A Necessary Struggle: Fall Semester

Part 32

The Wolf Den was the last place Harmony wanted to be Wednesday afternoon but for the sake of her sanity, it was where she had to be. The Sunday morning conversation with Laurent had seriously derailed her sleep schedule. Two words became the thorn in her psyche refusing her the comfort of turning her brain off, shutting her eyes, and getting some Zs. Sperm Donor. Just two words, sperm donor; two words she hadn't meant to say. Really, she hadn't meant to utter anything to Laurent because she wasn't expecting him to ambush her at work. Pop up like a freaking jackrabbit. And how did he know where she worked in the first place. It was probably the same way he found her address to mail the letter that sent her life in a tailspin.

Absentee, that's the word that bounced around in her mind since her conversation with Laurent in his office. Laurent wasn't present in her life for years. He took it upon himself not to show up, buy stock in her life. Yeah, he said it was an agreement with her parents and the best thing for her but all she heard was a scapegoat. If he wanted to see her...if he wanted a relationship with her like he adamantly expressed then he would have. Laurent would have been in her living room cross-examining Peter Fenton before he took her out on their first date sophomore year. He would have helped her master the art of pitching for her P.E exam. He would've gone breathless at the silver mermaid dress she wore to prom and he would've been there when Peter Fenton broke her heart. All those moments she shared with the man she grew up believing was her father, Henry Monroe, was meant to be shared with Laurent O'Connor and as Laurent stood in her office trying to reprimand her like he was her father the words Sperm Donor spilled from her lips.

So, where was Laurent O'Connor when he was a none factor in her life? He was with her, Ariel O'Connor. Ariel O'Connor the redhead in the middle of Lolli and Dylan Kinkaid gyrating to Drezzy's Body in the neon green booty shorts and a blue oversized tee. Harmony didn't want to loathe the girl that had pretty good dance moves but she couldn't help it. Setting eyes on Ariel made Harmony's mouth twist like a crooked letter and she blamed Facebook. How was Facebook to blame? Because after Harmony's eyes wouldn't close that Sunday night her fingers typed Laurent O'Connor's name in the search bar.

Harmony learned a lot about the man that was Laurent O'Connor. His birthday was on March 14th. He was born in Boston but raised in Orange County, California. He was a Patriots fan and an avid hiker. His wife, Cecilia, was a photographer at a studio that she newly renovated called A Thousand Words. They had two Vizslas named Hansel and Gretel. Cecilia took his profile pic, which was a black and white portrait of him throwing a football donning a cable sweater. Who caught the football? Her. The one Laurent was a father too. A damn good father too. Harmony grew greener and greener with every picture she scrolled passed of Laurent and Ariel; pictures of them fishing, cooking, in matching ugly Christmas sweaters, ice skating at the Pavilion, camping at Big Sur and surfing in Maui.

"She's pretty good," Lela whispered into Harmony's ear.

Harmony nodded as Lela's peppermint rich breath tickled her inner ear. "I know." She clapped as the music stopped and the dancers as well.

Dylan Patterson with her sleek bob tucked behind the lime bandanna ended the practice, and dismissed the sweat-drenched dancers.

"Lolli!" Lela shouted and waved the girl over to them.

Lolli quickly hugged Lewis then pranced over to them taking long sips from her orange water bottle that read, I woke up like this. She swallowed the long gulp then said, "You finally want me to fix that hair." She reached for a strand of Harmony's curled lock hanging over her shoulder.

Harmony steered Lolli's hand away from her hair. "No, I'm good."

"Damn!" Lela rested her hand on her hip. "Lolli, you can't do everybody's hair on campus."