by S M Mala
Then he quickly did a re-check.
She was married to his agent and carrying a child.
Plus he was with Onya.
It didn’t stop him from fancying her, and wanting to know what lay underneath the clothes.
‘Soph, are you sure you don’t want me to help you with anything?’ he asked, stepping closer and seeing her wash some salad from a bag. ‘I can chop.’
‘You called me Soph,’ she laughed, turning to look up at him. ‘My dad calls me that.’
‘Sorry, shall I-.’
‘No, I like it. My poor dad has been ill for ages. He was the same age as Harry when I was born, but he was happy about becoming a parent.’
‘Happy?’
‘Oh, it doesn’t matter,’ she replied and forced a smile. ‘It’s good to know someone else calls me that. Harry usually barks ‘Sophie!’
Just then he wasn’t sure if it was him, but they looked at each other for a short while, and he knew something was happening but not what.
There was this strange connection he couldn’t put his finger on.
It was different.
‘You know Harry is going to be late,’ sighed Sophie, quickly diverting her eyes. ‘He always is.’
‘It’s the problem with his job.’
‘It’s his problem. I see less of him as time goes by. He such a busy man.’
‘And it bothers you?’
He watched Sophie think hard.
‘To be honest, not really,’ she replied and grinned. ‘Not of late. He seems agitated when he’s in my company.’ Then Sophie stroked her bump. ‘Or hers.’
That’s when Jonah realised she wasn’t a fan of her husband.
Quarter to eight, there was still no sign of Harry and Jonah noticed that Sophie didn’t seem to be bothered, and neither was he.
They happily chatted about this and that.
And laughed.
There was a lot of laughing going on in the kitchen as Sophie told him stories about her life, and he told her about his.
And Jonah watched and observed.
The woman didn’t seem stupid, only in her choice of husband.
Jonah glanced over at Sophie checking the food in the kitchen as he reached for a slice of prosciutto and chewed it slowly.
Harry was not the marrying type, let alone a fatherly one.
And he realised Sophie was going to find out the hard way.
Then he heard the front door open.
There was a plummet in his gut as he wanted it to be just Sophie and him.
‘I got held up!’ Harry said, shouting out. ‘Is Jonah here?’
‘Drinking all your booze!’ shouted Sophie, walking back into the room. There was a sudden sad expression as she looked at Jonah. ‘And being very nice to me.’
‘So here you are!’ Harry said, with open arms as Jonah stood to give him a hug. ‘Is the wife making you feel welcome?’
‘She’s doing a great job considering you gave her little notice.’
Jonah watched Sophie give Harry a warning glance, as if not to go near her, which made him smile.
‘Now I’m here, you can enjoy my company,’ he said, looking at Sophie and frowned when he saw the baby bump. ‘There are too many female hormones in this room.’
Sophie shook her head discreetly from side to side, before walking to the kitchen.
That’s when Jonah realised she was too good for Harry James.
But seemed more than perfect for him.
‘Is everything okay?’
Sophie looked around the table and noticed that her husband was getting more pissed. ‘I can get some bread if you like.’
‘This is great,’ Jonah replied, smiling at her before tucking in.
Glancing over at Harry, she noticed he hadn’t touched any food.
She had no intention of serving him, other than taking the bowl of pasta and dropping it on his head.
His little bitchy quips since he got home had wound her up. She could see Jonah was embarrassed by her husband’s inability to be nice.
On the other hand, Sophie noticed Harry’s behaviour towards Jonah.
It was odd.
The way he looked at his young protégée was peculiar. There was a cross between admiration and something else.
Sophie couldn’t put her finger on it.
Everything Jonah said, Harry would laugh.
Any comment his guest made, he would agree.
Each time Sophie spoke to Jonah, Harry would instantly interrupt.
He wanted all Jonah’s attention.
Discreetly looking at the men, she could see the difference.
One was tainted from too much alcohol and self-centred behaviour.
The other was pure and keen to please everyone.
It was a no brainer which one she preferred.
‘Don’t you like the food?’ she asked Harry, as he topped up Jonah’s glass. ‘You’re not eating anything.’
‘Too much carbohydrate,’ he said, not even giving her a second glance. ‘I wished you had made something more protein based.’
‘I think it’s amazing, I really do,’ Jonah added, helping himself to more food. ‘You need to tell me how to make this.’
‘Sophie’s not the best cook in the world,’ interrupted Harry before she had a chance to open her mouth. ‘Her repertoire is incredibly limited; that’s why I have to eat out so much.’ Then he let out a laugh as she looked away. ‘Had I only married a chef?’
‘I could eat this every day,’ Jonah said, and she noticed he looked at her with such a kind expression.
It was then Harry took a spoonful of the food and plopped it onto his plate. The look he gave Sophie was that of annoyance before he got a fork, stabbed the chorizo and put it in his mouth, chewing slowly.
‘You put chilli in it,’ he said accusingly, but with a smile.
‘It needed a kick,’ she replied, before mumbling. ‘A bit like you.’
Sophie’s cheeks burned with both embarrassment and anger.
Jonah started to smile as Harry was oblivious to the comment.
