Galileo - l.s

fifteen

They drove silently down the street, Harry looking out into the darkness, Louis staring straight ahead. He kept his eyes focused on the the dark road as the cool fog rolled in, blanketing the path ahead and diffusing the road markings. Occasionally he watched Harry, whose silence was a focused beam, a mark of his emotion. Louis just didn't know what the emotion was.

“Harry,” Louis said, “are we okay?”

He waited patiently for Harry, who took a breath and didn't reply for a few seconds. He played with his fingers and gazed down. When he finally spoke to Louis, his voice was dark and slow, tinged with reflection.

“You have a nice family, Louis,” Harry said. “They're great.”

“And?” Louis stared straight ahead. They were nearing Harry’s street. Louis slowed down to see the road better, since the fog obscured the road markings.

“They love you very much.”

“Yeah, they do,” Louis agreed. “They're kind of protective, I guess.”

“Thank you for inviting me,” Harry said. Then he added, slowly, “I'm sorry I said what I said—about the state tournament game. Do you mind?”

“You mean about not coming with me and Lottie?” Louis asked. “No, ‘course not. Harry, don't feel like you have to go along with whatever the family recommends. They can be very insistent.”

”I guess.”

“I told you, they're rather protective of me, and they want a billion friends to do things with them, always.” Louis paused. “I'm curious, though. Why don’t you want to come with us? Can I ask?”

They wound through the hairpin curves of the woods, damp with a recent sprinkle of rain, shrouded in fog like a kingdom from the fairy tales. Louis piloted the car carefully and slowly. He spotted the lone mailbox in the curve and turned into the driveway.

“My mum will be here,” Harry said, quietly.

“And you want to spend time with her?”

“Yes,” he said. “I do. I haven't seen her in a long time.”

“Well,” Louis said, “I’d say that was more important than watching a game you're not very interested in, for sure.” Harry cringed, and Louis put out a hand to hold his arm. They pulled up the driveway and stopped in front of the house. The windows were all dark. “Harry, c’mon,” Louis said, with kindness. “It's really okay. You're allowed your own time. It's a game for me, but for you it’s—well, it's your mom. It's more important.”

“Can you come in, Louis? For a bit?”

Louis watched Harry’s face in the darkness. He couldn't tell whether Harry felt sad, or just relieved that he was out of Louis’s house, out of the glare of his family’s scrutiny. His face was cast in shadows.

“Yeah, sure,” Louis said. “Do you have dessert?”

“Very funny,” Harry said with a little laugh. 

They exited the car and Louis locked it. Harry ambled up the walk to the front door, and Louis followed him from behind. Harry struggled to see his keys in the darkness. He fumbled for a bit, then got the key into the door and twisted it to open the door. The house was dark and quiet. The smell of dust and metal hung in the air.