Alice Again

by Judi Curtin

  Alice nodded. ‘But where does Norman fit into all of this?’

  ‘Well, one of my friends told me about him. You’re right – he helps silly people like me to sort out our lives. He gets me to think through my options, and decide what to do next. He gives me small tasks to do, like homework, and I have to keep a diary of all the things I’m good at.’

  I couldn’t help smiling to myself. Poor Alice thought her mum was keeping a diary of romantic dates, when all she was doing was homework for her life coach!

  Veronica went on, ‘And then he checks up to see how I did.’

  Alice sat up straighter. ‘So that’s why you had to meet him every day?’

  Veronica nodded. ‘That’s it. We’d meet, and we’d discuss what I would do. Once he sent me to work for an afternoon in a charity shop. He–’

  Alice interrupted, ‘And the trip to the cinema?’

  I gasped. Veronica didn’t know that we’d seen her at the cinema with Norman, and I’d been kind of hoping to keep it that way. Luckily Veronica didn’t seem to notice Alice’s slip.

  She smiled. ‘The trip to the cinema was another of Norman’s tasks. Like I told you at the time, it was a film about a woman who managed to turn her life around. I told Norman that going to the pictures on my own was just too sad, and that’s why he came with me. Mostly though, I just had to do stuff on my own.’

  ‘What kind of stuff?’ Alice actually sounded interested now.

  ‘Well, another day I had to visit a museum and imagine what it would be like to work there. Once I had to try to go a whole day without shouting at you and Jamie.’

  She gave a small smile. ‘I failed that test I’m afraid.’

  Alice grinned at her, and Veronica continued. ‘Then in the evening–’

  Alice interrupted again. ‘Then in the evening, Norman rings you to see how good you’ve been.’

  Veronica nodded. ‘That’s it. That’s why Norman has been phoning. I suppose I could have saved us all a lot of grief if I’d told you what I was doing, but I didn’t quite know how to say it. I was afraid you’d think it was just too silly. So I said nothing. It seemed like a good idea at the time.’

  She stopped talking then, and everyone was quiet for a while. I actually flicked through a few pages of my magazine. There were a few nice pictures of frilly tops. I wondered if there was any chance of persuading my mum to buy one of them.

  Suddenly Alice started to giggle. ‘Poor Norman. The gum, and the lice, and then Jamie throwing up. What on earth did he think?’

  Veronica shrugged. ‘He was very good about it actually. After a while he even began to see the funny side of it. Though of course we had no idea why you were behaving so badly.’

  Alice covered her face. ‘Oh, Mum. I’m so sorry. I was so cheeky to you.’

  Veronica patted her knee. ‘Well, I had told him that you and Jamie were … um … being … how can I say it … um … a little bit difficult since we came to Dublin. At least he got to see that I was telling the truth.’

  Alice looked at her mother. ‘Mum, I’m really so sorry. And I’ve never really thought of you being unhappy. I never thought of your feelings. I always just blamed you for everything.’

  ‘I’m sorry too. And I wish I could have been happy with your dad, but I couldn’t. I’m sorry. But we’ll get through this. I promise you. Things are bad now, but we’ll get sorted out, I promise you that.’

  Veronica leaned over and wrapped Alice in her arms, and they had a big long hug. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen Alice hug her mother.

  I smiled. I had a funny feeling that Veronica was telling the truth. Everything was going to be all right in the end – with or without Norman’s help.

  I didn’t have to pretend to be reading any more. Jamie was still fast asleep, and as far as Alice and her mother were concerned, I might as well have been invisible. I got up and tip-toed to the door. I went into the kitchen, and helped myself to a big glass of fizzy orange, a huge packet of crisps and two chocolate biscuits.

  I’d had a very long day, and it was the least I deserved.

  Chapter twenty-four

  I hung out in Alice’s bedroom for a long time. No-one came looking for me, but I didn’t mind about that. I was glad of the chance to chill out all on my own. I passed the time by listening to Alice’s iPod, and reading all of her magazines.

