Status: active
Getting Caught in the Rain
13
Life goes on. When Olivia is getting ready for school on Monday, Harry calls Caroline. “Hey,” she says, sounding sleepy. “What’s going on?”
“Oh,” Harry says. “Did I wake you up?”
“No, no,” she answers, but he knows he did, and for some reason, the image of Caroline lying in bed, puffy-eyed and soft, makes him swallow. Jesus. “What’s up?”
Harry fish-mouths for a bit before remembering he’s a grown man. “Uh, me and Cara spoke over the weekend. And, um, she got offered a new contract in Milan.”
“Oh no,” Caroline says. “And?”
“So we decided to get a custody change. And now Olivia’s gonna be staying with me full-time. Like, she won’t be going to see Cara anymore.”
There’s a pause. Then she says, “Are you okay?”
“What? Yeah, yeah, m’fine. We’re not together, haven’t been since before Olivia was born, so. It’s not a big loss for me.”
Before he can mumble out anything else, Caroline asks, “Are you worried about Olivia?”
Harry exhales. “Um, yeah. I guess so. I just don’t want Olivia to not know her mother, you know? And we agreed that she could go with Cara whenever she was available, but like . . . that’s going to be such a hassle. I dunno. I just don’t want her to grow up with just me.”
“Hmm,” Caroline says, allowing him to go on.
“And, like . . . it is just me now, you know? Like, I’m solely responsible for her. I have to do it all on my own. And I technically was before, but now it’s official. Am I making sense?”
“Yes,” she answers slowly. “But . . . you’re not doing it all on your own. Surely you know that?”
“Huh?”
“I mean, you’ve got Liam and Louis and Niall and Zayn and everybody that comes with them. You’ve got your mum and your sister and your stepdad. And you’ve got me. There’s practically a whole community that comes with raising Olivia, Harry. Tell me you know that.”
And he does know that, but he’s never really thought about it like that before. “You’re right,” he says finally. “Yeah, you’re right.”
“I know.”
Now he laughs. “Okay, okay.”
“So how’s Olivia?”
“Um, she’s okay. I think. I’m trying to let her know that I’m still here and that I always will be, but . . . I dunno. Being a parent is so hard.”
“I know,” Caroline says sympathetically. “But I spend quite a bit of time with her, and I wouldn’t worry. She’s a trooper.”
“You’re right,” Harry says, and oddly enough he feels relieved. His friends and family have been telling him the same thing, but hearing it from Caroline really helps it sink in. He can practically hear Niall’s voice in his head saying You’re whipped! He knows it’s true. “Okay, well, that’s really it. Thanks for listening to me, as usual.”
“It’s what I’m being paid for,” Caroline says with a laugh, and oh right, Harry’s her employer. She kind of has to listen to him ramble and rant because he could fire her if she didn’t, not that he would in the first place. She probably doesn’t care. But then she adds, “I’m only kidding. I don’t mind at all.”
“Well, either way, sorry for waking you up. I’ll see you at 5:30?”
“You got it. Have a good day, Harry.”
“You too.” He hangs up just as Olivia comes skipping in, swinging her backpack violently. “That better be zippered or else all of your stuff is gonna fall out,” Harry warns.
“It is,” Olivia says snootily. “Hey!” she says when Harry rolls his eyes at her.
“Hay is for horses,” he tells her. “Now c’mon, we’ve gotta go.”
Harry drops Olivia at school and then goes to work. He doesn’t even feel the slightest bit nervous anymore about leaving her alone, and he feels pretty proud of himself for that. He’s busy all day with client cases, meetings, and phone calls, and then 5:00 rolls around and he’s leaving the office for the day.
Caroline hasn’t texted him at all, which is sort of strange because usually she sends at least one, whether it’s a picture of Olivia or just an update on what they’re doing.
He gets home and walks into his apartment, only to find loud music playing and Liam, Louis, Niall, Zayn, Caroline, and Olivia all dancing around the kitchen with what appears to be sugar, flour, and egg shells everywhere.
Niall notices him first. “Oh shit,” he says, and then quickly says, “I mean, oh shoot. Livvy, he’s here!”