‘I take it back,’ he said, quickly finishing off his plate of food. ‘It’s good.’
Then she felt little flickering tickles in her tummy and knew the baby was moving about.
‘My baby likes it,’ she smiled, stroking her bump and seeing Harry frown. ‘She’s dancing away in my tummy.’
‘That’s amazing!’ Jonah said, putting down his fork and looking at her. ‘You must be so happy, Harry. A baby is an amazing thing!’
That’s when Sophie realised what the expression on Harry’s face was when he looked at her and Jonah talking.
It was jealousy.
And she knew it wasn’t over her.
‘No more, please.’
Jonah felt happy after dinner, helping Sophie with the washing up while Harry seemed to be standing around. ‘I need to be partially sober tomorrow morning.’
‘Stay the night!’ his host said, pouring out a large measure of brandy into a glass. ‘We’ve got loads of space.’
Jonah noticed Sophie sharply turn to look at Harry before frowning.
Something was going on.
He noticed she had been looking at her husband in an odd way as if she figured something out.
At one point he thought she was going to cry, based on the snide comments Harry had made, but something happened.
She changed instantly and sat up straight as if someone had whispered something into her ear telling her not to succumb to the shitty words.
He wished he had said something to Harry, to stop him from behaving like a dick to his wife. It was painfully excruciating for him, watching the man lash out at her in a discreet but a rather cutting way. I seemed that Harry didn’t think his wife would pick up on it.
Sophie clearly did.
‘I need to head on back,’ Jonah eventually said, seeing Sophie try and hide her smile. ‘Maybe another time?’
‘You need to get a taxi when you
’re ready to leave. I’m not having you go home with that much booze in you.’ Sophie said, turning to grin. ‘Now as for Harry? They smell him a mile off and he always comes home safe.’ Then she whispered. ‘More’s the pity.’
Jonah tried to stop his laugh, seeing Harry was loitering at the other end of the kitchen, looking out onto the large garden.
‘You can go out if you want, Harry,’ she replied, drying her hands and turning to look at her husband. ‘I’m used to being on my own. I don’t mind.’
‘He goes out after he comes home?’ asked Jonah, as Harry turned to smile at him.
‘Sophie’s usually asleep by ten o’clock and I get bored.’ He let out a loud, sad, sigh. ‘That’s what happens when you get married. It all becomes dull.’
Suddenly Sophie let out a large laugh and shook her head.
Both men looked at her.
Jonah thought she was drop, dead, gorgeous; her body vibrating to giggles.
It was when he looked at Harry staring at her; he could see a strong dislike.
‘You have become boring,’ she gently replied, walking up to Harry, before turning to Jonah. ‘Marriage is wonderful if you’re with the right person. When I find him, I’ll tell you all about it, Jonah.’
‘Funny,’ sniffed Harry, walking past and nudging her shoulder. ‘I’m taking my friend into the living room.’
‘You do that.’
Grabbing Jonah’s arm, Harry dragged him away.
He would have preferred to stay in the kitchen with Sophie but knew he was in no position to say. Then a large brandy was shoved into his hand.
Harry had no intention of him leaving his home sober.
Eventually, Sophie came back in with tea and biscuits, sitting a little away from the pair. She made herself cosy in an armchair which was in the corner of the room.
Pouring out the coffee, Jonah could look at her directly from where he was sitting, whereas Harry could see nothing.
She smiled and sipped her drink, eating a couple of biscuits, then Harry looked over.
‘You know eating late and sweet things will only make you fatter,’ he said, turning back to Jonah. ‘She doesn’t listen.’
‘I think she’s perfect,’ Jonah replied, wanting to see how she would respond.
Sophie was eating another biscuit while grinning at the back of her husband’s head.
And there was certainly nothing wrong with her body.
Jonah would have gladly put his hands on it if given half a chance.
‘You’re drunk,’ Harry said, and he looked annoyed for a moment. ‘And polite.’
‘And you should be nicer to the mother of your child. I think it’s pretty mean, to be honest.’
Harry immediately looked agitated then blushed in response.
‘I’m going to bed as Harry doesn’t like to share his toys.’ Sophie walked up to Jonah as he stood. ‘It was lovely to meet you again.’
‘Thank you for this evening. I hope I didn’t put you to any trouble.’
‘No, you didn’t.’ Sophie put out her hand and touched his arm. ‘But next time, don’t bring your friend.’
‘Very funny!’ sighed Harry, standing up. ‘Erm, I’m sorry about being mean earlier on. I know I put you on the spot with dinner.’
Jonah watched Sophie sympathetically look at her husband and stroked his arm.
‘It’s okay,’ she replied. ‘I know you’re tired.’
And just like that, Harry kissed Sophie’s cheek and she smiled, as if that’s what she wanted him to do all evening.
‘Goodnight,’ she said to both of them before walking out.
There were footsteps over his head and then there was silence.
‘You’re very sweet for being kind to my wife,’ Harry said, a sudden gentleness appearing when he glanced up at the ceiling. ‘Sophie’s not the easiest to get on with due to her being quite shy.’
‘We got on.’ Jonah grinned into his coffee. ‘I like her.’
