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“Don’t start with that ‘too young’ stuff, Harris,” Mari says in a warning tone, her voice trembling. “You know I hate condescension. But yeah, this is quite the discovery, and I need to think things through,” she announces. Then, she grabs her backpack from the floor and heaves it onto one shoulder. “Let’s keep in touch, okay? I’ll find a friend to stay with this weekend because obviously, you’re busy for Halloween,” she says, nodding at the pumpkin costume draped over one chair. “See you around, Harris.”
Then, the curvy brunette is out the door, her curls flying. The door slams behind her and the house is oddly quiet without Mari’s presence, save for the tinny tinkling of cartoon voices floating down the stairs. But my heart wrenches as I grip the kitchen counter, my knuckles white. I lied in order to wrangle a better divorce settlement out of my ex-wife … but it seems that it’s only caused me heartache in the end.
CHAPTER11
Mari
Iplop down on Ali’s bed, staring blindly at the ceiling.
“This sucks,” I groan.
My buddy pops a Dorito into her mouth, crunching loudly.
“It doesn’t seem so bad,” Ali says in a diplomatic voice. “I mean, things could be worse.”
I close my eyes, trying to absorb the events of the morning.
“How could things be worse, Ali? Tell me.”
My buddy shrugs while popping another chip into her mouth.
“Well, I mean, Harris could have three heads or something like that. Besides, you said his son is cute, right?”
I nod, still with my eyes closed.
“Harmoniscute,” I say in a low voice. “He’s the spitting image of his dad, actually. But this is just so crazy! I can’t believe Harris has been hiding his son from me for years! It’s insane!”
Alice shrugs.
“I think what’s insane is that his divorce has dragged on this long.” Then, she pauses and thinks, cocking her curly brown head to one side. “Actually, knowing Jeannette, I’m not surprised. Your mom can be so vindictive sometimes.”
I sigh because Ali’s known me since forever, which means that she knows Jeanette as well. We met back in junior high when we were both chubby girls with frizzy hair and a mouthful of braces. But now, we’ve both grown up and moved on. Me, to Concordia College, and Ali to the local community college where she’s studying nutrition.
“So what should I do?” I sigh, still with my eyes closed. If I could, I’d melt into this comforter and never come up again. This bed could sink into the bowels of the earth, and I’d be okay with it.
Ali pauses to think.
“Well, do you love him?” she asks.
I crack one eye open and peer at her.
“You mean Harris? Or Harmon?”
She laughs merrily.
“Harris of course! You’ve never even really met Harmon.”
I bite my lip, nodding slightly.
“I think so,” I say in a low voice. “I mean, I’ve had some time to think about it. After my stepdad dropped me off at school, I was pretty heartbroken. I wanted to see him, and I felt … well,lonelywithout Harris there every day. It was tough.”
Ali nods.
“So if you love him, then…”
I stare at her.
“Then what?”
