Wonderwall ↠ Harry Bingham

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The Robinson's and the Bingham's had been family friends since before Grace was born. Her mom had met Harry's mother at a pregnancy class; Grace's mom going for Grace and Harry's mom going for Harry. Mrs. Bingham had been five months along at the time they met, while Grace's mom had been just two. The women sat next to one another before the first class and got to talking, forming a friendship fairly quickly. What started out as sitting next to one another during the classes grew into lunches, coffee dates, and promises that their children would be the best of friends one day.

The two kept in contact even after Mrs. Bingham gave birth to Harry. Mrs. Robinson met Harry a week after he had been born, and listened to his mother talk about how much love she had for the little boy. Seeing Harry only made Mrs. Robinson more excited to hold her little girl in her arms for the first time.

When Mrs. Robinson gave birth to Grace, she knew from the moment she held her in her arms that she would never love anything more than her little girl. She instantly felt an overwhelming sense of love and protection for Grace, and knew that there was nothing more perfect than her in the entire world.

Grace was introduced to the Bingham family a week after she was born. This time, it was Mrs. Robinson's turn to gush about the overwhelming love she had for her child. It also didn't take long for the two mothers to joke about their children falling in love one day. They laughed at that thought that maybe it was fate.

As Grace and Harry grew, they developed a close relationship, just like the one between their mothers. Even Grace and Harry's dads had become close friends. The two children did everything together. They played together during free time at school, would have playdates at least once a week, and had even been one another's first kiss.

This kiss happened when two were both six years old. It was during a game of house, where Grace insisted on having a marriage ceremony before they could actually start playing. During the marriage ceremony, Harry had told her that the marriage wasn't official until the two kissed. And that's how it happened, right under the patio in Grace's backyard.

For nine years that two were the best of friends. It seemed like it would be impossible that the two would be anything but just that. Their parents were sure that, even if their dream of the two getting married didn't work out, that they would at least be in one another's lives as friends forever. That was until they weren't friends anymore.

The rivalry started in the third grade during recess at school. It had been raining outside, so the class was having indoor recess, which consisted of board games, reading, or, what Grace had been doing, drawing. She had just learned how to draw the perfect flower, and had been practicing by drawing it with different colors.

A few minutes into recess, Harry came over, asking her if she wanted to play Candy Land with him. Grace had told him no, focusing more on the drawing that she was almost done with. The two got into an argument, as most ten year olds do when they don't get their way. Harry was hurt that Grace had said no, and had snatched the paper off of her desk, ripping it in two. Grace had immediately started crying, while Harry swore to the teacher it was just an accident. Harry spent the whole recess in time out, while Grace spent it wiping up her tears and trying to make a new drawing.

Harry never apologized for what he did, and in the eyes of a third grader, it hurt. Over time, what started out as something small grew into a rivalry. Harry and Grace didn't speak unless they absolutely had to for days, then weeks, then for the rest of elementary school. There were no more play dates, there was no more playing together at recess. Their parents tried to get the two to make up, but instead, they just stared at one another in silence.

In middle school, Harry and Grace began to tease one another. Their words weren't anything too hurtful, mostly just typical middle school insults that were ridiculous looking back on. Now, in high school, the two rarely saw one another, which caused them to have to speak even less. When they did speak, it was always sarcasm and back handed compliments.

Grace did get sad from time to time thinking about how things could have been different if she would have just played Candy Land. Even though Harry would never admit it to himself, he wondered what it would have been like if he wouldn't have ripped up her drawing. Or if he even would have just said the words, "I'm sorry."

The thing about life, though, is that everything works out the way it's supposed to. Things that you think you have complete control over, end up not being in your hands. A story you think you've written for yourself ends up being over before it even reaches the end. And when it came to Grace and Harry, their story was far from over.