Request for Divorce

Lily's Family Chapter 7

Hudson Street was bare when they arrived. The traders had packed up for the day and the last of the apple sellers were carting their misshapen wares back to the dreary drudgery of the basement apartments. As Lily climbed out of the limo she thought she saw a face at the window of the 'parlor', those familiar eyes checking out the situation. She shook her head and looked back at the window, but the face had gone. If it was Daniel, what kind of mood would he be in? She approached the door, bidding a quiet goodbye to Oliver and Grace and placed the key in the lock. The door was slightly stiff but with a forceful shove from her shoulder it gave way, allowing Lily to step into the hall, where a baseball bat had been left on the stairs. Lily took a few steps and peered in at the parlour, which was surprisingly tidy as though nothing had been touched.

"Lily?" Lily froze, feeling Daniel's hand reach to her shoulder.

"Daniel." She turned around to face him. He was disheveled, unshaven and quite raggedy from those nights at the speakeasies, but he certainly didn't look like he was about to cause her any harm. His gaze was steady, his eyes perfectly still, reflecting a green hue.

"Lily, where've you been?" He asked, gripping her shoulders.

"I could ask you the same, Daniel. You just took off and left me!" The pent up anger she had been saving for all those weeks in New Jersey suddenly burst out.

"Hey, Lily, ain't a guy entitled to enjoy himself once in a while?" Daniel held up his hands, "so tell me, where did you go to?"

"New Jersey. My Uncle Roger invited me. I don't have to ask your permission to do anything."

"You're right, you don't. No more do I! I saw the car outside; Warbucks give you a nice little packet, did he?"

"No, he didn't, because I would never do that to our son."

"How is Junior?"

"He's fine. He misses you. Which is why this needs to be sorted now, I can't have Danny growing up confused."

"No, of course. I get it. I promise, Lil."

"It's too late for that, Daniel. You know as well as I do that you can't change. Not really. You can try and fool yourself, but you're still Rooster Hannigan."

Daniel looked as though he'd been shot.

"I'm not, Lil. I'm NOT."

Lily winced.

"Daniel. I can't trust you. This can't work without trust. I don't want Danny growing up thinking it's okay for him to do all the things you've done in the past. He's still your son, no matter what, but…"

"But what, Lily?" Daniel edged closer to her menacingly, "but WHAT?"

"I…I…want a divorce."

Daniel's hand shot out and whacked her hard across the face, sending her reeling to the floor. Lily clutched at her face; the blow had obscured her vision somewhat. She could just about make out the form of Daniel towering above her, staring at his hands. She shuffled along the floor and hauled herself up, still disorientated.

"Lily." Daniel muttered quietly, his hands trembling, "I…"

"Don't. Say. Anything." Lily limped to the doorway. "Here are the papers." She took them out of her bag and placed them delicately on the table. "Sign them and return them to the Warbucks mansion by eleven o'clock tomorrow morning."

As she passed the mirror in the hall she caught a flash of red. Her whole cheek had swollen to twice its' normal size and although it didn't exactly hurt, it burned against her fingers as she patted it gently.

"He did that." She heard herself say, "he hurt you."

But you still love him.

She massaged her cheek, covering the worst of the mark with her powder, and glanced back into the parlor. Daniel was still there, standing like a statue, his hands wide open and trembling.

"Daniel." Lily called, but it was no use. He was too wrapped up in his own thoughts to listen to her. It was hard to acknowledge, and the papers seemed to glow in the sunlight that poured through the windows, but this was what she wanted. To be free of Daniel, free of the constraints he placed upon her.

"I love you." She whispered, and closed the door of the orphanage. Grace came running to her and led her to the car.

"What happened?" She asked, her eyes wide.

"I told him…"

"What's that on your cheek?" Grace gasped, "did he…?"

"Yes, he did. It was the shock."

"Should make the divorce proceedings easier." Oliver commented from the front of the car.

"Oh, I'm ecstatic!" Lily burst into tears and covered her face with a handkerchief.

"Oliver, drive, please." Grace instructed, and they returned to the Mansion. Aggie was there to meet them at the door.

"Can you please tell Annie to stop tap-tap-tappin' on the linoleum, it's startin to bug me out."

