Chapter Text
Eileen was in the kitchen putting the finishing touches to the dinner, when a hurricane blew through the front door. Taken by surprise by the shattering of her peace before the return of her family, she almost dropped the wooden spoon which she was using to stir the gravy. She wiped her hands in her apron and dared to peer into the sitting room into which the whirlwind had materialised.
Todd launched himself into the sofa with a familiar glare on his face, followed by Billy who was obviously trying to make a point, presumably to no avail.
" You surely appreciate that I can't just ignore this and it's not going to go away any time soon! " Billy stated, sitting down beside Todd and resting a hand on his arm. At least Todd didn't shake him off, Eileen noted.
" Dare I ask what's going on? " she asked.
Her two companions stared glumly ahead without a word.
" Right " Eileen said, still looking hopefully from one to the other." Might I hazard a guess that it concerns Drew then? " she asked.
The two sets of eyes turned onto her as she looked from one to the other.
" Oh " she stated." Well that wasn't too hard. Is there anything anyone could add to that? "
Further silence filled the room. Eileen sighed.
" Well you both seemed pretty vocal just a few minutes ago! " she continued." He seemed a pleasant enough chap to me. What has he done? Tried to come between you I suppose. Well that didn't take long. I thought you two were meant to be solid. At the first hurdle you...... "
Finally Eileen got her reply.
" Mum!", Todd shouted. " You're way off the mark!"
Eileen looked surprised.
"Well tell me what's happened then! " she said.
Todd sighed loudly and got up.
" I'm going to make a brew " he said and headed towards the kitchen.
Eileen turned her attention to Billy, who took a deep breath and began.
" Drew has cancer. " he said." He has been given months to live." Eileen gasped as Billy rubbed his face and eyes with one hand, clasping his hands together and staring down at them helplessly.
"Oh Billy. I'm so sorry love. That's terrible! "she said.
Billy heaved another big sigh and looked up at Eileen.
" There's more " he said." When we split up, he got with someone else. Drew always wanted a family and they believed they were a stable couple, so they went for adoption. They were given a little girl, 7 months old. They named her Summer. They wanted her christened and they asked me to be godfather. Everything was wonderful for a time, but then things began to go wrong. I don't think it was anything to do with Summer in any way, but they really started to argue and in the end they felt there was no way forward and they split up leaving Drew to look after Summer as a single parent."
Billy stopped and went into a broad grin.
"Drew really loved that little girl. She was like his princess. He didn't have a lot of money but he made up for that in the fun things they did which didn't cost a lot. His mum was around and gave him a lot of support. Summer was 3 years old when I last saw her. Unfortunately I haven't been a very good godfather. Drew and I lost contact, so I didn't keep up with Summer either. "
Todd returned with three mugs of tea which he passed round before sitting down again beside Billy.
" How old is she now? " Eileen asked.
" She's 12" Billy replied. Eileen nodded and sipped her tea.
"But you haven't heard the best bit yet! " Todd said, looking at Billy.
" Billy raised his eyebrows and looked in to his mug of tea. "Come on then. Time to share with the group!"
"Todd, please don't be like that! " Billy pleaded, once again putting his hand on Todd's arm.
" Well I'll say then, shall I? " Todd continued and turned to his mum
" He's come here looking for a loving home for her " he said" and who do you think he's looking at to provide it? "
" Todd, it's not like that! " Billy said.
Todd turned back to Billy." No? Then what is it like?"he asked before shaking Billy's hand off and leaving the room, slamming his mug down on the table.
Billy buried his face in his hands. Eileen waited.
"What am I going to do Eileen?", Billy asked, removing his hands. " Drew wants to know that his daughter is settled with someone who will love and care for her the way he does, a couple with similar values to his own. He thought of me and came here to see if I was in a settled relationship. He hoped it would be more settled than it is. He thought I would have been with a partner for years. That would have made his task easier I guess. I know we don't know anything about teenage girls. The thought of actually being responsible for one fills me with dread. It's bad enough having to visit the youth club for an hour! But what should I do Eileen? Drew is depending on me He wouldn't have come here if he weren't! He feels that once he knows Summer will be OK, he will be able to accept his situation and die peacefully. But as you see, Todd is less than keen on the idea! What do I do Eileen? "
Billy once again buried his face in his hands.
Eileen sighed and sipped her tea. She had no advice for Billy. She tried to imagine a twelve year old teenager in Sean's old room. What would that be like? Could they cope with that? Could she cope with that? She realised that if this happened, she too would be involved in this young lady's upbringing. She also knew nothing about teenage girls. She had had two boys.At least she knew something about them, but a girl? She was as much at a loss as Billy.
Billy dropped his hands into his lap
" I had better go and talk to Todd" he said "but I don't hold out much hope"
He stood up wearily and put his mug on the table before heading towards the stairs.
"Billy! " Eileen called after him."Give him time. He loves you. He's not going to let this get in the way of what you have together. He'll come round if he has to."
Billy sighed. " I wish I had your confidence!" he said with a weak smile before disappearing up the stairs, leaving Eileen deep in thought.