Cwmderi Diary 2018: 5 November 2018

"It's true – I can prove it!"

“It’s true – I can prove it!” continues Dai, but Diane suggests that he should sit down.

"Go away and leave us alone!"

DJ tells him that he and Non do not want him here; “If you can’t be happy for us, go away and leave us alone!”

“I wouldn’t say such a thing if I wasn’t sure!” rants Dai, but DJ is convinced that he wants to ruin his own son’s life. Non is looking very serious,

"Non, what is going on?"

and Mark appeals to her, asking what is going on.

DJ urges her to inform Dai that he is wrong, but she cannot do so,

Non rushes out of the Deri

and rushes out of the Deri.

"Don't let Dad spoil everything"

DJ follows her, and as the sound of distant fireworks can be heard, he urges her not to let his father spoil everything; “Come back inside – I’ll ask him to leave. Tell him he’s wrong!”

She gives DJ back the ring

In tears, she takes off her ring and gives it back to him;

"I should never have come here"

“I should never have come here,” she says and walks away.

“Non, I love you,” he pleads, and cannot understand why she keeps saying that she is sorry.

"You have to explain to me"

“You have to explain to me – I deserve that much.” They go to Maes-y-Deri.

Inside the Deri, Kath hopes that Dai has a good explanation,

"What do you mean – she isn't Non?"

and Ricky says, “What do you mean – she isn’t Non? Has she changed her name?”

"She is not Non!"

“That is not the point – she is not Non!” Dai emphasises,

He displays the photo

and displays the photo; Kath is quite vehement that she already told him to forget about it. “It’s lucky that I didn’t – I’ve been in Brecon all afternoon, talking to people,

"This girl is Bethan, not Non"

“and a teacher there was absolutely certain that this girl was Bethan, not Non. The girl we’ve known as Non is actually Bethan – she’s been telling us porky pies – she’s a liar. She’s not Dyff’s daughter – she’s not Mark’s sister! She hasn’t got an ounce of Jones’s blood in her veins. They were both best friends at school.”

"Well, where is the other girl?"

Mark wants to know where the other girl is,

"The real Non, your sister, is dead!"

and Dai enlightens him, “There’s no easy way of telling you this, Mark – the real Non, your sister, is dead!”

"We were best friends at school"

At Maes-y-Deri , Non turns to DJ and explains, “I’m not Mark’s sister – Non and I were best friends at school — Non died.”

"So you took her place"

DJ realises she took Non’s place, but she continues, “It’s complicated – Non and her mother, Mererid, felt like family to me – the only family worth having, anyway.

"Why didn't you say this when you arrived?"

DJ demands why she did not say this when she arrived.

“I never intended any harm to anyone,” she adds, but DJ is very scathing about that.

"Please let me explain"

“You said you wanted me to explain, so please let me,” she begs.

"Non couldn't tell a lie to save her life!"

At the Deri, Kath is becoming quite irate; “It’s nonsense, Dai, and you know it! Non couldn’t tell a lie to save her life!”

Sara sarcastically comments, “Yeah, well, that’s not like the Joneses, is it?” As several people leave the pub, Kath insists that the teacher must have got it wrong,

"The teacher was certain her name was Bethan"

but Dai is equally insistent that the teacher was certain her name was Bethan. Diane points out that they will not know the truth until Non tells them.

Kath is still adamant

Kath is still implacably arguing that Non could never tell such a lie,

"You're saying that I made it up, are you?"

and Dai thunders, “What you’re saying, Kath Jones, is that I have made it all up, is it?” but the general consensus is that he should apologise to Non and DJ.

Garry cannot make himself heard

Garry tries to calm down the shouting, but with all the uproar, no-one can hear him; Dai’s position is, “I’m not apologising to anyone – I’ve got nothing to apologise for!” Mark walks out of the Deri.

"She had killed her own daughter in a car accident"

Non continues, “I don’t remember much after the accident – when I woke up in the hospital, Mererid was at my bedside. She was never the same after that day – she had killed her own daughter in a car accident, and she was unscathed. How can anyone come to terms with that?

"I spent every night with Meredid"

“After I came out of hospital, I spent every night with Mererid – my foster parents didn’t care at all. When she started calling me Non, it felt so natural –

"I needed a mother and she needed a daughter"

“I needed a mother, and she needed a daughter.”

DJ reminds her that it was all a lie, but Non replies that it made them both feel better, and they were not hurting anyone.

"When were you going to tell me?"

“Were you going to tell me?” he asks, “When – tomorrow – on our wedding day – on your deathbed? When? You would never have said if Dad hadn’t found out. I have to go and clear my head.

"I don't even know who you are!"

“I don’t even know who you are!” He leaves the house, and Non is in tears.

"I need to hear the truth"

Mark comes in as DJ leaves, and tells her he needs her to explain it all – the truth.

Diane maintains that Dai thought he was doing the right thing; “By spoiling everyone’s night?” Debbie demands, but Dai reminds them that he is still here. Kath tells him to shut his mouth, as he has caused enough trouble,

"It's better he finds out now"

but Sara thinks it is better that DJ finds out now, rather than later..

"The party is over"

DJ comes in to collect his coat; he tells them that the party is over and leaves again.

"So you just took my sister's place?"

Having heard her story, Mark comments, “So you just took my sister’s place? You stole her life?” Non replies that he has no idea what life was like for Mererid after Non died;

"It just happened naturally"

it just happened naturally.

“When I went to university, I just started introducing myself as Non, because that’s who I wanted to be.”

"You deceived us!"

Mark is angry that she made him think she was his sister – she deceived them.

