Chapter Text
three years later
Louis sighed and surveyed the kitchen. The top oven held the appetizers along with the dinner for the kids, and the bottom oven held the main course. The dessert was in the refrigerator. The house was spotless. The kids were being good and minding their own business.
“Beanie,” He turned to his oldest child, who had offered to help him. “What am I missing?”
Bean looked up from his book and looked around. Then, he shrugged. “I don’t know, mummy. Everything looks so nice.”
“Thank you, love.” Louis said, turning back around to stare at the kitchen. “But I can’t help but feel that something is missing.”
“Maybe you’re just waiting for daddy to get back?” Bean suggested. “Didn’t you send him out for something?”
Louis snapped his fingers and pulled his phone out of his back pocket. “I think you’re right. You’re so smart.” Bean preened and went back to his book. He was pretty smart. “Okay, love. I’m going to go and call your daddy and then take a shower and get ready. Let me know if anything happens and don’t touch the ovens, okay?”
Bean nodded and Louis dialed Harry’s phone number. He climbed the stairs as it rang. He got voicemail. “Harry, love.” He said lightly. “I don’t think it takes thirty minutes to grab some lemons. Anyway, I trust that you’ll be back before six, which is when the dinner party starts. Drive safe! Love you, bye.”
He sighed and tossed his phone onto their bed. He and Harry had some renovations done on the house, such as expanding the kitchen into the garage and expanding the garage. They made the outside deck larger and got a brand new fence to go around their house. They redid the dining room and put a new fireplace in the den, and made the downstairs guest room bigger.
With these new changes, they decided to have a dinner party to celebrate. They invited Niall and Liam, of course, and Harry’s mum and dad, and his mum and dad. That was all they needed to help them celebrate.
He just hoped everything went over well.
-
When he was showered and dressed, he called Harry again. He was getting nervous, because he sent Harry out at four and it was nearing five-twenty-five. Again, he got Harry’s voicemail. Hey, it’s Harry, leave a message and I’ll get back to you. He sighed.
“Harry, where are you? Whatever game you’re playing, it isn’t funny anymore. I need those lemons to squeeze onto the Cornish hens. I needed you to be home an hour ago. I don’t care what you’re doing, just get home.”
He hung up and slid his phone into the pocket of his maroon chinos. He’d paired them with a cream colored cable-knit sweater and some TOMS. It was casual but also sort of nice. He made his way back downstairs and met Bean in the hallway.
“I was just coming to get you.” Bean said. “The oven is beeping.”
Louis ruffled Bean’s hair and they went into the kitchen. “Thank you for watching it for me.”
Bean nodded and sat down on a stool. “You look nice, mummy.” He complimented. “But you always look nice.”
“You’re so sweet, love.” Louis pulled the appetizers out of the oven and sat them down. He removed the mitts from his hands and went around to kiss the top of Bean’s head. “Now, since no one gave me a clear answer on what they wanted to eat, you and Lucas are getting a pizza and the rest are sharing these little dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets.”
“Okay. Do you want me to go upstairs and pick out a movie?” Bean asked, stepping down. Harry and Louis just recently allowed the boys to have a television in their room, and it was the hotspot of the house with the rest of the kids.
Louis nodded. “But make sure everyone wants to watch it. I’ll bring everything up when it’s done.” When Bean left, he checked on the Cornish hens. He thought it would be nice to serve those, and some grilled vegetables, and some mash. Everything was already prepared, he was just waiting for the hens to get a nice brown to them.
He checked on the appetizers in the warming oven before grabbing the brand new champagne flutes he’d bought and a bucket of ice. He put them in the dining room and surveyed the table. He’d broke out their wedding china and the table was beautifully set. He was proud of himself.
He put the champagne to chill and pulled out his phone. It was five forty-five and guests would be arriving any minute. He dialed Harry yet again, and got his voicemail, yet again.
“Harry,” He was growing angry. “You could at least have the decency to tell me that you’ve decided to skip out. I know you hate dinner parties but this is just rude. There is nothing preventing you from calling me to let me know. You’re being incredibly selfish right now.”
He hung up, wishing he had a landline he could slam down onto the receiver, and slid his phone back into his pocket. He shook his head and sighed. He couldn’t believe that Harry was being so selfish.
He walked over to the front door and peered out the window beside it. It was pouring rain out, and the sky was dark, only bright when lightning struck down. He looked for Harry’s headlights. Maybe Harry’s phone was dead and he got caught in traffic. Either way, Louis would still be angry.
He stepped away from the window and went into the kitchen. The top oven was beeping, and he slid out the kids’ food. He arranged it all on a tray with some drinks and carried it up to Bean and Lucas’s room. He pushed the door open.
Everyone was watching an older Disney movie, and Bean paused it when Louis entered. When he sat the tray down on Bean’s nightstand, he turned to face the kids. They all stared back at him expectantly.
“Okay, boys. What happens if we make a mess?” He asked.
Ollie raised his hand. “We have to sleep outside!” He shouted. Theo clapped his hands and nodded. He agreed with his brothers suggestion.
“Never, Ollie.” He said to the six year old. “If there’s a mess, you won’t be allowed to eat in here anymore. Understood?”
“But what if it’s an accident?” Lucas asked.
