Happier Than She's Ever Been... by Menna van Praag Page B

away, fixing her gaze straight ahead, her whole body stiff. She wanted to leave, as fast as possible, but she didn’t want to offend the man and possibly incur his wrath. So she stayed still, waiting for a good moment to make her getaway.
    Eventually, when all the lint was dispensed with, the man turned to her. ‘Who are you ?’ he asked.
    â€˜I’m, sorry. I didn’t mean to disturb you. I was just, just –’ May searched for the closest word to the truth – ‘resting. I’ll go.’
    May got ready to stand, but the old man waved her down.
    â€˜Please, stay.’ The homeless man reached out his hand. ‘I’m Harry.’
    She took it and replied, ‘May.’
    â€˜So, May, what’s a nice young lady like you doing in a place like this?’
    â€˜Oh.’ She glanced around. ‘I don’t know, it doesn’t seem like such a bad place to be.’
    â€˜Well, yes, it’s one of the better places in the city. More often than not it’s home to me, but it doesn’t seem like home to you.’
    â€˜I, well, you see –’ but May was too tired to lie so she plumped for the truth – ‘I just had a big fight with my boyfriend. I ran out of the house. I didn’t know what else to do, so I suppose I just kept going…’
    â€˜Well, that’s a natural enough reaction to conflict: the flight-or-fight response,’ Harry said, ‘though sadly not at all a helpful one.’
    â€˜Yes,’ May admitted, ‘I can see that now. I just, I was so upset I couldn’t stand it. I just wanted it all to go away, so I guess… I guess I went away instead.’
    â€˜You know, in fifty-one years of marriage,’ Harry said, stretching out his legs, ‘my wife and I, well, we fought often enough, but we made a point never to let our outbursts last more than half an hour. To the minute. And they never did. We always made up quickly, let it – whatever it was – go and went back to listening to and loving each other. That way we never had the chance to inflict irreparable damage. And, the thing is, we never really needed more than half an hour, even if we really wanted to keep fighting at the time. And the next day we’d barely remember what it was that upset us in the first place. Funny that, isn’t it?’
    â€˜Really?’ May stared at him, incredulous. ‘That’s amazing.’
    â€˜Yes, she was, when we were together. Edith was my whole life.’ Harry smiled wistfully. ‘My very reason for happiness. We worked together every day and never spent a night apart.’
    â€˜Wow,’ May said. ‘That’s… wow.’
    â€˜This was our shop.’ Harry nodded up at Just Sweet Enough and let out a little sigh. ‘I had to re-mortgage it when she got sick. Health insurance wouldn’t cover it. Then… it was repossessed last year, three months after Edith died.’
    â€˜O-oh,’ May stammered, tears in her eyes. ‘I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.’
    Harry laughed. ‘I had more love in my lifetime than most have in twenty. I was always the luckiest man I knew. Now the winter of my life has stripped me bare with loss. But, all in all, given the life I’ve had, I’m still one of the luckiest men alive.’
    â€˜That’s beautiful,’ May said, feeling her shoulders relaxing and some of the tension seeping out of her. ‘But it’s not just luck, is it? To have a love like that, I mean. You must have worked really hard to have it.’
    â€˜Oh, we didn’t work so very hard,’ Harry said. ‘We just watched out for a few things. We made each other a few promises and stuck to them. That’s all.’
    â€˜Like what?’ May blurted out, before realising he might think her a little rude. ‘If you don’t mind me asking.’
    â€˜Oh, of course not.’ Harry smiled. ‘I’m