by Paul Kelly
Alison could feel her face colouring up as she listened to what Daniel was saying
"That goes to prove that you should have someone near you when this occurs again ... and I hope to God, it doesn't," she said.
"I had someone ... not near, but I had Frieda and she was at school." he said slowly and with hurt in his eyes.
"But she wouldn't be at school all day surely. Did she do anything for you when she came home again. I mean, were you still in that state when she ..."
Daniel said nothing and Alison wanted to put her arms around him, but at that point Dillon came into the conversation again.
"She would have done nothing for daddy," he screamed, "I've seen her giggle when daddy looked really ill. She thought he was trying it on, she did. I hate her. I hate her. I wish she was ..."
"Dillon," Daniel cried out and then he turned to Alison to apologise, but she already knew what Dillon meant and she could understand why he said what he did.
"Please tell me, Daniel ... and tell me truthfully, without making excuses of any kind ..." she said with great determination on her face, " Did either Rene or Frieda help you when you were distressed about anything to do with your condition."
She watched Daniel's face to see his reaction to her question, but he did not flinch.
"I don't think either of them understood what MS was or is," he said, "because as I have already told you, there are times when I am very unsteady on my feet and could easily be suspected of being drunk when I walk along the street. However, there are also times when you would never think anything was wrong with me and thankfully with me, that is most of the time."
Alison swallowed hard as she tried to understand exactly what Daniel was saying to her. She could well understand what he meant if the persons or person who was near him did not understand his condition, but Rene and Frieda knew about Daniel before they married him ... or so she was led to understand.
"Did Rene know about your ... your condition when she married you Daniel ?" she asked and watched his face carefully as he answered her.
"I'm not quite sure that Rene did," he said, "You see I don't think I actually knew about it myself at that time, but when we were on honeymoon in Paris, I know that once she scolded me for tripping up in the street, telling me I was like an old man, but I just put that down to tiredness."
Alison looked sternly at Daniel as she cleared her throat.
"Daniel, I should not say what I am going to say and if you don't like it, you can tell me to leave the flat and I will go without another word, but I don't think either of your wives loved you as you deserve to be loved and I wouldn't be surprised if both of these women didn't add or contribute to your condition by their lack of feeling towards you. I would even go as far as to say, that you would never have experienced half of the conditions you talk about if you had never met them. They instigated much of your problems by being who they are."
Alison went to reach for her coat from the hall stand when she said that, almost waiting for Daniel to shout at her and tell her to get the hell out of it, but there was a silence in the room when she stood up to go. It was Dillon who spoke first.
"Alison, please don't go, " he called out, "Daddy make her stay. Don't let her go. I love her."
Alison bent down and kissed Dillon, but in her heart she knew, or at least felt that she had already said too much, even if she felt that what she had said was the truth as she could see it. She walked towards the door, but as she put her hand on the door knob, Daniel called out to her.
"You know I have nothing to offer you, Alison, " he called out," but if you go, please let us be friends, at least. I don't want you to leave the way you are doing."
She turned around and stared at Daniel, but tears were not far from her eyes.
"If I can be your friend, that will be enough for me," she said sadly,"but I don't care what you think, Daniel," she went on as she stared into Dillon's eyes ... "I love you Daniel Roberts and I always will, whatever you say or do."
Dillon hugged her again and again and Daniel put out his hand for her to come to him.
"If I give you a sisterly kiss, will you understand me?" he asked, "I will never lie to you and tell you things that would only provoke you into more sympathy for me, but ..."
"Yes,?" she said with hope in her eyes.
"Alison ... Alison, my dear friend," he went on, "I wish I could feel differently, but you have always told me how honest you are and how honesty means a great deal to you and I have already told you that I could never love another woman after what I have gone through. I should say to you now, Alison, that I could never TRUST another woman, but Alison, I do trust you. Please have patience with me and accept my very sincere friendship."
Alison knelt down beside the sofa and kissed Daniel's hand, but he leant forward and touched her cheek with his lips.
"I can wait, Mr. Roberts, " she said, "I have infinite patience which I know is rare in a woman, but as I have said to you, I LOVE YOU and love; real genuine selfless love, makes patience possible in every way."
Dillon clapped his hands together in excitement and rushed into the kitchen.
"I'm gonna make us some more tea and I want Alison to stay for lunch daddy. I know you would have lunch ready if she wasn't here, so why should she not share it with us now that we are all good friends?"
Daniel looked sad as he sat at the table with his head in his hands and Alison touched his arm gently.
"I know how much you are suffering," she said, "but I do so want to help. Please let me help. There are no strings attached, I do assure you" she continued, but Daniel remained as he was for some time before he raised his head and looked into Alison's eyes.
"I wish I had met you years ago," he said as he started to cry.
"Please don't cry, Daniel. I hate to see you cry and so would Dillon. He's in the kitchen now, but he'll be back within a few minutes. Don't let him see you so low."
Daniel stroked his hair.