Olivia is absolutely covered in flour and frowning, which makes her look hilarious.“Daddy, you aren’t supposed to be here yet,” she says. “Now you’ve ruined everything.”
“I live here,” is all Harry can think to say.
Caroline steps in. “Apparently there’s a bake sale at school and Olivia volunteered to bring four different kinds of cookies, so we had to call in some reinforcements.”
Louis chooses that moment to throw a small ball of cookie dough, hitting Harry on the cheek and bouncing onto the hardwood floor. “It’s chocolate chip,” he offers when Harry shoots him daggers.
There’s a multitude of alarms ringing in his head. First of all, why did Olivia sign him up to bring four different kinds of cookies? Second, who is going to be left to clean the kitchen once they’ve all gone home? Is Olivia’s homework even done? Has anyone started dinner?
His daughter, oblivious to any mental breakdown he’s having, says, “Look, Daddy, we’re making chocolate chip, peanut butter, sugar, and M&M. Don’t they look good? I wanted to surprise you too, but oh well. Now you can come help us.”
Everyone watches him, waiting to see what he’ll do. Louis, Liam, Niall, and Zayn all give him a shrug and a what you gonna do look, while Caroline just smiles.
And then Harry finds himself saying, “Let me just change first.” Olivia cheers and Harry shakes his head but goes into his room to put on sweats and a t-shirt.
When he comes back out, everyone is mixing and pouring and rolling except for his daughter, who is sitting at the breakfast counter and eating a cookie from the rack. Harry sits nexts her and she offers him a cookie. He accepts, shaking his fist at her. “The things I do for you,” he threatens. “Who’s gonna clean all this up?”
“Me,” Olivia says happily.
“You say that now,” Harry grumbles, but is cut off when Liam calls, “Hey Haz, Liv, wanna come help me cut out shapes for the sugar cookies?”
“Yes,” Olivia shouts, and then she’s grabbing his hand and yanking him over to where Liam is cutting out cookies. They do hearts, stars, and, because Halloween is approaching, ghosts and pumpkins.
Harry manages to relax for the rest of the night, thanks to much coaxing from Caroline. They all successfully make the four batches of cookies (each batch requires at least three dozen cookies, much to his exasperation) and he’s pleasantly surprised when everyone sticks around to help clean up. Even Olivia helps, but not much, but he expected that.
Finally, it’s late, and Louis, Liam, and Zayn all say their goodbyes, leaving only Niall, Caroline, and Harry left. Niall went with Olivia to go get ready for bed, and Harry and Caroline are sitting and having coffee, taking a break after the long day.
“That was fun,” he says finally, and immediately curses himself for that stupid conversation starter.
She doesn’t seem to mind, though. “It was,” she agrees with a smile. “I’m glad you thought so.”
“It took me a bit,” he admits, grinning. “But in the end I had fun.”
“See? You’re doing a good job, Harry. I told you so.” Caroline stands and stretches. “I should really be getting home. It’s late.”
Harry stands too. “Yeah, yeah, definitely. Thanks for everything, Caroline.” He tries not to act too surprised when she gives him a hug. They’re technically friends now; friends hug other friends. It’s not a big deal.
“Tell Olivia I’ll see her tomorrow. Bye Harry.”
“Yeah, uh, bye.” He shuts the door behind her and sighs.
Olivia comes prancing in a few minutes later in her pajamas. She holds out her arms and he scoops her up. “Your tummy doesn’t hurt from eating all of those cookies, little miss?” he asks.
“Nope.”
“Did you have fun today?”
“The mostest.”
“That’s good,” Harry says. “You sleepy?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. Let’s go to bed.” Olivia says good-night to Niall and then they go into her room. Harry tucks her in and is about to leave when she says, “Mummy never baked cookies with us before.”
Harry pauses. “I suppose not.”
“I like baking cookies with Caroline.”
“Me too, kid. Good night. I love you.”
“To infinity and beyond?”
“To infinity and beyond.”
“I love you that much too.”
After he shuts her door, he comes back into the kitchen, where Niall is eating a chocolate-chip cookie, and announces, “I think I like Caroline.”