"Of course." Grace walked off to find Annie, leaving Lily with Aggie.

"How'd it go?" The former orphanage matron asked.

"I don't want to talk about it." Lily started to head toward the lobby, but Aggie stopped her.

"No, missy, you're gonna tell me everything. Every little detail that was said…"

"I told him I couldn't trust him, that I wanted a divorce, for Danny's sake. Then he hit me."

"He hit you?" Aggie's eyes moved to the increasingly swollen cheek on one side of Lily's usually slim face.

"Yes. If you'll excuse me, I need to make some plans to return to New Jersey."

"You think my brother's just gonna accept it? That you want some hock divorce?"

Lily hung her head.

"No."

"I'm going over there." Aggie strode to the cloakroom and grabbed her coat. "You stay here, I'm gonna sort out this mess."

"Oh no, Aggie, please don't." Lily pleaded, "I love Daniel…I…"

"You love your New Jersey place more. I get it, I do." Aggie tugged her hat, buttoned her coat and climbed into the limousine.

Lily watched as the car drove away through the gates that she herself had once driven through, remembering how Annie had been firmly strapped to Daniel's lap. She hadn't meant it. She didn't want to hurt the little girl, but the money had been a real incentive, the opportunity to flee drudgery and make something of herself. Looking back, it had been stupid, fuelled on desperation and hatred of the government. The city had become a solace for Hoovervillites and those who had money paid no attention to the poor. She had fought hard and the thought of having 25,000 dollars to flash had been too much, but that was New York. It was big and flashy, and you had to fight to earn your place. Her hands clutched at her bag, making an indentation just below the clasp, but she didn't care. What did that matter when she had possibly destroyed Daniel?

Meanwhile Aggie wasted no time in directing Calshall to the orphanage. She was about to show her brother that although he might be willing to give up, she certainly wasn't about to. After all, she'd managed to make a plea on his behalf that had ensured him a shorter jail sentence. Agatha Frances Hannigan was not someone to mess with.

"Just here." Aggie instructed and the limo swerved neatly into a space just outside the front door.

"You're a perfectionist, Calshall." She quipped, patting his shoulder. Calshall gave her a wide smile and turned off the ignition.

"Good luck." He called, watching her step into the dim hallway, but she couldn't hear him. The rooms were much less tidy than before, there was evidence that some kind of feast had taken place by a trail of crumbs leading upstairs and three spots of honey that just kept on dripping leisurely from the ceiling.

"Rooster? Where the heck are ya?" She peered into the sitting room and dining room but he was nowhere to be seen. The office door was closed and she opened it, revealing Daniel with his legs stretched out across the desk, staring at a bottle of prohibited gin.

"Rooster." She remarked, but he didn't look up. It was as though he couldn't tear his eyes away from the bottle, his lips were slightly parted and looked dry, his face was thick with stubble and his usually immaculate slick parting was a rough mess. He looked as though he hadn't eaten in a while and yet his shoes were still polished.

"What's up with ya, hmm?" Aggie waved her hand in front of him. When he didn't reply she snatched the bottle, breaking the spell. Her brother jumped out of his seat and lunged at her with blazing eyes.

"No! Daniel!" Aggie held her hands up, "here's the bottle. Take it, if you wanna be a drunk like me." She threw it on the floor. Daniel looked from his sister to the bottle, "God damn it, do you know I used to get through three bottles of that! Just down it like water, but you're smart, you got yourself a wife and kid, and you're just gonna throw it all down the drain for some night out playing at being a schmuck? Rooster. You're better than that!"

"Oh yeah? Like Dad was to us?"

"Now you hold it right there, you have no idea."

"Let's face it, Aggie, I can't be anything worse than I am. You just go back to damn Warbucks and your showy high life; I can cope on my own. I know you never wanted to look after me. You could have just dumped me on some family and took off, but you didn't. I got in with the rats game, not you. What have I got to show, huh?"

Aggie looked at him pityingly.

"Your son. Your baby boy."

"Oh yeah? What's he gonna turn out like with me as a father, Aggie? Just a schmuck."

Aggie punched her brother squarely on the arm.

"Stop feelin' sorry for yourself and go and win her back."