Here's this Saturday's update. Seems is just in time!
My stomach was acting up. Went to the doctor. She prescribed a new food regime (*Surprise* *Surprise*). That means food shopping Saturday mornings and meal prep in the afternoons, so I can take my lunch to the office. I absolutely refuse to do any work on Sundays.
I am feeling much better.
Enough about me. Let me know how your week has been.
Here it goes! XOXO
Seven
A year ago I would have sworn that this day in my life was already perfectly planned and even had a theme: Honeymoon, but things hadn't turned out according to the program.
Instead, the theme for this day seemed to be riding in cars with celebrities. To be more specific I was riding in a luxury automobile with Harry Styles and Nicholas Grimshaw. I decided to be philosophical about it.
Hey, when life hands you lemons you make lemonade.
Life lesson learned.
"I like your name, Bliss," Grimmy said. "It must be nice being around you. With a name like that it sure is hard being sulky."
"I just hope my mum and you never meet. She'll be insufferably smug if she listens to your talk about my name that way." I answered
"Oh, I feel there's a story here. Do tell" Grimmy replied. "It'll distract me from Harold's terrible driving."
"I'll have you know that I'm a very reliable driver, Mr. Grimshaw. I've never gotten a ticket." Harry defended himself.
"Only because you charm the traffic police with your adorable dimples. Life is so unfair to the rest of us ordinary people." Grimmy went on.
"Is not my looks, is my amazing driving skills Grimmy. I've always gotten you to your destination perfectly safely, and yet you complain every chance you get. I refuse to go on with this conversation. I'd rather learn about Bliss's name, you should hear her sister's names: Felicity and Allegra, she's even got a chum named Joy. There's certainly a story there." Harry stated.
A warm feeling rose up in my stomach, knowing Harry had taken the time to learn the names of the people who were close to me and remembered them. Spurred by this warm feeling I proceeded to regale them with the tale of Dolores Clarke, the woman who at the young age of 18, set out to be an exchange student in Spain and learned that her name that in the language of that land meant pain. Since that day she swore to do everything within her means to assure her offspring would bear auspicious names, the kinds of names that would ward off pain and bring them happiness.
Harry found the story delightful, "So in your mother's book, you're guaranteed a gleeful lifetime because of your name. Interesting, has it worked Bliss Clarke?" he said fixing his compelling stare on me whilst a smirk showed in the corners of his mouth.
I gulped, under Harry's lie detector eyes I was on the verge of spilling out the whole bit of having been dumped by a fiancé who didn't get my mum's memo on happiness. Even if he had gotten it, it wouldn't have made much difference. To be honest, he never was never bothered to read any of the memos he got. I had to remind him constantly of appointments and deadlines.
Luckily I was saved from a near too much information moment by Grimmy asking "What a nonsensical question, Harold. Is Bliss not spending a delightful afternoon with us in Cheshire? Of course, the name has worked for her. "
"I'm just glad my mum didn't adhere to that name theory, she always liked music and encouraged me to sing. She even got me and Gemma a karaoke machine. I could very well be named Karaoke Styles" Harry replied.
"Karaoke Styles, imagine that" laughed away Grimmy "Or an instrument name, you could be Harp Styles or Violin Styles "
"I'm sorry to interrupt the fun you are having rechristening me Grimmy, but we have arrived," Harry announced, braking the car before a building with red painted window trimmings with a sign that read W. Mandeville – Traditional Craft Bakers.
