The Soldier & The Rose

Chapter 2

My shift ended around 3:00pm today so that meant I could spend a little over four and a half hours with Harry since the bus ride took about fifteen minutes from the diner to his house and my curfew is at 8:30.

I may be 19 but I'm still living under my parent's roof. So if they say I have a curfew, I have a curfew.

***

As the bus comes to a stop at the bus stop closest to Harry's house, I spot a familiar figure sitting on the bench.

"Hey." I say approaching the curly haired boy after stepping off the bus.

He stands up from his position and puts his hands in his pockets. "Hey." He replies.

"May I ask why you're waiting at the bus stop?" I question, stopping just a little over a foot away from him.

I usually meet him at his house. This is the first time he's ever come up here to meet me.

That's weird.

"I figured we could, maybe, get a bit of a head start. Change it up a little today." He says as a slight grin appears on his face.

"Ok." I nod. "What did you have in mind?"

"Well, I was thinking we could go to the new record shop... or just walk. Doesn't really matter to me." his slight grin disappears as he explains. "I just don't want to stay at home, really." He looks down. "They're uh..." His voice begins to shake. "They're fighting again... it's bad this time." He looks back up at me. I can see the tears forming in his eyes.

That explains it.

Harry's parents, Anne and Todd, are sort of like my second parents, considering how long I've known Harry.

Todd works as a lawyer at the courthouse here in town and Anne is a stay-at-home mom as well as my own mother.

Around a year ago Todd was found having an affair with the secretary that worked in his law firm by another employee. Ever since that happened Anne and Todd have been arguing off and on but, here lately, it's been getting a lot worse. They agreed to try and save the marriage and the family. Sadly, the marriage has been crumbling and it's been taking a bit of a tole on Harry.

"Gosh, Harry. I'm sorry." I say sympathetically while resting my hand on his bare forearm.

He sniffles. "Yeah, no, it's fine... um" He pauses. "Do you wanna..." he trails off, gesturing to the street ahead of us.

"Yeah! Yeah let's go." I step onto the sidewalk with him.

I feel for Harry... I hate what he has to go through everyday at home. And the worst part is that I can't do anything to stop it. I mean, I can distract him, but that's only for a few hours, if that.

What hurts him, hurts me.

We walk for a little over a block in silence. The houses and people passing by. He lives in a pretty nice neighborhood. Since his dad is a lawyer, and one of the best at that, the family never really has to suffer financially.

"So... how's work going?" He looks over at me after breaking the silence.

"Work is... work." I let out a laugh. "There's nothing much to it, really." I glance over at him. "There is this one elderly man, however, who made this morning's shift really interesting." I explain.

"Oh really?" he chuckles. "How so?"

"He told me about his grandson, William." I explain. "He said he was single and in the army... I guess he's wanting me to meet him when he comes back."