HARRY STYLES
Yesterday
I swallowed thickly past the petrified lump in my throat before raising my fist to knock on the solid part of Lana's parents' front door. I waited for long enough that I wasn't sure if the sound was heard until the door on the other side opened and Joe stood there in front of me. He was expecting me so I don't know why I was so nervous. Well, that's not true. I knew exactly why I was so nervous.
Hey," he pushed the screen door open to let me in.
"Hi, how are you?" I wiped my shoes on the doormat before stepping inside.
"Doing alright, you?"
"Alright," I nodded and gently closed the door behind me. "Thanks for taking the time to meet with me."
His sharply angled brows arched as he chuckled. "What is this, a job interview or something?"
"No, sorry," I forced a laugh, trying to calm my own nerves. "Did you want to sit, or?"
"That's fine," he walked over to the velvet armchair in the living room, so I sat on the couch cushion closer to him.
"I know you're a busy man and I know you don't do bullshit, so I'm just going to cut right to it if that's alright with you."
He gestured to me.
I cleared my throat and rested my elbows on my knees, intertwining my fingers before making eye contact with him. "I came here because I'd like to ask you if I can marry your daughter."
If he was surprised, he didn't show it at all. He barely blinked at me, and I guess there was a good chance he already knew the reason for my visit. Why else would I want to speak to him one on one?
"Because she's pregnant?"
"No sir," I responded, though I'm not sure where the title came from. I speak to everyone respectfully, but I rarely use 'sir' or 'ma'am', if ever. "I actually bought the ring when we were in Paris together, but I couldn't ask her then because I knew I wanted to ask your permission first, but I also wanted to speak to Jane and make sure the moment was right in general. I was planning on asking her whether she was pregnant or not."
Now, I had spent time with arguably some of the most intimidating men in the world across multiple continents. Most of them had yelled at me, and some of them had kicked me out of their kitchens or thrown various items at me. Yet, as I sat there and held Joe Russo's gaze, I thought I was going to be sick. I couldn't stop thinking about how much he disliked me during our first meeting and I couldn't recall the good times we'd had since then.
"Can I ask you something?"
I swallowed and nodded.
"You were with Allison for, what was it, eight years? You had a child with her, but you never got married. You and Lana just reached your first anniversary of dating this summer, and now she's pregnant and you want to marry her. Or, I guess you wanted to marry her before she got pregnant and that hasn't changed."
I nodded again. "Sorry...what was the question?"
"Why didn't you marry your long-term partner and the mother of your child, but you want to marry the girl you've known for one year?"
That was a fair question, one that I needed to breathe in deeply and organize my thoughts before answering. "I loved Allison. I don't want that to be misconceived because I did. We were together for four years before she got pregnant, and I was elated, but in the last couple of years...I started to realize very quickly that there was something about the two of us that wasn't cohesive for a healthy relationship, and I couldn't tell you why it's different with Lana, it just is. Maybe Allison cheating on me was the lesson and the wake-up call I needed to learn that I was supposed to be more present in my relationships, I don't know. All I know is that...when I first saw Lana and Jane interacting at my flat in the very beginning, I instantly fell for her kindness and generosity before it was anything else. I felt peace when she was around and that was what I was missing in my life. I felt at peace, and safe, and respected, and understood in a way that Allison had never made me feel before. I'm just completely in love with her and I don't have to wonder if she's the one I want to spend the rest of my life with the way I did with Allison. With Lana, I just know."
