Forgotten

Chapter 2 ~ New Beginnings

Imogen picked me up from the railway station Sunday afternoon and drove me home, with Liz in the back seat. I filled them both in on my weekend with Lauren and Logan, and they told me about their weekend in return.

“George wants us to go out for dinner with Harry and his dad tonight,” Imogen told me after a solid five minutes of silent cruising in the car. “Harry works for him, after all, and he’s good friends with Harry’s dad.”

“Alright,” I answered. Even though it hadn’t necessarily been proposed as an invitation, I felt an obligation to announce whether I would decline the offer or participate in the dinner.

“Harry asked me about you this weekend, Mia,” Liz said from the backseat. I glanced in the rear view mirror to see a smug look on her face.

I did not look at Imogen and I did not say anything. I just looked out the window, feeling the butterflies that filled me at the thought that Harry had wondered about me over the weekend.

            *          *          *

I wanted to dress up for dinner that night – for some reason, I wanted to impress Harry – but when I arrived at the pub with Imogen, George, Liz and Kaleb, I immediately knew that I was overdressed. And I was wholly embarrassed by that. All the other diners were dressed in smart casual clothes. I’d opted for a more formal attire, wearing my favourite matte black dress. Even my hair, which I’d done up in an intricate curly style, was out of place. But there was nothing I could do about any of it, so I sat down immediately at our table and avoided others’ stares for the rest of the night.

Harry, his Dad and his stepmum arrived shortly after we did, and Harry hugged me, which surprised me. Harry had adhered to the dress code – a clean black shirt and jeans – and Liz made a smartass comment that our outfits matched. I kicked her shin from under the table.

George and Harry’s dad, Wayne, spoke mostly about each other’s industry, and Harry contributed where he could. His stepmum, Carol, gossiped with Imogen, but none of us wanted to add anything. For one, I had no gossip of the people of Glendale, and Liz and Kaleb were too busy bickering. I mostly talked with Harry, which was awkward because neither of us knew what to talk about, and difficult because others would surely hear.

“Did you have a good weekend?”

I smiled genuinely. “Really good. My nephew can say my name now.” Well, at least he could say a version of it. It sounded more like Mmm-yah, but it was my name nonetheless.

“How old is he?” Harry asked.

“Five and a half months,” I answered. “He’s a quick learner. I’m fairly confident he’ll be the next genius.”

“I don’t doubt that, especially if he’s related to you.”

I didn’t know what to say. After an awkward silence, I asked, “Do you want to see pictures?” I had hundreds of pictures of Logan on my phone, and I was eager to show anyone who had any interest.

“Sure,” Harry answered genuinely.

I retrieved my phone from my handbag, and began flicking through my albums to find the photos of the weekend. I began showing them to Harry, and he smiled and aww-ed when appropriate. I knew he wasn’t as interested as I was, but that was okay. Harry didn’t know Logan.

“Is that your sister?” Harry asked when I showed him a photo of Lauren holding Logan.

“More of my sister-in-law,” I answered. I knew Harry wanted to know about my family situation and why I was living with George and Imogen and not my own parents, but I wasn’t ready to tell anyone that information yet. “That’s Lauren – Logan’s mum.”