Sitting down in the small office of the care home , it felt like a lifetime before we would be seen by Mrs Carter , our social worker, at last she bounded through the door, her curly hair springing wildly from all angles , carrying a stack of folders and shopping bags in her hands. Plonking the Sainsbury's bags on the desk, she removed the various papers and folders from her grasp and set them as neatly as she could on the shelf behind her.
" Ah, boys sorry to delay you, had to get a few last minute items from the shops."
" Tis fine Mrs Carter, glad you could join us." Brendan replied, laying there with his legs spread on the wide purple couch that he hogged while I had to sit on a cold metal chair.
" How are you boys this morning then? Any problems ?"
" No we are fine." Brendan cut in, purposefully hiding the horrendous job that we made of trying to use the washing machine earlier on in the day.
" Steven you good?" she nodded in my direction as she sat down behind her desk.
" Yeah, great." I smiled as warmly as possible, noticing out of the corner of my eye Brendan smirking.
" Right guys this is very exciting! As you know I told you someone is interested in fostering the both of you, and I've got a file with all of his information here if you would like to check him out for yourselves?"
Brendan got there before me and took the folder, balancing on his lap he flicked through the pages, not reading much, he passed it over to me and I thought I would take the opportunity to figure out what sort of man he was.
There was a medium sized picture of him on one of the pages, he had fair grey hair, short not long, you could see he cared about his appearance, he was neat, with a black suit with a grey waistcoat underneath. He had small glasses perched on the end of his nose, quite expensive ones I thought, a Victorian looking house was standing tall behind him, it looked like a proper manor house with big windows surrounded by red bricks. At his feet was a Siberian Husky, the dog didn't look too young but it didn't look too old neither, I knew the breed as soon as I saw it, my dad had one in one of those dogs in the picture my mother had shown me, I still had that picture somewhere in my room, my father had a grey one a young puppy it was. But the man's was black and white and nearly came up to the man's hip.
" What are ye starring at Steven?" Brendan said glancing over.
I shut the file up after reading the last bit of information on the paper and put it back on Mrs Carters desk.
" Just checking him out that's all.."
The phone rang and Mrs Carter answered it.
" Hello.. yes... I'm a bit busy right now... can't it wait?.. right... ok then give me 10 minutes". I'm sorry boys a girl has just been admitted into the system , and I've got to check her out and get her sorted."
" Its fine Mrs Carter, you go on." I said.
" Yer this can be contiued some other time." Added Brendan.
" Alright, I'll be back at 11 o'clock tomorrow , and will come and find you two, we need to set up a meeting etc etc.."she clumsily pulled on her coat and retrieved the folders on the shelf half running out the room.
When she had gone I got up and jumped on the end of the sofa.
" Ow, Steven why'd yer do that for?" he said rubbing his feet and sitting upwards.
" I saw you , you didn't even read his file..."
" Mr Silas, aged 69, widowed, one dog, quite wealthy, blah blah..."
" Oh.."
" Yer."
" Right well I'm going back upstairs , you coming?"
" Yer."
Sitting in the bedroom looking up at the ceiling I found myself thinking , tomorrow would be 5 years to the day Brendan first arrived , 5 years to the day Brendan's parents died... to which 5 days later I arrived too...