Chapter 8
"Mom, why does he have a scar on his head?"
Ginny was picking up Jimmy's clothes as he climbed into bed
for the night. She thought carefully
about the question and said, "Because when he was very little he was in an
accident. He's had that scar almost all
his life."
"Oh," he said, pulling up the covers. Ginny tossed the clothes in the laundry
basket and sat on he edge of Jimmy's bed, tucking him in gently. "So, what do you think? Do you like him?"
Jimmy nodded, "Yeah, he seems really nice. And he's good at making fun of you!"
Ginny's jaw fell and Jimmy laughed up at her. "Well thank you very much. I'm glad you enjoyed making fun of me!" She bent over him and kissed his
forehead.
"Mom, are you gonna go to school tomorrow?"
"No, why?"
"Well, do I have to go to school then?"
"No, not if you don't want to. I'm sure you're just as anxious as I am to spend time with your
father."
"But it would be better if you could talk to him alone,
wouldn't it?"
How insightful he was, Ginny thought. Smart kid. "Jimmy, dear, I'm not going to force you to go if you don't want to go."
Jimmy thought for a second. "If I go to school, will he be here when I come back?"
"Yes," Ginny said, marveling at how many times Jimmy had
asked that same question.
"Okay, then, I'll go to school," he said reluctantly, "but we
better do something fun tomorrow when I get home!"
Ginny laughed at him, "I'll tell you what, I'll have him come
and pick you up at school. How about
that?" Jimmy beamed up at her excitedly. "And afterwards, we can go out for dinner
and find something fun to do."
That sealed the deal for Jimmy, as they hardly went out for
dinner. Ginny hugged him and he went
back to his snuggled position under the covers. "Mom, do you think he likes me?"
"Oh sweetheart, he loves you. Can't you tell?"
Jimmy smirked. "Yeah…that's what I thought, but it kind of weird."
Agreeing with him Ginny said, "It will take some time to get
used to this, I know."
"You know, Mom, I can tell he loves you, too."
Ginny's voice was caught in her throat. She was taken back by this and looked down
at her son in amazement. "What…what
makes you say that?"
"Oh, you know…he looks at you the way boys look at girls on
TV shows. You know…mushy."
Laughing, Ginny kissed him again, "Jimmy, what am I going to
do with you?"
Harry entered the room just then and they both turned to look
at him. "I came to say good night, as
requested."
Ginny wondered how much of that conversation he had over
heard as his timing was so perfect. She
watched as Harry bent over and hugged him gently, saying good night in his
ear. Her heart melted as she heard
Jimmy say, "G'night, Dad," and noticed that Harry was trying hard not to react
to hearing Jimmy call him that for the first time.
"You sleep well," Harry said, heading for the door with
Ginny.
"G'night, Mommy."
"Good night, sweetheart. I love you." She flicked off the
light.
"I love you, too, Mommy."
Ginny saw that Harry was still looking at Jimmy
intensely. Then, very quietly, he said,
"I love you too, Jimmy."
Jimmy smiled through the darkness but didn't say anything in
return. He rolled over and nestled into
his pillow. Harry shut the door and
looked down at Ginny.
"He called me 'Dad'!" he said in whispered excitement.
"I know, I heard that!"
They shared a small giggle and went to sit in the living
room. Ginny hoped she would have the
chance to really talk to Harry now, as her nerves had calmed down over dinner,
but as she was now alone with Harry again, she suddenly became tense. Just say something, she told herself. "Jimmy wants to do something fun when he
gets home from school tomorrow."
"He's not spending the day with us?"
"I thought that you and I…well, that we could have the day to
ourselves."
He was disappointed. He obviously wanted to spend time with his son, and now Ginny had
blurted out that Jimmy wouldn't be here tomorrow. How silly of her to think that Harry would want to just spend
time with her. It was only natural that
he would want to be with Jimmy.
"All right," Harry said, "it's just that I'm so amazed by
him. I've never felt anything like
this, Gin, and I…I want to be around him. I don't want to miss anything else, I've missed too much already."
