The car ride home from the Christmas concert was somewhat silent. The children were all abuzz, but beyond talking to them and reserving a few words for him, Karen was silent. Harry cursed himself mentally for what seemed to be the thousandth time or so since she had confronted him. Pulling into the garage, he climbed out. "Karen, once the children are in bed I must talk to you." Harry murmured as he helped Bernie put the bits of his costume away. Looking at his face, Karen saw that he was determined and knew that she would not be able to put him off. Deciding that the sooner she got it over with the better, she sighed. "All right. I'll meet you in the bedroom in 5 minutes."
He sat on the edge of the bed and waited patiently for her to come. Karen strode into the room mere moments later. "Okay Harry, what is it?" she asked. He fidgeted for a moment, then rose to his feet. "I've had an offer from an American company to go and observe some of their different offices and techniques in hopes of perhaps making a merger. I would be gone for a month, and I thought that I might take it so we can have some time to think about…us." he finished softly. "Will you be taking anyone with you?" Karen asked, not daring to look up at her husband. "No." he replied firmly.
"Ah, I see. Well, I must admit that it seems like a sound plan. When will you be leaving?" she asked. "Two days from now." Standing up, Karen looked out the window. "Good luck, Harry. I hope the trip is a success."
Harry winced. She sounded as concerned about his trip as an African would be about a decaying wildebeest carcass lying in the middle of the desert. "God damn mother fucking shite wanked buggered areshole I'm screwed." he groaned as he went back downstairs. Looked like another night on the sofa for him.
It had been a week since Harry had gone, and Karen hated to admit it, but she was beginning to miss him. "Oh Daniel, this sucks major arse." she groaned. Daniel smiled, and merely refilled her tea mug. "I could say something here, but I really want to live!" he joked. "Damn well better keep your mouth shut, or I'll make Carol do it for me!" she shot back.
Growing more serious, Daniel sat down across from her. "So what actually happened between you and Harry? I've gotten some vague hints from David but nothing concrete. He said if he flat out told me, you'd threatened to shove a 20 foot barge pole up his arse."
Karen smiled very evilly. "It's so nice to know that one man on this planet takes my threats seriously." she commented sweetly. Daniel sighed. "Are you going to tell me or am I going to have to play 20 Questions?"
Setting down her tea, she glanced down at her wedding ring and was horrified to find that there were some tears in her eyes. "Get a grip on yourself, girl. If you cry all the time, nobody's ever going to shag you." Daniel teased, reminding her of the words she had once told him. "Shut up, you old wanker." she replied with a watery smile.
Quickly, she filled him in on the incident with the necklace, the confrontation, and Harry's subsequent journey to America. "Want me to kill him when he gets back?" her friend asked sympathetically when she had finished. "Oh Dan, I have no idea what on earth I want to do with that man. One part of me would love to kick him in the arse repeatedly with some good combat boots, and another part of me wants to go marching down to his office and tell that whore to flirt with someone else's husband because she's not getting mine! I finally got him trained." Karen said. Daniel chuckled, and replied soothingly, "Whatever you decide, let me know so I can come videotape it and have it for posterity's sake!"
She laughed then, a real laugh. "You'll be alright, Karen. Harry loves you in his own reserved way. I know of that Mia woman at his work, and I can tell you she has a real reputation for trying to put the moves on her employers." Daniel said off-handedly.
A glint appeared in Karen's eye. "Does she now? I might just have to have David do some investigating for me." "I didn't hear anything." Daniel replied as he took their mugs and placed them in the sink. "Good man. I need to go. Take care Daniel and tell Sam I said hello." "Will do. Go kick some whore arse!" he responded cheerfully.
Karen hadn't had anymore time to think about her relationship with Harry. She had agreed to take on a new position as the head of a women's book club and she'd even started walking for 45 minutes a day.
Looking at her calendar, her stomach tightened. Harry was due home in about a week. She wondered what on earth was going to happen. "Oh sod it, no time for that shite right now." she told herself as she hurried out the door.
Heathrow was full of arrivals that day. Daniel's son Sam was overjoyed to see Joanna, the girl he was in love with. David returned, and Natalie's enthusiastic greeting brought a smile to her face. She wouldn't be surprised if the two of them didn't end up getting married.
"There's Dad!" Bernie cried. Daisy slipped under the rail and was lifted up in her father's arms. "How are you darling?" he asked, looking at Karen carefully. "I'm fine. I'm fine." she replied somewhat coolly.