"I've just been told that the hearing at court, which should be in another few weeks, will mean, I have been asked to pay more money to my solicitor and I can't see an end to all of this. I wish I had never met the bastard,"
Alison thought for few moments before she spoke again.
"I have a little saved up ... for a rainy day," she said, "and what could be more rainy than this? I can help you."
"What with another few thousand pounds?" Daniel asked and Alison raised her eyebrows in shock.
"Goodness ... not that amount surely, but I thought you told me you had already spent fifteen thousand pounds, so why is all this more money required. I never had this trouble when I divorced Ken."
"There's a she-evil around every corner, " Daniel replied as Dillon came in smiling from the kitchen.
"Lunch is ready. I hope you like tomatoes Alison. We got some cheap from the market yesterday and they taste lovely."
Alison grinned and slapped Dillon on the shoulders.
"You're a real business man, did you know that?" she asked and it was obvious that Dillon was pleased from the way he looked at her. The lunch was lettuce and tomatoes with a few potato crisps scattered across the top that made it look more appetising, but Dillon looked a little afraid as he watched Daniel sitting so sad before him.
"You're not eating daddy. What's wrong? Did I do something wrong with the tomatoes? I cut them just as you like them,"
"No son ... You always do everything as I like it and I'm sure Alison would say the same."
Dillon perked up a little after that and they all enjoyed the repast with coffee from Dillon's special percolator to follow. It was only when he went back into the kitchen to do the washing up, that Alison interrupted.
"No, Dillon. You come and sit down and talk to your daddy. I will do the washing up. That's what old ladies like me are for, i
sn't it?" she joked and Dillon laughed and later when Alison returned to where Daniel was sitting, he looked up and smiled.
"Would it help if I came with you to the court hearing?" she asked, but Daniel shook his head.
"They wouldn't allow you in there," he said, "I think only Frieda and her mother will be with her, but I will be on my own."
"Her mother?" asked Alison,"Why her mother? What's she got to do with your divorce?"
Daniel smiled again.
"Well, she gave us fifty thousand pounds, which was left to us by Frieda's grandmother who died at that time. It was supposed to be for a deposit on a house or flat."
Alison scratched her head and looked at Daniel in amazement.
"Well, that was kind of her wasn't it? That old lady must have thought you and her grand daughter had something special going for you both ... so is that why Frieda is pushing you for all she can get now? She surely must expect you to hand her that fifty thousand back anyway, whatever else she might expect."
"That money wasn't given to Frieda alone. It was given to us both," he replied.
"So what happens now then? Does Frieda's mother know that?"
"Yes, of course she does. It was she who gave us the money. She called us into her living room one day just after we got married and told us that the money would help us get a deposit."
"So the money was for both of you ... Are you sure, Daniel?"
"Yes, of course I am sure, but her old mother can swear blind that it was given to Frieda only, can't she?"
"Well, hardly. That is if she told you it was for a deposit on a house, that must have meant for you both. You were going to share the home together, weren't you?"
Daniel walked across the room waving his hands in the air.
"I know all that, but things look different now that we are separated. Frieda has no idea about morals. Vows mean nothing to her. For sickness and in health, for richer for poorer was just a giggle to her."
Chapter Thirty
Some time later, Rosie telephoned Alison to say that she would be back working at the cafe the next morning and she would arrange the shifts with old bossyboots before she got in touch with Alison again. This was good news for Alison as she knew than that she wouldn’t be restricted so much in seeing Daniel, but she hoped Rosie was well enough to return to work and she was also concerned as this was the day that Daniel was to return to court.
“Rosie, Rosie ... I hope you are really better now Rosie. I don’t want you to rush back before time. Do take care, won’t you, but I can’t get in to the cafe today. I have to be at court with Daniel and I have to ...“
“You need someone to look after Dillon, don’t you?” said Rosie interrupting Alison as she was speaking, “I’ll be round there at the flat in no time. I’m fine now, Honest I am. Just leave the key in the usual place and I‘ll find it.“ she called and Alison didn’t know what to do as she called back into the phone, but Rosie had gone and she could only hope that all was as well as it could be as she rushed off to catch a bus that would take her to the court.
Alison didn't tell Daniel that she would be at the court on the day of the trial, but she sat outside in the waiting room until the court was adjourned for lunch at twelve-thirty.
Daniel appeared in front of her looking like death warmed up, with his face ashen and sweat pouring from his brow.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, "and what has happened to Dillon? He'll be on his own, won't he?"
Alison stroked Daniel's hand.
"Rosie is with him," she said, "You know my friend Rosie from the cafe? Well, she agreed to stay with Dillon at the flat until I could get back, unless of course, you can get back there first."
Daniel gave a sigh of relief as he wiped his brow with his handkerchief and then he had an afterthought.
"But I thought Rosie was off sick and that she was also on the complimentary shift to you at the cafe, so how could she be off at the same time as you are?"
