lost // h.s

iii.

"lux!" gemma looks at the clock on the wall and shouts, "lux - four minutes!"

lux is a 7-year-old girl, a daughter of a good friend of harry and gemma's. she doesn't answer gemma. she was sitting in the family room in gemma's apartment, hypnotized by the television and a bowl of blue cereal.

gemma reaches for a box of oatmeal raisin cookies on the table - lux's favourite. she rips off the cardboard ribbon. "can you get me a clear container?"

harry takes a clear plastic box and lid out of the cupboard and hands it across the island to her. "how come lux is here so early in the morning?"

"her mother had an incumbency appointment."

she crumbled the edges of the cookies before she put them in the box, to make it look like she baked instead of bought. "i'm dropping her off to school."

"don't bother," harry said, crossing his arms. "i'll take her."

she pauses in mid-crumble with raised eyebrows. "how unusually nice of you, harry."

gemma drains her coffee mug and wipes the crumbs off the kitchen counter.

"yeah, whatever," harry shrugs.

she snaps the lid on the box of cookies. "i have a late meeting today. since you're driving lux to school, can you also take her to football? practice starts at five."

"which field?"

"bryant park, out past the mall. here." she hands her heavy mug to harry, her lipstick a bloody crescent on the rim. he sets it on the counter.

lux comes into the kitchen and places her cereal bowl, half-filled with sky-coloured milk, next to the sink.

"hey monkey!" harry ruffled her hair, grinning down at lux. he developed that nickname when she was around three years old; they were at the zoo - harry recalled the monkeys had caught lux's attention the most. and then, the nickname sort of just grew on them.

"uncle harry!" she yelled in joy, hugging his leg.

then she turns around. "did you remember the cookies, aunt gemma?" she asks, smiling brightly up at her.

gemma laughs and shakes the plastic container. "you're going to be late, lux. get your stuff."

lux trudges towards her backpack, her sneaker laces flopping.

gemma stands up. the fabric of her skirt is pulled so tight over her thighs, the pockets gape open. she tries to smooth out the creases. "harry, please don't let lux con you into buying crisps before practice again. if she's hungry, she can have a fruit cup."

harry nodded dismissively, "yeah, whatever."

she takes her coat off the back of the chair, puts her arms in the sleeves, and starts to button up. harry notices the locket hanging from gemma's neck - the locket he had given her as a present on her graduation day; it is smooth and heart-shaped. she caught him looking at it and gingerly, her fingers went up to touch it. "hey, why don't you have some of the muffins i bought?"

"i'm not hungry," harry says as he averts his gaze, "lux is going to be late if i stay for breakfast anyway."

she opens her mouth again and sighs. a sour puff of coffee-stained morning breath blows on harry's face. if he wasn't so tired, he would've made a crude remark.

she blinks twice and finishes buttoning her coat. "tie your sneakers before you get into uncle harry's car, honey."

lux yawns.