All the way from Essex

.......came Grandma Florence and Grandad Bill.
Lucas was overjoyed and over the moon by their sudden appearance .
"Hows your back Grandma?"
As Grandma eased into the chair.
"Oh it's fine Lucas" she fibbed
Grandad didn't say much and what he did say was mostly about politics and his time in the army.
And so after a couple of cups of tea the octegenarians kissed their grandson and made thier tottery way back home.

Lucas had his third round of Radiotherapy this morning. A more accomodating young patient you wouldn't find. I assure you. Gave up his right arm to the anaesthetist whilst chatting merrily about about an octopus.
And then, as Peter and I watched, he fell asleep going to heaven knows where.

And that was when Peter suggested we go up to the ground floor for a nice hot cup of tea in the cafeteria. The Radiotherapy room is in the basement, in the bowels of the hospital. Walls painted in watercolours of misty blue, limp yellow and muted apple green. An occasional drawing on the wall of a rainbow coloured fish adds to the sublime restfullness of the place.

Tea was good.
And so was the talk.
How, we both wondered, how were we, as a family, getting through this. Wading through layers of many kinds of awfulness. We didn't come up with an answer. It was difficult on account of the buzzing traffic, the endless seamless lines of traffic sliding along the Euston road. So we locked hands and said nothing.

I had a phonecall earlier from a mate of mine. Iris Shiner. She sounded out of breath.
"You ok?"
" Oh God May" she said
"My chest is tight this day"
Iris had a tendency to talk a little weird. But I liked her.
"Hows the boy?"
"Oh Lucas is fine" I replied gazing out of his window into the spire of the long distant church
"He's sleeping and eating and farting all day long"
"So no change there then" laughed Iris

No I thought, no change there.
And a collection, a mishmash of memories nuked inside my head.
Lucas demolishing two quarterpounder. Lucas taking to the bed. Lucas's exhaust system making me lurch towards the can of Rose and Vanilla air freshener .
Aaah bless him....