Chapter 19: Niles
Niles laid awake after Daphne left.
He found his mind wandering to their conversation about Maris the night before. He was so scared that he had messed up anything further with Daphne with his indecisiveness, his cowardice. But she was willing to listen, and supported him. Niles knew she probably thought that he was humoring her when he said she helped put words to his feelings, but it was true. The fact that Daphne was upset at how Maris treated him, actively noticed how miserable he was, made him realize that he was. He valued Daphne's opinion a lot, and what she thought of him.
Niles was still scared of this step. Petrified actually. He had so much to lose. But… there was a glimmer that once it was over, he might be able to gain something more.
A future with Daphne...
This was something he never considered outside of late night fantasies, when he was at his loneliest. But, now, it felt so close. His mind had already started conjuring up what that could look like, and unlike his previous fantasies, these felt more grounded in reality. Instead of being something he only permitted himself when he was alone, these thoughts came unbidden all the time now. It was a prospect that both frightened and excited him.
Niles missed Daphne, despite the fact she had left less than an hour ago, and Niles found he was addicted to her presence now more than ever. Since they started sleeping together, Daphne had been on his mind constantly, and it was a daily struggle to not go and see her, hold her, and tell her how much he adored her. But for now, Niles had decided to bide his time a little longer before telling her how he felt. He was afraid rushing things may jeopardize what they could have. And right now, what they had was more than he thought he could have hoped for.
He finally gave up trying to go back to sleep, and got up and dressed for the day. Making his way downstairs, Niles noticed the mess from yesterday was still there. He sighed as he started to straighten up, tossing out the rejected drafts of his ill-conceived letter without a second thought. By the time he was done, it was still too early to go to work. But he has nothing else left to do, and a nervous energy about what today could bring made it hard to sit and wait. Niles walked over to the table and picked up the yellow envelope. He gave the documents a quick once over, before putting it in his briefcase and walking out the door.
Niles picked up coffee and breakfast on his way to work, and ate it in his office; contemplating the events of the last 24 hours. Once his patients started arriving for their sessions, the morning went quickly. Around 11:30am, his secretary came in with some phone messages. One of them was from Frasier. Niles handed Mrs Woodson the envelope.
"Could you please have this messengered over urgently by this afternoon; to the address on the envelope. Thank you."
After Mrs Woodson left, he called Frasier back.
"Frasier, it's Niles."
"Niles, I, uh, just wanted to check up on you, see how you were doing after yesterday. How are you holding up?"
"Not bad. I was able to think things over last night. I think... I've come to a decision about it all."
"Well, I'm glad to hear that, Niles."
Frasier sounded relieved that Niles wasn't spiraling into a depression. Niles continued.
"Actually Frasier, I was going to call you. I was thinking I might take you up on that offer for dinner. Just want to have a quiet night with you, Dad and Daphne."
"Say no more, Niles. I'll make a reservation for tonight at 7:00 for the four of us at Chez Shea."
"Thank you Frasier, I'll see you tonight."
The rest of the day went relatively slow. Niles kept wondering what Maris would do next. He knew the chances of her seeing the papers until later tonight were slim. Knowing her routine, she would be at the spa until sometime after 6pm. His mind kept going around in circles, tormenting him. Niles tried to keep himself distracted, without much luck. He found himself sitting with Mrs Woodson for company, watching TV in his waiting room, but found he could barely focus on the show's plot. Luckily, Mrs Woodson would help fill in any gaps later.
The thing that scared Niles the most was how Maris would react. She had always been a volatile woman, but Niles hoped that by signing the divorce papers, that would be giving Maris what she clearly wanted, and save him from the worst of her temper.
This is what she wants, right? If anything, this is what I want now. I'm ready to move on.
His last patient finally done with, Niles packed up for the evening. Mrs Woodson entered again.
"Dr Crane, I've got a message from Mrs Crane. She would like you to call her back urgently."
Niles took the message from her, his heart pounding. He swallowed, and thankfully, his voice didn't give anything away.
"Thank you, Mrs Woodson. You can head home now, I'll lock up after I'm done here."
"Good night, Dr Crane. I'll see you tomorrow."
She left, shutting the door behind her.
Niles glanced at the clock - it was just after 5pm. He looked at the note in his hand, barely registering what was written. He didn't know if he wanted to call Maris back or not, unsure he was ready for that conversation. Niles felt a bit unprepared.
She shouldn't be home yet. I didn't think she'd seen the papers yet. I didn't even think I'd have to have this conversation until tomorrow...
Niles stared at the note, before mustering his courage to pick up the phone and dial. It seemed to ring for an eternity, and Niles almost hung up again before a familiar voice answered.
"Hello?"
"Hello, Maris. It's Niles."
