Caring for Carers - Minizerk

Chapter 15

Evening comes, and Josh and Ruth bundle Ethan up warm before they walk out of the door, headed to a restaurant Ruth has booked a table at.

Slipping into the passenger seat, after having made sure Ethan was suitably buckled in, Josh starts up the small talk as Ruth drives.

"Thank you for inviting me out with you, Ruth. You really didn't have to."

"Honestly, I wanted to. After all you've done for my son in such a short amount of time, you really do deserve the thanks you're getting. Also, you're one of the first people to have to... deal with Ethan when he's mid-episode, and I just thought I should thank you somehow, I suppose."

"It's in my job description. I knew what I was signing up for. There's no need - though of course I'm not saying I'm not grateful."

Conversation flows like that until they arrive. It's an Italian - Ethan's favourite. Josh holds the door open for the three of them, stepping into the inviting warmth of the building, and closing it on the harsh cold of the winter night behind them.

They are ushered to a table, and order their food relatively quickly. After all, it's a Sunday night, and at 8pm it's never too busy, seeing as the slog of the 9 until 5 cycle awaits the next day. Many can't be bothered to face the cold air when that early morning start awaits, going out in the dark, and returning in it too.

The main course goes well, and Josh and Ruth laugh when it comes to a close, Ethan seated giggling happily with the remnants of spag-bol smeared across his cheeks. Josh looks closer and - is that tomato sauce on his ears?

Ethan, between his giggles, lets out a request. "Toilet."

"You want to go to the loo? I reckon that's a good idea, mate. You've got yourself in a bit of a state there." He stands up, as does Ethan, and rests his hand on Ethan's back, ready to guide him in the direction of the gents.

Ruth looks at Josh, confused. "You don't need the key?"

"Nah, Ethan's good with using the men's at the moment. Thank you for the offer though, Ruth. We'll see you in a minute."

After Ethan's been to the toilet, and Josh is helping to get the tomato out from between his fingers and his ears (he's not quite sure how he didn't notice Ethan getting the sauce there, to be honest), he thinks about how far Ethan's come.

If Ruth was still expecting to need to use the disabled loos at all times, then Ethan's come on a lot further than he's showing his mum that he is. Josh isn't surprised. Ethan's clever, and doesn't like to do more than he has to. He's also got routines around certain people, but maybe Josh can help to break those.

They come back to sit down, ordering Ethan's dessert. Vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce, so another bathroom visit is likely in order, but that's no problem. Ethan's happy and fed, that's what matters.

It's nice, Josh thinks, to witness a mother-son relationship like the one Ethan and Ruth have. He chose to sit opposite her, with Josh at his side, so he fiddles with her fingers across the table, and occasionally pats Josh's arm while laughing to himself. Ethan's easily amused, and in his own little world, so Ruth has no issue breaching a conversation that would be awkward for Josh with anyone else.

"So, what happened with you and Simon?"

"How the hell did you know?"

"Come on, Josh. You said you had an argument with him or something? There was something off about the way you spoke when you said it, clearly something happened."

Josh can't help but feel like Ruth is some kind of witch. She seems to know everything.

Maybe it's just a mother's thing.