The Circle

13

"Hi," Lila said awkwardly shifting once I had opened the door for her.

"Hi. Um, what can I do for you?" I asked. I could hear Harry and Gemma and Anne still talking on the phone in the kitchen and figured they would be occupied for a few minutes longer.

"This is weird. Isn't it? Me, showing up at your door?" She asked, glancing inside of our house.

I nodded. "Yeah, a bit. But there must be a reason you're here, right?"

"There is. Can I come inside?" She asked, shifting again and fidgeting with the stack of papers in her arms.

"Of course." I stepped back to let her inside. "Anne, Harry's mum and Gemma are both here. Do you mind waiting in the office for a minute? I don't really want them to know you're here."

I showed Lila into the office that was downstairs that had been converted out of Harry's old gym. His gym was now in the addition we had built onto the house a few years back but it still remained mostly unused.

I left Lila alone to disappear back into the kitchen to see Anne and Gemma still talking to Harry.

"Who was at the door?" Gemma asked when I returned to the kitchen.

"Oh, just a package," I shrugged.

"What was it?" Harry asked. I took the phone from Gemma and stared down at Harry on the tiny screen. "I ordered something last week so don't open it."

I rolled my eyes. "I've learned better than to open your mail, Harry."

"Oh, love, we should get dinner on shortly. What are you in the mood for tonight?" Anne asked, rubbing my shoulder. "Joey and Jamie will be home shortly."

"I should probably get going too," Gemma added.

Harry said his goodbyes to his mum and sister and I took the phone with me out of the kitchen while Anne started making lasagna for dinner and Gemma grabbed her coat and bag.

"I miss you," Harry said, a smile gracing his plush lips.

"I miss you too." And I did. I missed him more than he knew and more than I wanted to admit to myself right now, but the secrets he was keeping from me made it hard for me to think of anything other than getting to the bottom of everything.

"Do you?" He asked, the cracking of his voice surprising me. I looked to see him teary eyed and rubbing his thumb under his eye. "Because you don't seem like you do. You let Gemma and my mum take over the whole conversation when all I wanted to do was talk to you."

I raised an eyebrow. "There was someone at the door.. and we're talking now aren't we? What was I supposed to do? Disappear and not let them talk to you? That'd be rude."

Harry shrugged, chewing on his bottom lip. "I don't know. Maybe. I don't.. I just.. I'm really missing you right now, Georgia. I miss you and the baby and Joey and Jamie. I didn't think this would be that hard this time around."

"Oh, Harry," I sat at the bottom of the stairs. "I miss you too. A lot. And so does the baby and so do Joey and Jamie. All they keep asking is how many more 'mornings' until you're home and we've made a countdown of how many days until you're home. I'm confined to this house for the rest of my pregnancy so you know you can call me any hour and I'll happily talk to you for as long as you want until you're back home which is only twenty more days."

He sighed, running his hand through his hair. "I know, I don't know why I'm getting so emotional all of a sudden. I'll be home before you know it and back to pestering you in person every day and night."