Parachute | Harry Styles Short Story

When Harry met Ma!

Ma looks like she's about to cry as she gently puts Mango on the couch and exhales.

"That must have been so hard for him. So, is he mute?" she asks.

"No. And, he prefers to use the term non-verbal, okay?" Blue calmly corrects her mother.

"Thanks for that. See! I don't want to offend him," Ma reiterates her point about being left alone with the lad.

"You two love each other, just relax," Blue rolls her eyes.

"But he wears the hearing aid, isn't that helpful?" she asks, not done asking about him.

"It only picks up low sounds and helps him understand how to mirror speech better," Blue explains.

"If anything happens, I'll ring you," her mother sighs again.

"Trust me, if he could he would stay in bed all day till I'm back," Blue laughs a little.

"That's not encouraging!" Ma calls her out.

"It's not you. That's just who he is. Harry is in a permanent shell and he has to be brought out of it," Blue says with an affectionate look.

"Almost like you," Ma points out.

"I guess you can say that," Blue replies.

"Okay, off you go. Good luck at the office," Ma kindly hugs Blue and Blue smiles at how much she's missed that hug.

"Thank you and just go with the flow, okay?" Blue kisses her mother's forehead.

The women share a smile with each other and Blue kisses Mango's head before hurrying out. As soon as the door shuts, Ma exhales and isn't sure what to do.

The plan was to spend the afternoon and evening with Blue. Plans have been disrupted and there's nothing much to do. Cooking a meal is the next option but she's not sure if to ask Harry if he wants to eat something and she's just not sure what to do.

Harry instantly regrets it when he has to leave his room for a bottle of water because he planned to stay in his room till Blue returned from the office. It's not that he dislikes her mother's presence, he just feels like he's an uncomfortable entity for the woman.

Ma is chatty, vibrant and is extremely warm. They've texted a lot in the past and she's always willing to make him comfortable but it's so different in person.

The woman is a lot more quiet and acts like she's uncomfortable around him. He knows it's because they cannot communicate in person and he simply doesn't want to be a bother.

Harry takes a deep breath and slowly walks out of the room, his cloud patterned socks aiding his dragging feet against the warm wooden floors. As soon as he steps into the kitchen, he freezes on the spot and sees that Ma is getting out some items from the refrigerator.

The woman pauses with a fake bright smile as she holds onto a bowl of marinated fish. Ma decides this is the perfect time to go with the flow.

"Hi? Hi!" she waves with a free hand and maintains that smile.

"Hello," Harry awkwardly replies and drags his eyebrows together.

There goes that frown again and Ma sighs in defeat.
There's no point forcing this or making the poor lad uncomfortable.

Ma notices his socked toes awkwardly on top of each other and he keeps squeezing his fingers. As someone who works very well with people and body language, she taps into her inner power and calmly smiles. Thankfully, his eyes are focused on her so he can see when she communicates with him.