Relief settled in Ginny's heart with the confirmation that
Harry would be a part of Jimmy's future. Now, if only she could figure out if there was space for her in that
future as well. She got her wish as he
said, "And Gin, I want you to know now that I don't plan on taking him away
from you, but I do intend to see him as much as I can." He didn't mention that he wanted to see her
as much as he could. Ginny forced
herself to keep smiling. "I need to go
back to England soon," he continued. "There is still so much to be done…picking up the pieces. I only visited with Ron and Hermione a short
time…I just really want to go back. However, I don't want to leave you and Jimmy here where I'll never see
you but on holiday."
Had she heard correctly? Did he just include her in his plans? "I don't know how well Jimmy would take to the idea of moving to
England…but I want to go home, too!"
"Of course you do!"
"It's been so long since I've seen my family, and I want them
to met Jimmy…"
"Naturally."
"Maybe I can suggest to him that we go for a short time and see
if he likes it?"
"Yes!" Harry said,
"That way, once we get him there, he'll see how wonderful it all is and he'll
be more apt to want to stay."
They both smiled at the plan and silence began to fall
again. "But, Gin, we would have to tell
him about magic."
"I know…" she sighed. "How did you handle it?"
"Me?" Harry seemed
shocked but answered, "Well, I was very excited about it, but you have to
consider that this is a different situation."
"How so?"
Harry sat forward to explain, "I was lied to by people who
didn't really care about me and who were desperate to keep it from me. That isn't the case with Jimmy. You've kept it from him out of necessity,
and would very much like him to know that you are a witch and I'm a
wizard. This might be harder for him to
accept than it was for me. It wasn't my
parents who were lying to me."
"I have felt guilty every time something happened that gave
me the chance to explain it to him and I didn't." Ginny rubbed at her eyes.
"How do you mean?"
"Oh, for example…he moves things and doesn't realize it. Take, for instance, the TV remote. It's constantly lost, until Jimmy asks out
loud for it to come out from hiding, and then it will be right there in front
of him. He thinks it's a game…that he's
just good at finding the remote. But
he's moving it and just doesn't realize."
"So he is magical?"
"Oh, absolutely! He's
your son Harry, why wouldn't he be magical?"
"He's your son, too." Harry's voice had dropped and he had leaned in close to her. Ginny swallowed, noticing how very close his
face was to hers. Was he going to kiss
her again? She bit her lip in
anticipation of it, but it didn't happen. Harry pulled away from her instead, turned and sighed heavily. "My brain is on overload. Ginny," He looked over his shoulder at her,
"I hate to say this but I am dead tired. I don't suppose it's too much to ask…"
Sleep? He wanted to
sleep? "No…certainly not. Of course you're tired. I'm exhausted, too." But where would he sleep? If he was interested in a picking up where
they left off, would he come to her room?
He looked around at the couch and chair in the room. "Do you have a pillow I could borrow? And a blanket…as this couch is starting to
look rather inviting?"
The couch? Ginny's
heart sank into her feet. "Sure, I'll
go get you some bed things."
She stood up and so did Harry, "That is…" he started, "if you
want me to stay here. I have a hotel
room in town, I could go back there."
NO! Don't leave
me! Panic was starting to set in at the
thought of him leaving her again. Do
something, she told herself. ANYTHING…use his promise to Jimmy…"You told Jimmy you would be here in
the morning, so I think you should stay."
"I don't want to intrude…or make you uncomfortable."
How about making me cry…cause I will cry if you aren't here
in the morning. "Don't be
silly, if anything, I'll feel more comfortable knowing that you'll just be…in
the next room."
There was a long pause as they stared at each other
deeply. Ginny was trying to find some
sign that he wanted more than this. She
wanted to see what ever it was that Jimmy had seen earlier. But right now, all she could see was Harry
trying hard not to let her in. She
turned slowly and went to get the things he would need. They made up the couch for him to sleep on
and she headed around the corner to her own bedroom.
