With A Touch Of Magic (Larry Version)

21. Gloomy Alteration

As soon as he opened the door, Harry was hit with the lovely smell of flowers, dozens of them. Breathing it in, he made his way over to Flora, the owner of the shop and a good friend of his mum. Delivering a big box of special muffins to her every Saturday was quite literally his favourite part of the day. It was always his last delivery, so he could spend some time in her charming shop.

"Flora! How are you, Darling?" Harry greeted her cheerfully.

"Busy but good. And you, Sweetheart?" Flora engulfed him in a lovely hug, smelling of roses and daisies.

"Just finished my last delivery" Harry set the muffin boxes down on the counter. "So, now I'm free as a bird ... for an hour".

"Oh, any plans?" Flora hooked curiously.

"Nah, not really. Leona called in sick this morning, so Macy is alone at the bakery with Emma. I might check in later and see if they need anything before I call it a day" Harry explained what he had meant originally.

"Poor angel. Sent her my best wishes" Flora touched her heart in sympathy. "I thought you might have a nice date planned later".

"Ha, no" Harry chuckled at her suggestion amusedly. "No date for me today".

"But you're such a charming and handsome man" she pinched his cheeks to prove a point, making him swat at her hands. "Your mother mentioned Phil, so I thought you'd be back together".

"I thought so too, to be honest," Harry retorted wistfully. "But it's a bit more complicated than that. Or well, I made it complicated".

Choose Phil.

"I'm sad to hear that" Flora nudged his shoulder compassionately and Harry just smiled at her. "What about the other fella?".

"Louis" Harry breathed out reverently. This was the first time in weeks that he'd said his name out loud.

"Yes. No date with him either? You sounded quite fond of him" she literally shook his entire world with her innocent curiosity.

"I did?" Harry gulped almost fearful, afraid of the obvious.

"You did to me. Was I wrong?" Flora frowned at the surprise in his voice, probably afraid that she said something wrong.

"No" Harry clarified simply. "Just noticed it too late".

"I'm sorry" Flora smiled empathetically at him. "Love can be quite complicated and tricky. It's never easy, I'm afraid".

"You've been married for so long though. How do you do that? What is your secret?" Harry wondered curiously, wanting to know if there was something he had overlooked all this time.

"I'm not sure I have one" Flora looked apologetically at him. "We have loved each other for decades and I'm choosing him every day when I wake up. I never stopped, even when life got hard and things got rocky. We always chose our love and maybe that's what made us last. We truly love each other for who we are. We don't pretend to be someone else, we never hide our feelings from the other and we always talk about everything, no matter how small the issue might be. We compromise and listen and just care, I guess. I love him with all his flaws and so does he me".

"That's beautiful, Flora" Harry teared up at her words like some lunatic but they had touched his aching heart.

"It's love, my boy" Flora stated simply, like the wisest person on the planet. "I'm sure you'll find it too one day".

"I thought I did and tried everything to make it work but we're not like you and Ralph. We're ... not who we used to be and we grew apart for a reason. I almost forgot why and did a horrible mistake because I was chasing the ghost of a dream that I once had. Now I'm not sure how to come back from that and make things right" Harry revealed to her what was pressing down on his chest like a dead weight. "I'm afraid I'll stay alone forever because I've been too afraid to actually be with someone again. I ruined it".