Page 49 of The Wish
Alex stares at her, not helping her discomfort. ‘Boys I get along with; after all, I was one myself once.’
‘I see. Not so long ago maybe,’ Kelly answers.
‘Yeah, boys I get, girls are a whole other matter.’
Kelly feigns indignance. ‘Girls are easy, we say how we feel, we say whether we’re happy or sad, unlike you guys who have to be forced to talk about anything deeper than cars or sports . . .’
‘Whoa there.’ Alex looks over at Sam. ‘Hey, Sam, come on and help me out here, we’re under attack. What d’you say, Sam, who’s easier to get along with, boys or girls?’
Sam stands up straight and commands: ‘Girls are yuck.’
‘Well, I wouldn’t go that far, but boys are definitely easier to get along with, right, Sam?’
Sam walks over to Alex and leans against him. ‘Boys rule,’ he says, smiling at Alex.
Alex smiles down at Sam and places a comforting arm around him.
‘Well, if you two are going to gang up on me, I’m going to, I’m going to . . .’
‘What are you going to do, Kelly? Cry?’ Sam says, laughing.
‘Yes. No. I don’t know. I’m going to leave,’ Kelly says playfully.
Before he thinks about what he’s saying, the words leave Alex’s mouth. ‘Don’t do that.’
Kelly looks at Alex, searching for the meaning behind the words.
‘We’re sorry, Kelly, aren’t we, Alex? You can stay, you can even draw with us if you like,’ Sam says.
Before Kelly can respond, the moment is broken by Mandy and Dean stepping into the room.
‘What the hell is he doing here? Get away from my son!’ Dean yells at Alex. His grief at what he’s just heard from Christine turns immediately to rage.
Mandy steps in front of Dean, stopping him from advancing on Alex, who lets go of Sam and takes several steps away. Kelly moves towards Mandy and Dean.
‘Dean . . .’ the social worker says.
Turning on Kelly, Dean points his finger at her. ‘I told you to keep him away from my family,’ he says tersely.
‘Stop it, Dean, we need him right now,’ Mandy implores.
‘I told him to stay away . . .’
‘Alex is making Jesse’s wish. I gave him permission and there’s nothing you can do about it. Do you hear me?’
‘But I gave instructions he wasn’t …’
‘And I overruled you.’ Standing in front of Dean, Mandy places a hand on his chest. ‘Please, Dean, please don’t be like this, not now,’ she whispers.
Shocked, Sam watches his parents argue. Slowly he backs away, back to the desk he and Alex were sitting at. Carefully, deliberately, he picks up their drawings, cuddling them in a protective manner.
Alex steps cautiously towards Kelly. ‘I don’t understand, what’s happening here?’ he asks no one in particular.
Mandy walks over to him, speaking quietly. ‘Christine just told us the last round of chemo hasn’t worked.’
‘But what does that mean? Can’t they do it again?’
Mandy begins to tremble, her eyes moisten. ‘It means, it means . . .’ is all she can stammer.
