into the wilderness - h.s.

thirty-one

Part II

December

I blow into my fingers to try and warm them as I ride the elevator. The cold weather this time of year is always my favorite, unless I leave my gloves at home. A quiet ding sounds right before the door opens to the top floor of the building. Warm air and Christmas jingles greet me as I walk across the modern workspace to my desk. I could see past the rooftops of the Upper East Side from the place I sat.

"Not a bad day for one that has been lacking in creativity," my co-worker, Gemma, set a coffee cup on my desk. The forcast was calling for snow tonight, promising a magical blanket of white when I wake tomorrow. "How was your lunch break?"

"Good," I grinned. "I met this cute guy down at the café. He asked for my number and said that he would ring me soon."

Gemma smirked at me from where she sat at her desk across the room. I hadn't told her about Harry. I hadn't told anyone about Harry, really. No one really knows what happened during those weeks I was on a wilderness trip. Hell, even I don't know. I liked to keep the subject of Harry and his wife (probably ex-wife by now) under wraps.

After we parted ways a few months ago, I transfered to a school in New York City. I wanted to get as far away from California and the memories it held. I figured New York was a pretty good place to start.

Right off the bat I had gotten an internship with a fashion magazine. I was working under their designer, Gemma. We worked on layouts, spreads, and themes for every monthly issue of the magazine. We kept the graphics modern, and the layouts clean. We worked closely with the photographers and the storytellers, making sure that the spreads flowed together and worked fluidely before we sent them into pre-flight.

I enjoyed my new job. It gave me something to think about. I didn't want thoughts of Harry or Jacob following me from California. I wanted them to stay there, and I didnt want them to chase me.

"You know, I bet he has a friend," I said to Gemma as I sat down behind my desk. "A cute cousin maybe, you know? Same genes and all."

She laughed. "Thanks, Harper, but I've already made plans for the weekend."

"Oh?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Cool it, frisky."

"And what might Gemma's big plans for the weekend, so-big-I-cant-go-out-with-Harper-and-a-hot-guy, be?"

"If you must know, my niece is going to be staying with me for a few days."

"Really?" I asked. "This is going to sound really bad, but I didnt even know you had a sister."

She laughed. "I don't"

When she saw the perplexed look I gave her, she grinned and clairified for me: "I have a brother."

"Well duh. I could have figured that out logically."

"I know," she said without glancing up from her computer screen. "I just thought I'd help ya along a little bit."

"Thanks for that."

"No problem. But I'm going to have to bring her in to work with me tomorrow. My brother's dropping her at the house tonight, so I'll have her for Friday and then the weekend."

"How old is she?"

"She's three-ish maybe?" She shrugged.

"Wow, Gems. You don't even know the age of your own niece. No aunt points for you."

"Hey." She gave me a look. "You be nice to me. And her. Her parents are in the process of getting their divorce papers finalized. Thats why he asked me to watch her."