Freeing Alex (29 page)

“I’ve seen enough, James, cover your lady,” Roberto says
quietly. “We’re going to go now. You take her to bed and you hold her, all
night, you do not let go. You love her and hold her always. No-one deserves to
be treated that way, especially a woman, especially not
my
niece. Gia,
we’re going,” he all but barks at his wife, clearly disturbed by what he has
seen.

Gia hugs me. Her face brushes mine and I feel her wet
cheeks. “My precious niece,” she whispers. “We have finally found our precious
niece.”

She stands and Roberto sits in her vacant place. He puts his
arms around me and whispers so that nobody else can hear: “Nobody, nobody does
this to any of my family. I will see to it that that bastard stays away from
you and Anna forever. Ramiro will be enraged. Nobody does this, nobody. Oh
Alex, if only we had found you sooner, if only Maggie had introduced you to us,
we could have stopped this.”

James walks Roberto and Gia to the door. I can’t speak. I
sit with my head down and my scrappy bit of tissue, which is now soaked with my
tears. My stomach aches, my heart aches, I feel a wreck.

After Gia and Roberto have gone, James tidies the china away
quickly. Muriel is due to start tomorrow, although she’ll be walking into hell
if the atmosphere doesn’t change before then. He helps me upstairs and into
bed. He’s so kind, even fetching me a clean pad that I need.

I climb into bed and roll on my side. James spoons around
me, holding me close. No words are spoken, there’s no need for words, the
actions say it all, “speaking” volumes. Earlier today I felt I couldn’t love
another man, hell, I even told James to go. After seeing him in action this
afternoon, this evening – the tenderness, the support he’s given, the fact that
he didn’t run off when everything fell apart this morning – I think I can say
that maybe I can learn to love him.

It’s not long before I’m sleepy. James’s warm body is
helping with the cramps and just being held tightly makes everything so much
more bearable.

The chiming of the doorbell ringing
wakes us. Glancing at the bright digits on the alarm clock, I can see that we
have slept much later than normal, it’s already nine. James is still wrapped
around me. He stirs. “Who’s that?” he croaks.

“It’ll be Muriel, she doesn’t have a key. It’s her first
day,” I murmur.

I start to move, my intention to get out of bed and let her
in, but James holds on. “No you don’t, lady, you’re staying put.” His deep
voice is husky from sleep.

He throws his side of the duvet off and, wearing nothing but
boxers, hurries downstairs as Muriel rings the doorbell again. Lying in my bed,
I can hear the door open and the muffled conversation below.

He must let her in as I hear the front door close and the
chatter extending through to the back of the house. I lie there, analysing how
I feel. Not too bad this morning, maybe that nurse was right and the worst of
this had already passed by the time I got to hospital? I really do need to
register with a GP today whilst I’m in the frame of mind that I want to address
my issues, and anyway, it’s something I should have done a few weeks ago. I
reprimand myself as this was very remiss of me. I use the bathroom, wrap myself
in my robe and start off downstairs, following the sounds of the chatter coming
from the kitchen. I open the door and find Muriel and James sitting at the
island with a drink each.

“What are you doing out of bed?” My makeshift nurse asks.

“Needed a drink… Good morning, Muriel.” I look at my new
housekeeper, who is sitting very comfortably and looking at home at the island
with her mug in hand. “I’m sorry you’ve started on an odd day, lots going on. I
don’t normally get ill so you’ll have to excuse me,” I explain.

“No worries, pet… Would you like some tea? I used your pot,
I hope you don’t mind.” So, she’s a tea drinker too!

I notice my Georgian Blue, one of the few things I packed
and brought with me from home, is still out from last night. I wouldn’t
normally use that when it’s just me at home on my own, too nice and precious
for everyday use, one of the few things that I have left of my Mum’s,but Muriel
isn’t to know that, not yet anyway.

“No, that’s fine. There’s another tea pot in that cupboard
that I use when there’s just me, but yes please, I’d love a cup.” I point
towards a cupboard that contains my day-to-day earthenware.

I park myself on one of the stools. “Have a look around the
kitchen or do whatever you need to get to know the place,” I add as I splash a
dash of milk into my cup and give it a stir.

“Look at the time, James, I need to make some phone calls.”
He looks at me like I’m deranged.

“Who do you need to ring?” he questions with a quizzical
look.

“I need to register with a GP, I need to ring my solicitor,
call Anna and I want to talk to Roberto as well. I want to go to Italy soon,
very soon… Where did you put my painkillers?” I rummage through the leaflets
that the hospital gave me that have been abandoned on the island and note that
Muriel is watching me. Her face drops but she doesn’t say anything.

“They’re upstairs, we took them up last night in case you
needed them in the night, remember?” He stands and heads off to get them.

