It was their last day at the cabin before the four-hour drive home. For Meredith's father, it was the last day to catch a fish, and boy, was he ready for the big one. Dawn wasn't even breaking, and he was up and out of the cabin. Meredith heard the door close, startling her away, but Harry was in the bed beside her. She rolled over and went back to sleep.
When she awoke again, sunlight streamed through the thin privacy curtains. Already, people were awake at the resort because she heard people boating and swimming. It was their last day at the cabin too. They wanted to get in as much relaxation as possible. Meredith blinked at the light, and then she turned to find Harry awake.
"How long have you been like this?" she asked groggily.
"A while," he said, blue eyes glistening on her. Rolling up, he kissed her tenderly on the lips. "I didn't want to wake you up."
"It's probably for the best." She kissed him back. "I've been told I'm a bear when I get woken up."
"Yes." He kissed her. "You are."
She chuckled. Her fingers wrapped around Harry's neck, drawing him in closer, and he smiled. In the sunlight, his head looked to be on fire. His hair was wild in the morning, not that he did much to tame it during the day. If Meredith was ever up early enough, then she was sure it looked like a sunrise. Her hand ran across his face, from his sideburns down to his chin. He was getting scruffy, but then again, he liked it like that.
Carefully, Harry put a hand on Meredith's stomach. It hadn't grown any, but he noticed the changes. Any day now, he thought, there was going to be a change. Truthfully, Harry wasn't going to notice that easily. Most likely, he'd blink and suddenly the time was gone in a flash. Looking back, it seemed like yesterday that he met Meredith, but that had been a few years ago.
"You're thinking about London, aren't you?" she asked.
"No," he said.
"Then what?"
Harry kissed her again, and then he rolled back onto his side of the bed, leaving his hand on her stomach. "I was just thinking about our past... and our future-- and maybe London too."
"You miss it," she said. "I can see it sometimes."
"I love you, Mere--"
"It doesn't have to either/ or," she said. "You can miss London and love me. Sometimes, I miss London. There's a lot to do there. There is so much happening. I get why you miss there. Your family is there, and I'm sure they'll be very excited to see us."
Harry hadn't seen his family in over six months. Talking to them on the phone wasn't the same thing. It was the longest he had been away from them.
"I'm happy to be here too."
His tone didn't convince her.
"You've been away from your family for longer. You've moved to London--"
"And I like London, and I like being here, and I like your family, and I love you, Harry," she listed. "And..." Meredith moved her hand down to her stomach, "and I love this child. We'll be back in London soon, but honestly, I don't wish to be there now. I don't mind being in the light, but everything is going to change when we get back."
"We don't have to tell the media right away, not until you're, like, showing, and then I mean, you have worn flowy things in the past."
Meredith rolled her eyes. "I meant your family knows. Somehow, I think they'll make a bigger deal out of it than my father did."
"It is a big deal," Harry said. "Another grandchild, another great-grandchild. There's a line of succession."
Meredith rolled away and groaned. Keeping her tone light, she said, "Let's not, Harry. You're not one to care about that stuff, and when we get back to London, I'm sure there will be all the hoops to jump through and stuff to talk about." In her head, Meredith already heard boring old men with dry tones going through lists of what she could and could not do as a pregnant member of the royal family. "Come on." She smiled. "The day is still long. We should do something with it."
Harry wore a mysterious smile. "What did you have in mind?"
She smirked. "It's certainly not what you think." Meredith got out of bed.
The day was long and sunny. Meredith wanted to be at the pool, relaxing and reading. She didn't want to think about anything. That was surely going to come later, especially in the next few months-- or years. However, Harry didn't relax like Meredith did, so they compromised. After breakfast when it wasn't too warm outside yet, they decided to go for a walk.
Since they were on a peninsula, there were lack of choices to go for a "hike." Also, Meredith didn't like the word "hike"; it implied camping, which wasn't happening. The lakes were plentiful this far north, so hiking through the woods without walking into a lake or onto someone's land was pretty much impossible. They followed along the dirt road out of the peninsula, and then they hit the country road that didn't have a lot of cars on it. If they went to the left, then they would've eventually hit the Boy Scouts camp and would have to turn back. To the right, eventually a small town called Emmaville would appear. They went right.
Following along the curves of the road, they walked. When a car did come up, Meredith and Harry were prepared because they heard it when it was still a mile off. There was another lake to their left, and there were woods to the right-- and then another lake. When they came to a fork in the road, they went left, deciding to go closer to the lake. The road became hilly, and Meredith started to regret this choice.
"You got this," he said.
"That, or you'll have to carry me," she said, starting up a hilly.
Eventually, the hill gave way to a slope and into the lake. There was a boat landing, but none of the boaters looked to the walkers. A large pavilion sat on the side of the lake, and Meredith took off her shoes and let her feet dangle in the water. It was cool, and it felt so nice. Harry sat beside her but didn't stick his feet in.
"I don't have to go on hikes in London. That's what I mostly miss," she joked.
Harry chuckled. "True. You can always use the Tube."
"The Tube is nice." Meredith liked it, but then again, she hadn't been able to ride it for a while. She decided that was going to change when they got back.
The lake in front of them was calm. The few boaters were only there for fishing. Harry liked fishing. If Meredith was on a boat, then she wanted to go fast, but if they were stationary, then she was bringing a boat.
"Maybe your dad should come out here to fish," Harry said, "if the picking is so good."
"He's just that picky," Meredith said. "He's probably not going to eat the fish. He just wants to catch the big fish for himself. He wants the pride, and then he'll throw it back in. Let it live to see another day. Let it get bigger for the next fisher."
They sat there for a few minutes. Minos came and started to pick at her toes. Meredith decided it was time to go after that.
On their way back, Meredith hated going up the hill again, but she did it. They crossed onto the road, keeping an eye out for the traffic. They walked by the woods now, following the curve of the road. The pool was sounding more and more like a good idea. Meredith just thought about putting on her swimsuit, grabbing a few books and heading down to the pool.
Harry was so focused on the road ahead of them, especially because there was a rumble of tires on the road, that he didn't notice.
Meredith asked, "Do you feel like we're being followed?"
Harry glanced back, turning startled. "Oh dear," he said.
"Does it have antlers?" she asked.
"No. Just a doe."
Meredith glanced back, and there was in fact a deer ten feet behind them. When they took a step forward, the deer also took the step. It was curious doe. Brown eyes peered at them, curious about the humans that was close to her woods.
"Got any snacks on you?" Meredith asked her husband.
"No, I didn't pack any this morning," Harry said dryly. "Apparently, I missed the mark."
"A little bit." They continued to walk.
"Is it just going to keep following us?" Harry kept glancing back, like the deer was going to charge at them.
"She will get bored of us eventually." Meredith said it, even though she had no idea. Deer following her wasn't a common occurrence. Meredith, afterall, wasn't a Disney Princess, even though a lot of Americans liked to believe she was.
They lost the deer by the time they hit the dirt road as it chose not to come onto the peninsula. Meredith was so happy to almost be back to the cabin. Harry was almost ready for a nap. When they got back to the cabin, they almost crawled back into bed, but Meredith heard how calm it was by the pool. They could be alone. She quickly changed into her swimsuit, grabbed some books and head down. After being lathered up with sunscreen, Harry joined her at the pool.
"Here we go." Meredith leaned back in her lounge chair, a couple books stacked up beside her. "This is where I want to be."
Harry chuckled, and then he fell asleep. At least, he was covered in sunscreen this time.