Poppy/H.S

Chapter 10

AN: This chapter is dedicated to two of my best friends. One of them has passed her final exams today, and the other one has (hopefully) passed the entrance exam to medical school.

I hold onto my purse as I cross the streets, trying to avoid the collision with the Londoners getting in my way. The rest of the meeting with Sandra, my client, went smoothly and I managed to leave the café just in time to make it to the cosy diner, where I'm headed to pick up my favourite brown cardigan, washed and ironed by Harry Styles himself.

I never would have thought that Harry Styles did his laundry by himself. I thought he, as a multimillionaire, had people for everything, literally everything. I never pegged him for a guy who did his own laundry. Most of the today's men just rely on their wives to do all of the household chores, since that's how it has always been and the society is just too stuck up to admit that the household chores should be divided between the partners equally.

Most importantly, the roles of partners in marriage should be equal. When you imagine a stereotypical heterosexual relationship, between a man and a woman, you're met with a picture-book marriage with a set of rules you've been taught to follow ever since you were little.

The woman should always obey the man, they say. The woman should always take care of the man, so that he doesn't seek love outside of marriage, they say. The woman must know how to cook, so that her husband and kids won't starve, they say. The woman needs to keep the household clean, they say.

But why is it always the woman? Why does only the woman have to obey the rules to keep the marriage going? Isn't it a two-sided relationship? Both of the partners, the man and the woman, go to work.

But the difference is, when the man comes home from work, he takes a seat behind the kitchen table, waiting to be served dinner after a long day at work, so that he could pass out in front of the telly moments later. Wasn't the woman at work, too? Why does she deserve less than her superior husband?

It's not so common to see the man take charge of the household chores, like Harry, sparing the poor woman and giving her some time for herself. I'm happy Poppy has a good example of marriage at home, that's how marriage should look like. The partners should be equal.

When Poppy grows up into a self-dependent human, she will know what kind of partner she should look for.

I was taken by surprise when Harry called me during my meeting, since he promised to get the cardigan delivered to me. But I assume it's more convenient for him to give it to me himself, since I'm already in London.

When he mentioned he wanted to go to the diner again, my tummy celebrated. I haven't even had breakfast. My body can't stomach any kind of food before an important meeting, the anxiety eating me alive. Now that I'm done with meetings for today, I'm looking forward to having lunch with Harry.

I plan to contact the court today, telling them how the simple case of a divorce has turned out to be way more complicated than anyone could have expected. I hope they will understand and reschedule the trail for an earlier date.

Once I've crossed the road, my eyes land on the green vintage entrance door to the diner where I met Harry for the first time. This time, however, is different as there is no one to clutch my hand as I walk along the road.

I get closer to the diner, my mind occupied by the memories of the time I have spent with Poppy. I open the green door with a crooked smile on my face, stepping into the diner. The clicking sound of my heels touching the floor catches the attention of Rose, the older waitress, waving her hand at me in as a sign of her warm welcome. She wipes her hands against her red apron, making her way over to me.