As had happened at the service station on the drive to Holmes Chapel, and at Anne's house we didn't get the chance to open the entrance door, instead, it flew open as soon as Harry got out of the car. The bakery owner, as well as the personnel, were all out on the street affectionately hugging Harry, and as it is the case with the Styles hugs, Grimmy and I were immediately enveloped in all the hugging craziness. We were hurried inside the store, and soon Harry was donning an apron and minding the cash register, to the delight of some teenage girls who had come into the store no doubt more interested in getting a selfie taken with their idol than in acquiring some bread. Harry joked around easily with everybody in the bakery, told about his days sweeping floors and doing the washing up, and as fast as we had come, whisked us away announcing that the next place in the tour was HCCS – Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School. The people in the bakery only let him go after he agreed to take loads of baked goods with him, given as a parting gift amid comments of how thin he's become and Harry's protests that he's not thin but muscly
HCCS was closed for summer since it was August. Harry showing a determined streak within him, made use of his legendary charm and an offer of free tickets for his upcoming TV special taping, and thus managed to convince the principal to grant us access. We followed Harry around school grounds, which he showed us with a mischievous glint in his eyes. He seemed genuinely happy to run into Mrs. Nixon, his former French teacher, and even ventured into a little conversation in French with her. He showed us the school's auditorium where he had taken part in every play and sang with White Eskimo. Full of pride he told us tales of his days as the school goalie in the football team, the bathroom stall where he had hidden to sneak in a smoke getting caught and not smoking ever again since then. The cafeteria with a full description of the menu things he'd liked, and the ones he loathed and used as ammunition for food fights, the broom closet where he'd hid to ditch class, the infirmary where he'd gone when his allergies had gotten the best of him and given him asthma attacks. The school visit was also cut short by Harry, eager to show us the rest of the town.
The cuddle huddle that always surrounded Harry ensued over and over again, as we visited other places in Holmes Chapel. The Chinese restaurant he loved, where once again he was gifted with a massive amount of food and comments about how thin he was. The local newspaper office, where he had had a delivery route. The local bookstore, several restaurants, and pubs, the local chemist, the video game store. Our walk around town was much more pleasant than I had anticipated. Having seen all those newspaper stories about Harry and his band-mates being mobbed by crowds wherever they went, I had prepared myself for that scenario. However, there was no chasing, no paparazzi and only minor interruptions. Some people stopped to greet Harry, some asked for pictures and autographs, a couple of times he was asked to make a short film in fan's phones greeting some far away friend, everybody was very respectful and courteous.
Apparently, people were used to seeing Harry around town and didn't make a big fuss about it.
"I like coming home" he said whilst we stood inside the local flower shop where he picked up a beautiful bouquet to thank his mum for dinner, "people here have known me my whole life, even before X Factor and I don't get any special treatment, Is a good place to relax and recharge."
I kind of agreed with him, but at the same, it was easy to tell people really thought he was special, and he was very much loved around town. Some people had crossed the street to talk to him and express their gratitude for the help he or Anne had given them at one time or another: A loan to start a business, a home rebuilt after a fire, paying for a child's music lessons. He had been very kind to the people thanking him, but also kind of embarrassed as if he had preferred to keep the matter a secret. It was easy to tell Harry was beloved in his hometown, once news spread that he was visiting people kept a look out for him on the street, and made a point of going over to him and say hello, their faces lighting up when he engaged in conversation with them. Nevertheless, amid all the adoring neighbors some sour faces could be seen, some dark stares were directed his way, a couple of "conceited git" comments could be heard. A sad truth is that jealousy always accompanies success, it was hard to tell whether Harry noticed or not.
"Would you two mind waiting for me in the car?" Harry asked as our tour was coming to an end. "I have a quick errand to run before we go back home."
"Jeeeesus, Harold! Is obvious you've got some action planned for tonight and you're going to sneak to the chemist to buy some condoms. Why would we want to go with you for that?" Grimmy teased.
"Grimmy, it wouldn't kill you to get your mind of the gutter once in a while. If you must know I just wanna pop into the food store and get some Cheshire cheese it's boring. I don't intend to drag you along for that" Harry let out, beginning to walk away tossing his keys our way.
Once Grimmy and I were settled inside Harry's comfy car, he turned to me and said: "I can honestly state that I'm really glad to have met you, Bliss Clarke"
"Likewise Nicholas Grimshaw. I always listen to your show, I'm a big fan." I replied, trying to steer the conversation to him, instead of me.
"Honest, Bliss. I heard of Common Knowledge, your blog, form Anne and checked it out. I really liked your spin on that silly 2013 business when Harold and I were doing a bit of pub crawling with Gemma and Kelly Osbourne during London Fashion Week. He's always been a klutz, and he stepped on that puppy on the street. Many tabloids said he was drunk, but you pointed out he clearly wasn't as he could easily kneel to make sure the dog was all right and quickly get back up without losing his balance. You do write some compelling shit"
"Thank you, I think," I answered hurriedly.
