“You’re looking rather serious, old friend,” Anthony finally took note.
Simon leaned forward in his chair, elbows on his knees and his hands clasped tightly together.
“I need to talk to you, Anthony.”
Anthony raised an eyebrow, his playful expression shifting slightly as he noticed the worry etched on Simon’s face. “Talk away, then. I’m all ears. But I must say, it’s not often I see you looking like this.”
Simon took a deep breath, struggling to find the right words. “I…… kissed Harriet.”
He ended up blurting it out.
Anthony blinked, then broke into a grin. “Well, well! This is news indeed. I would have thought you’d be the last man to confess such a thing. And here I was thinking your marriage was one of those cold, loveless arrangements. I suppose I was wrong?”
“It’s getting more… complicated.”
“Ah, complicated,” Anthony repeated, leaning back in his chair with a knowing look. “The word every man dreads when it comes to women. That is why I have never bothered with marriage, you know…”
Simon shot him a look. This was not the time.
“But do tell me more, Simon. How did this kiss come about, and why does it have you looking like you’ve seen a ghost?”
“I didn’t plan it, it just happened. We were arguing, and then she said something that made me realize how much I’ve been pushing her away, and before I knew it…”
“Very romantic,” Anthony teased. “I thought you did not have it in you.”
“Be serious,” Simon warned.
“Fine, fine. How did the… uh… Mrs react to that? Surely, she must have been happy.”
Simon heaved a sigh. “She seemed to kiss me back. But I did not get the time to gauge her reaction properly. Actually — we broke apart because the baby had started to cry and then she just ran off to take care of her.”
“See, my friend, this is why you should have a honeymoon periodbeforeyou have a baby…”
“It is not my baby,” Simon corrected, annoyed that his friend kept missing the point.
“It might as well be,” Anthony shrugged, “by how you both are raising it. Anyway I do not understand the problem here.”
Simon’s eyes widened. Here he was, completely distraught, fighting against everything that he knew to be right, and his friend was asking what the problem was?
It felt like a joke.
“It’s not like you to be so conflicted over something as simple as a kiss,” Anthony added.
Simon sighed, his shoulders slumping slightly as he stared into the fire. “It’s not the kiss itself, Anthony. It’s how it made me feel.”
“Now, we’re finally going somewhere,” Anthony leaned over with increased interest. “And this is… bad?”
“It definitely scares me,” Simon gripped the glass tighter in his hands, and took another sip.
Anthony studied his friend for a moment, his playful demeanor fading. “You’re afraid of commitment,” he said, his tone more serious now.
Simon shook his head. “I’m afraid of becoming too attached, of making promises I can’t keep….”
Once again, his father’s face flashed in front of him. Anthony was the one person — apart from Harriet now — who knew of his issues with his father.
And as expected, he picked up on the source of the problem immediately.
“Simon, you’re not your father. You’ve spent your life doing everything you can to be the opposite of him. But that doesn’t mean you have to keep everyone at arm’s length. Harriet isn’t your mother, and you’re not doomed to repeat your father’s mistakes.”
