Page 11 of The Wish
Kelly turns from him, shaking her head in disbelief.
‘Look, I never wanted to be here in the first place.’
‘Whether you want to be here or not is beside the point—’
‘I don’t need this,’ Alex cuts in, storming off. The last thing he hears as he punches through the double doors towards the lifts is Kelly calling after him.
‘And clearly Jesse doesn’t need you!’
Kelly turns around to see she has an audience. Ryan is staring at her with his mouth open as if he can’t quite comprehend what he has just witnessed, and Luke is looking down at the ground.
Sandy comes over to Kelly. She has helped make wishes happen for too many children. She knows the toll it takes on everyone involved. The patient, their family, the staff who work on the ward, the people who volunteer to help. ‘You were prettyhard on him. Hell, it was probably the first time the poor guy has been on a kids’ ward, let alone met a child with a terminal illness,’ she says softly.
Kelly looks away, competing emotions playing out on her face. She wants to hide from them all. ‘He can’t help her, you heard him.’
‘That may be, but did you give him a fair chance? Come on, I’m due a break, let’s go to my office.’
Kelly follows Sandy who shuts the door behind them. Kelly drops into a chair facing the desk as Sandy pops a capsule in her coffee machine, placing a cup under the spout. Hearing Kelly sniffle, Sandy takes a box of tissues from her desk and tosses them to her. Kelly takes a tissue and blows her nose loudly, feeling slightly sheepish.
‘Want to talk about it?’ Sandy asks as the steaming coffee pours into the cup, the aroma filling the room.
‘No. No, I don’t,’ replies Kelly, aware that she sounds a bit like one of her teenage patients.
Sandy hands Kelly the coffee and pulls the chair from the other side of the desk to sit beside her.
‘I should never have let him near her,’ Kelly finally blurts out.
‘What happened?’
‘He upset her.’
‘Looks to me like Jesse wasn’t the only one he upset.’
‘I should never have let him near her if he couldn’t help. Right?’
Sandy half-heartedly nods.
‘I mean, what was the point, you either want to help or you don’t. Right?’
Another small nod from Sandy gives Kelly nothing.
‘OK, maybe I could’ve prepared him better, could’ve found out what exactly she wanted, but that was his job. Right?’
A not-so convincing nod from Sandy.
‘It was his whole attitude, from the minute he arrived, he never wanted to be here.’
Sandy sighs, takes a sip of coffee, then says, ‘Kelly, you’re a brilliant social worker. Your patients, their families, the staff here, all love and admire you, but you are very attached to Jesse, we all are. This was never going to be easy for you.’
‘So, it’s my fault, is that what you’re saying?’ Kelly looks at Sandy, not sure she wants to hear her reply.
‘I’m not saying that exactly . . .’
‘You wouldn’t. Still, we’re better off without him, he’s not the right person to help Jesse.’
‘And Jesse’s wish?’ Sandy asks. ‘How are we going to make that happen?’
‘I’ll find a way.’
