I had one course of action open to me: I could refuse the food. By letting my tongue thicken I could fill my mouth and Tom could not get the nozzle of the tubing he used properly inserted. The method was effective. At breakfast, one morning, bits of liquidized cereal oozed from my lips, not a drop swallowed. Likewise with the lukewarm sweet tea. Tom accepted it all quietly. I had wonderful visions of my skeletal frame being strapped to a stretcher and carted back to the hospital. At lunch-time, when everyone else had eaten and gone, I prepared myself for a repeat of this routine. Anna came into the kitchen. She was carrying an overtly displayed clear plastic bag full of purple sachets. Tom had his back to me. He was warming soup on the stove. Anna ordered him to start his feeding ritual. I felt very happy, now having a senior and influential audience to impress. Tom gently squeezed the meaty mixture into my mouth and it duly reappeared between my lips, dribbling down my chin. ‘I see,’ said Anna. She motioned the old man to stand away. ‘Well, we shall have to see what we can do to help you, Peter. This is most unsatisfactory. You’ll make yourself ill, and that’s not what we want at all. Is it?’ She began emptying the contents of two of the sachets in a saucer, adding a little water and mixing up a smooth paste with a spoon. From a cupboard on the wall she took two gauze swabs which she rolled up into pads and soaked in the mixture. She looked impatiently at her watch. Tom was now standing somewhere behind me.

‘Right, Tom, ready,’ she said. He came forward and placed his hands lightly on my shoulders. She came over and put the saucer in my lap. From her bag she took a pen which she used to prise open my lips. ‘God, those teeth,’ she said. ‘Make a mental note, Tom, we must get those seen to.’ She poked around with her sharp-nailed finger. ‘Some of these are so loose I could pull them out with my hand. Don’t you want to keep your teeth, Peter? You are a silly boy, neglecting yourself so,’ she said while she took the Pads from the saucer and pushed one into each corner of my cheeks.