Mr Salary Lecture Review

Arrival at Dublin Airport and Reunion

Nathan waited for the arrival at Dublin Airport beside a silver Christmas tree in the arrivals lounge. The terminal was a modern facility, characterized by its bright, polished surfaces and numerous escalators. Before the meeting, a stop was made in the airport bathroom to brush teeth. The luggage brought from Boston was described as an ugly suitcase, carried with a deliberate degree of irony. Upon seeing the case, Nathan questioned if it was a joke. He was dressed in his work attire, which consisted of a very clean navy suit. In contrast, his guest wore black leggings featuring a hole in one knee and had not washed her hair since leaving Boston. After taking the suitcase, Nathan joked that he hoped people would not assume it belonged to him.

Outside the terminal, the temperature was below zero, causing a thin rim of frost to develop on the corners of the windshield of Nathan's car. The interior of the vehicle carried the scent of air freshener and a specific brand of aftershave Nathan reserved for events. Though the name of the aftershave was unknown, the bottle was recognizable from drugstores, where the cap was sometimes removed for a scent during difficult days. The dash of the car was illuminated in soft Scandinavian colors. During the drive, Nathan inquired if there was any news to share in person, such as a secret tattoo, which was met with the response that such news would have been sent as a JPEG.

Dynamic of the Relationship and Family Background

During the drive onto the lit avenue leading to the exit, Nathan joked about having a girlfriend who was both pregnant and his future wife. This sparked a conversation about the nature of their relationship and the hypothetical lack of humor they would share if he actually had a partner. Nathan noted that Sukie was wearing a coat he had purchased for her, which she wore as a reminder of his reality. Though Nathan was thirty-eight and Sukie was twenty-four, their bond was characterized by a deep, almost predictable familiarity.

Legal family consisted solely of a father, Frank, who was being treated for leukaemia. Sukie’s mother had died from complications following childbirth, and Frank had never remarried. Frank had a history of prescription drug abuse and was often an unreliable parent. During childhood, Sukie was frequently left with Frank’s friends, who offered either no affection or overwhelming attention that caused her to recoil. In her second year of university in Dublin, when family savings ran out and rent could no longer be paid, a housing arrangement was made through family connections. Nathan’s older sister was married to Sukie’s uncle, leading to Sukie moving into Nathan’s two-bedroom apartment at the age of nineteen. Nathan was thirty-four at the time.

Career and Domestic Life in Dublin

Nathan’s professional background involved working for a start-up that developed behavioral software focused on consumer responsiveness and feelings. He explained that his role was to make people feel things, while the act of purchasing came later. The company was eventually acquired by Google, leading to high salaries and an office equipped with expensive hand dryers. In the apartment, which featured a granite-topped kitchen island, Nathan was a clean and capable cook.

Sukie lived there for nearly three years, during which time they developed a mutual interest in each other’s lives. Nathan provided financial support, buying items Sukie admired in shop windows and eventually paying for her flights home from Boston. Their weekends often involved watching Twin Peaks and smoking weed. Despite remarks from Nathan’s friends implying a sordid financial arrangement, Nathan joked that he wasn't getting his money's worth since she didn't even do her own laundry. One significant moment in their history occurred two years prior on New Year’s Eve, when they returned home drunk and shared a kiss by the coat hooks. Nathan ended the encounter by saying they shouldn't do it, and they never kissed again.

Medical Research and the Pathology of Leukaemia

During the distress of Frank’s illness, an encyclopaedic knowledge of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia was amassed. This involved moving past patient booklets to hard medical texts, online oncologist discussion groups, and PDFs of peer-reviewed studies. This absorption of information was a coping mechanism intended to master distress through intellectual dominance. This research revealed the grim reality of Frank’s prognosis, a fact he would not have disclosed himself.

In chronic leukaemia, the pathology involves cells that mature partially but not completely. According to medical resources, these cells may appear fairly normal in their physical structure, but they are functionally abnormal. At the hospital, Frank received antibiotics via a drip to treat a secondary infection contracted during chemotherapy. His physical condition had deteriorated significantly; he was hairless with a skull described as a pink pool ball, bandaged feet, and a sore mouth.

Clinical Visitation and Philosophical Reflections on Grief

Before visiting the hospital, Sukie and Nathan went Christmas shopping. During a lunch on Suffolk Street involving sparkling wine and steak, the topic of bereavement was discussed. Sukie questioned if Nathan would grieve if she died, noting that she felt she had no other mourners. Nathan argued that most twenty-four-year-olds, including her, would leave many mourners behind, though Sukie dismissed her classmates and her ex-boyfriend Dennis.

At the hospital, a nurse named Amanda provided a plastic apron and a papery medical mask for the visit. These precautions were for Frank’s benefit, as his immune system was vulnerable. During the visit, Frank exhibited signs of cognitive decline or drug-induced incoherence, obsessively moving his thumbs. He referred to Nathan as "Mr Salary" and called Sukie a "cool customer," predicting she would be alone once Nathan married someone else. Frank suggested Nathan would find a "young one," seemingly unaware of the current context of Sukie's life. Despite his earlier harshness, the visit ended with Frank calling Sukie a decent girl.

The Incident at the Liffey and the Nature of Death

While walking home in a humid mist, a crowd was observed at Tara Street near the bridge, under the light of Liberty Hall. A rescue boat with a silent orange siren was searching the river. The crowd watched as a pole with a hook was used to retrieve a submerged object the size of a human. When the object was pulled from the water, it was revealed to be an empty sleeping bag rather than a body.

This event prompted a reflection on the nature of life and death. It was noted that the various systems of the body, such as the blood-formation system, continued to function normally, with cells maturing and dying at a regular rate. The observation was made that death is the most ordinary occurrence, yet people often treat it as more of a miracle than life itself, ignoring living bodies to stare at the possibility of a dead one.

Domestic Resolution and Emotional Complexity

Upon returning to the apartment, wet from the rain, Sukie hung her clothes, which retained the shape of her body in their creases. After putting on an embroidered dressing gown, she joined Nathan on the couch while he watched a television drama. The proximity had a sedative effect. When a sex scene appeared on screen, a direct proposition was made to Nathan.

Nathan initially resisted, stating that it was not a good idea because of Sukie's feelings for him. He distinguished between professional favors, like paying for her flight, and personal ones. However, they eventually moved to the bedroom. In the aftermath, they discussed whether they would regret the decision. Nathan suggested that perspective would only be found once Sukie returned to Boston, while Sukie silently reflected on her intention not to return at all, haunted by the medical description of cells that look normal but are not.

About the Author and Faber Stories

Sally Rooney was born in 1991 and resides in Dublin. Her literary work has been featured in several prominent publications, including The New Yorker, Granta, The White Review, and The Dublin Review. Her debut novel, Conversations with Friends, was highly acclaimed in 2017, followed by Normal People in 2018. She was shortlisted for the Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award for "Mr Salary" and won the Sunday Times/PFD Young Writer of the Year Award.

"Mr Salary" is part of the Faber Stories series, which commemorates the ninetieth year of Faber & Faber. The series includes works by various masters of the short-story form, such as Samuel Beckett, Kazuo Ishiguro, Sylvia Plath, and Flannery O'Connor. This edition of "Mr Salary" was published in 2019, having originally appeared in Granta 135: New Irish Writing in 2016.