Anna || HS

Anna 2- CHAPTER 21

~October 2017: Part 2~

Harry- 23
Anna- 23 (30-34 weeks pregnant)
August- 11 Months

~October 9th, 2017~

Anna POV:

We're all packed up and Harry is stalling us, saying his final goodbyes to August and the belly before he walks the three of us to the waiting black SUV. Tony is stationed, stoically, at the back door, holding it open for us. He is a tall black man with perfectly manicured facial hair and a clean-shaven head. He has to be at least 6'4" or 6'5" with a strong build that would be intimidating to anyone, but I can't help but notice his kind eyes when he finally removes the sunglasses that are so often a staple on his face.

"Ready, Mrs. Styles?" Tony asks me as Harry and I finish our goodbyes, Harry rounding the car to buckle August into his carseat.

"Yeah, Tony. Let's go to the beach," I say and he gives a tiny smile. Harry makes his way to my side of the car and closes the door after I slide onto the leather seat. I roll down the window and he stands, with one arm draped over the car, looking inside.

"Have a great time, my loves," he says, leaning in for just one more kiss. "Call me when you get there."

"Same to you, baby." I tell him, because he will be on a bus to Irving within the hour.

It's only a five hour drive from where we are in Atlanta to the beach house, but we have to stop and change a diaper and let this pregnant lady pee at least twice. "I'm sorry, Tony, but could you please stop at the next place you feel comfortable so I can go to the bathroom."

"Yes, Mrs. Styles. I can stop in about ten minutes. Will that suffice?"

"Yeah. I was really hoping to make it the whole way, but she has other plans." He looks in the rearview mirror and I think I see a look that reads as understanding. I give a soft smile and return to playing with August.

We pull off at the place we're stopping and as with our previous stops, he gets out and sets up the stroller and I put August inside. Then, Tony, August and I enter the rest stop building. He looks like a giant of a man behind the tiny stroller, so tall that he is hunching over to comfortably reach the handles.

"Mrs. Styles we will wait for you outside this door," he says, as he motions for me to use the single stall family restroom. After I'm finished, I go to retrieve August to change his diaper. He leans in and whispers to me, "Mrs. Styles I am going to use the restroom. When you go inside I want you to lock the door and I'll test the handle to make sure it is secure. Do NOT leave the restroom until you hear me return and tell you it is safe to come out." I nod and close the door, suddenly feeling like my bathroom break just got all Orange is the New Black.

Before I'm even ready with August he is knocking at the door. We get back to the car and on the road, with the GPS telling us there is only ninety-two minutes left until we get to the beach house. In a somewhat shocking move, Tony asks me a personal question, "when  is the little girl due?"

"She's due December 18th. So, I am about two months away, " I say to him.

"Mmmmmm. So, you haven't hit the worst of it yet?" he asks as though he has lived through it. He's again looking at me in the rearview mirror as we continue our little conversation.

"I suppose not, but she did not make the first eighteen, or twenty weeks, easy on me, so I deserve a better last couple weeks than last time," I chuckle and he nods his head.

"Well, they are all different, that's for sure."

I sit for a bit, thinking about how to ask Tony if he is a father. I finally decide that this is one of those 'just ask him' situations. "Tony, do you have kids?"