Taking Care 4 (iv) - Day Centre

      It only took ten minutes to get to the driving range, and there were only a few people there so there were plenty of slots.  We managed to find six together and people selected their clubs from the bag.  Thandie got six buckets of balls from the machine and handed them out - a dozen balls in each.  Then we stood back and watched as the folks did their thing.  Jake and Greg were pretty consistent: ball down, whack it away, ball down, whack it away.  They didn't seem too bothered about how high the balls flew, where the went, or how close they were to a flag.  It was the same with Terry and Matthew, who both very mechanically and deliberately played their balls, put their clubs back in the bag, then came and sat down with us to wait.  That was four of them finished within five minutes.  Ganesh took a little more time and care over his shots, and genuinely seemed to be trying to get his aim and the weight of the shot right.  With each shot, though, he whacked the ball as hard as possible and uttered a triumphant ''WOW!" each time. Danielle was very similar, though a bit more carefree and not so hard-hitting.  When she'd finished, she came and sat by me.  In many ways, it was hard to tell her apart from the staff members.  She was dressed in the standard jeans, hoodie and trainers and had her hair neatly bobbed.  I guessed she was in her mid-thirties.  She was very capable and articulate, and there wasn't much about her that suggested learning disabilities.  You could tell, though.  It might have been something in the set of her eyes.

       "Are you enjoying your first day, Will?" she asked, sitting a little too close to me on the bench.  I shifted aside a few inches.

       "So far so good, Danielle.  Thanks."

       "What do you think of the Centre?"

       "I like it.  Do you like it?"

       She shrugged.  "It's alright.  It can get boring sometimes.  That's why I like to come on outings like this."  She swung her feet under the bench.  "Gets me away from Maggie, too."

       I looked at her and saw the grin.

       "She don't half fucking go on, don't she," she said.

       I had to bite my lip.  I think Thandie, who was sitting beside me listening, also had to stifle a laugh.

       "Danielle, please," she said.  "We don't use language like that - especially not about other staff members."

       "Sorry.  She's alright, really.  She just gets on my tits sometimes."

       "Danielle!"

       Danielle sniffed.  "Well, I never hear you or Laura shout.  You don't shout, do you Will?"

       "No," I said.  "Though my singing can get pretty loud."

       She lit up at that.  "Do you sing?"

       "Badly.  I just do it, though.  I enjoy it."

       "Sing me a song, then."

       "Not now.  Too many people about.  Later, when the radio's on and there's a song I like."

       She nodded.  "Do you like punk music?"

       "I love punk music."

       "So do I," she said.  "Better than the crap on Heart."

       I heard Thandie huff, but she didn't say anything.

       "I'll have to look out one of my punk CDs," I said.  "Bring it in sometime."

       "Yes, please," said Danielle.  "That'll be cool."

       Terry suddenly spoke up.  It was the first time I'd heard him speak. It was a staccato-like monotone.

       "Like music, Will.  Like rock roll."

       "Yeah?  What bands do you like, Terry?"

       He thought a moment.  "Like Rolling Stones.  Like music.  Rock roll."

       "I think I've got some Rolling Stones CDs, too."

       "Got CDs.  Like Rolling Stones."

       "Yeah.  Brown Sugar, eh?"

       "Sugar, yep."

       "Jumping Jack Flash."

       "Jack Flash, yep."

       Thandie looked at her watch.

       "How many have you got left, Ganesh?"

       Ganesh picked his bucket up and brought it over to show her.

       "Four left.  Okay.  Go and play them.  Then we'll go and have a drink."

       That seemed to trigger something in him.  He got all four balls out at once and they were all gone in various directions with two very fast whacks of the club.  He held the club up and grinned hugely.

       "WINNER!" he said - a bit loudly, as someone a few slots along stopped and looked over.

       "Well done, Ganesh," I said. 

       I held up my hand and he high-fived it so hard it sounded like a ruler hitting a blackboard.  My hand was tingling.

       "Not so hard, Ganesh," Thandie said.  "Come on, let's get a drink."

       "BEER!!" Ganesh said, showing a big mouthful of teeth.

       "Not now," said Thandie.  "Otherwise you'll sleep all afternoon."

       "Not if Maggie has her way," said Danielle - though quietly, so that only I could hear.

 

       The tiny bar was empty and we almost filled it, sitting around two pushed-together tables.  They all had diet Cokes except Matthew, who just had a glass of water.  He sat at one end on his own, very rigid and upright with his hands down by his side - almost like he was at attention.  He kept his stare fixed on the table top in front of him, and only moved to pick up his glass, take a sip, then put it back down - again, quite robotic in his movements.  I was intrigued to find out about his condition and made a mental note to ask Laura later.  He reminded me very much of how I'd behaved as a child - like I was scared of my own shadow.

       Terry drank his down very quickly, like it was last orders, and the fizziness didn't seem to unsettle him.  Jake took elaborate slurps, putting his glass down and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.  "Ahh!" he'd say each time.  Bizarrely, it made me think of how dad used to be after he'd had his first mouthful of beer.  Jake noticed me watching him.  He tilted his head sideways and showed all his teeth in a face-wide grin.  Greg sat as quietly as he had over the cards.  There were a couple of beer mats on the table in front of him and he began fiddling with them, shifting them around vertically, then horizontally, then diagonally.

       "So, have you all had a good game?" Thandie asked.

       There was general assent.

       "Good game," said Terry.

       "I like it when we go bowling," said Danielle.

       "Bowling!!!" Ganesh shouted.

       "Not today, Ganesh.  Thursday."

       "'ursday," he said.

       "Where do you go bowling?"

       "We go to an alley in Whitstable," said Thandie.  "Same thing.  We have a game and a drink afterwards."

       "What about other trips?" I asked.

       Thandie sipped her drink.  "We'll go out for drives a couple of times a week.  Parks, or the beach.  And we'll go to a café.  Laura's been looking at trying to get some money for bigger trips.  Days out.  It would be good if we could do that."

       "I'd like to go to London one day," said Danielle.  "See things up there."

       "London!" Ganesh said "Bidge.  See mum dad."

       "We'll have to see what we can do," said Thandie.  "Now Will's here, he might have some ideas."

       I shrugged.

       "I can think of a few things," I said.

       "Like everything, though," Thandie went on, "it depends on getting the money.  It's not easy to get hold of.  It doesn't always need much.  The company's tight, though."

       Greg finished his drink and burped a bit.

       "Par'n me," he said.

       It was the first time I'd heard him speak like that.

       "I should think so, Mister Cullen!" said Thandie, though with a smile.  She checked the clock.  It was 11:45.

       "Just in time," she said.  "Come on, everyone.  Let's go have our lunch."

       "'unch-time!!" Ganesh shouted, making for the door.  "'ungry."

       "Me, too," I said.

       We stepped out again into the brightness of the day.

(continued) https://www.abctales.com/story/harryc/taking-care-4-v-day-centre