Back To December

25.

"Harry, just stop tapping your leg." I place my hand on his knee.

"I can't. They refused the paternity test and said instead they wanted to meet with me."

"I know babe. Mike says it's not a bad thing though. You trust him right?"

Harry nods. "Yeah. I just wish I knew what was going on."

I rubbed his thigh and put my arm around him, bringing him closer to me. We have been home for a couple of weeks when Mike asked us to meet him at his office. He had contacted Olivia, and from there, he didn't say much. He only stated that the paternity test was denied and not needed. He also said that they wanted a face to face meeting with Harry and his family. That led to today. Sitting in the conference room with our back facing the door. Harry lays his head down on the desk and pulls at his hair.

"UUUGGGHHH!" He growls.

"Da...daddy?" A small voice whispers.

Harry and I both quickly turn our heads to the voice. The curly brown haired girl with Harry's green eyes stood in the doorway. She had her eyes locked on Harry like he was a character from a storybook, blinking and not believing he was there.

"Hello, Harry." The older woman said. She was standing behind Claire with her hand on the girls shoulder.

"Mrs. Wilde. Is Olivia..." He stands up and the woman hugs him.

"No. Who is this?" She nods her head towards me.

Harry clears his throat. "This is Louis. My husband. Lou, this is Olivia's parents."

"Nice to meet you, Louis."

I shake her hand. "Nice to meet you as well."

Mike walks in and suggests Claire go into the other room and play with some toys. The room is connected to the conference room, so the adults can all see her but talk privately if needed. Olivia's mum walks her into the room and gets her settled with some toys.

"She knows who I am?" Harry questions them.

Olivia's mum answers him. "Yes. She's known her whole life."

"Why didn't Olivia tell me?"

The woman looks at him with a look of sympathy and a bit of sadness. "We told her to. She...when she found out about Claire neither of you were in a good place. We knew that. We watched Olivia go downhill. We didn't stop her until she wrapped her car around a lamp post when Claire was 4 months old."

Harry shakes his head and places it on the table. He had told me they'd both been completely wasted when they slept together. Harry had quit the partying soon after starting college. Olivia apparently hadn't.

"Claire was 4 months old and in the backseat." She continues, and Harry gasps. "We got the call at 4am to go pick up Claire from the emergency room. Olivia was there unconscious and being treated. The next day, a judge took her rights away and granted us guardianship. We always thought Olivia told you. We tried calling but the number we had for you was disconnected. We tried going to your mums house many times but she never answered the door and we didn't have a phone number for her. Olivia said you left for Seattle and we started searching there. We found you about a year ago."

"You knew where I was and you didn't contact me?" Harry's voice is rising. I squeeze his knee with my hand, warning him to keep his voice down.

"You were still in school. We know we made a mistake not reaching out but we wanted to give you time to get ready for her. When your lawyer reached out wanting a paternity test, we knew you were ready. Harry, can you please tell us about your family?"