Niall gives him an unimpressed look. “Yeah, I know.”
“Oh,” Harry says. “Did I wake you up?”
“No, no,” she answers, but he knows he did, and for some reason, the image of Caroline lying in bed, puffy-eyed and soft, makes him swallow. Jesus. “What’s up?”
Harry fish-mouths for a bit before remembering he’s a grown man. “Uh, me and Cara spoke over the weekend. And, um, she got offered a new contract in Milan.”
“Oh no,” Caroline says. “And?”
“So we decided to get a custody change. And now Olivia’s gonna be staying with me full-time. Like, she won’t be going to see Cara anymore.”
There’s a pause. Then she says, “Are you okay?”
“What? Yeah, yeah, m’fine. We’re not together, haven’t been since before Olivia was born, so. It’s not a big loss for me.”
Before he can mumble out anything else, Caroline asks, “Are you worried about Olivia?”
Harry exhales. “Um, yeah. I guess so. I just don’t want Olivia to not know her mother, you know? And we agreed that she could go with Cara whenever she was available, but like . . . that’s going to be such a hassle. I dunno. I just don’t want her to grow up with just me.”
“Hmm,” Caroline says, allowing him to go on.
“And, like . . . it is just me now, you know? Like, I’m solely responsible for her. I have to do it all on my own. And I technically was before, but now it’s official. Am I making sense?”
“Yes,” she answers slowly. “But . . . you’re not doing it all on your own. Surely you know that?”
“Huh?”
“I mean, you’ve got Liam and Louis and Niall and Zayn and everybody that comes with them. You’ve got your mum and your sister and your stepdad. And you’ve got me. There’s practically a whole community that comes with raising Olivia, Harry. Tell me you know that.”
And he does know that, but he’s never really thought about it like that before. “You’re right,” he says finally. “Yeah, you’re right.”
“I know.”
Now he laughs. “Okay, okay.”
“So how’s Olivia?”
“Um, she’s okay. I think. I’m trying to let her know that I’m still here and that I always will be, but . . . I dunno. Being a parent is so hard.”
“I know,” Caroline says sympathetically. “But I spend quite a bit of time with her, and I wouldn’t worry. She’s a trooper.”
“You’re right,” Harry says, and oddly enough he feels relieved. His friends and family have been telling him the same thing, but hearing it from Caroline really helps it sink in. He can practically hear Niall’s voice in his head saying You’re whipped! He knows it’s true. “Okay, well, that’s really it. Thanks for listening to me, as usual.”
“It’s what I’m being paid for,” Caroline says with a laugh, and oh right, Harry’s her employer. She kind of has to listen to him ramble and rant because he could fire her if she didn’t, not that he would in the first place. She probably doesn’t care. But then she adds, “I’m only kidding. I don’t mind at all.”
“Well, either way, sorry for waking you up. I’ll see you at 5:30?”
“You got it. Have a good day, Harry.”
“You too.” He hangs up just as Olivia comes skipping in, swinging her backpack violently. “That better be zippered or else all of your stuff is gonna fall out,” Harry warns.
“It is,” Olivia says snootily. “Hey!” she says when Harry rolls his eyes at her.
“Hay is for horses,” he tells her. “Now c’mon, we’ve gotta go.”
Harry drops Olivia at school and then goes to work. He doesn’t even feel the slightest bit nervous anymore about leaving her alone, and he feels pretty proud of himself for that. He’s busy all day with client cases, meetings, and phone calls, and then 5:00 rolls around and he’s leaving the office for the day.
Caroline hasn’t texted him at all, which is sort of strange because usually she sends at least one, whether it’s a picture of Olivia or just an update on what they’re doing.
He gets home and walks into his apartment, only to find loud music playing and Liam, Louis, Niall, Zayn, Caroline, and Olivia all dancing around the kitchen with what appears to be sugar, flour, and egg shells everywhere.
Niall notices him first. “Oh shit,” he says, and then quickly says, “I mean, oh shoot. Livvy, he’s here!”
