Harry sighs as he enters his house after returning from Heathrow Airport. He wasn't sure he was going to be back here after his stupid actions at Christmas. He watches his children, Bernie and Daisy, run out the door to play with friends down the street. Harry takes his suitcase upstairs and pulls out all his dirty laundry and puts it in the hamper before he heads back downstairs. He hears his wife, Karen, mucking around in the kitchen. He smells mint, and assumes that his wife has made herbal tea which is what she always does when she's upset. He's dreading this conversation. He doesn't want to hear that he has to leave his children and Karen, but Karen won't tolerate his behaviour and she shouldn't have to. He's still not sure why he did what he did.
Karen pauses as she hears Harry enter the kitchen. She's not sure how to begin this conversation. She's turned it over many times in her mind since Harry left on his trip. "We need to talk." Karen says as she pours the two of them a cup of peppermint tea. For several days after Harry left on his business trip she was still pouring two cups of tea all the time.
"Yes, we need to talk about many things." Harry says as he takes his mug and walks into the living room. He slumps into his usual place on the couch. It feels like home.
"You look tired." Karen says as she comes and sits next to Harry. She noticed that when she first saw him at the airport. She really loves him despite everything and she knows, in her heart, Harry didn't physically cheat on her which somehow makes everything better although the emotional betrayal hurts too.
"I haven't exactly been sleeping well. I wasn't sure if you were even going to be here when I got home. I didn't even sleep on the plane and I always sleep on the plane. I should have talked to you before I left. I was a coward not to." Harry says as he sips his hot tea. "Oh, my first decent cup of tea in a month. This is very good, Karen."
"Harry, I'm not going to leave you and I'm not going to ask you to leave. I love you despite the pain you've caused me recently. I only have three questions to ask you. Did you sleep with Mia? Why did you do it? Am I not good enough for you? Did you think about your family at all?" Karen asks as she sits her tea down and puts her hand over Harry's gently. She wants him to look at her which he hasn't managed to do yet.
"I swear to you, Karen, I never slept with Mia. She gave me the opportunity to, but I never did. I wasn't tempted by her that way. I only have eyes for you, though Mia had her eyes on me from the start. I was flattered by her attentions, but I never wanted her the way she wanted me. She was young and obsessed with me. I didn't think she'd go as far as she did. She's a master manipulator. She didn't care how far she went with me or who saw what she was trying to do or whether she broke up my family. She flirted with me in front of you! I didn't think dancing with Mia would be wrong, but I should have just danced with you. I felt attractive. I haven't felt that way for a long time. She made it so easy. I feel so manipulated. Mia played her role perfectly. I made some phone calls to Mia's former bosses. She's done this before. She's been dismissed from her last five jobs because of similar behaviour." Harry says as he finishes his tea. He sets the mug down on the table in front of him.
"Why wasn't that in her file? I don't think anyone would hire her if they knew about her behaviour. Why didn't you feel attractive? You're handsome, Harry. I've never heard you complain about your looks before. I still think that you're sexy, Harry. I just thought that you didn't find me attractive." Karen says as she leans her head on Harry's shoulder.
"You can't be serious that you still find me attractive. You turn away from me when I try to make love to you. You don't think I find you attractive anymore? That's ridiculous. You're beautiful, Karen, I've always found you gorgeous and I always will. Yes, you've changed over the years, but my body has changed over the years too. Just because your body has changed doesn't mean you're not beautiful. You've had two kids. Things change. I've never found you unattractive. I just thought you found me unattractive." Harry says quietly.
"I think we've both been very silly. The only ones who found us unattractive were ourselves. We need to remind ourselves to talk to each other. No more Mia incidents for either of us." Karen says carefully.
"God, you're sexy when you're logical. I've missed you. All I've wanted to do is hold you the way I used to." Harry says leaning down and kissing Karen who's slightly unsure about how fast this is all going.
"I've missed you too. I feel like I've been sleeping alone for six months. Don't ever let me feel that way again. It's been horrible. I'm sure Daniel and David are tired of hearing me complain." Karen says fiddling with the buttons on Harry's shirt.
"They won't have to listen to you complain again. You can always come and talk to me. We must keep talking. Not talking is what got us here in the first place. I'm so sorry about my behaviour, Karen." Harry says seriously as he finally meets her eyes.