Page 9 of Just Like That

‘Well now you’ll have a “front row seat”, so to speak. So, what did you want to talk to me about today?’ He sits back in his seat casually, waiting for me to begin.

I clear my throat, unsure of my opener. ‘Well, you know I’ve been back and forth to the hospital constantly over the last couple of months, visiting Seth.’

‘I do.’ He nods. ‘How’s the poor lad doing?’

I flinch a little at this description of my adult older brother.

‘He’s improving… slowly… and the doctors have agreed he’s ready to be discharged.’

‘That’s good news.’

‘It is. He’ll still need to attend outpatient appointments and physiotherapy, that sort of thing, but they say he’ll make more progress now at home.’

‘Makes sense.’ Craig shrugs in acceptance of this assumption. ‘I’m guessing this isn’t all you wanted to tell me though.’

I take a deep breath. ‘Um… no… see, the thing is, Seth can’t live alone. He’s going to live with me.’

‘Right. And how are you feeling about that? Big responsibility.’

‘It is. Which is why I wanted to speak to you—’

‘Ah, say no more.’ He sits forward and drums his fingers on the table. ‘You want to work from home more often, do more remote meetings with clients. Totally get it, not a problem. Long as the work gets done, I don’t care where it’s done from. That’s the beauty of the digital age.’

Having not anticipated this response or even considered it as an option, I hesitate for a moment, weighing things up. It’s appealing in so many ways – keeping my full-time income being the most obvious one – but it doesn’t take long for me to see the issues it’ll create, the main one being the impact it will have on Seth if I’m hardly around.

‘Um… thanks for the offer, Craig,’ I reply. ‘But I’m afraid it’s more complex than that. I’m going to be Seth’s main carer until he regains his independence. I’ve been told that could take a couple of years – if it happens at all. My parents live abroad and are bankrolling some of this, and there’s some state-funded help we can get, but none of these things will give Seth what I feel he truly needs for his recovery.’

‘Which is?’ Craig’s face has changed and he now looks concerned.

‘Oh, don’t worry, I’m not resigning or anything. I just think that Seth needs the kind of care that comes from someone close to him – as much as I can offer him, anyway. Craig, I’d like to reduce my hours to three days a week – Tuesday to Thursday – just for a year or so, to allow me to focus on my brother and give him the best chance I can at a future.’

I’m expecting Craig to look relieved that I’m not leaving the company, but little has changed in his expression, which unsettles me.

‘I’ll still bring in the money… manage all the same contracts.’ I rush to reassure him. ‘I’ll work smarter and harder. You’ll barely notice the difference, I assure you.’

‘And what happens when a client wants a meeting on a Monday or a Friday?’ he asks.

‘I’m sure I can make myself available for the odd call or meeting, if that’s needed. I can easily log on for video calls.’

He frowns in response to this. ‘What if something urgent comes up that requires more of your time?’

‘I can be reachable any time by phone?’ I offer.

‘Right. You see, Jess…’ Craig sighs and raises his eyes to the ceiling, leaving me in no doubt that he sees my request as a massive inconvenience. ‘I’ve been here before with staff members. I’ve had all the reassurances, been told that it won’t get in the way. But the thing is, it has – every time.’

‘But not with me. I can do this, Craig, I know I can.’

‘You don’tknowyou can, Jess. You don’t have a crystal ball. You think you can and I’m telling you that you can’t. It’s just not possible to do the job of a full-time person in three days.’

‘Then maybe we can hire me a part-time assistant with the money you’ll save on my salary?’

Craig raises a sceptical eyebrow. ‘Having an admin person pick up the slack is hardly a replacement for an experienced senior events manager.’

This use of language causes me to flinch for the second time during this meeting. Craig and I have always gotten on really well. He’s heavily business driven – always with one eye on the balance sheet – but that’s never been an issue, because I’ve always delivered what he wanted. It seems that our “bond” may have been more fragile than I realised.

‘OK.’ I wrack my brain for something that will re-establish the connection between us. ‘I’ll make myself fully available to them on my non-working days and that will still give me more than enough time with Seth.’

‘It won’t work.’ Craig shakes his head.

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