I'll Be Home For Christmas

December 19th

Anne tiredly walked down the stairs in search for some morning coffee. She didn't get too much sleep the previous night because she couldn't help but toss and turn at the mere thought of Harry letting Candice waltz back into his life like nothing happened. She really hoped he would remember exactly what she put him through and refuse to see her again, but if what Gemma told her is correct then he seemed to have forgotten. She wasn't going to tell him what he should or shouldn't do, Gemma usually did that herself, but she would make it known how she felt about the situation. She wanted her baby to be happy and knew that Candice wasn't going to make him happy; not in the long run.

"Sounds like you had an interesting night." Gemma said greeting Harry at the breakfast table in the morning.

"What are you talking about?" He questioned.

"I got a text message from Heather last night, first asking me if you and Candice had rekindled things, she hopes not by the way, and then giving me a run down of how you left in a quick hurry. As well as everything you said to dear ol' Candice." She said. "She was at the restaurant with her husband and saw you two."

"I had begun to forget why I fuckin' hate small towns and now I remember why." Harry grumbled. Everyone was too much in each other's business and eager to share. Maybe Heather hadn't told anyone other than Gemma but someone saw it and told someone who told someone else and so forth. Surely at least half the town knew about what had happened last night.

"What happened Harry?" Gemma pressed. She'd been surprised to get the text from Heather Erwin saying her brother was yelling at Candice and to ask if they were back together.

"We were at dinner and I just...I realized how horrible she is. Has she always been so..." He struggled to find the word he was looking for.

"Pretentious? Bitchy? A diva? Awful? A terrible human being? A soul-sucking person?" Gemma offered up some helpful descriptions. Certainly all words she'd used to describe the woman.

"I mean I used awful yesterday, but they all work." Harry chuckled.

"Understandable. Well I mean in the very beginning she wasn't as bad, but she definitely turned into a terrible person pretty quick." She said.

"How did I not see it? I mean was I that blinded by love for her?" He questioned. Gemma laughed and shook her head.

"Mum and I wondered the same thing pretty much the whole time you two were together." She shrugged.

"And I couldn't help but compare her to Piper the whole time." He admitted. Gemma felt a wide knowing smile growing on her face.

"Oh really?"

"Do you have to give me that look?" He said side-eying her. He watched as she laughed and smiled gleefully.

"Oh yes little brother. It's the look I give you when I know I'm right. And I was right. If we were 10 years younger I'd definitely be dancing around and pointing my fingers at you singing 'I'm right' over and over again." She giggled and nodded.

"Oh well thank goodness you're older and more mature." Harry said sarcastically.

"Well someone has to set an example for those monsters disgusted as my daughters." She laughed. "So what are you going to do?" She asked.

"About what?"

"The whole thing with Piper...speaking of, where is she? She still asleep?" She asked looking around. She hadn't seen her milling about the downstairs.

"She was on the phone with her parents when I left the room, so I'm assuming she's still doing that." Harry shrugged.

"But yeah, what are you going to do." She asked again.