Never giving up on you - Completed.

31.

'Are you happy?,' she then asked all of a sudden.

'What?' I looked up at her in surprise. 'Yes, of course I am.' I meant it.

'Good,' she smiled. 'It will pass.'

'What will?'

'That feeling of being homesick. That unsettled, homeless feeling. It will pass.' She smiled at me and continued eating, looking at Hailey when she addressed Alison to look at Squidgy.

'Oh my God,' Alison laughed. 'Is that –'

'Squidgy!,' Hailey said happily, poking the stuffed squid.

'Do you know the Squidgy song?,'Alison asked. Hailey's eyes got wide and she nodded profoundly before she started singing and Alison joined in. I laughed and the sad, homesick feeling got replaced with a happy one; it almost was like Lillian was here with us. Alison was just as bright and carefree as my best friend and I suddenly missed Lillian a lot. It felt like I had known Alison for years, although I hardly knew a thing about her.

'How do you know the Squidgy song?,' Hailey asked her when they were done.

'Your father and Alan thaught me,' Alison answered, taking a bite of her food. '

'Alan says unicorns are real,' Hailey started, pricking her pancakes with her fork. I chuckled and rolled my eyes.

'Not this again,' I muttered. Alison smiled at me and then looked back at Hailey.

'Do you think they're real?,' Hailey asked her. Alison shrugged.

'I don't know, I never saw one.' Hailey pouted a little in contemplation.

'Alan says he did.'

'Alan says many things,' Alison chuckled and I joined her. 'What does your dad say?'

'That Alan is weird,' Hailey muttered. Alison laughed again, harder this time.

'Maybe you should listen to your father, darling,' she said, still laughing. Hailey frowned and went back to her pancakes and Alison looked up at me with joy twinkling in her green eyes. 'She really is a smart kid.'

'Yeah, and that's something she didn't earn from Austin,' I said and Alison snorted.

'No, that's for sure... By the way; don't mind me asking but Austin told me you got Hailey researched for Marfan. How did that end?' She looked genuinely concerned and I smiled at her in reassurance.

'She doesn't have Marfan.'

'Oh.' Alison's face relaxed and she smiled. 'Good!'

'Yeah... Austin would've punished himself if she had.'

'But that's not his fault...'

'I know,' I shrugged. 'I told him that before. But he said he'd feel responsible if she turned out to have Marfan and had to go through everything he went through. Everything he still is going through.'

'How's he doing?,' Alison asked in all sudden seriousness. I shrugged.

'He's doing okay. Went through hip surgery weeks ago, but he healed well. Still have to go to physiotherapy every week, but he's okay. Most of the days.' Alison stirred her coffee and leaned her head in her hand to watch me.

'What do you mean by most days?' I sighed and thought about the answer for a moment.

'Well, he's got bad days every now and then. He's got pains and complaints similar to those of fibromyalgia when he's done too much, and on some days he can't get out of bed or he's just not worth anything. And it sucks, because there is nothing I can do for him when he is cramping up and in pain.' I looked away from Alison and focused on fixing Hailey's ponytail for no reason, just to not give in to my tears. 'And there is nothing that can help him to ease the pain, not even his painkillers. The only thing that does is weed, so he just smokes a joint or two before coming to bed in the hope to have a good night and a better day for once. But it has it's known side effects also. I don't like having him stoned around Hailey.' Alison hummed in understandment and we fell silent for a while.