Nonverbal - Aria Grace Page 0,5
going outside. It was time to stop beating around the bush and get to the point. “So, why exactly am I here? What do you need me for that a nurse or more qualified person can’t do?”
They started to speak at the same time then both stopped and offered the other the floor.
Finally, Mrs. Brenner found the words to explain what they really needed from me. “He doesn’t speak but he understands most things. Not everything, of course. But he generally responds when we speak to him or ask him to do something.” She folded and unfolded her napkin in her lap to keep her hands occupied. “It was easier when he was younger, but he’s a man now. He needs a friend he can relate to. Even though he’s childlike in many ways, he’s a fully grown adult, and we think having an adult around who isn’t a parent might trigger something.”
“So he could be fine if something in his brain is…triggered?” I didn’t know anything about brain injuries, but that didn’t make much sense. What could I do that doctors and medicine hadn’t done in all these years? “I don’t have any medical experience.”
“No, it’s not like that.” Mr. Brenner took a drink of his wine and then tried to explain to me what they meant. “If it were that simple, he’d probably be more advanced by now. We’ve been trying to help him for more than eight years. But with traumatic brain injuries, there are so many unknowns. Sometimes people never improve, and in other cases, they just get better without any real obvious reason. That’s kind of a pipe dream, but whether or not he makes much progress, we want him to be happy.”
“And you think having a friend will make him happy?” I thought back to what they’d already said about Liam. “Didn’t you say he doesn’t like to be around people?”
Mrs. Brenner looked at her husband and they seemed to have a silent conversation before she turned back to me. “I think he’s sick of us. He eats with us and will occasionally let one of us read out loud to him, but he’s curious about outsiders and has generally responded well when we’ve hired people to work with him.”
“That makes sense.” I was still wondering what would happen if he didn’t improve. “But what if nothing changes? Is there a trial period to see if he even likes me?”
Mrs. Brenner smiled and reached across the table to place her hand on mine. “I think he likes you already, but we’d like to offer you a live-in position for six months. If things go well, we’ll extend it. If not, no harm done.”
It wasn’t ideal, but six months of being out of my mom’s house was better than nothing. “That sounds great. I’ll take it.”
Both of Avery’s parents looked both relieved and nervous. “Wonderful. When can you start?”
“Tomorrow!” I wasn’t scheduled to be back at the deli for a few days, so if things really went badly, I’d still have that job to fall back on. But I was hopeful everything would be great.
Liam seemed to have at least a passing interest in me, which was a good sign. Even if it was just curiosity, I could work with that.
I could win him over and maybe spark some kind of engagement between us. I knew I couldn’t cure him, but everyone could use another friend.
Even a dropout like me and a guy like Liam.
Five
We agreed that I’d work three hours every morning and three hours every evening for room, board, and $500 a week. They said I’d be able to take one day off per week, but if things went well, I might need to be available every day because Liam wouldn’t understand why I was gone on some days.
That worked for me.
It was more money than I’d brought home during my startup days because we were always so strapped for operating cash that payroll was somewhat sporadic. I planned to quit the deli soon, but I didn’t want to jump the gun. As proof that I didn’t always make rash decisions, I decided to give it a week or two to see how things went. Until then, I was eager to get to know Liam and see if I could connect with him the way his parents seemed to believe I could.
For the first hour of my new job, I stood near the window of Liam’s studio and watched him snap together and