Seventeen
‘Herbert,’ Benjamin said, nudging him on the shoulder to no discernible response. ‘Herbert!’ he said again with another nudge and Herbert rolled back into the sofa, his eyes breaking open. ‘Hi, Herb.’
Herbert’s focus came back to him and he sat upright. ‘Ben, what’s going on?’
‘Nothing, you fell asleep and we all had dinner. Erin’s here.’
‘What?’
‘She’s in the kitchen.’
Herbert’s eyes grew wide, although he was unable to properly move and went smudgy about the knees when he went to stand up, promptly falling back down again. Something inside him became resigned and he looked up at Benjamin.
‘What time is it, Ben?’
‘Almost eight o’clock. Do you want a line of your baggie to get you going?’
Herbert made a gesture towards nodding and heard the base sounds of conversation th
