Page 29 of Sing it, Sam

Chapter Ten

Sam is in the same position I left him in. His eyes are glued to the ceiling.How lonely he must be.Anache centres in my chest.

“You know, you’re not under house arrest. You can leave the room,” I tease.

He shifts his focus to me. “Yeah, but old people,” he says, jutting his chin towards the hallway.

“The dining room has a much better view of the mountains. You can’t see so much of them looking up in here.”

“Very funny, Janie. I don’t like it out there.”

“Why?”

He snorts. “It’s hard listening to them. Some of them repeat the same thing over and over. Crazy cat woman is always harping on about Snuggle whatever-the-fuck-its-name-is, and I don’t know how many times I’ve had to tell people my name. I hate it out there. Everybody has a spot that apparently no one else is allowed to sit in. I’ve seen a full-on blue between two ladies because of it. When it’s meal time, they take their manky false teeth out. It’s like watching cows chew grass.”

I pull up a chair and sit. “Look, I know it can’t be easy, but—”

“Every time I talk to them I’m reminded where I am. It’s like a sea of zombies. At least in my room I can pretend. Pretend I’m anywhere but here.”

A young soul like Sam shouldn’t be trapped here, but he can’t live his life like this either. He has choices in how he spends his time. He can make each day matter.

“I can’t begin to understand what it’d be like to live here.I’m not discounting that, but I don’t get why you’d choose to spend your days alone when you could be listening to some incredible stories out there. You should take the time. I think you’ll be surprised. And you know what? I’m sure some of those people would love to sit and learn more about you. A few of the old-timers are actually pretty great.”

“Why do you like old people so much?”

I shrug one shoulder. “I dunno. I like helping people, and I don’t have any grandparents left. My mum’s parents lived in Perth, and I didn’t see much of them before they died. I never met my dad’s dad as he passed away well before I was born. My nan, Violet, died when I was a teenager. Even though she was alone in here, she had people who cared about her, talked with her, and who made her time special. She had a place where she could still be her social butterfly self, but also have some independence. People deserve to end their days in a happy place. If I can contribute to that, even in only a small way, well, that’s just everything to me.”

Sam lets out a mammoth sigh and stares at me, doe-eyed. “Never met anyone like you, Janie. You’re somethin’ else.”

Heat creeps up to my face. “I’m a lot like my nan,” I say, to shift the conversation into safer territory. “That’s what my mum reckons. Actually, the creepy thing is, you’re in the room my nan used to have.”

His eyes widen. “That is creepy. Super creepy.”

“I know, right? Anyway, just try it one day. Venture out of your room. If I’m on a break I’ll come out and see how you’re going. Happy to come to your rescue if you need.”

“Yeah, we’ll see,” he says, and scratches at his stubbly chin.

“What else can I do to convince you? Offering to rescue you isn’t enough?”

“Wear the costume,” he blurts out, as if it’s been front of his mind.

Costume? He can only be talking about the one he saw in my bag that day. “The Wonder Woman one?”

“Yup.”

I shake my head and laugh softly. “Yeah, I don’t think that’ll fly. Uniform is strict around here.”

“Come on,” he croons. “Boss woman seems to have a soft spot for you. Surely you could at least ask?”

Cue puppy-dog eyes. Man, he’s good at that. Problem is, I’d love to, but how do I convince Kathleen? She’s been pretty open with some of my ideas for the place. Maybe I can spin it another way.

“Leave it with me.” I wink and pick up our book from the bedside table.Ourbook? “Okay, now where were we?”

Sam huffs as he moves to his side, using his hand to assist the movement of his leg. “Kyle was getting himself in deeper,” he says, and sighs as he melts into the pillows.

I feel his eyes on me as I open the book and start reading.

Every now and then I glance up at Sam to check if he’s still awake. It’s as if his eyes have never moved from my face. Today, he’s as bright as a button. It’s really nice to see.

---