Visiting Daddy

Visiting Daddy
"I don't want to go Mum." Amy's usually clear brow was furrowed and
her eyes were bright with unshed tears. "Please don't make me go." Her
voice trembled and she was dangerously close to breaking down.
"I'm sorry darling - but you've got to. Daddy will be really cross
with both of us if you don't turn up." Helen James knelt down and
gathered her ten-year-old daughter in her arms, wishing with all her
heart that she could let her stay at home today. But it was quite out
of the question. Amy had to go and that was that. "Come on," she
cajoled. "It will all be over by five o'clock and then you can come
back home and we can play Scrabble all evening." Scrabble was Amy's
favourite game and the promise dangled in the air like a juicy
apple.
But still Amy's lower lip trembled.
"I really hate going there Mum - especially when that woman is there.
She's so awful! She smells all funny - like vinegar, and she keeps
trying to hug me. The last time I went she ruffled my hair and called
me a 'good girl.' And she wanted to talk about school and Barbie dolls
and all the things I didn't want to talk about." Amy's face set
mutinously. "I'm not going," she whispered finally. "I'm not. You can't
make me."
"Yes you are, and yes I can," replied Helen firmly. "And if Sandra
hugs you, then you just stay calm and tell her that you don't like to
be hugged. And if she starts to talk about anything that you don't like
then you don't have to answer."
"But Mum - Daddy will tell me I'm rude if I don't answer. He really
likes Sandra."
"Well - you can just answer her a bit then, just so that Daddy can't
say that. A simple 'yes' or 'no' will do - just to prove that you're
the lovely polite little girl that I know you are. It won't be so bad
darling, honestly." Helen sighed. It was always the same when Amy had
to visit. She fretted about going for days beforehand, and then when
the day finally arrived she was a bundle of nerves and Helen would have
to spend ages convincing her that everything would be all right. If
only Richard understood his daughter a little better, then maybe he
could use his considerable charm on her. But as far as Richard was
concerned, Amy was his daughter and she would just have to do as she
was told. He was so old-fashioned sometimes! She bit her lip and
flushed guiltily at her uncharitable thoughts. Perhaps she was being a
bit unfair. He did try to make her feel better about going. Like six
months ago when he promised to take her to Alton Towers. She'd whooped
with delight and gone like a flash then! But in all honesty she
couldn't expect him to organise such a treat every time she had to go
to visit him.
"But it's not just Sandra - I hate it there in that ugly old place.
It's not a bit like our house! It's smelly and horrible." Amy's face
crumpled and tears began to ooze out from between her thick brown
lashes. Helen felt herself weaken slightly. It was an awful place - but
it wasn't Richard's fault. He had bought the old place at a good price
and he had worked for months to redecorate it to make it look as
welcoming as possible, with lots of pictures on the walls and as many
toys as Amy could possibly want to play with. She hardened her heart to
her daughter's woebegone expression. It just wouldn't be fair to
Richard to let Amy think that her mother didn't want her to go. He was
her father after all and the last thing she wanted to do was to create
a division between him and the daughter he loved so much. She cleared
her throat and said steadily,
"I know how much you hate it darling - but you won't have to stay
long, and then Daddy will bring you home and we can have a lovely
evening together playing games, like I promised. And if he tells me
that you've been a very good girl, then I'll make pizza and chips for
tea." Helen stroked the glossy chestnut curls and murmured soothingly,
"Come on now little princess - chin up! You'll be fine, honestly.
You've got to show Daddy how brave you are. You don't want him to think
you're a baby do you?"
Amy shook her head but she wasn't convinced.
"Daddy thinks I'm a baby anyway," she said sadly. "He even bought me a
teddy bear for Christmas." Helen smiled in spite of herself. Richard
had no imagination when it came to choosing a gift for his
daughter.
"I'm sure that Daddy thought you'd like a teddy bear. Lots of little
girls do, you know?"
"Well - I'm not a little girl," replied Amy decisively. "I'm
practically an adol- adoles-"
"Adolescent," finished Helen with a smile. "Then prove it and go today
without making such a fuss."
"Can't you come with me Mum?" she begged, her eyes wide and pleading.
For a moment Helen was tempted, but then she shook her head.
"You know how Daddy feels about me going with you. He says that I
mollycoddle you enough as it is. No darling - it would just lead to a
big row."
"But Mum -"
"No buts! I gave in to you last time if you remember - and look at the
row that it led to!" It was true. Last week she had agreed to let her
stay at home because of a heavy cold - which - if Helen were honest
with herself - had really been little more that a sniffle. Richard had
been less than impressed.