Looking at his luggage cart, Karen noticed a very oddly shaped case sitting on top of his other bag. "Harry, if I may ask, what in the bloody hell did you bring back from America with you?" she asked. He looked at her, and she was shocked to see a sheepish half-smile on his face which was also tinged with a slight blush. "It's a guitar." he muttered. "A guitar?" Karen replied, feeling somewhat flabbergasted.
He nodded. "I used to play when I was younger and I really had nothing to do in the hotel room at night, so my very nice guide who plays a little herself offered to take me to a music shop that had some very nice deals running on acoustics." he replied.
Karen couldn't believe Harry had never told her about playing the guitar, since it was obviously something he enjoyed doing. She saw the light go on in his eyes when he talked about his new instrument. "You'll have to play something for us when we get home." she commented politely. A dazzling smile which almost robbed her knees of their strength crossed over his face. "I'd like that very much." he beamed.
After dinner was over, Harry proudly unveiled his new guitar. Karen had to admit it was very beautiful, with it's rose colored wood. "Play us something Dad!" Daisy cried. "Yeah, do it Dad." Bernie added. "Yes, let's hear it Harry.' Karen said, curious as to what the guitar sounded like.
"Your wish is my command." he intoned playfully before he pulled a pick out of his pocket. Settling himself carefully on the edge of the sofa, he placed the guitar on his knee, found the right area for his arm to rest on the body, and began to strum. Karen was triplely shocked when her husband, whom she'd thought she knew everything about opened his mouth and began to sing. He had a gorgeous voice that washed over her from head to toe.
Sick and tired of this world
There's no more air.
Trippin' over myself
Goin' nowhere
Waiting, suffocating, no direction
I took a dive and
On the way down
I saw you
And you saved me from myself.
And I won't forget the way you loved me
On the way down
I almost fell right through
But I held on to you
I've been wondering why It's only me Have you always been inside Waiting to breathe It's all right, there's Sunlight on my face I wake up and yeah, I'm alive 'cos
On the way down
I saw you
And you saved me from myself.
And I won't forget the way you loved me
On the way down
I almost fell right through
But I held on to you
I was so afraid
Of going under
But now the weight of the world
Feels like nothing, no nothing.
You're all I wanted
You're all I needed
On the way down
I saw you
And you saved me from myself.
And I won't forget the way you loved me
On the way down
I almost fell right through
But I held on to you
Finishing with a flourish, Harry looked at his family to watch their reactions. "Dad, that is SO awesome! You've gotta sing more often!" Daisy said. Bernie nodded his agreement while Karen looked…dazed. "Darling?" Harry asked, wondering if she had something on her mind. "That was…absolutely amazing." she said finally. A shy smile crept over his face and the next thing he said floored her.
"I was thinking that if you want, I could teach you a little. Maybe even show you a Joni Mitchell song or two." he teased. Karen smiled at him, realizing that she had missed this man greatly. Remembering that she had wanted to keep her distance for a while, she wondered if she was going to have the willpower to hold out, especially if he was going to giving her personal guitar lessons.
"Maybe he can teach me courses in other things." she thought before giving herself a gigantic mental slap. "Bad girl! Just because you haven't had a bloody shag in over a month does NOT mean that you are going to give in or throw yourself at him! At least wait until there's a mutual throwing!"
Looking over to see what Harry was doing, she almost audibly groaned. Of course he would be bending over at that exact moment, giving her a very nice view of his arse. "Bugger me with a wanking barge pole!" she screamed internally.
Turning and finding her gaze on him, Harry smiled and winked at her. Karen rose a little unsteadily to her feet and made her way into the kitchen. It was going to be a VERY long night, and she definitely wanted some chocolate to see her through. "Thanks a lot Daniel for bringing up shagging. I'll bloody get you for that." she muttered as she went to the fridge and pulled out the carton of ice cream.
Harry was somewhat pleased with how his homecoming had gone. He knew that his and Karen's relationship had a long way to go and he was going to have to rebuild so many years of trust, but he felt she was worth it. "What was I thinking?" he wondered as he set himself up on the sofa. "Why on earth would I throw everything away on that…bimbo?"
Sighing heavily, he seated himself on the sofa and buried his head in his hands. "Stupid, stupid me." he said softly. "You're not stupid, Harry. You just did a typical man thing and thought with your balls." Karen replied from the doorway. "It was still a very stupid thing to do." he groaned.
She looked closely at him. He seemed thinner and more tired than he usually was. "Stop beating yourself up, Harry. It really doesn't suit you and that end of it is already said and done. We only can move forward from here."
"You're right…as usual." he replied respectfully. Yawning, he stretched and removed his glasses. Setting them down on the table, he looked her right in the eyes. "I'm very glad to be home." he said simply. "I'm glad to have you home. See you in the morning."