The Publisher

12. Emma

It was almost funny how quickly things improved after Harry's birthday. Not that I was complaining of course, I enjoyed Harry sober much better than drunk. We started planning the wedding and saw Allison start to crawl. 6 months suddenly seemed like a short amount of time. We even threw a couple parties but they weren't as crazy as the ones before.

One day while Harry was working I went out to the end of the driveway to get the mail. I flipped through the pile idly, pausing with I saw a familiar logo. It was a Glamour magazine, obviously sent to the wrong address. I looked around as though someone could see me and quickly went back inside. Allison was napping so the house was quiet. It had been 6 months since I'd even so much as glanced at a fashion magazine, especially not this one. I felt my stomach flutter as I opened it. I looked at the list of employees and saw that my name had been replaced with someone else's. I didn't know what I expected but it still stung. I quickly flipped the page. The next hour passed quickly with me pouring over every page, reading everything and examining every picture closely. When I finally closed the magazine I sat back. It was strange, writing no longer held any appeal for me. I had wondered instead about marketing and distribution. I heard a car pull up and hid the magazine under a pillow. I was being stupid. Like I could really find a job in publishing?

I placed the picture on the wall and stood back to look at it. Harry came over and placed his head on top of mine.

"Does it look crooked?" I asked.

"No." He turned his head a little. "Maybe a little." We had gotten family portraits taken the other day and I finally found a frame and hung them. I sighed and went over and fixed it. I stepped back and Harry put his head on top of mine again.

"Perfect."

"We look like a real family." I said.

"We just need matching sweaters." Harry said, walking away. I shuddered.

"My mother made us do that once. It was the ugliest picture I have ever seen."

"Have you sent them any pictures of Allison yet?" Harry asked.

"They don't know she exists, so no." Harry came back out of the kitchen.

"What?"

"Uh, I didn't feel like telling them."

"You didn't want to tell them that they're grandparents?" He looked at me incredulously.

"It's not like they would come see her anyways."

"They should at least know about her." I shook my head, I wasn't going to argue with him about this.

"They're my parents Harry, I think I know them better than you."

"Do they at least know we're getting married?" I stayed silent. Harry's mouth formed a thin line.

"Do you honestly think they would come to the wedding?" I asked.

"I don't know because you haven't even given them a chance to come!" He ran a hand through his hair. It was getting too long; I wondered when he would cut it.

"I don't understand why you're so upset over my parents."

"I thought things were good between you and them."

"They're my parents. Good for us is when we leave each other alone." He shook his head.

"Just invite them please. They're going to be my parents too." He sighed and went into his music room, closing the door quietly behind him.