"We have received an allegation of identity fraud"

Then there is a knock at the door, and two police officers arrive, looking for Non Evans; DS Wilkinson says, “We have received an allegation of identity fraud –

Non is horrified . . .

“you need to come to the station. It can be a serious crime – come with us, please.”

. . . but her escape attempt is easily thwarted

Non tries to escape via the back door, but is easily caught by the constable; the DS warns her not to make matters worse,

"Please, Mark!"

and Mark tells her to do as she is told.

He will not even look at her

He will not even look at her as she is led away.

Non is taken to an interview room . . .

Non is taken to an interview room and told to sit down;

. . . where she is lonely and frightened

she feels very lonely and frightened.

The rest of the Joneses return

The rest of the family return to Maes-y-Deri; Mark tells them he had to find out what was going on. Ricky maintains that Non would not do such a thing,

"Dai just went off the deep end again!"

and Kath is confident that Dai just went off the deep end again.

"The police came just now"

However, Mark shakes his head and reports that the police have just been; “Identity Fraud,” he says, and wonders who phoned the police.

Kath is quite clear that the Joneses do not grass on anyone,

"I've got a fair idea who did it!"

“But I’ve got a fair idea who did it!” and she hurries out of the house.

"A complaint has been made against you"

Non is asked to confirm her name, which she gives as Non Mererid Evans, and is told, “A complaint has been made against you – I cannot reveal by whom – but as I said, identity fraud is a serious crime, especially if you tried to benefit financially. If you have, you could be looking at a prison sentence.”

The threat of prison horrifies her

Non is appalled by the prospect of prison,

"Let's start from the beginning"

and the DS suggests that they start from the beginning. She explains that it is complicated.

"She doesn't look like the master criminal type, does she?"

At Bryntirion, Sara remarks, “She doesn’t look like the master criminal type, does she?”

Dai, who is having a whisky, maintains, “She must have a reason for doing it – you hear about these people, don’t you?”

"It's time I took 'Miss Marple' home"

Sara wonders if she has killed someone, and had to change her name, but Jason considers that it is time he took ‘Miss Marple’ home.

"Non's been carted off by the pigs!"

As they leave, Kath comes in, demanding to see Dai; “I want a word with you – Non’s been carted off by the pigs!

"Do you think I'm stupid?"

“Do you think I’m stupid? Why phone the police? We haven’t heard her side of the story yet!”

"Look here, I haven't phoned anyone!"

“Look here, Kath, I haven’t phoned anyone!” roars Dai,

"I phoned them"

and they are surprised to hear DJ admit that he did it.

"I changed my name legally"

“I changed my name to Non Mererid Evans legally when I was eighteen,” says Non, and the DS notes that she was 21 when Mererid Evans died.

"You inherited money, and the house as well"

“You inherited a significant sum of money at that time, and at the house as well,” but Non insists that Mererid knew who she was when she was left the money and the house.

"I have copies of the documents"

She has a copy of the will and all documents, and is told that she will have to bring them to the police station.

"I can't understand why you tried to run away"

“Miss Evans, I can’t understand why you tried to run away earlier – it doesn’t strike me as the way an innocent person would behave,” the DS goes on,

"I was frightened"

and she admits that she was frightened. He continues, “Mererid Evans probably earned good money as a teacher – a nice house, savings.”

“What are you suggesting?” demands Non,

"A good way to get your hands on her money"

and the DS considers that moving in with a vulnerable woman who was grieving would be a good way to get her hands on the money.

"I loved Meredid!"

“That’s not what happened – I loved Mererid! Please, I’m telling you the truth! I’ve got nothing left to lose – why would I tell lies?”

DS Wilkinson advises her that she is free to go, for now, and they will be in touch.

"There's no-one to take me home"

She says she has no-one who can give her a lift home, but when she walks along the corridor,

"Oh yes, there is!"

she sees Kath waiting for her, who assures her that she does have a lift.

"Did I do the right thing, Diane?"

Dai is now debating whether he did the right thing,

"It's a bit late to worry about that now"

but Diane points out it is a bit late to worry about that now;

"I was so angry"

he says, “I was so angry, and when I saw that headstone, I thought that she was not going to deceive DJ a moment longer.”

"I don't know who you are . . ."

Kath tells Non that she wants to say thank you; “I don’t know who you are, or where you came from, or why you told all those lies. But I do know that you saved my son’s life, and I’ll be grateful to you for that for as long as I live.”

"I've ruined everything"

Non sobs, “I’ve ruined everything,” and Kath agrees with that assessment; “At first, I could persuade myself I wasn’t telling lies – my name was Non Mererid Evans. Mererid adopted me, so I was her daughter.”

"But you're not a Jones"

Kath reminds her that she is not a Jones.

"I was all alone once again"

“When Mererid died, I was all alone once again. I remembered Non talking about her father, saying he had a family – she always said she would come looking for you one day.” Kath asks why she did not tell them that;

"I wanted to be part of a family again"

“I wanted you to like me – I wanted to be part of a family again.”

Kath appreciates, “So it came as quite a shock when we asked for one of your kidneys!” but Non thought the odds were stacked against it.

“But when I was a match, it was as if everything had led me to Cwmderi, to save Mark’s life.” she admits.

"Come on, we're going home"

“Come on, we’re going home,” Kath tells her, “It won’t be easy, I know that, but you have to face them some time.” Non has already explained and pleaded with DJ and Mark, but neither of them want to know.

"Just give them time"

Kath explains that this is just shock and anger, and she should give them time, but Non replies, “I can’t face being rejected again – things won’t get any better.