  Every now and then I could hear Alice and Veronica laughing. After a while, I heard Jamie joining in. The poor little boy had had a very tough time over the past few days, and I was glad he was happy. I began to hope that maybe Alice hadn’t damaged him for life after all.

  Listening to Jamie laughing made me a bit lonely for my own small sister, Rosie. I never thought I’d miss her – after all she’s just a little kid. But I found myself really looking forward to seeing her again. I wanted to hear her saying ‘Meggie’ in that cute little way of hers. I wanted to sit down on the couch and bounce her on my knee, and sing ‘Bobby Shaftoe’ to her.

  Even though things seemed to be all right again, I was glad that I was going home the next day. Six days in Dublin hadn’t sounded like much when I’d planned it, but it had turned out to be a very long time indeed.

  Much, much later, Alice came into the bedroom. She was tired-looking, and a bit pale, but she was smiling. She sat on the bed beside me. We looked at each other.

  ‘Well?’ I said.

  ‘Well what?’

  ‘Well, I haven’t seen you for a while. How are things?’

  She grimaced. ‘Oh, Meg. I’m sorry. I’ve left you on your own for ages.’

  I grinned. ‘That’s OK. I needed the rest!’

  She laughed. ‘I can’t bear to think about how wrong I was. How could I have been so stupid?’

  ‘It’s not your fault,’ I said. ‘Who ever would have thought that Norman would turn out to be a life coach? I didn’t even know such a thing existed until today!’

  Alice sighed. ‘Maybe you’re right. But I can’t believe how stupidly I behaved this morning. Why didn’t you stop me?’

  I made a face at her, and she went on.

  ‘OK, so you did try. As usual you were right, but as usual I didn’t listen to you.’

  She gave a sudden giggle. ‘I hope I never meet Norman again.’

  I giggled too. ‘Don’t worry, I don’t think he’d be in a big hurry to meet you again either.’

  We were quiet for a while. Then Alice said, ‘It seems crazy now, the idea of Norman being Mum’s boyfriend.’

  I thought that perhaps some day Veronica might have a boyfriend, and Alice would just have to get used to it. This wasn’t the time to mention that though.

  ‘So how’s your mum now?’ I asked.

  ‘She’s fine. We had a great chat. We sorted a lot of things out. For the first time in my life, I feel a bit sorry for her. And for the first time I was able to tell her how I feel without shouting at her. In the end I told her everything. I told her about the first day we followed her, and about the fake appendicitis, and about seeing her at the cinema.’

  ‘And what about giving Jamie the red and orange sweets?’

  Alice made a face. ‘OK, so I told her almost everything. I think I’ll save telling her about the sweets for another time.’

  ‘And how is Jamie now?’

  ‘Poor Jamie. He spent the last hour curled up in Mum’s arms. He was really quiet and sweet. He’ll probably be a brat again tomorrow, but we’ll deal with that. From now on I’m going to help Mum with him though. Before, I kind of encouraged him to be bad, to punish Mum for bringing us here.’

  I smiled. ‘I’m glad it’s OK.’

  She lay back on the bed. ‘Yeah, me too.’

  I thought for a moment. ‘You know, it’s a bit like your last crazy plan.’

  ‘How?’

  ‘Well, last time, you wanted to make your mum move back to Limerick, and even though that didn’t work, at least she ended up letting you visit more often. And this time, even though there was
, in fact, no boyfriend, things seem to be better. You’re able to talk to your mum anyway. I think you’re all going to be happier now. So in a funny way your plan did work after all.’

  She grinned. ‘Maybe you’re right. But, Meg, I’m sorry about all of this. You must have had a horrible few days.’

  She was right. If I ever got to write my life story, this wouldn’t really rate as the highlight of my existence.

  I just shrugged though. ‘Ah, you know. It was fine really.’

  Alice looked closely at me. She knew I was lying, and I knew she knew. It didn’t matter though. White lies are allowed between friends.

  Alice jumped up. ‘Anyway, put on your best clothes. Mum’s taking us all out for something to eat.’

