GRACE
A day had passed and now, I was still with Harry. I was starting to feel bad for staying at Harry's for so long, I needed to figure something out. I couldn't just stay there forever. My plan was to find another place in the city to stay because I felt that I was intruding.
Harry chewed on an apple, "I said no, Bella."
Bella asked, "Daddy, please!"
Harry shook his head, "It's not happening, Sweetheart."
Joey said, "Yeah, Bella, it's not happening. You know that Dad is the boss of this house. He makes the rules. Whatever he says, goes."
Harry added, "You're not going either."
Joey groaned, "Really? You don't make the rules, you know. In this house, everyone is the boss. Equal rights for all!"
"Honey, I got this. Joey, you're not allowed to go out with your friends," Harry said. "Because Bella isn't allowed to go out with a boy. I'm just trying to be fair."
Bella said, "Daddy, it's just one play date. He's my friend! We're going to paint together and play games! It's not like we're going to kiss!"
Harry asked, "Why did you have that in your head?"
Bella scrunched her nose up, "Because it's something I would never do. Yuck! Gross!"
"Sorry, Sweetheart," Harry said. "I don't like the fact that the word play date ends with date. And what happened to all your girl friends? I'm I'm not very pleased that you have boy friends now. What happened to Angela? She's a nice girl. Go on a play date with her."
I said, "Harry, come on. She's literally ten years old. Don't be so hard on her. The last thing you want is her sneaking out of the house to meet her secret boyfriend when she's a teenager because you didn't let her go out herself. Am I right?"
Harry widened his eyes, "She would never."
Bella gagged, "Boyfriend? Gross!"
Harry nodded in satisfaction, "That's more like it."
"Okay, Bella. As your Mummy, I have a say in this too," I said. "You are going on a play date with him."
Bella cheered, "Yes!"
Harry shook his head, "No."
Bella frowned, "Oh."
"Harry," I smacked his elbow lightly. "Do you want your daughter turning into a rebellious teenager when she grows up because her father doesn't want her to breathe the same air with someone of the opposite gender?"
"Okay, fine." Harry said. "You can go. But Joey's going with you."
Joey asked, "Why me?"
"Because you're her big brother and when I'm not there to protect her, you have to." Harry explained. "You both are going. Oh, and keep an eye on them."
Joey groaned, "I don't want to go. It's going to be boring."
Harry hummed and probably made up what he said next, "I heard he has a cute little sister."
Joey shook his head, "Sorry, Dad. But, I am loyal to my girl."
Bella said, "I'm gonna go upstairs and get ready! Thanks, Daddy! Thanks, Grace!"
Joey said, "I'll go upstairs and take a nap, I guess. I'm probably gonna go on my iPad and read some serious news stories about what's going on in the world right now. It's important, you know?"
Harry nodded, "Of course."
Joey added, "Kylie Jenner's pregnant, did you hear?"
Harry cleared his throat, "Didn't hear about that one."
He said, "And I'm pretty sure there's this boy band that promised they would come back but now they keep saying they'll come back in 2020 or something. I can't remember their name."
"Oh," Harry nodded slowly. "That's a shame. It must have really upset all of their fans."
Joey agreed, "Totally. Oh, and I think that one of them's apparently dating this model that he didn't even know like a month ago."
Harry nodded and furrowed his eyebrows, "I wonder who that is."
"Anyways," Joey nodded, "I'll see ya!"
They both ran off. Harry nodded and stood up, walking into the kitchen. He threw the remains of his finished apple up and I followed him inside.
I brought the topic up, "You know, about your songs, Harry. I can talk to my Dad and I'm sure you can get recognized."
"I'm not ready for that." Harry replied, "And there's no way your father is going to let that happen for me. Not after what he knows about us."
I told him, "He loves you."
Harry laughed, "That's funny."
I said, "He can't stop talking about how much he loves you."
Harry said, "In this house, we are very honest."
"So maybe he isn't exactly too fond of you," I said. "I mean, he sort of did call you a pedophile, but I'm sure we can work past that. We just need to do this."
Harry's eyes widened, "He called me a pedophile? That idiot!"
I said, "We just have to talk to him, convince him that your songs are great, and if you've impressed him, he'll tell the company about you and you might even have a record deal."
Harry sighed, "You say it like it's going to happen. It's not going to happen, Grace. This is your father we are talking about, not any ordinary man. And plus, I don't even know if I'm ready. This is too quick. I can't sing, I really can't."
I said, "Of course you can sing? Don't you sing your kids to sleep every night?"
