Friday, 2 April 2010

I had a visitor in the evening, while I was cooking. I put my glass down and staggered to the doorway. I felt determinedly friendly. If the world came to my door, I would bark and lick its face. I opened the door, successfully resolving a stranger’s blur in the frosted glass into another stranger in plain sight.

‘Hellowhatsyourname?’ I said to her. Perhaps a little too quickly, judging by her quick step back. She looked at me as if this was not an entirely obvious question to ask. ‘I’m Joe,’ I said.

‘Oh, er. My name? I’m Alice Houghton. Hello. But I’ve come about Fran.’

I must have let my eyes rove a little, because when they returned to her face something was gathering in the way that only storms and eyebrows can. She was smartly dressed in grey, and seemed above all responsible. I regretted for a moment my informality.

‘May I come in?’

She did anyway. I followed her. She knew exactly where the living room was, and navigated her way to the more upright of my two armchairs with precision and grace. She was altogether less bananas than her sister. She bid me sit down. I did so, my glass still in my hand. I felt I was intruding somehow.

‘Now I know that my little sister has taken a room here. You’ve probably gathered that she has certain difficulties. Not everyone quite knows how to handle her.’
‘Well, nothing a little patience can’t handle.’
‘You should know that she has something of a history. Self-harm, occasional violence to others, paranoia, depression. We’ve taken her to specialists in the past and over the years she’s been diagnosed with everything going.’
‘That must be very worrying for you.’
‘It is. Sometimes it’s hard to get across to her that we only want the best for her. We don’t always see eye to eye. Sometimes you have to accept that if you love someone, you must do what you can whether or not they will ever thank you for it.’
‘I know what you mean,’ I said.
‘You must be careful with her. She can be very – persuasive, sometimes, but her enthusiasms are short lived. Try not to over-excite her.’
‘Thank you,’ I said. ‘I’ll remember that.’