Olivia is absolutely covered in flour and frowning, which makes her look hilarious.“Daddy, you aren’t supposed to be here yet,” she says. “Now you’ve ruined everything.”
“I live here,” is all Harry can think to say.
Caroline steps in. “Apparently there’s a bake sale at school and Olivia volunteered to bring four different kinds of cookies, so we had to call in some reinforcements.”
Louis chooses that moment to throw a small ball of cookie dough, hitting Harry on the cheek and bouncing onto the hardwood floor. “It’s chocolate chip,” he offers when Harry shoots him daggers.
There’s a multitude of alarms ringing in his head. First of all, why did Olivia sign him up to bring four different kinds of cookies? Second, who is going to be left to clean the kitchen once they’ve all gone home? Is Olivia’s homework even done? Has anyone started dinner?
His daughter, oblivious to any mental breakdown he’s having, says, “Look, Daddy, we’re making chocolate chip, peanut butter, sugar, and M&M. Don’t they look good? I wanted to surprise you too, but oh well. Now you can come help us.”
Everyone watches him, waiting to see what he’ll do. Louis, Liam, Niall, and Zayn all give him a shrug and a what you gonna do look, while Caroline just smiles.
And then Harry finds himself saying, “Let me just change first.” Olivia cheers and Harry shakes his head but goes into his room to put on sweats and a t-shirt.
When he comes back out, everyone is mixing and pouring and rolling except for his daughter, who is sitting at the breakfast counter and eating a cookie from the rack. Harry sits nexts her and she offers him a cookie. He accepts, shaking his fist at her. “The things I do for you,” he threatens. “Who’s gonna clean all this up?”
“Me,” Olivia says happily.
“You say that now,” Harry grumbles, but is cut off when Liam calls, “Hey Haz, Liv, wanna come help me cut out shapes for the sugar cookies?”
“Yes,” Olivia shouts, and then she’s grabbing his hand and yanking him over to where Liam is cutting out cookies. They do hearts, stars, and, because Halloween is approaching, ghosts and pumpkins.
Harry manages to relax for the rest of the night, thanks to much coaxing from Caroline. They all successfully make the four batches of cookies (each batch requires at least three dozen cookies, much to his exasperation) and he’s pleasantly surprised when everyone sticks around to help clean up. Even Olivia helps, but not much, but he expected that.
Finally, it’s late, and Louis, Liam, and Zayn all say their goodbyes, leaving only Niall, Caroline, and Harry left. Niall went with Olivia to go get ready for bed, and Harry and Caroline are sitting and having coffee, taking a break after the long day.
“That was fun,” he says finally, and immediately curses himself for that stupid conversation starter.
She doesn’t seem to mind, though. “It was,” she agrees with a smile. “I’m glad you thought so.”
“It took me a bit,” he admits, grinning. “But in the end I had fun.”
“See? You’re doing a good job, Harry. I told you so.” Caroline stands and stretches. “I should really be getting home. It’s late.”
Harry stands too. “Yeah, yeah, definitely. Thanks for everything, Caroline.” He tries not to act too surprised when she gives him a hug. They’re technically friends now; friends hug other friends. It’s not a big deal.
“Tell Olivia I’ll see her tomorrow. Bye Harry.”
“Yeah, uh, bye.” He shuts the door behind her and sighs.
Olivia comes prancing in a few minutes later in her pajamas. She holds out her arms and he scoops her up. “Your tummy doesn’t hurt from eating all of those cookies, little miss?” he asks.
“Nope.”
“Did you have fun today?”
“The mostest.”
“That’s good,” Harry says. “You sleepy?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. Let’s go to bed.” Olivia says good-night to Niall and then they go into her room. Harry tucks her in and is about to leave when she says, “Mummy never baked cookies with us before.”
Harry pauses. “I suppose not.”
“I like baking cookies with Caroline.”
“Me too, kid. Good night. I love you.”
“To infinity and beyond?”
“To infinity and beyond.”
“I love you that much too.”
After he shuts her door, he comes back into the kitchen, where Niall is eating a chocolate-chip cookie, and announces, “I think I like Caroline.”
Niall gives him an unimpressed look. “Yeah, I know.”