"Old bossyboots ... oh! sorry, Mr. Humphreys has taken on another girl now that both Rosie and I are having problems ... well for the moment at least."
"Thanks, Alison. You think of everything, but I think you've had a wasted journey." She stared at him, wondering what was to come next and expecting from what he said that the news wouldn't be very good. "They took me to the cleaners in there. I had a very hard time," Daniel concluded.
"But I thought ..."
"It doesn't matter what anyone thought, Alison. I know it would seem that everything would go in my favour as it was Frieda who walked out on me and started all this hullabaloo
"But surely the judge must realize that?"
"They don't consider the moral issue as I have already told you. It's all a matter of getting things done as quickly as possible and dividing out what we each have."
"And what did you get then?"
"Nothing as yet", he said wearily "I have been told that I would hear from the court in about two or three weeks time and I will have my decision then."
"Does that go for Frieda too?"
"Yes, she will have to wait for the results also, but her lawyer, that Maurice Cohen was a bastard."
"How, why?" Alison asked and there was anger in her eyes.
"He made out that I was lingering with my complaint and that I wasn't at all ill and could have done more to keep the marriage together"
"But it was Frieda who ended the marriage, not you, Daniel. She is the one who could have kept the marriage together, if she had wanted to do so. I only hope that this barrister or whatever he is, is never struck down with MS. that will shut him up with his stupid views."
"Nothing so radical, I hope," added Daniel, but Alison just pooh-poohed the idea with a shrug of her shoulders.
"Will you have to go in there again today?" she asked but Daniel shook his head.
"The hearing is over for now," he said slowly. "It's the next few weeks that will determine everything with regards to my future and then I'll know what to do with my life. At the moment, I'm standing on my head and can't make any decisions at all. I can't even say if I'll have a home in a few weeks time and I'm worried for Dillon."
Alison took his hand and he didn't pull away.
"There's my flat and you know you will always be welcome there," she said, "Dillon too, if it comes to that. It's a small place but we'll manage if we have to."
Daniel rose up from where he was sitting.
"Crumbs, I forgot about Dillon. I hope he is O.K. and we'd better get back to him now or Rosie will think we've abandoned him, won't she?" he said, but as they were about to leave the court, Alison took Daniel's arm and assured him that everything would be alright and that he shouldn't worry about anything.
"Who knows what could happen," she added, "And you could worry yourself into the grave for nothing. I'm sure this Frieda bitch will get what she deserves and I wouldn't like to be in her shoes. After all, Daniel, you know what people say, don‘t you?”"
Daniel looked at Alison with a question in is eye,
“What’s that?” he asked, “all this philosophy that I know you have in your head about what people say?”
“”What comes around, goes around,” she replied and Daniel grinned
“I always thought it was the other way round,” he said and Alison looked at him without knowing what he meant.
“Whatever goes around comes around,“ he explained and Alison smiled,
“The cart before the horse,“ she said, “but it doesn’t matter., does it? You know what I mean, don’t you?”
Dillon was fine when they got back to the flat, with Rosie on her hands and knees with Dillon on her back pretending she was a circus horse.
"Look daddy," he exclaimed joyfully, "I can stand up too, just like they do in the circus."
Dillon
proceeded to stand on Rosie's back, but Daniel pulled him down, just in time for Rosie to collapse, giggling on the lounge carpet.
"You'll hurt Rosie," Daniel called out, but Rosie continued to giggle and tell everyone what a great time she and Dillon had together.
"You'll be ready for some tea now, I guess," said Alison and she went into the kitchen, followed by Daniel.
“Alison," he said as he stood close to her."Alison, I do feel bad with you doing so much to help us in this way ... but please remember what I said and again, please don't feel hurt. She looked at the kettle as she plugged it into the wall. "I don't want to get too close to anyone," he went on, but Alison seemed to ignore him as the kettle started to boil.
"Will we have tea or coffee?" she asked and prepared the tray with the mugs.
"Alison ... Did you hear what I have said," he continued, as Alison carried the tray into the lounge,
"Many, many times," she said as she looked around her. "I don't know who wants what to eat, but if you will just tell me, I'll do what I can,"
"Doughnuts," screamed Dillon as he grabbed Rosie’s hand, but Daniel looked grave as Alison smiled and made her way back into the kitchen to oblige.
It was nearly six o'clock that evening when Alison made her way back to her own flat, walking with Rosie by her side.
"What did Daniel mean when he said that?" asked Rosie and Alison looked at her in surprise.
"Said what?" she snapped and Rosie coughed, thinking she might have said something that perhaps she shouldn't have done.
"It's just that I heard Daniel ..."
"Well you heard wrong ," Alison snapped, "and I don't want to speak any more on that matter, if you don't mind ... "
Alison said nothing more as they travelled home, but Rosie knew from the answer she received, or did NOT receive that Alison was in love with Daniel ... and she envied her. It was two days later that Alison spoke to her in the cafe.
"What did you really think of Daniel, Rosie," she asked as she rubbed her brow with shaking fingers.