On The Couch With Ally

CHAPTER ONE

Normal ... I’ve always had a problem with that word.

Why, you ask?

Have you ever been told to ‘be normal’? Because I know I have over and over again. But my question is ‘who has the right to say that to you? What are their qualifications on ‘Normal' anyway? Are you supposed to walk and or talk a certain way? Are you supposed to dress in a certain style? Wear your hair a certain way or have a certain type of haircut? Are you supposed to believe in a certain religion or be talked down to for not believing at all? Are you supposed to love a certain way or type?

Who has the book on being normal anyway?

Alyssa was sitting on the couch with her laptop balancing against her knees as her fingers flew across the keys, her thoughts turned into words and splashed across the screen. She was dressed in her usual night wear, a pair of silk boxer shorts and matching tank top. Her medium length dark brunette hair was pulled back into a loose messy bun. She was currently working on her latest column.

The television was going, and a rerun of Gilmore Girls was playing, they were currently in season seven. Alyssa has seen every season and every episode many times. She was now passing on the wise wisdom of Lorelai Gilmore onto her daughter. The seven-year-old was sitting beside her, her baby blues glued to the television screen.

Alyssa had a column in the lifestyle section at the ‘Miami Gazette’ newspaper, she has been working there for a little over three years now. She also helped downstairs in the pub, pretty much ran the place when Ben is at the fire station since he was a fireman at Burleigh Heads. Alyssa wrote an advice column, along with an article each week.

Her father’s live at Mudgeeraba on a three-acre retreat. One is a lawyer in a partner firm on Surfer’s and her biological father owned his own Greek restaurant in Robina. Her younger brother was studying to be a lawyer like his biological father and worked part time downstairs in the pub. Dwight was living off campus and even though their dad’s paid for everything, he worked part-time.

So, what if you like to have bright coloured hair? Or are covered in tattoos and or piercings? So, what if a person loves to read and doesn’t talk a lot? Or is loud and at times acts childish? For all you know they could have gone through some great tragedy in their life causing them to keep to themselves or be ‘out there’ because they realize that life is too short or maybe they just loved to read and get lost into a fictional world, because reality scares the hell out of them.

How do you not know that the person under all that uniqueness isn’t the kindest, sweetest and honest person in the world? They could be the kind of person who gives blood on a regular basis or fundraisers for charity or spends their weekends helping the homeless or abused. Or even the elderly neighbour next door.

Who cares if a person falls in love with someone from the same sex, it’s their life and their heart that matters - not yours! Who cares if someone has two parents that are the same sex or are from different ethnic backgrounds or if someone is raised in a single parent household?

As long as they are loved and cared for, that’s all that matters.

If normal means that we all must be this one idea or fit into one box or category, than I don’t want to be normal. I would rather be different then be the same design as every other person on this earth.

We shouldn’t judge people just by their appearance, take the time to get to know someone before you decide what kind of person they are.

We are one.

We are all human and we all have our flaws, but we also all have our strengths. We can all love and we can all grieve. We can all break and we can all bleed, but we all also have a right to be free, to feel safe and to be loved. If you ever see someone falling, help them up. Show them that there is hope. Don’t just walk past or ignore them. Don’t stay quiet. It just takes one act of kindest, one voice to make a difference and for others to follow.

You’re On the Couch with Ally.

Alyssa lifted her fingers from the keys and took a breath. Her eyes then began to scan the words on the page. She was proof-reading what she wrote before sending it off to the editor. Each week she wrote about a topic of her choice and answered ten of her reader’s questions from the previous week, well she published ten. Alyssa always did her best to write back privately to every person that wrote into her. She even wrote back to the anonymous people that divulged their problems to her on her Tumblr blog.

“Is Santa real?” Holly spoke up beside her, turning her eyes on her mother. She was dressed in her Pjay’s, also.

Alyssa had almost finished re-reading what she had typed when she had heard the question. Alyssa turned her eyes onto her daughter. “Of course, he is,” she answered automatically. “Why do you ask, Bug?”

Holly turned her eyes away. “Because Sage and Millie said that he’s not,” she answered in a low tone. “Michael told them that their parents made him up.”

Alyssa was furious but kept her expression calm. She had warned all of Holly’s older cousins to keep their mouths zipped and let the young ones find out in their own time. Children need magic in their life - because they grow up too quickly and without magic, there is no imagination.

