Kind Forest Eyes

Chapter thirteen

Louis' feet tap on the pavement as he is determined to make his way to Anne. His gaze is glued on the woman and he won't let his eyes slip away from her.

Anne thinks she's being subtle as she stands nonchalantly next to a car, watching Harry's movements closely as he gets into the house. Louis could see her from miles away though, so she isn't as good as she thinks she is.

When Anne hears sounds coming from her left side, she immediately looks in that direction. Her eyes land on Louis and her mouth falls open in surprise. She checks her surroundings, probably looking for a chance to flee because she has been caught, but it's impossible.

"Hi, Anne. Can we talk?" Louis asks, his voice gliding through the thin air. The sun is shining and there isn't a cloud in the sky.

Anne closes her opened mouth and swallows some saliva to get her mouth wet enough to speak properly. "Hi, Louis, was it? I guess we can, why?" She acts innocent.

"Yes, it's Louis." He rolls his eyes. "And I think you know exactly why..."

The older woman looks away and nods slowly. "Alright, I guess I don't have a choice. Where do you want to go?"

The problem is that Louis also doesn't know this small village very well, so he doesn't know a lot of places to hang out. But when he notices a small café in the distance, he knows where they can have their conversation.

He points in the direction of the small diner. "We can sit there if you're okay with that? Maybe get a cuppa while we talk?"

Anne nods thoughtfully, before moving toward the place Louis pointed to. "Let's go then."

Louis fastens his pace to catch up, his small legs having to put in some effort to do so. When he's finally walking next to Anne, he relaxes his stride and enjoys the nice weather, closing his eyes momentarily to take it all in.

The walk isn't long and they both walk into the café, still in full silence. The waiter point toward a table, a big smile on his face, and Louis and Anne return it before taking a seat.

The waiter has followed them and asks if they already know what they want to drink or if they want the menu. Anne answers that she would like a coffee and Louis is a proper English lad and asks for tea.

When the waiter has left, Louis turns toward Anne and matter-of-factly puts his hands on top of the table. "Well, could you please explain what's going on? You're clearly stalking Harry, I have already caught you twice, but why?"

Anne lets out a sigh, knowing she can't delay the discussion anymore. "Well, you met Harry at the orphanage, right? You know he was an orphan?"

Louis nods slowly, not understanding where Anne is going with this yet. "Yeah, we were best friends until we were about six and he got adopted and now we have found each other and we're best friends again. Why?"

A smile appears on Anne's face which falters when she starts speaking again. "Well, I guess I'll just say it... I'm Harry's mother."

Louis stops breathing for a small second, totally taken back by what was just said to him. "Hang on... What?"

Anne laughs at Louis' reaction. "I'm Harry's mother. I was in a really bad place when I was pregnant with him and I had to put him up for adoption..."

When Louis doesn't reply, still out of it, Anne continues. "I got pregnant at a very young age, seventeen to be exact. When my parents found out, they were furious. I had gotten pregnant by my boyfriend after all, who didn't want to support me, so it wasn't exactly an ideal situation.

"They were so angry that they in fact put me on the street, too ashamed by their daughter." Anne shakes her head. "Luckily, I had a quite good friend I could stay with for a little while, but the small apartment wasn't a place to bring up a baby on your own without being financially stable.