Helping Hands

FREE PREVIEW “I don’t know.” Reluctant to follow Bill’s idea Jill shakes her head slightly. “It’s worth a try. Trust me.” Seeing Jill’s silence, he asks again, “You do trust me?” Bill’s question opens a wound that Jill tries to ignore. ‘My friend, the one I met in Chicago, the one I trusted, the one who sided with Joseph when Joseph said he wanted to divorce me.’ Jill recalls Joseph’s words; Even Bill understands why I’m so frustrated with you. ‘How could he? And now he asks me to trust him?’ Her betrayal memory burns like hot coals. She looks at Bill, sitting, waiting for an answer. Wrinkles of concern line his face. ‘If I tell him why I can’t trust him––.’ The prospect of Bill leaving her worries Jill. He’s been easy to share personal concerns with. That didn’t happen much with Joseph. Her decision to leave Bill’s skeleton in the closest is cut short by Bill’s earlier words; what’s important is that Daniel can see that you’re trying, that you want to fix things up. ‘If I tell Bill that I know that he sided with Joseph about leaving me, will he see that I’m trying to fix things or will it tell him I’m dragging up old wounds, wounds that will separate us? Will he apologize, like I’m supposed to do with Daniel?’ Jill looks at Bill trying to predict his response. ‘If he does apologize, will I feel like I can trust him?’ Answers evade her. Jill begins to suspect that Bill is becoming impatient even though he hasn’t moved. His patience irritates her. She suspects he’s adopted the role of psychologist, and she is the patient, not his friend. ‘Do I really care that he took Joseph’s side?’ The once buried grievance causes her to boil. She realizes that if Daniel has issues with her like she has with Bill then she should know about it. Taking a deep breath she pokes the memory of Bill’s disloyalty. “How can you ask me to trust you? You betrayed me.” She’s surprised at the pain that instantly blankets Bill’s face. It takes a couple of second before he can speak. “Whoa! Where is this coming from?” Bill sits up in his chair, as he tries to figure out what gives rise to this attack. “You said you understood why Joseph wanted to leave me. Don’t deny it. Joseph told me. I thought you were my friend. Then you sided with Joseph? You betrayed me! Now you want me to trust you, to do something I’m not too keen on.” Controlling his voice Bill responds. “You’re right. I did tell Joseph that I understood his frustration. Joseph agreed to buy a house for you that he felt he couldn’t afford. To make it work, he put in hours of overtime. Then you criticized him for not spending enough time at home. That I said I understood. Not that he leave you