"Ginny?"
OH! Maybe he wouldn't
let the night end like this? "Yes?"
"Good night. I've had
a wonderful day."
"Me too. Good night."
And with that, Ginny slipped behind her door, shut it behind
her, and sank to the floor in frustration.
***
Harry pounded his pillow again…for
the thousandth time that night. He just
couldn't get comfortable which meant he couldn't get to sleep. Oh, sod it man, he said to himself, it isn't
the pillow that's bothering you. It's
the fact the Ginny is in the next room, probably wearing next to nothing, and
you are out here on the couch…ALONE!
He felt like such a fool for
inviting himself to spend the night. What was he thinking? Did he
honestly expect her to invite him into her bedroom after he's been gone for so
long? Did he honestly think that should
would let him pick up right were they had left off all those years ago? He had been so mean to her before he
left. Why would she ever want him back
now?
He scowled at the memory of when he
told her to take off the engagement ring. He had told her he couldn't marry her…no…he had said that he wouldn't
marry her, and she had run off in tears. Surely she remembers that and is unwilling to let him hurt her like that
again. But yet, she had that ring on
her right hand still. Harry noticed it
this afternoon. He hadn't said anything,
but he was hoping it meant she still felt something for him.
He flipped over onto his back and
looked up at the ceiling, thinking about how stupid he had sounded earlier when
he tried to express his feelings for her. He wanted her to be a part of his life forever now, and had tried to
tell her that, but he had jumbled it so terribly. She probably thought him a fool for suggesting they go to England
so soon. Her life was here now. Of course she would want to see her family,
but she had made a home for Jimmy here. And it didn't sound to Harry as if he was going to be very welcome here
for long.
Harry tugged the covers off of his
feet exposing his socks. Good grief…she
hadn't even tried to steal my socks even! She must not really want me here. When she wrote that letter, it was right after I had left. She said she loved me, but that was years
ago. Now, after all this time, she
probably has come to feel differently. What kind of a man leaves the woman he loves, calls off their marriage,
and leaves her alone to raise a baby?
Turning over onto his stomach, so
his face was in his pillow, Harry beat a fist into side of the couch
repetitively. This was SO
aggravating! He could still feel her
lips against his from this morning. The
way her body had pressed up against his had sent a tingle through his whole
being. He wanted her so much! Not just because she had given him a child,
but because he honestly and truly loved her with all his heart. He HAD to think up a way to convince her of
this. He had to think up a way to prove
to her he loved her and wanted her in his life…forever…as his wife.
And he had to do it soon for the
frustration was killing him!
***
Ginny got out of bed and went to the door…again…for the third
time. This is ridiculous, she
thought. Just go out there and tell him
that you are still in love with him! No…don't…she stopped with her hand on the door handle. He doesn't really feel that way, and he's
only here to see Jimmy in the morning. Don't go out there and tell him something that will cause him to run away
again. He's here and you just do what
ever it takes to keep him here.
She crawled back into bed and imagined what he must look like
asleep on her couch. He's probably
sound asleep snoring…he always snored when he was really tired. He also was probably only wearing his
boxers…no shirt…bare chest…
All right, young lady, her mother's voice sounded in her
head…that's enough of that! You don't'
need to be thinking about that right now. You'll only upset yourself. If
he really wanted you to be with him in that way, he wouldn't have let you come
in here alone. He would have just
followed you, as he used to do. He
would have kissed you good night as he used to do. He would have told you he loved you…as he used to do.
Ginny grabbed a pillow and covered her face with it and
whimpered into the softness. How much
she wanted him to tell her that he still loved her? Her body longed for him to hold her as he had this
morning…close…face to face…chest to chest…
STOP IT! She told her
brain. This will get you nowhere! She tossed the pillow aside and flopped over
on her stomach. Now, just go to
sleep. You need to look rested in the
morning or he'll suspect something. Besides, you'll get circles under your eyes and then he really WON'T
want to look at you.
This was going to be a long night…