A Fluffy Tale (8 page)

“You don’t know that,” Leo said gently. “So
if your concern for Zachary is based on nothing but guilt, then in his name I
absolve you and release you from any obligation. He’s going to need friends for
the long haul. Guilt won’t keep you around for more than a couple of days
because let me tell you, visiting hospitals and looking after sick people isn’t
fun and it isn’t easy. He doesn’t need someone to play at this, Julian.”

Sharp eyes in an aged face pinned him, and
he felt his skin flushing hot again. “I…I didn’t even like him a few days ago.
He was a complete snot to me at work.”

“Yes, he’s very good at that. So why are
you here with me, worrying about him?”

Pyon yawned just then, and climbed off
Julian’s shoulder so he could pick his way across the table to visit Nuji,
lying in the crook of Leo’s arm. Julian pointed at his kem. “Because three
weeks ago, if I’d brought Pyon to a place like this, it would have been a
disaster.”

“Gratitude has no more staying power than
guilt, my boy.” Julian sagged. “Why is it so hard to admit that you might just
like my nephew?”

“Because…I didn’t, and now I might do, and
he might die.”

“And it’s hard, isn’t it? Zachary decided a
long time ago he didn’t want to be hurt any more by people leaving him. You see
the kind of life he leads. Don’t be like that, Julian. Be brave. It hurts, but
your life will be so much richer.”

Julian nodded, his cheeks still burning.
“I'm supposed to go back to work tomorrow—I don’t know how I can. I won’t be
able to think. I’ve got plenty of leave. I’ll have to ask for the time off.”

“Let me speak to your employers. I’ve
handled similar situations before and I think they might be agreeable to you
helping the two of us out, at least until the crisis has passed. And I would be
very grateful for your company.” Leo smiled, and Julian was again reminded of
Zachary—he’d seen so few of his smiles, but when he had, it had transformed the
man. Gave a glimpse of a softer, shyer person who might be coaxed out with time
and patience. Julian hadn’t ever bothered to try before with someone so
self-contained. He began to think it might be worth doing.

“I just want to help.”

“You might come to regret those words. Now,
eat up and we can have dessert. I won’t tell Zachary,” Leo added with a wink.

Leo called the hospital after lunch, at
supper and then just before they went to bed. The news was encouraging. Not
only was Zachary not deteriorating, but he seemed to
be a little stronger. The doctors would try removing him from the ventilator in
the morning and encouraged Leo and Julian not to visit until that had been
done.

“I don’t understand,” Julian said.

“It’s because it’s a little distressing for
the patient and those watching,” Leo said. “It’s all normal, I assure you.”

Julian didn’t want to get to the point
where this kind of thing was normal. “How long are you going to stay?” he
asked.

“As long as Zachary needs me—though I may
have to have some things sent to me from my home, and buy some more clothes. I
packed in something of a hurry.”

For the first time, Julian dared to think
about what came next. Zachary had a broken leg, among many other injuries. He’d
be on crutches at the very least—but that apartment of his wasn’t in a very
disabled friendly building. And what about Leo? Would he live there too? Would
Zachary need a nurse? And what about his job?

He realised he’d assumed he had any role to
play—just as Leo had. But when Zachary woke up, which he definitely had to, the
man might have very definite views about the matter. And might not be at all
happy for Julian to be involved.

“I guess I’ll find out,” he whispered into
Pyon’s fur after he’d settled down to sleep. They’d taken the time to make the
apartment more friendly for two people, and to make
the sofa bed up properly, but it would be a bit of a strain to live like this
for months. “One day at a time, right?”

Pyon chirped and licked his face
enthusiastically. Whenever Julian grew a little mopey about being involved in
this mess, he only had to look at his kem to realise that, at least for him, it
had been worth it. Not for Zachary though. Zachary would probably curse the day
a cheeky little kem had made him spill coffee all over himself.

