Page 25 of The Reboot
He listened as she filled him in on her illness, how she’d spent most of the last ten years at home living in a kind of limbo, all her plans for college and career shelved, her dreams put on hold. It sounded horribly familiar.
‘So you’ve been out of action pretty much as long as I have,’ he said. ‘But you’re better now?’ She looked well, but he detected a lingering weariness in her pale face, tell-tale dark smudges under her eyes.
‘I’m getting there. I’ve been gradually improving over the last couple of years. It’s been a slow process, but I’m getting my energy back, and I’m able to do more. I just started a new job last week.’
‘Good for you! I suppose you’re a professor or something by now?’
‘Hardly.’ She raised the steaming mug to her mouth and blew on it before taking a sip. ‘You don’t make professor stuck at home in bed. I didn’t even get to start my PhD in the end.’
‘Sorry.’ He gave her a sympathetic smile. ‘That sucks.’
‘Yeah, it does.’
‘Are you still living with your mum?’
‘Yeah. I was on benefits, and doing bits and pieces of freelance work when I could. But I racked up a lot of debt, so I can’t afford rent at the moment.’ She shrugged. ‘It’s fine, though. We get on really well and she’s been great about getting lumbered with a grown-ass daughter still at home.’
‘I’m sure she doesn’t mind.’
‘No, butImind. She never makes me feel like I’m a burden or anything. But I hate that she’s missed out on so much because of me. She and my Aunt Nora—’
‘She’s the one with the pen? Ofla plume de ma tantefame?’
‘Yes! The very one.’ She laughed. ‘Anyway, she and Mum always planned to go on this big trip when Mum retired. But then I was sick, and even now that I’m better, they’re still putting it off because they don’t want to leave me on my own. It’s not just the physical stuff. They worry about me … being lonely, I guess.’
Roly nodded understandingly. It did sound like she’d been pretty isolated.
‘And I would be.’ He was taken aback by her honesty in admitting it. He was lonely too sometimes, but he felt he had to hide it like a shameful secret.
‘So what’s your new job?’
‘I’m doing general office admin and marketing in a techwear company. It’s just a stop-gap, but it pays the bills and it gets me out of the house.’
‘Techwear? Is that, like, anoraks and stuff?’
‘Kind of – functional clothing for people who do extreme sports. But cool anoraks, not what your dad would wear for a day down the allotment.’
‘Do you like it?’
‘Yeah, I do. It’s surprisingly interesting. I’m enjoying it much more than I thought I would.’ She smiled. ‘I thought I’d blown the interview. It was like one of those daft Facebook quizzes – you know, if you were an animal, what would you be kind of thing?’
‘Chimpanzee!’ Roly said, pointing at her.
‘Gee, thanks.’ She laughed. ‘Hairy and annoying?’
‘No, but they’re one of the smartest animals on the planet, aren’t they? Do me!’
‘Hmmm.’ She narrowed her eyes. ‘I guess you’d be … a dolphin.’
‘Chatty and good at swimming? Nose like a bottle?’
She shook her head. ‘Because they’re friendly and people feel good being around them.’
‘Awww.’ Roly couldn’t help grinning. He realised he felt happier than he’d been in a long time, just sitting here having coffee with Ella. He’d forgotten how much he liked her, how easily they’d always fallen into sync with each other, even after long gaps apart. ‘I’m sorry I lost touch,’ he said tentatively.
She shrugged. ‘It was as much my fault as yours.’ She looked uncomfortable, and he got the impression she really believed that and wasn’t just saying it to be nice and let him off the hook. ‘Anyway,’ she continued, ‘I kind of dropped off the radar with most people when I was sick.’
‘That’s crap.’
