Hope – as life slowly slips away

Lifestyle – Journalist and broadcaster LIAM HORAN has just published Making the Leap, his debut collection of short stories. Here, in an exclusive, is Hope, one story from the newly-released book.

Louis found his father propped up in his chair in the day room where they hung the children’s paintings of farms and grandparents and siblings and cows and sheep and football pitches and choo-choo trains. Board games were stacked up on a table in the far corner, beside Get Well Soon and Thinking of You cards. A spray of illuvial bands draped lazily from a hook a little to the right of the TV, on a bracket high up on the wall.

He was engrossed in a programme, volume at full. Louis heard him say “Africa” in response to a question. Green and beige rugs were wrapped tightly around his legs. The sunken holder on the chair had a cup in it – that’d be tea. Plenty of milk, the way he liked it. Two sugars. And the tea gone cold, probably. The presenter bellowed “so, what would you do with €50,000?”

Louis now saw his Dad as he was: a reduced figure in a chair, a fading signpost to what he once had been. When he walked to the middle of the room, Dad finally saw him, reached for the remote control, reach turning to rummage, until, eventually, somehow, he pointed it at the screen and turned the volume down.

“How are you?” Louis asked.

“Not too bad. My stomach isn’t great though, those new tablets aren’t agreeing with me. Would you ask them about a change?” said Dad.

“I’ll go looking for someone in a minute,” said Louis.

They fell into the routine.

That man in the room two up, did he die? Where was he from? That crack up north is worrying again. Ah, they’ll never sort that place. How did Jacqui get on in the job interview? Good.

When will she hear? Late next week, they said. She thinks she might get it. That’d be great. Yeah, a great start for her after everything.

A nurse came in, looking for something. “The day diary’s gone missing,” she said, “but it’s not here. I’ll have to continue my investigations elsewhere.” She left the room and turned right down the corridor. Dad didn’t seem to have even noticed her.

“You get the painting finished before the weather broke?” he asked. Louis had.

“I did,” said Louis, “are the pillows okay?”

“Yeah,” replied Dad, “they’re fine. Stomach is still bad though. Weld had a double in Roscommon – were you on it?”

“I wasn’t,” said Louis. “I’ll see if I can find someone about those tablets.”

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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