About the River and Cliché | Zarry

Chapter Four

There were only three restaurants in town, and the Styles family owned the biggest one of all. Johnny and Lorie's. That was the most delightful name in the town until Johnny Styles was no longer around. Before his name got wiped out from the board, Johnny had always been a model parent in little Styles' mind. Johnny was a reserved person. Most of time, he preferred staying in the kitchen all day long to renew his recipes. Gemma never enjoyed cooking as much as her parents did. "Whatcha gonna do if you never do kitchen works? No guy marries a woman like that!" Lorie always grumbled when her daughter once again refused to prepare dinner with her. And Gemma would just roll her eyes at Lorie's conservative concept and push all the responsibilities to her little brother instead.

Harry never complained about this. On the contrary, he found it pretty exciting every time his father pulled him into the kitchen and whispered, "Don't tell your mom." Johnny didn't really approve of his wife's "boys don't need to do that!" theory, yet he never dared to quarrel with her. Therefore, Lorie Styles would never know that there was a small culinary class taking place in their kitchen every evening. Gemma would be the one accepting compliments from their mother for the perfect dishes presented in front of her, and then Harry would fist-bump with Johnny under the table.

Lorie was more talkative. Unlike her husband, she tended to stay outside the kitchen and with people by the bar. And she liked to nag. In Harry's memories, she's always nagging. "Don't ever let me catch you cross your legs again, young lady. Harry, don't lock yourself in the house all the time. Look at you, you're almost paler than your sister." And then Harry would stare at his father, who's having his waffles quietly. "Listen to your mom, kids." That's the only response Johnny would ever give. But Harry never missed it when his father winked at him from behind the newspaper.

Although Lorie never found out who was the one putting in efforts behind, it didn't really bother Harry that much. Johnny, however, was the one who felt sorry about the secret they shared. Sometimes Harry would find random Twix bars in his lunch bag with a note, "For the best cook in the town!" His father always said that he'd definitely become someone when he grew up. And when that moment came, Johnny would be the first one to stand up and applaud for him. Once or twice Harry did take it seriously. But Harry soon felt ashamed when he started seeking for his father in the crowd during his commencement of Berkeley Law. He knew it wouldn't happen, just like Niall's postcards.

Harry left his hometown at 19. It was breaking news- never had a kid in the town been accepted by any public university, not to mention UC Berkeley. It took his mother an entire week to recover from the shock and she even had to shut down her restaurant to get rid of the curious throng. Gemma kept making fun of the craze he brought up, but Harry could hardly laugh, for he had seen her weeping alone in her room. So before he left, Harry wrapped his arms around his sister's trembling shoulders, promising he'd be back the next holiday. He didn't realize how tricky it was until he crossed the border of Nevada and embraced the greasy sunlight of California. That was the moment he abandoned his vow.

His college life was crazy; even so he still graduated top ten of the class. Harry started his internship in a law firm after graduating. Lawyer was a bad career choice for him, according to Liam, his roommate in Berkeley. "No offense, Haz. But the whole jury would fall asleep before you can even make a point. You're lucky that you still have your charm anyway, or else I can't see how you're gonna win a case."

Harry could hardly protest. Despite his excellent grades in college, he was never a good debater when it came to the real world out of books. He blamed his slow speaking to his peaceful hometown, but no one was in charge of the pleonasm in his speech. "So, uh, basically, you know, um." Harry once overheard his colleagues mocking his weird speaking habit in the common room. After one of the seniors asked where he was from, "The new kid from Nevada" had become Harry's new office title. It wouldn't be offensive if they didn't continue treating him like a redneck living in the middle of the desert

"Why'd you want to be a lawyer?" was the last question of his job interview. It was predictable, but Harry forgot his answer immediately. So he just smiled. Maybe Liam was right; maybe charm was the only advantage he got.