  My best clothes weren’t all that great. So I put on my nicest pair of jeans, and Alice lent me a really cool top to go with them. Then we straightened our hair, and put on some of Alice’s new perfume, and some pale pink nail varnish.

  Veronica came in then.

  ‘Wow, girls. You look great!’ she said.

  Alice gave a small mock bow. ‘Thanks Mum. You don’t look too bad yourself. Where are we going anyway?’

  Veronica wrinkled up her face. ‘I’m not sure really. There are so many nice places, it’s hard to decide. Maybe I’d better …’

  Alice and I looked at each other, then we both shouted together ‘… consult your life coach.’

  Then the three of us laughed until we felt sick.

  Chapter twenty-five

  Next morning I woke up feeling great. It was my last day in Dublin, and the first without one of Alice’s secret plans. Our only plan that day was having fun.

  At breakfast, everyone was on their best behaviour. Jamie ate his cereal nicely, and Alice and her mother chatted like they were the best friends in the whole world. I was almost jealous, except with Alice so happy, that would have been a bit mean.

  As we were tidying up, Alice asked her mother, ‘Are you meeting Norman today?’

  Her mother gave a funny smile. ‘Yes, I am. We don’t finish our course until Friday of next week. You don’t mind, do you?’

  Alice laughed. ‘No, Mum. Not at all. Would you like to leave Jamie with Megan and me?’

  Veronica thought for a moment. ‘It’s nice of you to offer, but no thanks. He really needs to settle into a routine. It’s best if he goes to crèche today.’

  I looked at Jamie, expecting a tantrum, but he just grinned and said, ‘Yay! I’m going to crèche. I’m going to play in the sand with Jake and Niall.’

  I put my head down, trying to hide my smile, and wondered how a family could change so completely in twenty-four hours.

  After Veronica and Jamie had left, Alice and I went down to the local shopping centre. I bought the sweets I’d promised Rosie – nice, safe, pale pink ones with all-natural colouring. Then we went to the ‘design-a-teddy’ shop. I made a really cute yellow teddy for Rosie with a big orange bow around his neck. Alice made Jamie a bright purple bunny with red ears. It looked just like the crazy kind of thing Jamie would love.

  For Mum I got a bottle of organic shower gel. It was a horrible slimy green colour, and it didn’t smell especially nice. Well, to be honest, it smelled fairly revolting – like nettles or rotting grass or something, but I knew it was just what she would like.

  I got Dad a soccer magazine, and a bar of his favourite orange chocolate.

  Alice and I chipped together for a really nice book for Jamie.

  ‘He loves when I read to him, but I hardly ever do,’ she said. ‘I’m going to read to him every single night from now on.’

  I smiled to myself again. I knew that half the time she’d be too busy doing other stuff, but it was nice that she thought she would.

  After that we just hung out. We went up and down the glass lift until the security guard came and stopped us. He wasn’t really cross though, he just winked and said maybe we’d like to give it a rest for a while. Then we got fruit smoothies (Mum would have been proud of me), and crisps. Next Alice made me stand outside a jewellery shop, and when she came out she had a small package wrapped in shiny purple paper. She tucked it into my jacket pocket with a stern warning. ‘Don’t open it until you’re on the train.’

  When we got back, it was time to pack my bag again, and Veronica drove us all to the station. Veronica bought me two magazines and a book. The others weren’t allowed past the metal barrier, so we said our goodbyes there.

  ‘We’ll miss you, Megan,’ said Veronica. She’d often said that to me, but for the first time ever, I felt that she really meant it. Jamie pulled my jacket until my ear was level with his mouth. ‘I didn’t tell Mummy about all the red sweeties. I promise.’

  I grinned at him and whispered back, ‘Good boy. I think that’s best. It can be our little secret.’

  Then he gave me a huge sloppy kiss on the cheek. I had to wait until he wasn’t looking to wipe it away with the back of my hand. Alice gave me a hug. We never used to hug when we lived next door to each other. Now it seemed like we never did anything else.

  ‘When will I see you?’ I asked.

  ‘Well, next weekend I’ve got a school concert, and Dad’s coming up the weekend after that, so maybe the weekend after that?’