She would be having a talk with Michael tomorrow.

“Bug, you listen to me,” Alyssa told her daughter in a sweet tone. “Look at me.”

Holly lifted her eyes and looked up at her mother.

“Don’t ever let anyone discourage your beliefs. Do you remember when we watched Miracle on 34th street last night and do you remember how Susan didn’t believe in Santa?”

Holly nodded.

Alyssa touched her daughter’s cheek. “Do you remember how the movie ended?”

Holly smiled. “Everyone believed.”

Alyssa brushed a finger across her daughter’s cheek. “That’s right, Bug. Magic is all around us. You just have to believe. Just because you don’t see something, that doesn’t mean it’s not real. You can’t see the wind, but you can feel it on your skin. You can hear it in the leaves. Do you understand what I am saying?”

Holly's smile widened. “Yeah, Michael’s a butt head.”

Alyssa let a chuckle slip from her lips before she cleared her throat to cover it. “Bug, we don’t call people names. It’s not nice.”

“Sorry,” the girl apologized.

Alyssa smiled at her daughter. “Magic is everyone ... you’ll always have it in your life as long as you believe in it.”

-o0o-

Ben was standing behind the bar just a little after nine, absorbing in the Thursday Night atmosphere. It wasn’t as busy as Friday, Saturday and Sunday Nights but still brought in a steady crowd, the benefits of owning a pub just off a popular beach. Music was pumping through the speakers that were spread throughout the pub. Ben’s Place was open seven days a week since it had a restaurant attached to it. On Friday nights it was Karaoke night. On Saturday night’s he had a live band that played, mostly local ones. Thursday and Sunday nights got busy around five to eight when people were having dinner or just catching up with friends for a drink. It usually started quieting down around nine thirty. He opened till ten. Ben’s Place opened from eleven a.m. and closed at various times depending on the day. Alyssa opened and closed the nights that he was on shift at the firehouse.

She had actually knocked off around an hour and a half ago when he had gotten home from the fire station. His shift had ended at seven and he had showered at the station before heading home. Ben had quickly run upstairs and spent a few minutes with his daughter before heading down to the bar and relieving Alyssa and Holly’s sitter.

“I need two Toohey’s extra dry, one white Brown Brothers Moscato and a Lemon lime and bitter,” Kali requested as she stopped opposite the boys behind the bar.

“On it,” Dwight answered as he grabbed a black tray from under the counter and started lining it with the appropriate glassware for the order. He then began making the drinks at an impressive speed while other staff moved around him, behind the bar.

A moment later he pushed the tray forward towards the young Kiwi waitress and smiled. “Order up, Kay.”

Kali smiled back and scooped up the tray, turned around and walked off.

Ben watched the younger bartender who was watching his baby sister head back into the entertainment area, where people ate and danced. Ben shook his head. He knew that love-struck look.

“I’m heading up stairs for a minute, you right down here?” Ben asked Dwight as he headed towards the end of the bar and towards the bottom of the stairs that led to his apartment.

Dwight turned his eyes on his boss. “Yep,” before turning his eyes back to a customer that appeared in front of him. “What can I get’cha?”

-o0o-

Alyssa and Holly were curled up on the couch, all lights were off but there was plenty of light coming from the television and flickering Christmas lights from the tree. Alyssa quoted her favourite parts of the episode when they played.

Both were engulfed in the show and didn’t hear the door open or Ben as he walked down the small hallway and turned into the open lounge area.

Ben just stood there for a moment, the light from the television cascading against their still forms. He knew that neither Alyssa nor their daughter knew of his presence.

A few minutes passed before Ben walked towards the couch. “Gilmore Girls again?” he spoke up, suddenly. “What’s with this show?”

Both brunettes were startled, gasps escaping their throats and both heads turning around.

Alyssa waited for her heart to slow back down to its normal beat. He could always manage to make her heart skip a few beats. “It’s not a show -” she began to explain.

“It’s a lifestyle,” Holly finished, giving her father a serious look.

Alyssa turned her eyes onto their daughter, a burst of pride flooding through her and a smile curving her lips.

Ben looked at them both seriously for a moment before a smile stole his lips and he shook his head. “It’s past your bedtime,” he informed the seven-year-old, lightly.

Holly gave her father the ‘puppy dog’ eyes and pout. “Just one more,” she begged.

