fundamentals of love ; james sirius potter

12. people in love listen to reputation

Harvey and I are sitting at a table.

It's late and the stores been closed for hours and the worlds went to sleep, even the night owls are starting to yawn because it's finally time for us to let go of the day and go into the next. But we're at the cafe, drinking another cup of coffee and trying to finish the last few order forms and the end-of-the-month bills and papers.

There's some Sinatra playing in the back. I reach for my mug as Frank sings about having some ugly valentine who he loves a lot. That's gotta suck to live with, knowing you inspired a song like this, as nice as it sounds. 

"What're you doing?"

I pause bringing the mug to my lips. "Finishing the coffee bean order from South America, then I'll probably call it a night."

He rolls his eyes playfully. "Thank you for telling me, my eyes had stopped working a few minutes ago. Ellie," he says, starting to become serious. "As much as I've loved having you here the last few weeks, the more I get to know you, the more I realize this coffee shop shouldn't be what you settle for."

"Who says I'm settling," I ask, ticking off boxes on the order sheet. 

"Look at you," Harvey says, gently taking the paper away from me. "You're perfect on paper and in person. I know the healer school thing didn't work out but that doesn't mean this is where you're staying forever."

"I never said I'm staying forever."

"Have you been looking at other careers?"

My mouth closes, I shake my head like a little kid who's just gotten in trouble.

But, Harvey's not my father and all he looks like is someone trying to be kind. He's getting out his own cellphone (I love how much he embraces muggle technology), he's scrolling through things and tapping. "I have a few contacts in different sectors. Being in business over 40 years has built up quite a database," he mumbles, and I can feel my own phone start buzzing. "There are about a dozen numbers in all types of areas."

I'm shaking my head, "Harvey, you don't need to do this--"

"We don't need to do anything," he cuts me off. "Nobody really needs to anything, we just choose to do all these things. Whether they're good or bad. I've always been a firm believer to always be kinder than you have to."

There's no way I can ever thank him enough, we both know it. But, he isn't expecting any thank you's either. You don't experience kindness like this that much in your life, the selfless kind where they don't want anything back and have no ulterior motive.

I'm staring at my phone, at the numbers and names. He's put in brackets the jobs these people work, and he's right on how different each one is. He must care a lot and I'm looking up to see his tired eyes and the sag of his shoulder. I see a part of him that never got to be. Harvey's never gotten married and has no kids, there's the emptiness in him that makes our conversations tinged with sadness. 

He wants to give me everything he was never able to give to his own children.

I was the smartest girl in Hufflepuff. 

I had all O's and E's. My attendance was perfect. All the teachers loved me. There wasn't a single class that I really struggled with because it all came so easy to me, that academia thing. When you do so good and everyone knows, life's options seem to dwindle down surprisingly. You have to get a job where you don't waste how smart you are. Healer or lawyer are usually the two acceptable options because when you choose them people always look impressed, they know that you're smart and that you work hard and . . .