Rules of Escape

Chapter 12 - Jesse

Jesse walks briskly towards the Community Health building. He is late. He clicks his car fob until he hears the quiet beep. In the green tinted windows of the building, he sees the headlights of his sports car flash him a goodbye. He is already sweating. He isn't prepared for this meeting. He is simply here, acting on behalf of his grandpa. Let the cards fall where they may.

Jesse pulls the heavy front door open and enters a quiet, air conditioned lobby. The lobby is small with only a half dozen chairs. The receptionist sits behind a half wall with a large, window sized opening and counter. There is one door leading into the interior of the building and it is shut.

The receptionist glances at Jesse. "I'll be with you in a moment. Please have a seat."

Jesse sits down in one of the chairs. The floor has large, dark tiles and the high ceilings are made more interesting by triangular windows placed between sturdy, rich wood rafters. Two small cameras look down at him from opposite corners of the ceiling. He rifles through a few outdated magazines lying scattered on a modern, teak side table.

"Can I help you, now?"

Jesse walks over to the counter. "Yes I have an appointment with Michael Hoven."

"I'll let him know you're here."

Jesse pauses, waiting.

"You can sit down," the receptionist says. "He'll come get you when he's ready."

Jesse returns to his seat. He crosses his legs and checks messages on his phone. He has less than an hour before he has to return to work. His afternoon and early evening are packed with showings today. If he plays his cards right, he is certain he will be writing up at least two offers this evening.

He checks the time on his phone. He had been late by two minutes, but now he has been sitting here for ten. With any luck, the meeting will only take ten or fifteen minutes and he will have time to buy a quick lunch. He sends a quick text to Kat, the baby sitter, and waits for a response. 

Yes, Kat texts back. I can pick them up after school. I'll make dinner 2. Have a nice day. 

Jesse lets out a sigh. Good, at least dinner is taken care of. He's been sitting for fifteen minutes now. He looks at the receptionist and sighs loudly. Just then the interior door opens.

"Jesse," says the heavy set man at the door. Jesse nods and stands up. "Hi I'm Sean. Michael's away today and I'm filling in for him. Sorry to keep you waiting. Come in." Sean's handshake is firm and brief. Jesse immediately likes him.

Behind the door is a labyrinth of hallways. Sean leads Jesse to a barren room with a glass window looking out to the hallway. Jesse sees through the window that the room consists of a long table and maybe a dozen chairs.

"We can meet in here," Sean says. He opens the door and Jesse follows him in. "So how can I help you?"

"I'm here to talk about my brother, Evan Jameson. He's currently receiving 24 hour care."

"Yes, I just read through his care plan. Do you have concerns about his care?"

"Well, no. Not really. But he wants to live in our grandpa's summer cottage and not receive any care."

Sean's eyes widen. "He wants to go from 24 hour care, down to none?"

"Yes, if you can believe it." Jesse laughs. It sounds ridiculous.

"Well then, I should let you know that once funding for care is terminated, it can be very difficult to get back. We have a tight budget and the funding Evan gets would be quickly reallocated. It might be better to reduce the amount of support he gets rather than end it altogether. He's in one of Maria's homes right?"

"Yeah, I guess so. I've heard her name," Jesse says.

"Let me check to make sure. I'll be right back."

Sean leaves the room and returns about five minutes later holding a sticky note out to Jesse.

"Yes, it is Maria. Here's her phone number. The first thing you should do is contact Maria and set up a time to go over Evan's care plan and make suitable changes to it."

Jesse's heart sinks. "You mean it's possible? What Evan wants?"

"It would be a great step forward for him. And we are so short of funds ... just this morning, I denied respite care to a foster care family with two Downs Syndrome children. All I could do was put them on a waiting list."

"That's awful."

"Well that's government cutbacks for you," Sean says, standing up to leave. "Let me know if there's anything I can help you with after your meeting with Maria. I'll check in with you in a couple of weeks if I don't hear from you, just to see how things are going."

"Ya, sure."

"It was nice meeting you. It's sure good to see a sibling advocate."

Jesse picks up his folder. He hadn't even opened it. He hadn't shown Sean any of the information his grandfather had put together. He had planned to put on a good show of arguing on Evan's behalf. 

Jesse climbs into his car. He can't believe it. Instead of ending his Evan dilemma within the hour, it was only just beginning. What a fucking shitty can of worms he had opened. Sean had looked really happy by Evan's progress. Progress, sure. Maybe Sean will forget to check back with Jesse.

Jesse doesn't have time for more meetings about Evan. He has his job and his kids to worry about. And hopefully a short vacation with the kids if he can swing it.  Maybe Disneyland? Hawaii?  

At least he still has time to buy lunch. Evan can wait. How much can a single dad be expected to do for a brother, anyway? And for what? To put on a good show? Evan doesn't know how to live on his own. Now for lunch. What is healthy, quick, and tasty? Quiznos it is. Quick and tasty.