Ben remained stern, even though his insides were melting at the adorable look his child was giving him. “Bed. Now. Bug,” he ordered, pointing in the direction of her bedroom.

Holly knew that it was a losing battle. So, letting out a heavy sigh and turning towards her mother, she leaned forward and pecked her on the cheek. “Night mum,” Holly bid before hopping off the couch and making her way around it and towards her father.

Ben squatted down to his daughter’s height and smiled, placing a kiss on her forehead. “Night Bug,” he bid her goodnight, softly.

Holly beamed. “Night Daddy,” she responded, wrapping her arms around his neck, and placing a kiss on his cheek before walking away.

Ben watched his daughter disappear down the hall before turning his eyes back on her mother, giving her a serious look.

Alyssa just smiled back at him, giving him an innocent look. “Yeeessss,” she inquired.

Ben let out a sigh. It was hard to be serious when she pulled out the puppy dog eyes, knowing that’s where his daughter learned it from. “It’s past nine p.m.,” he pointed out. “Bedtime is at eight thirty.”

Alyssa was doing her best to keep a serious expression. “I can read time, Ben,” she assured him, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. “I have been able to for a while now.”

“Well, don’t you think that it’s a little late for someone her age to be up?”

Alyssa couldn’t help but chuckle, but stopped once she noticed that he wasn’t smiling. “Schools out for the year and did you ever think that the later she stays up, the longer she will sleep in?” she pointed out, standing up. “And that’s longer we get to sleep in.”

Ben just shook his head. He knew there was no winning this conversation when she just gave the same answer every time.

“I better get back down there,” he told her. “I’ll see you in the morning,” Ben added as he turned from her and headed towards the door.

Alyssa watched her best friend leave before she plopped back down on the couch, she then picked up another little remote and pointed it at the CD player, hitting a button and turning it on. Music drifted throughout the room as she reached for her laptop on the coffee table in front of her. It was Christmas music since it was 11 days until Christmas and Alyssa loved Christmas nearly as much as Buddy the Elf. Her daughter shared the same addiction, Ben not so much.

Holly and Alyssa had decorated the house at the beginning of December, along with the pub downstairs.

-o0o-

A few days later, Alyssa and Holly were on the couch a little after eight pm, reruns of full house were playing and Alyssa was reading through this week’s letters. She got around fifty letters a week and the rest were people posting their problems on her blog. She always did her best to answer everyone. Alyssa had stopped into her office earlier that day and collected the new batch of mail, showed Holly around and everyone commenting how big she had gotten even though they had only seen her a couple of weeks ago.

Alyssa had been reading letters for just under an hour now. She had started after they had finished dinner and came into the lounge area to watch Full House reruns.

Alyssa let out a sigh as she picked up the next envelope and opened it. Her eyes dropped to the piece of paper and began to scan the contents. She read in her head.

Dear Ally ... I guess the reason I am writing into you is because I just need a lending ear and I’ve been reading your column since it started. You always seem to give great advice and really seem to care about your readers.

Well, here it goes. A few months ago, my daughter was diagnosed with cancer. She’s four and all I have in this world. I am a single mother and am doing my best to keep us afloat. But in October when I was informed that my little Angel had leukaemia - my whole world fell apart. I only have basic cover on insurance which barely covers her trips to the hospital. She needs a bone marrow transplant by the new-year otherwise I will lose her.”

Alyssa could tell that the woman who wrote this had been crying because parts of the letter were smudged. Alyssa was close to tears herself.

“I am praying to every god out there that they find a donor, but if one isn’t found in less than two weeks then she will die. I know there is nothing you can really do, but I just needed someone to talk to. I know that you are a mother yourself, so you would understand the love and fulfilment a child brings into your life.

I just don’t know how I will be able to live if she dies.

Signed, Terrified.

“Mummy, why are you crying?” her daughter’s little voice asked.

Alyssa tore her eyes from the letter and turned them onto her daughter, with her spare hand she placed it to her cheek and wiped it, feeling the moisture. She was crying, but who could blame her? This letter broke her heart. She wanted to help this woman. If it was her in that situation, Alyssa would hope someone would help her.

“Mummy,” Holly spoke up.

Alyssa realized that her daughter was still waiting for an answer. She looked worried. “I just read something really sad and it made me sad,” she told her daughter honestly. “I’m okay now,” she promised, placing an arm around her and giving her a squeeze.