in shells she has collected that mean as much as the photo inside; necklaces hanging from the mirror remind her of the person who gave them to her, or a fun time wearing them. She smiles as she glimpses the lipstick she boughtwith her own money against her father’s wishes. She hears his voiceYou’re too young to be wearing that, and remembers wearing it smeared on nice and thick to dinner each night for a week, until he finally relented:Can I borrow some?he had teased.Do you think it’s my colour?Sam stands silently beside her, watching her go through her returning home ritual.
Climbing onto her bed she hugs one of the soft toys leaning against her pillows as Sam joins her, snuggling up to his big sister. They both turn to the door as they hear the soft knock.
‘Who is it?’ Jesse and Sam chorus.
Dean peers around the door. ‘Is it OK if I come in?’
‘What’s the password?’ Jesse teases him.
Dean rolls his eyes. ‘I’ve got your suitcase. I thought you might like it.’
‘Correct. Thanks, Dad, yeah, I’ll go through it later.’
Dean puts it beside her chest of drawers. He looks big and awkward in this space. He clears his throat. ‘Ah, your mum has asked me if I want to stay for dinner.’
‘Yay!’ says Sam, jumping up and spilling the soft toys from the bed.
Dean and Jesse laugh at Sam’s antics – he’s jumping around the room with a big grin on his face.
‘That’s great, Dad,’ Jesse says.
‘I’ll, um, I’ll just help your mum with dinner,’ he says. ‘I’ll see you down there in a bit.’
With the door closed, Jesse turns to Sam. ‘Can I tell you something, something that happened to me, but you can’t tell Dad?’
‘Why not?’ Sam asks.
‘Because he won’t like it. It’s about Alex.’
‘Then I promise I won’t tell him.’
‘Shall I tell you about the time I floated up in the air?’
Sam gasps and puts both his hands to his mouth. Jesse lets him snuggle into her side and then tells him all about the magical, wonderful balloon ride, how she was whisked away from the hospital to a flying balloon just for her, his eyes widening like saucers.
It’s late, and Jesse’s tired. Happy, but tired. It was possibly the best night they had had as a family since before she got ill. No, she thinks, it definitely was the best night, one for the record books. Mum didn’t worry about the dishes that evening, she’d left them on the kitchen counter, instead making huge ice cream sundaes for everyone for dessert, Sam sneaking all the maraschino cherries from everyone’s dishes and everyone pretending not to notice. Afterwards, they played board games, Jesse trying to outsmart her father and let Sam win at the same time. Her sides had ached from laughing.
