Page 30 of The Day After Christmas
Twenty minutes later, Felicity and Harry were in the dismal generic pizza restaurant on the high street, seated either side of a rickety wooden table on two rather uncomfortable stools, in a semi-awkward state of silence. Felicity sipped at her drink while they waited for their food to arrive, and steeled herself. Her father had made the effort to see her after all this time. He must have things he wanted to say.
After a few minutes, when he still hadn’t spoken, she tried a little light sighing.
‘Sorry,’ he said, as if reading her mind. ‘I’m just getting my thoughts in order.’
‘Take your time.’
‘Your friend Andrea…’ he began.
‘She’s my boss,’ snapped Felicity.
‘Your boss is…’
‘Don’t say it.’
‘Say what?’
Felicity sighed again. ‘Don’t say that you think she’s surprisingly hot under all that cat hair and fleece.’
Harry lifted his eyebrows. ‘She really is…’
‘But can we not spend our first evening together talking about her? If you don’t mind?’
Harry shifted in his seat. ‘Yes, of course. Sorry. Forgive an old man a little distraction.’ He let out a long breath. ‘It’s so good to see you, Felicity.’
‘It’s good to see you too,’ she said, just stopping herself from saying “Dad” out loud. It was too weird. It was too soon. And she had to remember to be mad.
‘We have so much to catch up on.’
‘Tell me about it,’ said Felicity. ‘Starting with where the hell you’ve been for the last twenty-seven years.’
‘On the south coast. Eastbourne, mainly.’
‘With…?’
Harry bowed his head. ‘With my soon-to-be ex-wife and our two children.’
Felicity nearly spat out her tonic water. ‘I have more brothers? Sisters? What?’ This was not something she’d even considered.
‘One of each. Half-siblings, I guess. Sorry. Maybe I should have led with that.’
‘You think? Woah. This is huge. How old are they?’
‘Eleven and fourteen. Sammy and Zoe. You’d love them.’ A pause. ‘You are going to love them,’ he corrected.
Felicity let this sink in for a moment. Harry had other children. She couldn’t help the pang of jealousy that jolted through her. He’d been there for them. Why couldn’t he have been there for her and Tristan?
‘What else do you want to know?’
Felicity swallowed back the lump in her throat.
‘And what do you do for work?’
‘Um. That’s an interesting question, shall we say?’
Somewhere in the back of her head, an alarm was ringing.
Harry must have seen her face change. ‘Not like that. I’m not on the sick or anything.’