“There isn’t much to do today,” I say to Muriel as I stand
and start to put some Weetabix in a bowl. “It’s been a funny old couple of
days. I had planned to show you around properly.”

She looks at me and then again at the leaflets. “You sit
down, pet, I’ll sort this for you, and it’s none of my business but I couldn’t
help but notice those.” She nods towards the leaflets. “I’m so sorry, pet, I
really am.”

“Thank you,” I say quietly.
Pet?
I think. She doesn’t
sound like a Geordie.

She stands, preparing to start work. “Tell me where your
laundry bin is and I’ll make a start with that this morning, is that okay?” 

“Sure, of course. It’s in the bathroom, the main bathroom.”
I point towards the stairs.

“I’ll find it.” She wanders off as James returns.

 “Good, I’m glad you’ve made some breakfast. You want some
strawberries on that?” he asks, winking at me.

“Please, I think there’s some.” I’m actually getting used to
a few strawberries on my Weetabix.

He walks to the fridge and pulls out a fresh punnet. Taking
out a handful, he washes and hulls them before chopping the larger ones in half
and placing them in my bowl. What’s left he eats, apart from one which he takes
delight in feeding to me. It’s delicious, juicy, and freshens my palate after
sleep. He pops two tablets from the blister pack and sorts a large glass of
water for me to take them with.

“I’m going to call the hotel, see how things are and remind
them that I won’t be in today.” He disappears from the back of the kitchen and
into the utility room. I hear him talking to whoever has picked up, explaining
that I’m still ill and that he won’t be in today and probably tomorrow. It must
be common knowledge around the hotel that we’re a couple now, has to be. I hear
the call end. 

He must ring Anna straight after, because I hear him saying
hello to her. I wanted to speak with Anna myself. I leave my stool just as he’s
saying congratulations to my darling daughter. I glare at him and shake my head,
mouthing, “
don’t you dare tell her”.
I hope he understands what I’m
trying to convey.

“Your mum wants a word,” he says sheepishly and passes the
mobile to me.

“Morning, Anna.” I try to sound cheerful.

“Mum.” She sounds dreadful, probably hungover.

I huff, “You sound like you had a good day, and night?”

“Yeah, you could say that,” she croaks.

“Anna, I’ve lots to tell you but first, before anyone else
says anything to you…” I glare at James. “You should know that I’ve not been
well, I was ill yesterday and ended up in Accident and Emergency.”

“Oh Mum, are you okay?” She sounds concerned.

“I am, I’m fine now, I think. But, listen to me, sweetheart
– I thought I’d started an early menopause but I hadn’t, I was pregnant and
didn’t know. Anna, I miscarried yesterday.”

“Oh Mum, oh no. I’m so sorry, are you okay?” She sounds
concerned, although the croaky voice disguises it a little.

“I will be, they said it can take around three days but I
think most happened yesterday. Anyway, Nurse James is doing an exceptional job
of wrapping me in cotton wool.” I laugh.

She laughs. “Good, I’m pleased. It’s about time someone
actually looked after you! Do you want me to come home?” she asks.

“No, you stay there. I’ll be fine. There’s some other stuff
I need to tell you, do you have ten minutes?”

“Yeah, go ahead, Mum.”

I recount the events of yesterday evening, telling her about
Roberto and Gia being here and about Ramiro, her real grandfather. She’s
delighted for me, of course, and also keen to meet him. Having never known my
adopted father, she’s never had a grandfather on my side of the family, and
Lewis’s side of the family were always very distant. I wonder if they knew what
he was like? I tell her that I plan to go to Italy as soon as possible, I’m so
pleased that she’s taking this so very, very well.

I tell her that I love her very much and am so proud of her.
She says that she’s confirmed her place at Birmingham University and that she
plans to contact some local estate agents. She’s going to ask them to send
details to me of any apartments that may be suitable, but wants to do the
holiday thing with Katie first.

“I love you, Anna,” I tell her as we end our call.

“Love you too, Mum, and look after yourself.” She blows a
kiss down the telephone before we ring off.

“I’m going for a shower, then I want to register and see a
GP,” I tell James as I walk through the kitchen.

James follows me upstairs. “Okay, but I’m coming with you!”

“Well, you’ll have to, won’t you…? I haven’t got a clue
where I’m going!” I smile and he laughs at me.

 Not feeling too bad after my shower, I dress for comfort. I
don’t intend to go anywhere today except to register at James’s GP surgery and
hopefully get an appointment. I want to discuss what’s happened and also ask
for a referral to talk to someone about my past. I’ve always felt that I’ve
coped pretty well with what Lewis put me through, but there are just one or two
things which I know aren’t right. I know in my head that I’m not useless, so
why do I feel this way all the time?

