Free It's All About Him by Colette Caddle Page A

destroyed my life but I'd made my bed and now would have to lie on it.'
    'Good old Aunt Pauline,' Neil shook his head, 'she was always so supportive.'
    'She improved once Sam was born,' Dee admitted, 'and he still sees her and Jack regularly. She's not the maternal sort but she does seem to have a soft spot for Sam.'
    'Good, I'm glad he's had some family. My mother will be furious that she's missed out on a grandchild all these years. I don't think she'll ever forgive me.'
    Dee stood up and went to put on the kettle again. She didn't really want more tea but it gave her something to do. 'Have you seen your mother?'
    'Yes, I'm staying with her.'
    'Oh!' Dee kept her back to him so he couldn't see the shock on her face. 'So how long have you been back?'
    'A couple of months.'
    Dee digested this piece of information. 'She must be pleased to have you back.'
    'She seems to be but, like you, she's not sure if she can trust me. I suppose it's up to me to prove to her, to both of you, that I have changed.'
    Dee said nothing, simply made more tea and sat down again.
    'Go on with your story,' he urged, 'please?'
    She sighed. 'Sam was born on the 18th of December.'
    He frowned. 'So that was 2002?'
    She nodded. 'He was seven and a half pounds, was completely bald and cried non-stop for the first seven weeks of his life.'
    Neil chuckled.
    'You wouldn't have been laughing if you'd been there,' Dee snapped. 'I was incredibly tired, very depressed, and I blamed you for everything.'
    'I can understand that.'
    Dee wished he'd stop being so reasonable. She couldn't believe that he was here in her kitchen and that they were calmly discussing his behaviour over a cup of tea. She should be screaming and shouting at him and throwing him out of the house, telling him he'd never get his hands on his son. She should be telling him about all the times that it was so hard to be alone. But now as he sat here opposite her, all she felt was sad.
    'So he was healthy?' he prompted.
    'Yes, he was at the beginning.'
    'What do you mean?'
    'He has asthma and eczema. Not badly,' she added hurriedly when she saw his eyes darken in concern. 'If he avoids cats and dogs and sticks to a healthy diet, he's fine.'
    'So they can't fix it?'
    She shook her head. 'No, but he should grow out of it. In the meantime, he has steroid cream for when he gets a rash and an inhaler for his breathing. I've cut all processed food out of his diet and give him as much fresh and natural food as possible. That's how I got into all this.' She waved a hand around at the food. 'It started with the crèche, I cooked all the food for the children, then I started catering for parties and business dinners and it went on from there.'
    'Yes, I read the article.' He gestured to the paper on the table in front of him. 'And Lisa Dunphy runs the crèche?'
    'Yes.'
    'Is she as mad as ever?'
    Dee couldn't help smiling. 'Not quite. We've all grown up, I suppose.'
    'Is she married?'
    Dee shook her head.
    'And what about you? Are you in a relationship?'
    Her eyes met his. 'Yes, yes I am. How about you?'
    'Who'd have me?' he joked.
    'True.'
    He smiled sadly. 'I suppose I deserve that.'
    'You do and more.' She was surprised to realize that she was close to tears. It was nearly five years ago now, why did it still hurt?
    Neil watched her steadily. 'I know you probably don't care one way or the other but I've stopped gambling.'
    'Yeah, right.'
    'It's true. After I left you, I went to North Africa and things just went from bad to worse. I stayed there for a few months and then moved to Spain. I bummed around the resorts, doing bar work when I needed the money and then spending it. I didn't lose all the time, once I even won a few grand.'
    'And blew it all in a week.'
    'A weekend actually,' he corrected with a sad smile. 'Anyway, I got friendly with a Scottish guy who was working as a bouncer in Benidorm and who was even more into gambling than I was. Honest to God, he was unbelievable. If you had diarrhoea he'd