Grace squeezed my shoulder. ‘Abandoned by his birthmother when it became obvious he was different. Such a great kid though, unbelievably smart. But we’re having a hard time finding him a family.’ She sighed slowly and softly. ‘People hear the word “autism” and immediately run for the hills, but I think it’s very misunderstood.’
‘He looks happy here,’ I said, as he sat down at the pool and dangled his feet in.
‘He is. We make sure of it.’
A feeling bubbled up inside me. It was anger. It was sadness. It was something else I couldn’t name. I thought about Sixty all alone in that tank at the back of that shop. I thought about me, sitting alone on the playground in primary school. Watching from the sidelines. I thought about Leroy on his tiptoes. All he wanted was a family to call his own. I almost opened my mouth right there and then to say something, but didn’t.
CHAPTER22
‘Hey, we’re here.’ I felt the soft tap of something on my cheek.
‘What . . . um . . .’ I startled.
‘You fell asleep.’
‘Did I?’ I sat up and looked around. We were in the familiar underground parking lot in the airport again. I had no recollection of falling asleep at all, but I wasn’t surprised. After social interactions like that, even though I’d enjoyed it, I was always exhausted. I wiped my face and eyes.
‘I didn’t mean to. Sorry.’
‘Don’t apologize. You make really cute noises when you sleep.’
I sat bolt upright. ‘What kind of noises?’
He smiled ‘Like a squeak.’
‘A squeak! That sounds awful.’
‘Only on your outbreaths.’
‘Every outbreath?’
Andrew laughed. ‘No, not every single one.’
‘Wasn’t that irritating?’
‘No, I had the music on, and it blended in.’
I breathed in and out slowly and my nose made a little squeak. I slapped my hand over it quickly.
‘It’s probably an allergy,’ I said, pointing at the offending nostril. ‘To the cat.’
‘Probably. It’s amazing how cats seem to sniff out the one person in the room who doesn’t like them. Are you awake enough to drive home?’ he asked.
‘I’m not going home. I have a shift starting in a few hours.’
‘What are you going to do until then?’
‘I go to the gym at the airport hotel.’
‘Seriously? I also go there. How come I’ve never seen you?’
‘I swim. The pool is on the roof. Different section. I bet you do a lot of weights.’ My eyes drifted down to his arms.
He smiled. ‘Are you judging me for that? Like I’m one of those guys who wears flimsy vests and films my workouts to post on social media?’
‘Do you?’
‘No.’