"I waited for ages until you finally got round to ringing me to tell
me that she wasn't coming!" he had stormed.
"You waited half an hour," amended Helen. "And that was because I was
trying to persuade her to go. I thought I could talk her into
it."
"Well - how do think I feel, knowing that my own daughter hates coming
here? It's not exactly easy for me - and it isn't as though I don't do
everything possible to make sure that it goes well." He shook his head
and scuffed at the floor moodily. "I try my best," he finished
pathetically.
"I'm sure you do," said Helen sympathetically. "But Amy's young, and
there are so many things that she doesn't understand. She's come on so
well lately too - I mean there was a time when she was frightened of
her own shadow."
"I know, I know," sighed Richard. "But I'm sure that it would help her
if you were to - well - encourage her a bit more."
"Richard! I do encourage her. Every time she comes to you I tell her
that there's nothing to be afraid of&;#8230;It's just that she hates
it so much." Richard's face was so miserable that she had almost
cried.
Helen brought herself back to the present and bobbed her head towards
her daughter, smiling encouragingly, the way Richard would have wanted
her to.
"Amy darling," she began. "You must learn to trust Daddy more. You
know that he would never do anything bad to you, don't you?" Amy nodded
but her expression was doubtful.
"Ye-es. But he did hurt me last time Mum. Honestly he did." Her face
began to crumple again.
"But only because you started screaming and trying to run away."
Richard had actually bruised Amy's arm whilst he had been trying to
hold onto her. "It wasn't really Daddy's fault, was it? You were
struggling so much that he was forced to hold you tightly. Even you
said as much when you had calmed down."
Again Amy nodded.
"I don't really blame him Mum," she said reasonably. "But it wasn't
very nice."
"I know darling! But he was so sorry. And now - if you refuse to go
and see him just think how guilty he'll feel? Now that won't be very
nice for him will it?"
Amy shook her head.
"Do you absolutely promise that we can play Scrabble when I get back?"
She gazed at Helen with mournful eyes and Helen smiled warmly.
"I absolutely promise! Cross my heart!" She began to feel hope rise in
her breast. Perhaps she would be able to persuade Amy to go without any
further tantrums? "And you can wear your new jogging pants - the ones
with the white stripes down the sides." Amy's face brightened.
"Can I really? And can I wear my new top - the one with the hood on
the back? And my trainers with the red stripe?" Helen nodded.
"You can wear what you like darling. Daddy won't mind - he'll just be
so glad to see you!"
"Right!" Amy jumped to her feet and raced upstairs to change. She
returned ten minutes later looking trendy and confident in her
favourite clothes.
"How do I look?" she asked anxiously, twirling in front of
Helen.
"Like our little princess!" replied Helen, a lump forming in her
throat. That was what she and Richard had always called her - their
little princess. "Come on," she said huskily. "Your carriage
awaits."
She strapped Amy in to the front seat of the car and then got in to
the driver's seat beside her.
"Ready?" she asked, squeezing her daughter's trembling little
hand.
"Ready," replied Amy, nodding determinedly. "It's now or never!"
"Well then - now it is!" Helen started the engine and reversed the car
out of the drive. A moment later they were heading towards Dane Avenue,
a short ten minute drive away.
"Here we are!" cried Helen as they pulled into a space at the front of
the rambling old building. "Now - off you go and you be a good brave
girl for me, won't you?"
"I'll try Mum. Honestly I will." Amy kissed her mother and slid out of
the car. "'Bye!" she called as she closed the door and turned
purposefully towards the door. For a moment she hesitated and Helen
held her breath. Would she or wouldn't she? And would Helen have the
strength to make her if she decided not to?
At last she seemed to make her mind up to go, and she took a step
forwards, straightening her shoulders bravely. Helen swallowed, knowing
how much of an effort her daughter was making. How she would have loved
to open the passenger door and tell her to come back home with her
now&;#8230;But she had to be as brave as Amy. She knew that. Her
little legs moved slowly up the steps to the brightly painted door and
Helen watched anxiously as she pushed it open.
Her heart in her mouth, she continued to watch her until she was
inside, and then she put the car in first gear and reversed out of the
parking space. Her heart was heavy and her eyes were bright with tears
- but she knew that she had done the right thing in making her come.
Amy really needed this filling. And Richard was a very good dentist
indeed. He would be as gentle with her as he could possibly be - after
all - she was his daughter, and he loved her as much as she loved him.
And tonight, when it was all over, they could sit round the table and
have a lovely game of Scrabble - all three of them. 1,922 words