“Not a lot I can do about that now, eh?”
Pyon squeaked again and squirmed under the blankets so he could nest properly
in Julian’s arms.
Smart boy
, Julian
thought. Rest was good. Thinking was getting him nowhere.

~~~~~~~~

He remembered more of his nightmares in the
morning—Zachary dying, Linis crying before he too, disappeared forever—and
could only hope they’d drop off once they were sure Zachary would recover. They weren’t there yet, however
hopeful the doctors were.

But there were mundane matters to deal with
first. Leo, who was a someone, or at least had once
been, used his reputation and wealth to go straight to the top, and Julian had
an uncomfortable meeting with him and the most senior of the senior partners
down at the office. It was so weird to see Mr Clarke so deferential and polite.
Of course anything Mr Underwood wanted was just fine with the firm. Our Mr
Godwin is at your disposal, Mr Underwood, for however long you require him, Mr
Underwood. Our only concern is Mr Ledbetter’s return to health. We're making
arrangements to deal with his caseload, and he shouldn’t worry about a thing.
Do let us know if you need any further assistance, Mr Underwood. Our firm is at
your service.

Julian found himself in a taxi on the way
back to the apartment before the dazed feeling wore off.

“
What
did you say you did before you retired?” he asked his deceptively
innocent-looking companion as they drove away from the building.

Leo gave him a slightly wolfish grin. “It’s
a more a matter of who I know. And who my family were. I don’t usually play
that game. But it’s nice to able to, don’t you think?”

Julian could only nod mutely. It had been
ever so slightly scary seeing Leo pull rank on the terrifying and normally not
at all genial Mr Clarke. “You think they’re going to take it out on me when
this is over?”

“My boy, they’ll probably promote you.” He
patted Julian’s knee. “Don’t worry about it. Let me call the hospital.”

The news he received meant the taxi was
redirected, Julian holding tightly onto Pyon as they drove.
Please be okay,
he begged Zachary in his
thoughts.

They were asked to go to the waiting room.
Julian couldn’t relax, couldn’t even sit for anxiety. “What’s taking so long?”
he demanded as he paced.

“Calm down, my dear boy. You’re upsetting
Pyon and Nuji.”

He made himself sit down and set Pyon on
the floor so he could race over to his new friend and clamber up Leo’s leg.
“They said they’d removed the ventilator. What’s the problem?”

“I don’t know, Julian. Be calm. There’s
nothing we can…hello, Linis.”

Zachary’s kem rushed straight to Julian,
who swept him up into his arms to cuddle and comfort him. But Linis didn’t seem
so distressed—more as if he’d simply missed them all. Julian frowned at Leo. “I
don’t understand—”

The door opened and a nurse put his head
in. “If you’d like to see Mr Ledbetter now, you can, but only for five
minutes.”

Linis squirmed out of Julian’s arms and ran
out of the door, the most undignified thing Julian had yet seen him do. “That’s
a good sign?” Julian asked hopefully.

“I think so,” Leo said, smiling with
annoying calmness. “Nuji, please go inside. I think three kems will be two too
many.”

Julian took the hint and asked Pyon to
retreat as well. Then they followed the nurse out to the ward. They had to wash
their hands and put on masks and gowns—for some reason kems didn’t bring in
germs, but their hosts were another issue—before they were allowed through to
Zachary’s bed. The breathing apparatus was gone, but he looked worse. One side
of his face was covered in dressings, and he had two black eyes. What wasn’t
bruised or cut or covered in bandages, was as white as the sheets he lay on.

Julian hung back while Leo approached. He
held his breath as Zachary opened one swollen eyelid, and seemed to say
something. Leo took his uninjured hand and bent low to talk to him in a whisper.
Julian had a sudden feeling that he had no right to be here. He wasn’t family.

But then Linis pawed at his leg, wanting to
be picked up. Which was odd because surely he should be with Zachary. Julian
picked the kem up, and drew closer to the bed. Leo stood up. “Zachary, Julian’s
here. Look.”

Zachary had his eyes closed again, but he
opened them a slit. “’Lian? L’is?”

“Yes, I’ve got him,” Julian said, trying to
hold Linis so Zachary could see. “We’ve been making sure he didn’t get too
lonely while you get better. Here, Linis. Go to him, he needs you.”

He set the kem on the bed—Linis picked his
way delicately over all the cords and tubes and drip lines so he could sit near
Zachary’s head. A faint smile switched briefly on Zachary’s dry lips.

“’on?”

“Pyon? He’s fine—just being discreet. He
and Linis have been playing together a lot, and Nuji. When you get out of here,
