Canyon Moon | H.S.

The Most Wonderful Time (45)

"Are you ready?" Harry asks, turning to face me, my hand in his. We're sitting in the car outside his family home, and I resist the urge to laugh.

"Yes." I say instantly.

"You are?" He looks at me surprised.

"Why are you shocked?" I ask, shifting so I'm facing him.

"I don't know, I thought people were meant to be nervous when they meet their partner's family for the first time." He mumbles, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.

"H, you've been talking about them constantly since I agreed to come home with you for Christmas. I'm just so excited to meet them!" He gives me a lopsided grin, and leans over to kiss me.

"Love you." He mumbles against my lips.

"I love you too." I say with a smile.

We both get out of the car, Harry going to grab our bags from the boot of the hire car. It's the twenty first today, and it's bloody cold. I've forgotten what British weather actually feels like. We're staying with Harry's family until the twenty eighth, and then we're going to London, to my house, to stay until New Years.

The agreement was, if we go to Harry's for Christmas, we go and spend New Years with Bekah. I'm so excited for Harry to finally meet her, and she's even more excited to meet him. She's still with Davy, but he's away for the holidays. Bekah keeps saying she's not sure it's going to last, but that she's having fun.

I stand next to Harry as he knocks on the door.

"Don't you have a key?" I ask, amused, and he smirks down at me.

"Yeah, but this is more fun." I shake my head at his childish behaviour and he grins at me, bumping his shoulder into mine.

The door swings open and his mum stands in the doorway.

"Harry!" Her face lights up. "Why didn't you just let yourself in?" I look at Harry and laugh.

"I thought this would be a nice surprise." She steps back and ushers us into the hallway.

Harry drops the bags he's carrying and wraps his arms around her, burying his face in her neck. Both of them cling to each other, and I feel my eyes prick at the sight. I blink quickly, suddenly feeling quite emotional.

It's been a while since I've been around a real family, especially at Christmas. Watching Harry with his mum... maybe I haven't considered how difficult this might be.

They break apart and she turns to face me, opening her arms to offer me a hug too, which I accept.

"It's so lovely to finally meet you, Natalie. I've heard loads about you." She says into my hair. 

I shut my eyes for a moment, enjoying the hug and trying not to cry. It's been such a long time since I've had a mum hug, and for just a moment I can shut my eyes and pretend it's my own mum. Anne's definitely a hugger, I can tell where Harry gets it from.

"It's great to meet you too." I say, pulling away and taking in a deep breath. "I've also heard quite a bit about you." I say, smiling at Harry.

"Go put your bags upstairs, Harry, and then come and say hello to your sister. I'm just about to start making dinner, so we're in the kitchen."

Harry basically legs it up the stairs, and I follow Anne into the kitchen, my eyes darting around the hallway and the room taking in every detail I can. Gemma is sitting at the kitchen table and she hops up and comes and gives me a hug, holding onto me like we've been friends for years.

"It's so good to finally meet you." She says, gesturing for me to take a seat at the table. I'm already blown away by their friendliness.

"It's great to meet you too! Harry only ever has good things to say about you guys." I say honestly, thinking about all the times Harry would update me with what Gemma was up to, or share a text from his mum.