Page 21 of Harrison's Wedding

I cringe internally, because I shouldn’t have said that. I should’ve just changed the topic to something safer.

“It’s definitely true that they’re both quite stubborn, and I don’t know why they’re angry, so it’s hard for me to judge, but I’ve known you all since you were kids. If Gabriel’s as happy as you say, then I don’t think they can remain angry for long.”

“Mmm,” I say noncommittally. “Anyway, we’ve got an engagement party to plan, that’s exciting. It’s been a long time coming.”

“Yes, you should’ve proposed to Heather years ago, Harrison Fletcher,” Lillian says in a stern tone, but she has a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

“Very true,” I agree. “I’m just lucky that, after ten years, she still wants to keep my sorry ass around.”

I’m grateful that Lillian takes the bait, and our conversation moves on to wedding discussions, safely away from the topic of the fractures in my friendships right now. After about twenty minutes, my dad walks into the room, coming from the direction of the garage and carrying a briefcase.

“Hi, Harry. Good to see you,” he greets me with a grin on his face.

I stand and walk over to give him a hug. “Hey, Dad.”

“Lillian, it’s good to see you, too.”

“Hi, Robert. It’s been too long. I’m sure you’ll be seeing more of me while we’re planning this wedding, though.”

“No doubt,” he laughs. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

He heads out of the room and appears again a few minutes later, sans briefcase and with his tie removed. He heads into the kitchen before coming out a few minutes later with my mom and Heather behind him.

My dad is carrying a dish full of apricot chicken, Heather has a bowl of salad along with one full of steaming hot rice, and my mom is carrying plates and cutlery.

They place everything on the table before Heather sits down next to me. I can smell her floral scent and I’m calmed by having her near me. I lean over and kiss her cheek, placing my hand on her thigh and squeezing it quickly as I do. I leave my hand there for a second and see a smile cross Heather’s lips as she gets herself some food.

I pull my hand back to get myself a plate of food, as well. I love my mom’s apricot chicken, and it tastes as good as it always does.

“Harrison, how’s the next album coming?” Mom asks after we’ve been eating for a few minutes.

“Nothing really, yet. Gabriel wrote some stuff during the tour, but we’re all going out to Galena in October for a songwriting retreat at Sebastian’s place.”

About a year ago, Sebastian bought a massive property in Galena. There had been an old house on the property, but he gutted it, renovated, expanded, and built a music studio with the intention of us being able to record our next album there.

“That should be nice,” Mom says.

“Yeah, it’ll be great to be in our own studio. Not having to stick to someone else’s schedule. We’re really excited to have the freedom to experiment and hopefully make something great.”

A thrill of anticipation runs through me as I think about it. I can’t wait to get back into the studio, and to be able to spend an entire month making music with the guys is going to be amazing.

“Heart Wide Openwas pretty great!” Lillian protests.

“Thanks, Lillian. You’re right; it was, but we’ve grown and changed, and it’s so exciting to see how that reflects in our music.”

I have so many ideas for songs, and ways to experiment with our sound and make something different from what we’ve done before. We’re going to try to do entirely new songs while we’re there, so nothing that we’ve pre-written. It doesn’t stop my brain from throwing things at me while I wait for October to roll around, though.

“Are you going to Galena?” Dad asks Heather.

“Oh, I’m not sure if I’m invited.” Heather shrugs.

“As if Sebastian would ever say no to you!” I can’t help but laugh.

The thought that she might not be invited to come out to Galena is ridiculous. I’m surprised Seb hasn’t already told her that she can come out there whenever she wants to. It’s frankly strange that Heather would even think she needs an invite.

“We’ll see what happens. It probably depends on how Fashion Week goes.”

I frown at her, because I’m not going the entirety of October without seeing her, and I shrug my shoulders. “Okay, well, I’m not going a month without seeing you, so you’re either coming out to Galena, or I’m driving back to Chicago, I guess.”

---