you’ll love seeing them. Zachary, you have to get better, okay?”

What an inane thing to say, he thought
angrily. But Zachary just smiled again, and whispered something Leo bent low to
catch.

“He says he’ll try,” Leo reported. “You do
that, nephew.” He squeezed Zachary’s fingers and then nodded at the nurse who
signalled to them that time was up. “We’ll be back soon. Just rest and get well,
my boy.”

They were ushered out and stripped of their
gowns and masks. Leo wiped discreetly at one eye with a spotlessly white
handkerchief. “Well, well,” he said, his voice a little clogged. “It seems he
really is going to make it.”

“Yes.” Julian flicked quickly at his eyes
too. Amazing how seeing someone just open their eyes
and talk, could be so moving.

Leo cleared his throat and patted Julian’s
arm, leaning a little as if looking for support. He looked rather frail, as if
all the strain had caught up with him. “I just want to speak to the doctor if I
can before we leave.”

“Let me find him. Take a seat.”
Before you fall down,
Julian nearly
added. He waited until Leo had done that. “Pyon?” His kem popped up, nose
twitching curiously. “Stay with Leo, will you?” He lifted Pyon down onto Leo’s
lap. Nuji appeared too and the two kems cuddled together quite happily.

Leo looked up with moist eyes. “I was so
afraid,” he whispered.

Julian gently squeezed his shoulder. “Me
too. He looks bloody horrible, but he’s going to make it. Linis knows it too,
that’s why he’s so cheerful.”

“True. Yes—they’re wise little things,
aren’t you,” he said, patting the two mischiefs in his lap.

The doctor took a little while to find, but
when she came, she gave them more reassurance. “We should be moving him out of
critical care in the next twenty-four hours. Then we can move him down to the
orthopaedic ward.”

“I’ll pay for a private room and whatever
he needs,” Leo insisted.

“Then you’ll need to fill out some
paperwork. He’s still far from well, you understand, and we’ll have to operate
on his leg when he’s stronger.”

“How long before he can come home?” Julian
asked.

She pursed her lips. “At least a month, and
he’ll need a good deal of support when he does. You may have to make
modifications to his home and so on, but you’ve got plenty of time to organise
it. Now I don’t think he’ll be up to any further visits today. Call tomorrow
morning and we can update you on his status.”

“Thank you, doctor.”

Leo turned to Julian. “Let’s go home. We
have some planning to do.”

Leo said he should move out, either to
Zachary’s apartment or to a hotel. But when Julian pressed him on it, he
admitted he didn’t actually want to leave—he just didn’t want to burden Julian.

“But I like you here,” Julian insisted.
“It’s not so…”

“Lonely?” Leo supplied. “I know what you
mean. But my dear boy, you have hardly any space, and you have your own life to
lead. I'm an old man, set in my ways. I’ll drive you insane.”

Julian looked him in the eye. “You want to
live in a hotel? Really? Or in that fridge Zachary calls an apartment? On your
own?”

“No, I don’t. But I have an obligation—“

“And so do I. Mr Clarke said I had to look
after you. So…I am.”

Leo laughed. “Stubborn, stubborn, wonderful
boy that you are. Very well, but you must let me do my bit to help.”

Julian wondered what he could do,
realistically, but agreed happily enough. “Then we don’t talk about this again.
You’re staying here while he’s in hospital. After that…we see what he needs,
right?”

“Exactly.”

There was a lot to do, surprisingly.
Cleaning out Zachary’s fridge and making sure that the apartment and the
utilities were set up for a long absence took the rest of the morning and after
another lunch in town, Leo had some essential shopping to do. Hiring a car was
briefly considered and rejected because of the problem of parking. And then Leo
insisted that he needed to walk and so did Julian. Their kems appreciated the
fresh air, but returning to the park brought back bittersweet memories.

“It’s going to be ages before he can jog
again. Maybe he never will,” Julian said, almost to himself.

“He will. He’s a very determined person. So
are you. But you owe it to him and to Pyon not to slip back into bad habits.”

For the next week, the visits at the
hospital remained brief, even after Zachary was moved to a private ward. He
spent most of his time asleep, drugged on pain medication and just worn out
with the effort of healing. Julian’s role was to act as emotional support to
Leo, who was otherwise frighteningly well-organised,
and took charge of Julian’s life rather efficiently. He insisted on arranging a
cleaner, and found a company who would do all the grocery shopping and deliver
it. He wanted Julian not to wear himself out looking after him, and however
much Julian insisted he could manage, Leo had his way.