Free A Fluffy Tale by Ann Somerville Page B

popped up, nose
twitching curiously. “Stay with Leo, will you?” He lifted Pyon down onto Leo’s
lap. Nuji appeared too and the two kems cuddled together quite happily.
    Leo looked up with moist eyes. “I was so
afraid,” he whispered.
    Julian gently squeezed his shoulder. “Me
too. He looks bloody horrible, but he’s going to make it. Linis knows it too,
that’s why he’s so cheerful.”
    “True. Yes—they’re wise little things,
aren’t you,” he said, patting the two mischiefs in his lap.
    The doctor took a little while to find, but
when she came, she gave them more reassurance. “We should be moving him out of
critical care in the next twenty-four hours. Then we can move him down to the
orthopaedic ward.”
    “I’ll pay for a private room and whatever
he needs,” Leo insisted.
    “Then you’ll need to fill out some
paperwork. He’s still far from well, you understand, and we’ll have to operate
on his leg when he’s stronger.”
    “How long before he can come home?” Julian
asked.
    She pursed her lips. “At least a month, and
he’ll need a good deal of support when he does. You may have to make
modifications to his home and so on, but you’ve got plenty of time to organise
it. Now I don’t think he’ll be up to any further visits today. Call tomorrow
morning and we can update you on his status.”
    “Thank you, doctor.”
    Leo turned to Julian. “Let’s go home. We
have some planning to do.”
     

Chapter 6
    Leo said he should move out, either to
Zachary’s apartment or to a hotel. But when Julian pressed him on it, he
admitted he didn’t actually want to leave—he just didn’t want to burden Julian.
    “But I like you here,” Julian insisted.
“It’s not so…”
    “Lonely?” Leo supplied. “I know what you
mean. But my dear boy, you have hardly any space, and you have your own life to
lead. I'm an old man, set in my ways. I’ll drive you insane.”
    Julian looked him in the eye. “You want to
live in a hotel? Really? Or in that fridge Zachary calls an apartment? On your
own?”
    “No, I don’t. But I have an obligation—“
    “And so do I. Mr Clarke said I had to look
after you. So…I am.”
    Leo laughed. “Stubborn, stubborn, wonderful
boy that you are. Very well, but you must let me do my bit to help.”
    Julian wondered what he could do,
realistically, but agreed happily enough. “Then we don’t talk about this again.
You’re staying here while he’s in hospital. After that…we see what he needs,
right?”
    “Exactly.”
    There was a lot to do, surprisingly.
Cleaning out Zachary’s fridge and making sure that the apartment and the
utilities were set up for a long absence took the rest of the morning and after
another lunch in town, Leo had some essential shopping to do. Hiring a car was
briefly considered and rejected because of the problem of parking. And then Leo
insisted that he needed to walk and so did Julian. Their kems appreciated the
fresh air, but returning to the park brought back bittersweet memories.
    “It’s going to be ages before he can jog
again. Maybe he never will,” Julian said, almost to himself.
    “He will. He’s a very determined person. So
are you. But you owe it to him and to Pyon not to slip back into bad habits.”
    For the next week, the visits at the
hospital remained brief, even after Zachary was moved to a private ward. He
spent most of his time asleep, drugged on pain medication and just worn out
with the effort of healing. Julian’s role was to act as emotional support to
Leo, who was otherwise frighteningly well-organised,
and took charge of Julian’s life rather efficiently. He insisted on arranging a
cleaner, and found a company who would do all the grocery shopping and deliver
it. He wanted Julian not to wear himself out looking after him, and however
much Julian insisted he could manage, Leo had his way.
    He didn’t really mind. All the ferrying
back and forth to the hospital, at least twice, if not three times a