Harry nodded, "I do, but I doubt I have a good voice."
"I'm sure you have an amazing voice," I said. "Your talking voice just gives me a feeling that you're singing voice is great. In fact, why don't you sing to me?"
Harry shook his head, "It's not happening. I'm not confident in myself. I'm scared. I don't think I have what it takes."
"Harry, don't doubt yourself," I said. "You've got to be confident. You've got to be the best you can. Self confidence is what's going to get you places. I know it's not easy, but you definitely have what it takes. And, I just don't want you to lose this opportunity."
"That's sweet," Harry said. "But, it's your father. Be realistic. There is nothing we can do that will make him impressed. He hates my guts."
I said, "Why don't you practice some more now and we'll go over and talk to him about it tonight?"
Harry asked, "Today? I don't know if I'm ready. This is too fast. I need more time."
"I won't rush you." I said, "You don't have to sing in front of him or anything. We just have to tell him about you."
Harry asked, "And if he punches me?"
I gulped, "Hopefully, he won't."
Harry said, "I'll do all of this, I will. But, on one condition."
I asked, "What's that?"
Harry answered, "You apologize to your Mum."
"Harry," I groaned, "This isn't about me! It's about you! Don't bring me into this! This has nothing to do with my Mum and I! Why is that so important to you anyway?"
"Because it just is," Harry explained. "I know you want this for me because you love me. Well, I want you to talk to your Mum because I love you. Can you do that for me?"
I shook my head, "I can't apologize to her. I don't want to talk to her. I'm not going back there and doing that. I bet she doesn't even miss me. She's probably too busy playing with Livy right now."
Harry said, "I can't believe you're jealous."
"Me? Jealous?" I chuckled, "In this house, we are very honest. Remember?"
"Sweetheart, there is nothing to be jealous of. There's nothing wrong with admitting it, either. I won't judge you. In fact, I find it quite precious." Harry smiled, "I think it's cute how you try to act like you hate your Mum, but deep down, you're getting all jealous and upset and you do that thing where you try to be mad but just end up looking adorable."
I crossed my arms over my chest, "Don't call me jealous."
Harry grinned and pinched my cheek, "Aw, little Grace misses her Mummy."
I said, "I don't miss her!"
"You're not fooling anyone." Harry said, "You love that woman, don't even lie. Everyone says things they don't mean. You're definitely not the only person that's told their Mum they hate them. But at the end of the day, who could really hate their Mum?"
I pointed at myself, "Me."
Harry said, "You're going to talk to her and then I will do what you want. And you're not going to talk to her because you think you have to, you're going to talk to her because you want to."
I said, "Harry, I'm sorry. I don't want to have anything to do with her. She came between us. I did this for you."
Harry connected his hands with mine and looked into my eyes, "I want to be with you, but this can't go on forever. A wise woman once told me that life is too short."
I asked, "Who told you that?"
Harry said, "You did."
I blushed, "Well, I am pretty wise—"
"My point is," He cut me off, "Life is way too short, Grace. You have to make sure that every relationship you have with someone is good. Because you have no idea how long they're going to be in your life. You could be in a fight with your best friend and forget about all the good times you had together. You could be fighting and falling each other names. And the next day, you find out that she went to bed one night and never woke up. She's gone. Just like that. Out of your life forever. What do you do then?"
I patted my lips and realized that his words had an affect on me, "I.."
Harry whispered, "She left the world knowing that you hated her, remembering everything you said to her. You never got to day sorry while she was alive. You never got a chance to fix your relationship. It just ended. And you live your life on with utter guilt knowing that she died knowing you hated her guts because you were too afraid to say one word. You can't apologize after she's gone, can you? It's too late."
I breathed and tried to process everything, "Harry.. Are you speaking from personal experience?"
"Something like that," Harry said. "I never held a grudge against someone. Of course we all have done things we regret. I've not lost someone that I felt like I needed to apologize to. More so, someone I felt like I didn't have enough time with. But what I'm talking about is different to this."
I nodded, "I understand."
"Think about it, Grace," Harry gave me a pat on the back. "It's entirely your decision. I've done my part. The decision is yours."
I thought about everything my mother and I had been through together. The ups and downs. We had done everything together and I was letting it all go so easily. It was then when I realized how cruel I had been to the woman who had made me who I am today and done nothing but want the best for me. Harry's explanation really made me realize that you can lose someone in an instant. I started to get watery eyes and wrapped my arms around Harry, sniffing, "Harry, I was so mean."