  She looked at her mother, who smiled. ‘That sounds fine. You can go to Limerick then.’

  We all said one more goodbye, and then I went through the barrier and walked to the train. When I got to the step, I looked back. Alice was tickling Jamie, and Veronica was laughing at them both. They looked happier than I had seen them in months.

  Alice looked up and waved. I waved back, and then I got onto the train.

  As soon as I was settled in my seat, I opened the package Alice had given me. It was a tiny silver bus on a chain. It was sweet, but I wasn’t quite sure why she was giving me a bus. Then I noticed a note tucked into the bottom of the box.

  This is your own personal Life Coach. Thanks for everything.

  XXX Alice.

  I laughed. Then I sat back in my seat as the train began to move. I closed my eyes. It seemed like I had been away for a very long time indeed.

  I thought back to the journey to Dublin. I remembered Mum’s note. I wondered just how many of her rules I had broken. Still, what she didn’t know, couldn’t hurt her, could it?

  * * *

  Much later, the train pulled into the station in Limerick. Mum and Dad and Rosie were on the platform waiting for me. I ran off the train, and hugged everyone. Then Rosie started jumping up and down and pulling my arm. ‘Sweeties. Sweeties. Sweeties for Rosie?’

  I smiled as I reached into my rucksack. It was great to be back.

  And that, as they say, was that…

  …except for one more thing.

  Chapter twenty-six

  On Saturday morning two weeks later, I was cleaning out my bedroom when the doorbell rang. I ran to answer it. I needed a break from sorting out piles of dirty odd socks and old copies and stuff.

  I opened the door and there stood Alice with a huge smile on her face. At first I was too surprised to say anything. I just stood there with my mouth open. I probably looked a bit stupid, but Alice was kind enough not to point this out. Finally some words made it to my mouth.

  ‘Al!’ I said. ‘What are you doing here? I thought your dad was going to Dublin to see you this weekend.’

  She shrugged. ‘Yeah, he was,’ she said airily. ‘But there’s been a small change of plan. I came down here instead.’

  I laughed. ‘So I see. Come on in.’

  I was delighted to see her. Hanging out with Alice was sooo much more fun than matching up old socks. (But then I suppose, most things in life are more fun than matching socks.)

  Alice followed me into my room. There was something funny about her, but I couldn’t quite make out what it was. She seemed strangely on edge. Kind of jumpy and nervous. And that made me nervous.

  Questions raced through my mind.

  Why was she here?


  Why was she on her own?

  Had she had a row with her mum?

  Had she come to tell me about yet another crazy plan of hers?

  Would I be strong enough to resist if she wanted me to help her out again?

  She sat on the bed, and I sat next to her. Even though I had so many questions, I was afraid to address the real issue. I sooo did not want any more drama.

  ‘Want to listen to some music?’ I asked. She shook her head.

  ‘Play Monopoly?’

  Another shake.

  ‘Play Swingball?’

  One more shake. I was running out of ideas. Alice had just said ‘no’ to all of her favourite things. What on earth was going on here?

  She turned towards me. Her eyes were all kind of sparkly.

  ‘Go on, Meg. Ask me,’ she said.

  Now I was completely confused. ‘Ask you what?’

  ‘Ask me why there’s been a change of plan. Ask me why I’m here.’

  I sighed. ‘OK. Why has there been a change of plan? Why aren’t you in Dublin with your dad?’

  She didn’t answer. I felt like shaking her. ‘Al, talk to me. Tell me why you’re here.’

  And then Alice jumped up and pulled me by the arms until I was standing up too, and she hugged me and danced up and down like someone who had completely lost her mind. I endured it for a minute, and then I pulled away. Extreme behaviour always makes me nervous.

  ‘Al?’ I said doubtfully. ‘What’s going on?’

  She stopped dancing and spoke in a big confused rush. ‘You see, I’m not in Dublin, because Mum wanted to come to Limerick for the weekend. She said we had to come. She’s … She’s … she’s looking at an apartment. We’re … We’re … I mean … Mum and Jamie and me … We’re …’