The Guncle

Patrick wakes in the middle of the night, disoriented, as an earthquake jolts the house. For a brief moment, he resigns himself to death, but then he remembers Maisie and Grant. He is now responsible for more than just himself. As he directs a terrified Maisie to stand under a doorframe, she cries out that Grant is hurt, and Patrick pulls her into her brother’s room. Grant is either asleep or unconscious, blood trickling from his head—a metal sculpture has fallen off the wall onto him. Patrick uses a pillowcase to stanch the bleeding and dials 911, but there’s no answer. He decides to take Grant to the hospital.

The emergency room nurse wants to notify Greg, but Patrick asks her not to unless absolutely necessary. He doesn’t want to interrupt his brother’s rehab. Sitting in the waiting room with Maisie, Patrick recalls the day she was born—the pressure of people watching him as a celebrity. Patrick explains earthquakes to the shaken Maisie and agrees that he doesn’t like hospitals much either.

The next morning, Grant appears to be fine. As Patrick holds Grant’s hand, he remembers sitting at Joe’s bedside and his own painful recovery after the car accident.