No Matter What // Harry Styles AU -- Dunkirk inspired

Chapter Forty-Four

Hazel's P.O.V

"Hullo, m'dear," Gran sings, her knuckles rapping tightly against the door. "How's the packing coming along?" 

Gran peaks in curiously from behind my bedroom door. She's been awfully sweet all week and we've seem to have found a nice pattern for the two of us.

I am painfully aware, however, that Gran's mood as well as my own have significantly lifted since her guests including the devil himself have left. It does make me worry that this new found happiness between the two of us is simply a reflection of circumstance.

With a sigh, I snap shut the carpet bag she's let me borrow and tell her, "I'm ready to go."

"Ah, ah!" she chirps, her blue eyes sparkling. "Not quite yet, you aren't!" Bustling past me with an excited grin, Gran delicately sits down on my bed with a rather large lavender box. "I have something for you!" she says, motioning for me to sit beside her.

"Oh, Gran. You didn't need to do that," I say.

"Now, you stop right there. If I want to send my granddaughter off with a little something, I darn well will if I please." Gran smiles so kindly, it immediately softens how uncomfortable I feel with this kind of attention. Living here in this mansion, I already feel like a kitchen mouse who somehow ended up at the dinning room table.

"Besides," she says as I take a seat on the bed next to her. "I know full well that it's your birthday. Your mother wrote me all about it in her last letter."

I smile politely, but look down at my lap to hide how homesick I feel. Growing up with a whole lot of kids has a way of making you feel invisible  at times. Without fail, though, Mother always did her best to make each and everyone of our birthday's the most special day it could possibly be. Even as a twin, she had a way of making you feel like a million bucks.

"Oh I do hope you like it!" Gran says excitedly. I carefully run my fingers over the smooth lavender box admiring the gold lettering that swirls on top of the box. "Open it, open it!" she ushers as her shoulders jostle gleefully. I laugh lightly at her excitement before slowly opening the box. The tissue paper crinkles in the most delightful manner as I gently lift out of the box the most gorgeous sweater I've ever seen.

"Jeepers," I breathe.

"Now I know that you're much more of a... hm... practical girl when it comes to taste" she says, delicately landing on her words. "But oh I just do think you'd look marvelous in it!"

I look up at Gran with a small laugh on my lips. I almost slip and tell her living in poverty wasn't a choice or some sort of fashion statement, but I think better of it. To be honest, I'm not sure how much she even knows about our family's financial situation. It's odd to me that Gran, who seems to be pretty generous, wouldn't have offered to help when all of us kids were sharing two beds.

"Do you like it?" she asks, eyes wide and imploring.

"Gran, it's stunning, really." I breathe, my eyes returning to the careful gold stitches of flowers that adorn the puff sleeves. "This is too much, though."

"Absolutely not. And before you start your protesting, you should know that there was the most marvelous fur coat that I was absolutely desperate to get you. You know fur is really quite in these days."

Without thinking, I roll my eyes at the insane notion of wearing a fur coat. Gran lets out a little scoff and I look up at her overcome with guilt for such rude behavior. Mother would have my head. Before I can apologize, she lets out a delightful laugh as she takes in my expression.

"See I knew you'd do exactly just that. So I resigned myself to just this little number."

I let out a little sigh of relief. "It's marvelous, Gran. Really it is."