Harry rubbed my back, "Shhh, it's okay, baby."
"Harry, how does she not hate me yet?" I whispered, "After everything I said to her, she did nothing but respect me. I'm the worst daughter in the world! I can't believe I did that.."
Harry nodded, "I'm proud of you."
"How could I say all of those things?" I whispered and wiped away a few tears, "I didn't mean them, I swear. I don't know what happened to me. I was awful to her! I want to apologize to her right now! You're right, life is too short.."
Harry whispered, "Hey, I'm proud of you. You made the right decision. I love you even more for this. It just shows that you have a good heart. We all make mistakes. It's important that we realize those mistakes and fix them."
I looked down at the ground and ran my hands through my hair, "I want to apologize to her right now."
"That's great because," Harry said. "I actually called her over before talking to you about it. I knew you'd say yes."
I asked, "Really? She's here?"
Harry nodded, "Yeah, I called her over. It would have been awful if you said no. Erin, you can come in!"
Mum walked in and I saw her walk toward us. Her head was hanging down slightly, and I had a feeling that she knew what was going on. I couldn't help it. As soon as she stepped inside, I ran straight into her arms.
She was caught off guard and wrapped her arms around me. I teared up, and cried into her arms. She cooed, "Hey, it's okay, baby."
"I'm so sorry," I whispered. "If you hate me, I understand completely. I deserve it! I deserve it so much! I'm the worst daughter in the world! I can't believe I said all those things! I'm so lucky to have you in my life! I can't believe I was about to push you away forever! Will you ever love me again?"
"Sweetheart," Mum whispered into my hair, "I never stopped loving you."
I looked up at her, "Really? You forgive me?"
Mum wiped some tears that had made their way onto her face and said, "Of course I forgive you. I'm just glad you came back, Grace. My heart was hurting more and more everyday. I really thought you were done with me."
I whispered and hugged her again, "Never.."
Mum hugged me tightly, "I love you so much, Grace."
"I love you too. I can't believe you've forgive me after all I did. I don't deserve to be forgiven. I love you so much, I could never hate you. I didn't mean what I said about hating you, I could never!" I pulled away and looked into her eyes while saying, "Thank you for being the most amazing mother in the world, for taking care of me since I was a baby to now, thank you for being concerned about me. I saw it as a bad thing that you were worried, but Harry made me realize that life is too short and I really do love you.."
"I love you too. So much. My only baby," Mum caressed my face and gave Harry a small smile, "Thank you, Harry. This.. This is amazing."
Harry answered with a smile, "Hey, its no problem. It was the right thing to do. I just tried to help. Grace made the right decision. I'm happy for you guys."
Mum continued to rub my back as I was still trying to process it in. I was still quite emotional and she observed Harry, "You know, the way you were taking care of Grace at the grocery store yesterday, and the fact that you encouraged her to apologize just shows me that you're nothing but good for her.."
Harry was a bit surprised, "Really?"
"Harry, I know it's weird because we used to be married," Mum said, "But I want to see her happy, and I know that not only do you make her happy, but you also bring out the best in her. And that's amazing."
I looked up at her, "Really?"
"I just want to get past us." Mum said. "I'm with someone now and I admit, it's weird and I used to be so concerned. But after I saw the way you care for her and teach her the right things, I realized that I was wrong. Maybe this is love.."
I looked at Harry and bit my lip, "It is."
Harry nodded, "It really is. I would never hurt Grace. All I've done is look out for her and care for her. I really do love your daughter."
Mum nodded, "I know you do. The age difference doesn't bother me as much anymore because I know that this is something you both want and you are genuinely happy, and you're an adult. I just want to show you that I am.." She paused and said, "That I am accepting it, and want to welcome you, Harry."
My eyes widened and I hugged her tightly, the tightest I had ever hugged anyone, "You are the best mother ever! I'm so sorry for everything!"
Harry parted his lips and was trust amazed, "Holy shit. Wow. Erin, I.."
"Don't worry about us. We're good." Mum said, "Just to show you that I am finally accepting this, I want you to come with Grace to dinner at our place, Harry. Not as someone I used to be married to. Not as her stepfather. But, as a member of the family."
Harry stepped forward and gave my Mum a warm hug, "Woah, Erin. Thank you so much. You have no idea how much your words and acceptance mean to me. It shows that you are so open minded and truly a good mother for wanted your daughter happy. I hope we can move on from our past and just keep moving forward."
"If you love each other," Mum said. "That's all that matters."