in time // h.s.

xxx. janet

Twenty-four years old...

Harry stayed on our sofa for a week following his split from Alex. He left it a few days before heading back to Cheshire to tell Anne there wasn't going to be a wedding. Matty went along with him for moral support. Unsurprisingly she took it well, praised him for realizing something wasn't right and bravely acting on that rather than just going along with it because he was too scared to hurt Alex's feelings. He'd been anxious before seeing her, but once he had he seemed a little happier, as though he was ready to start moving forward.

Towards the end of his stay at ours, we were having dinner (I'd made us a Mexican feast) when Harry's future was brought up for discussion.

"So, any more thoughts, Haz? What's next?" asked Matty, before stuffing a taco into his mouth, taking care not to lose any of its filling. There was no tidy way of eating the dish, it was the only one he could eat like a slob and not have me moaning at him for it.

Harry sighed at the question, put down the taco he was eating and wiped his mouth with the side of his hand.

"Now there's a question," he smiled.

"There's no rush for you to leave here!" I explained, not wanting him to think we were hinting that he'd overstayed his welcome. Matty and I had agreed that he was welcome to stay as long as he wanted, knowing he'd do the same for either of us if ever needed.

"That's lovely of you both, but, actually, I do have a plan."

"Oh, really? Do share."

"I've decided I'm going to go away for a bit."

"Great idea, a holiday would do you the world of good," Matty nodded, slapping him on the back in encouragement before turning his attention back to the food on his plate.

"Not quite a holiday, mate. I'm going to be away longer than that."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm going to go travelling."

"As in backpacking?" I squeaked in surprise.

"Ha, yes."

"But why?" asked Matty, a frown forming as he looked back up at him.

"Why not? You said it yourself, some time away will do me good."

"I meant a week in Tenerife, or somewhere slutty like Magaluf."

"How long will you be gone for?" I questioned.

"I don't know. A year, two years, maybe."

"Two years? What? Why that long?" demanded Matty, unable to hide the disappointment of losing his friend for that long.

"Because there's a whole world to see."

"And you want to go on your own?" I asked, trying to ask a few sensible questions seeing as Matty was working himself up into some sort of hysteria.

"It'll be good for me," he shrugged. "Do a bit of soul searching."

"Soul searching? Harry, what's really going on? You suddenly got engaged, then broke it off and dumped the loveliest girl you've ever met for no apparent reason and now you're going off? Leaving us? Why?"

"Matthew," I warned, worried that he was being too hard on Harry after everything he'd been through.

"No, Janet, I mean it," he said gruffly. "What's going on?"

"I need a change. Things weren't right with Alex, even though, yes, thank you for pointing it out, she was great," he sighed, casually picking up another taco from the table and filling it with sauce, as though he hadn't just dropped a massive bombshell on his two best friends and told us he was about to move thousands of miles away.