#hareille

If you know Harry, then you know that one of his passions in life is the band Kiss. Recently Harry received a signed letter from Kiss founding member Paul Stanley congratulating him on having been a member of the Kiss Army for thirty years, and after he stopped crying Harry decided that the best way to commemorate such a momentous event was to get a tattoo. Mireille was very excited too!

The tattooist listened carefully to Harry’s request and told him she was a Kiss fan too and had an awesome design in mind! The sight of her machine filled Harry with trepidation, looking as it did like some medieval torture device, but she promised him it wouldn’t hurt. Well, only a little bit...

His heart pounding, he climbed inside as instructed and the tattooist started calibrating the machine. 

“Help!” said Harry, but nobody could hear him above the machine’s deafening cacophony of whirrs and clanks and whistles. But just when he thought he was going to pass out, the machine stopped and his ordeal was over. Mireille was jumping up and down in excitement and demanded that he disrobe so she could see what his new tattoo looked like. 

She decreed that it was great. And very, very sexy too!

Well, the daycare business which he runs with his girlfriend Mireille continues to thrive. Mireille likes to take care of the bookwork and the day-to-day running of the place while Harry prefers to spend most of his time entertaining and playing with the kids... it’s the perfect partnership!

Harry was sad when Saffron moved out to stay with Anita and Joël and misses her very much, but the addition of Sybilla’s boyfriend Josh to their household has made her absence a little easier to bear...like Saffron has said (with more than a trace of bitterness) Josh is like the son Harry never had!

I am so thrilled you liked the Harry update, Nonners! And please don’t worry, Saffron still joins the family once a week for dinner, as you can see below. 

(On this particular evening Harry had not been able to resist trying out some new face paint that he’d bought for the daycare centre…I wonder if he’s going to paint the kids’ faces to represent Kiss members as as well? Imagine going to pick your little three year old angel up from daycare and finding her transformed into Gene Simmons, lmbooooo!)

Mireille: OH MY GOD. GET YOUR FAT HAIRY STINKY ARSE OUT OF MY GODDAMN FACE!! 

Harry: Sorry, sorry, I must have been having that weird dream again, you know the one where I’m chasing the fairy queen around the fairy cave and...

Harry wipes egg yolk from his chin.

Harry: We all want what’s best for Josh, Sybilla! But… Sybilla: But what? It’s not safe for Josh to go back to his own house! We have to let him stay! Harry: Josh? Can I just ask you is….is your mother still around? Anywhere?

Josh’s gaze is fixated on the egg-encrusted piece of toast he is pushing around his plate.

Josh: My mother walked out 6 months ago. While I was at school. She’s texted me a few times to let me know she’s okay but it’s pretty obvious she doesn’t want anything much to do with me. And she doesn’t want me knowing where she’s living in case Dad finds her. It’s cool. She’s got a new life and a new family now…   Saffron: Wow. Just wow. And here I was thinking my mother was a selfish cow. Mireille: What the f- ? What a fucking bitch! Jesus, Josh-  Sybilla: MUM! Please don’t swear at the breakfast table.   Josh: I don’t blame Mum for leaving.

He lays his knife and fork down and looks around the table.

Josh: The night before she left I hardly had any sleep because she and Dad had kept me awake yelling and fighting till about 4 am. I heard Dad saying that if he ever found out she was cheating on him, he’d kill her. I know she believed him. I believed him. She had to go. You see? She had no choice.

The room is silent. Sybilla’s leg is pressed so hard to Josh’s his kneecap is going to splinter. Harry is the first to speak.

[previous]

The air in Sybilla's house glistens with warmth and the oily golden smell of French toast and fried egg. Josh tries to eat slowly and to close his mouth while he's chewing, aware of everyone's eyes on him. His knee touches Sybilla's under the table and he is suffused with love and gratitude, he can almost see it rippling across the table. He lifts his head from his plate and gives Sybilla's mother a shy smile. She looks around the table, perplexed.

Thursday 8.09 pm

Mireille: Did I see Sybilla and Saffron on the highway just now? Driving towards town?

Harry: It’s okay. They’re going to the library. Hey, that means we have the whole house to ourselves! Heh heh...

Mireille: Ooh, Harry. You’ve got a very cheeky glint in your eye! 

Harry: Are you thinking what I’m thinking?

Mireille: YESSSSS!!! WE CAN PLAY UNO AND CHECKERS AND SNAKES AND LADDERS!

Harry: And eat caramel popcorn and banana and pecan ice cream and hot chocolate with marshmallows UNTIL WE’RE SICK!!!

Harry: Uh, Saffy? How was Edward? Did he help you with your homework?

Saffy: LEAVE ME ALONE, DAD! I JUST WANT TO DIEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

Mireille: She seems a tad upset. 

Harry: Maybe it was algebra homework? Algebra always used to make me cry...