Grimmy looked at me and uttered: "Bliss girl, let me impart some life wisdom upon you: When someone pays you a compliment take it. Modesty as a virtue is highly overrated"
Those words, coming from Grimmy were completely unexpected. I didn't answer him because I simply didn't know what to say. I was so used to working and putting my best effort into things because it was the right thing to do. I never expected to be thanked or complimented for a job well done. The Duck always said compliments were for insecure people, those who were sure of themselves didn't need them.
Later that night I lay awake staring at the ceiling on Gemma's bedroom, eyes wide open. I turned around several times in bed and looked at my phone screen it was only 01:02 and sleep wouldn't come, I tried deep breathing, counting down, and up, from one hundred several times, some lavender scented sleep-inducing essential oil, an eye mask, listening to relaxing music. Nothing worked. I finally gave up
I was officially suffering from insomnia that night. Although after we made it back to Anne's house after the Harry Styles Holmes Chapel tour I felt completely knackered and couldn't stop yawning throughout dinner, up to the point I was excused from the family Scrabble game so I could get some rest. "Great" I muttered to myself "I'll be a mess tomorrow, during my first work session in my new job, with my new celebrity boss." Of course, worrying about the next day work tasks only made my sleepless state worse.
The only thing I hadn't tried was my usual go-to routine when I couldn't sleep. It always did the trick. On any a night I would get out my laptop and watch videos of Harry during his 1D days, his goofy antics on interviews and concerts would make me laugh, and get me relaxed enough to slumber the night away. Somehow watching old videos of Harry, whilst sleeping in his sister's bedroom at his mother's house seemed neither appealing nor relaxing. There hardly was even a chance of them finding out about my secret guilty pleasure, they were all probably sleep, I could wear headphones so there wouldn't be any noise and hey didn't have x-ray vision to see through walls and closed doors, but it still felt deeply uncomfortable.
"I might as well earn my keep" I mumbled, resigning myself to a sleepless night. I opened my laptop and went straight to my emails. I had already read the email Harry sent me earlier with the plans for the next morning work session several times, but it gave me an electric jolt each time I saw his name in my inbox.
Then I proceeded to open Word and started jotting down the day's impressions. After we'd return from town Anne had dinner ready, Harry was jubilant "Nothing smells better than a home-cooked meal" he declared whilst happily setting the table and refusing my help, still insisting on treating me like a guest. Nick, on the other hand, he bossed around mercilessly.
After I was sent to bed because I yawned repeatedly I had finally gotten around to answering the Common Knowledge emails, and to have a group chat with my sisters and Joy, mum joining in occasionally. It took a while to answer all the questions they had. Once they calmed down I finally managed to ask if they've heard anything regarding The Duck, which they hadn't, also my choice of words made them ecstatic "That is so good, you calling him The Duck. You never did before, you're over him, that is fantastic." At that point I decided to cut the conversation short because it would be only a matter of minutes (seconds if mum was not around) before they started with jokes about "The best way to get over a man is to get under a new man" and comments about sexy sexy Styles.
Something else had happened right after dinner, remembering it made me all warm and fuzzy. Harry had stopped me in the hallway as I was going up the stairs with a wicked gleam on his eyes a full-blown smile, "I've got something for you, that I'm sure you'll love" he said, extricating a Flake candy bar from his back pocket "I noticed how you looked at the Malteasers earlier, so I whilst we were in town I used getting cheese as a pretext for getting you this. Although I advocate healthy eating, chocolate is always good." His thoughtful gesture rendered me speechless, so I just gave him a hug before going up. Once I made it to the top of the stairs I began to worry about Harry thinking I was overly familiar with him, I glanced back to check if he was still stood in the hallway and found him looking up at me and smiling.
I tried to be good and save the chocolate for the next day but remembering all this made me hungry, "Oh, for fuck's sake!" I said and devoured the candy bar. It worked and sleep came. When I woke up the next day I still had the wrapper in my hand, it smelled a little like Harry.
I just feel chocolate and Harry solve all? What do you think?