‘Really?’
‘You sound surprised.’
‘It’s good to know.’
Not wanting to challenge him, Jonah thought hard about the man sitting in front of him.
Harry had no idea he was married to a priceless gem.
And something clicked in his head and heart when he thought about the pregnant woman sleeping upstairs.
‘Busy?’
Trying to compose her breathing, Sophie knew Harry was playing up. ‘For how many months? The baby’s due in thirteen weeks.’
Looking at him sat in the armchair, reading something off his laptop, she knew he had been building up to this. For the past two weeks, since Jonah came for dinner, he had been behaving oddly.
There were no jibes at her, but she’d catch him looking as if pondering on something.
And now she knew what it was.
He was avoiding his responsibilities of becoming a father.
Standing by the dining table and grinding to a halt when she laid out the cutlery, Sophie was at a loss on what to do.
Handling Harry was like dealing with a creature you were never too sure what he wanted, or how he would react.
Right now all she figured out was that he didn’t want the new addition to their family.
And she also had doubts about whether he wanted her. Especially after watching Harry look at Jonah over dinner, and how he interacted.
That was an eye opener.
He had delivered more compliments to the young man than he had given Sophie in the last year.
‘And flying to the States in the middle of September can’t be changed?’ she asked as he didn’t look up. His reading glasses were perched on his nose and he half smiled. ‘It’s important you go then.’ Still no response. ‘Do you want me to move out, is that what you’re saying?’
The smile was wiped off his face as he looked up at her with an expression of shock.
‘Why would you say that? Of course, I don’t. You’re my wife.’
‘Then start acting like a husband who cares!’
She flung the knives and forks onto the table and stormed up the stairs.
He was so used to getting his own way, and Sophie knew it. This was when she wondered if she was cut out to look after him as well as a new born baby. Her baby girl would be less troublesome than the over grown brat, currently sitting in the living room.
Opening the door to the nursery, she stopped. All her anger subsided seeing the room and she smiled at the cot still in the box. She would have to put it together soon, whereas Harry would gladly pay for someone to do it, just to avoid any manual work.
All the bedding was laid out on the toy chest and she looked at the clothes in the little wardrobe.
Sophie desperately wanted this baby.
To her, it would add something to her marriage that was missing.
Love.
She hoped Harry would see that having children was a good thing. And she wished her husband was more like Jonah.
He was the perfect man.
Maybe that’s why Harry wanted her to be friends with his shiny, new addition; to make up for all his failures. There were currently too many to count.
Again she recalled watching Harry when Jonah was there for dinner.
It could be he was really fond of his client.
But then again, it was Harry, and nothing would or could surprise her when it came to her elusive, and wayward husband.
‘That bad?
Jonah had been in Bruges on a shoot for a very trendy UK style magazine. The four days away were fun but he was itching to come back to London, mainly because there were better projects in the pipeline.
Now he was sitting with Harry over lunch, who looked miserable.
‘I’m dreading it,’ he groaned into his glass of wine. ‘Sophie’s pissed off with me because I have to go away when the baby’s due.’
Looking at Harry, he knew he probably didn’t want to stick around, therefore, made an excuse to leave the country.
Th
at night at dinner, Jonah had watched them interact.
He also noticed the way that Harry looked at him. In wonderment and awe.
Sophie just wanted everyone to be happy.
Jonah thought that was a sweet quality.
But anytime the baby came up in a conversation, Harry didn’t look pleased. It was evident he didn’t want to discuss it. Jonah felt sorry for Sophie because it was plain to see she was delighted with the prospect of becoming a mother.
At one point, it felt like Sophie and he were in a little bubble, and it was just them.
The experience had left him feeling a little confused because he was completely at ease, and he could have spoken to her for hours.
The only interruption was Harry, who did so constantly as if he was being left out.
He was.
Now sitting opposite Harry, three weeks later, he was at a loss on how he was supposed to play it.
Harry was still his agent and the root to all his recent work, as well as a supporter of getting his name out there.
‘I need your help,’ Harry said, balancing his head in his hand, and looking at Jonah. ‘I could see you both got on well a few weeks back, which is a good thing, as she is pretty shy.’ He let out a little laugh. ‘We’re poles apart, Sophie and I. She calls me a money making, slime ball.’
‘She has a point,’ he laughed, sipping his glass of wine. ‘Why did you marry her?’
‘Wow, what a question?’ Harry took a deep breath. ‘I love Sophie. She’s intelligent and beautiful. But I’m set in my ways, and things are hard to change.’
‘Does she know what you get up to?’
‘Sophie is trusting, she would never suspect.’
‘And if she found out, then what would-.’
‘I’d hate it and she’d leave me. I thought I could forsake the temptation but hey, I’m only flesh and blood.’ Harry looked uncomfortably at Jonah. ‘Sometimes you make mistakes without thinking about the consequences. And sometimes, temptation comes in all unexpected shapes and sizes.’
‘Stop fooling about. Sophie is lovely. Give her the support she deserves, like with the baby.’ Even Harry’s solemn reaction showed he had no intention of changing. ‘What do you want me to do?’