I finish up and go downstairs. James still hasn’t showered
or dressed, but once he sees me in my jeans and t-shirt he dashes off to get
sorted. I wait for him in the kitchen as Muriel gets on with the tasks she has
set herself. She must have turned the radio on as I hear the old Paul McCartney
song
Let It Be
drift through from the utility room. As I sit there
listening to the beautiful words emanating from the radio, James appears,
having showered in record time. He looks at me, at the tears in my eyes brought
on by the song, and puts a gentle arm around my shoulder. He moves himself to
the stool next to me and we just sit, listening. As the song finishes and the
announcer starts to talk about traffic problems, he says quietly, “Are you
ready to go to the surgery?”

“Please.” I wipe my eyes as best as I can and try to avoid
smudging my mascara.

“I’ll just tell Muriel we’re going out for an hour or two.
You sit there,” he orders.

“Whatever you say, Bossman!” I reply.

“Don’t call me that!” He smiles and laughs as he goes off in
search of Muriel, returning after a minute. “Come on, lady, let’s get you
sorted.”

 We take what I now refer to as his Audi and he negotiates
the London streets until we are upon his GP’s surgery. He helps me out of the
car and holds my arm as we walk to the reception area.

Within an hour I’ve registered with James’s GP practice, and
seen a doctor who has confirmed that I should start to feel well again in a
couple of days. We discussed Lewis and the abuse and he will arrange for a
referral to someone who can help, a therapist. He was surprised that we
insisted on a private therapist and kept banging on about the costs, but he
eventually agreed and the referral will be made. The doctor also gave me just
three months’ worth of pills as I agreed that maybe, just maybe, we would like
to try for a baby.

We leave the surgery. I feel so much better with the
reassurance I received from the doctor. James has his arm tightly wrapped
around my waist as we head across the car park to his Audi. He opens the door
for me and I slide into the passenger side. When we’re both seated he reaches
over and gives me a gentle little kiss. “Thank you for agreeing to try for a
baby,” he whispers as he cups my cheek. I smile at him. He reverses out of the
parking bay and asks, “Where to now?”

I glance at my watch. It’s nearly lunchtime. “How about we
go and see my Uncle Roberto and Aunt Gia?”

He laughs loudly. “Uncle Roberto, I’ve got to see his face
when you call him that!”

“I only ever had one aunt and she died, but she wasn’t my
aunt anyway! Talk about a dysfunctional family, ours was all over the place.
James, please, whatever happens to us, no secrets? I don’t think I could cope
with any more family secrets,” I say in all seriousness, looking down.

He reaches over and places his hand on my thigh. “I promise,
no secrets. You know all about me and my family. The only person you, or I for
that matter, don’t know much about is my mother. I don’t even know if she’s
still alive!”

He negotiates the streets with ease, something that I still
think I wouldn’t be able to do, they’re just so scary, and before long we’ve
pulled up outside the little bistro.

He walks around to my side of the car and opens the door for
me and helps me out. We walk into the restaurant, it’s very quiet but the smell
of something cooking is divine.

“Hello,” James calls. “Roberto! Gia!”

We both hear a clatter coming from the kitchen and then Gia
comes bowling down the centre of the restaurant.

“Alex, James.” She’s open armed as she grabs me, first
pulling me into one of her huge hugs. She releases me and holds me at arm’s
length, looking me up and down.

“You look better, girl, much better, you have rosy cheeks.”
She smiles, her cheeks are also big and rosy!

“Thank you, Aunt Gia,” I say with a little smile.

I watch her as big fat tears start to fall down her cheeks.
“Don’t, you know I love having a niece, I never thought I’d have a niece!” She
grabs James and pulls him close. “I know I have a sort of son.” She laughs.

“Come, sit.” She signals for us to take one of the tables in
front of the kitchen.

“I’ll get some tea, no wine today!” She shakes her head.

We sit there waiting for Gia to bring the tea she has
promised when Roberto strides in. Every time I look at this old man I can’t
help but think that he must have been so handsome in his youth.

“Alex, how are you?” He puts his hand on my shoulder,
holding firmly.

“I’m fine,
Uncle
Roberto.” I half laugh.

He smiles a big broad smile and stands with his hands on his
hips. “I never thought I’d hear that! Has James looked after you?” He nods
towards the Bossman.

“Yes, he has.”

He pulls a chair to our table. “I spoke with Ramiro last
night, he was shocked and surprised that we finally met you. You know, he loved
Maggie to bits but he was always so cross with her that she would never share
any of your life with him. Maggie had photographs of you, I’m sure, but she
never sent him any. He is desperate to meet you, I told him we would go and see
him.”

“Well, I think I should be okay to go next week, shall we
arrange something?” I ask.

“We can do, we can leave this place with David for two or
three nights. Maybe you two could stay in Italy longer?” Roberto muses.