Unexpected

44. Harry

"Oh my God, Harry," Helen says worriedly as she gets dressed. "What will your friends say?"

I burst out laughing, guessing what she meant. "Don't worry about it, they're used to it."

She smiles, then suddenly her smile dies.

"What happened?" I ask, confused.

She shakes her head, her eyes on the ground. "Just... nothing, forget it."

I walk up to her and put a lock of her hair behind her ear. "Tell me, baby."

She sighs. "No, I don't want to spoil the atmosphere. Come on, let's get out."

Still confused, I follow her to the kitchen, where Michael and Grace are waiting for us with lunch ready.

"Hey, what's at the table today?" I ask, glancing at our personal cook.

"Beef steak, mashed potatoes and salad," Michael informs us, the smell of food fills the house. "Oh, there's also beer— non-alcoholic, otherwise coach will kill us, you know."

"I know, I know," I chuckle, sadly remembering those moments.

Helen and I sit next to each other, she is facing Grace and I'm facing Michael; we start eating.

"You've had a beautiful awakening, huh?" Micheal suddenly says, and Grace chuckles beside him, glancing at Helen.

I look at Helen to see her reaction and notice that she snickers. I find it hard to hold back laughter and then I burst out laughing like a fool. The others laugh with me.

"You're a jackass, Davis, really," Michael tells me, kicking me from under the table.

It's a great feeling to be back for a few days with my friends, laughing and joking, but most of all with my Helen. I missed her so much. But in my house things are still in a bad way.

While we eat, we keep entertained by talking about this and that, about school, the basketball team, and so on.

"Harry, where have you been all these weeks? We missed you, you know," Grace changes the subject all of a sudden.

I think for a moment of a credible excuse. "With my mother," I say dryly. "She needed help with the house."

"Why didn't you say anything? Are you done? Are you coming back for good?" she asks me.

"No. We're not done yet," I answer, ignoring the first question.

Grace stops asking me questions about the subject, she knows it's better this way and that I care about the privacy of my family matters.

But when I turn to Helen she frowns at me. She knows it. Inside her she knows that there is some other problem, that what I said is pure bullshit.

Then my cell phone rings. I immediately pull it out of my pocket and when I see that it is my mother my heart beats fast; I've been in a panic every time she calls me for two days.

I walk away from the table without saying anything and go into the living room. I answer. "Hey, is something wrong?" I ask you immediately.

"No, honey, don't worry," she assures me.

"Why are you calling at this time?"

"Maddie is here, she wants to talk to you."

Huh?

"Maddie? She's here?" I say incredulous. "She didn't tell me anything."

"Yeah, but she's here."

"Did she come up to your friend's house?"

"Yes, she say it's urgent. You should come now if you can."