Secrets (Part 1)

Daphne stood staring out the window of the departure lounge watching the planes as they taxied back and forward. Roz standing beside her looked at her a tear in her eye.

“Daph” she said a little shakily “Are you sure you’re doing the right thing?”

“Yes” Daphne replied with grim determination “I know I have no future for me here why should I stay ?”

Roz was still mystified by the whole thing , it all seemed to have happened so suddenly and she couldn’t get any straight answer from Daphne.

“I don’t understand.” she said frustrated “What’s changed ? Please Daph , if your going to go you can at least tell me what’s been going on these last few weeks. I mean not six weeks ago you were happy you were marrying Donny and everything was great. Please tell me what happened”

Daphne sighed and sank into the soft sofa that surrounded the room. “Ok” she said “but Roz , I mean this I am trusting you not to tell anyone what I’m going to tell you, and don’t try and change my mind , I’m going and that’s it. OK ?”

“Ok”

Daphne stared ahead , casting her own mind back to the day five weeks before when it had all started.

********************

It had been an unseasonably warm night and she’d been standing on the balcony contemplating her life , her future and the prospect of becoming Mrs Donny Douglas. She true believed at that moment that she was happy , happier than she had ever been and that she could only get happier. How wrong she had been. The Crane men where in the kitchen clearing up the dinner dishes and when Niles had joined her she had thought nothing of it .

She looked at Roz and took a deep breath “OK” she said “Before I start you have to know I didn’t mean for any of this to happen and if I could could change it now I would in an instant,”

“Daph please just get on with it”

“Right , well you see , I cheated on Donny, I didn’t plan it and it only happened once. But it made me realise I didn’t love him , and I couldn’t marry him.”

Roz stared at her she was stunned she never thought Daphne would be capable of an affair , it was silly she knew , anyone can have an affair but somehow she thought Daphne was the moral one amongst them.

“And it only happened once?” she finally managed to say

“Yeah”

“Did you tell Donny?”

Daphne laughed “Are you kidding ? Apart from anything else he would have wanted to know who it was and I couldn’t tell him that”

Roz was getting more intrigued by the minute , she prepared herself to not get an answer to her next question , “Daphne , who was it ?”

Daphne looked at the floor and fidgeted a little in her seat , finally she answered in a tone barely audible

Roz could hardly believe it after all this time she suddenly found herself getting excited , and yet more confused , she now found it even more difficult to imagine why Daphne would be leaving. Niles loved her , everyone knew that .

“But Daph Niles loves you , he’s loved you for years , how did it happen and why the hell are you going ? Don’t you have feelings for him ?”

“Donny was away when it happened , it was five weeks ago yesterday and don’t ask me how , it just did. We’d all had dinner then Frasier went to some opera thing and Mr Crane went to Duke’s to play poker. I was on the balcony just sort of watching the world go by when Niles came out and joined me. He had two glasses of wine and we ended up just sitting , watching the stars and talking. we began going over all the things we’d shared , al of us at first you know things like the trip to the ski lodge and the night when they opened their restaurant , do you remember that ?”

“Yeah” Roz answered eagerly waiting for the rest of the story

“You called me Mary Popins” Daphne said with a laugh trying to distract her but knowing it wasn’t going to work “Anyway so we had another glass of wine and then it began to get colder and we moved inside but we never once turned on a light , I don’t know why I suppose the stars were just in keeping with how we felt. In the end we got to talking about the things we’d sheared together , just the two of us , things like the Snow Ball.” It was getting harder and harder the more she talked and Daphne could feel tears welling in her eyes she tried to compose herself and carried on “I don’t really know how it happened but one minute we were sitting close together talking about all the good times then the next we were kissing. Somehow it seemed so natural to just keep going. It was wonderful so tender and loving like nothing I’d ever experienced and when it was over he told me he loved me , he told me he’d always loved me , but he said he would leave it up to me , no pressure he wanted me to be happy and that I had to follow my heart.”

By this time tears were rolling openly down her cheeks , she felt like actually saying all of it out loud made it so much worse.

“Daph what happened?” Roz said caringly “Don’t you want to be with him ?”

With Roz’s words Daphne’s sobs seemed to get louder and when she finally calmed down she looked at her with a look so filled with pain that it frightened Roz.

“I knew that night that I wanted to be with him , I wanted so much to just say , yes yes I love you too, but somehow I couldn’t. I told him I needed time to think , to decide what I wanted and who I wanted to with. Then early the next morning he left before Frasier or his father would see him. That was when I feel apart when he was there it seemed so perfect like nothing could ever spoil it , but once I was alone I realised that there were so many complications. So I avoided him , I ended things with Donny and did my best to be out when he was at the apartment. When at last I finally thought I was ready to say Ok lets go for it something happened. I was feeling pretty awful , sort of sick and tired all the time . To begin with I put it down to the hassle of the situation but I made an appointment with the doctor anyhow. He did some tests and last week he called me back to see him.”

“My God Daph are you all right ?” Roz interrupted suddenly concerned

“I’m pregnant” Daphne replied beginning to cry again

Roz was stunned “Oh god , do you know who’s it is ?”

“It’s his , it has to be , Donny was so busy we had barely seen each other for weeks never mind slept together. So i decided the only thing for me to do was leave. I mean even if Niles did believe me that the baby was his why would he want me he’d likely feel I was trying to trap him and I couldn’t stand that. So I just told them all I was leaving and booked the first flight out.”

“So Niles doesn’t know about the baby ?” Roz asked

“No”

“What does he think ? what explanation did you give him for walking out?”

“I didn’t , I couldn’t Roz , I love him , if I’d have spent the time alone with him to tell him I was going I couldn’t have gone , besides it’s better that he doesn’t know”

At that moment the announcement came over the Intercom “All passengers for flight 10223658 to London Gatwick please proceed to gate 3”

“But Daphne he’d want both of you I know he would , please stay and sort it out” Roz said desperately trying to reason with her friend before she would get on the plane.

“No Roz” Daphne said getting up and lifting her hand luggage “I don’t want him to know , and remember you promised you wouldn’t breath a word”

“I know , I know" Roz said hugging Daphne “You let me know as soon as you’re settled do you hear me ?” She hugged Daphne so tight it was as if both of them might suffocate. Daphne simply nodded and turned heading for the gate , as she walked away from the life she had known for eight years and toward a future that was a place full of frightening responsibilities she cried quietly to herself, but she didn’t look back. She had to move on and that was it , her main concern now had to be for herself and her baby , Niles baby. She may not have him but she would bring this baby up to be someone he’d be proud of.

To Be Continued