“Sometimes Bella knocks things over!” Olivia told him. Then she whispered, “Sometimes I do it on purpose.”
“I know, Liv.” He said. “Believe me. But if it’s an accident, I understand. Just try to keep everything clean, okay? This is a privilege right now.”
“Okay.” They all said in unison. Except, there was a voice missing. Louis looked around the room.
“Where’s Archie?” He asked.
“He’s in the closet again.” Bean said, playing the movie again. Louis sighed and opened the closet door. Archie was terrified of thunderstorms and he always retreated to the closet when there was bad weather.
“Hey baby,” Louis crouched down next to Archie, who was curled up into a ball. “Would you like to come downstairs and help me with something?”
Archie nodded and crawled over to Louis. He wrapped his chubby little arms around Louis’ neck and held on tight. He felt so much safer in his mum's arms than he did in a closet. Louis closed the door to the boys’ room and carried Archie downstairs.
“I know you don’t like the bad weather, love.” He sympathized, grabbing one appetizer tray to put on the dining room. He did that for all three, and when he sat the last one down, he grabbed a little bit of bruschetta and handed it to the three year old.
“Thankies,” Archie said quietly, munching on the treat.
“You’re very welcome.” Louis replied. He straightened everything up one last time and checked the time. It was two minutes til, and Harry still had not even bothered to make contact. He pulled his phone out.
When he got Harry’s voicemail, he didn’t hold back. “You can sleep on the couch tonight, Harry Edward Styles. I cannot believe what you’re doing right now. Probably sitting at your desk at work right now. This isn’t fair. You promised that you were excited. Actually, don’t come home tonight. You can stay in a hotel for all I care.”
He hung up just as the doorbell rang. He put his phone away and went to answer it. He made sure the mat was pushed up against the bottom of the door before opening it. He didn’t want muddy footprints all over his house.
It was Niall and Liam. They came in after shaking the rain from their umbrellas. They wiped their shoes before taking their coats off.
“Bit of weather out there,” Niall grinned, looking around the house. “I haven’t even seen the renovations yet but already your house looks better.”
Liam waved to Archie and stepped up beside them. “I agree. Better than moving into a new house?” He asked.
Louis nodded and led them into the dining room. “Tons better.” He handed them each a full champagne flute. “We’ve acquired so much that moving would be a nightmare.”
Liam looked around. “Speaking of we, where’s Harry?”
Louis shifted Archie up further into his arms. “He’s not here. I sent him out for lemons two hours ago and he decided that he didn’t want to come to the dinner party. He’d rather go to work.”
Liam raised his eyebrows. “He said that?”
Louis shook his head. “No. He hasn’t responded to any of my messages or calls.”
Niall, who was nibbling on some shrimp, spoke up. “Maybe his phone is dead?”
“Maybe. But he’d find a way to call me and let me know.” Louis sniffed. “But let’s talk about something else. I don’t want to ruin the night.”
The doorbell rang once and then the door was opening. Jay and Anne trickled in, shaking their coats out, followed by Dan and Robin. Louis sat Archie down on a chair and met them all with a glass of champagne.
Anne took a hearty sip of hers as soon as she got it. “The drive up here was insane.” She explained when her glass was almost drained. “We have to reserve a hotel for the night.”
“Nonsense,” Louis said. “You can stay here. It’s free, and you can see your grandbabies.”
“I’m always a sucker for those babies.” Anne sighed. “Where are they?”
“Upstairs, watching a movie. Archie is down here though. He’s scared of thunderstorms.” He gestured to the three year old, who was standing up on the chair, reaching for more food. Anne pushed past Louis and went straight for him.
“Where’s Harry?” Jay asked, following Louis into the dining room.
Louis shrugged. “Probably at work. Sent him out for lemons and he decided that he’d rather work.”
Jay’s face fell. “Oh no!” She frowned. “I’d be livid.”
“Oh, I am.” Louis said with a smile. “But I’m not going to let it ruin the night. Please, eat something. I need to go and check on the main course.”
He left the dining room, and after checking on the hens, he shot off a, so five minutes in and almost everyone has asked for you. imagine their surprise when they heard that you’d probably rather work than come here and visit w your own family. With an angry emoji, he sent it.
He stirred the mash and checked on the sides before heading back into the dining room. Everyone was admiring the new dining room.
“Louis, this is just beautiful.” Anne commented.
Jay nodded in agreement. “Makes everything seem bigger and brighter.”
“Honestly, doing the renovations that you did was a lot smarter than moving to a completely new house.” Dan said. “You two increased the value of this house.”
Robin nodded. “And saved yourselves the headache of moving.” He reached for a shrimp and popped it into his mouth.
From there, everyone sort of tapered off into their own conversations. Louis kept checking his phone, looking for anything from Harry. He sighed when he didn’t see anything. He ate a little bit of everything before bringing out the main course.
Everyone ooh’d and ahh’d when they saw everything. From then on, it was the sounds of forks and knives clinking against the china as everyone ate. Archie was satisfied with just a little bit of food. From there, he was content to sit between his two grandmas and be loved on.
Louis brought out desert around seven thirty, and again, everyone was too busy eating to talk. It was a nice silence; a happy one. He had a proud feeling every time he looked up and saw someone enjoying themselves.
-
“Still no word from Harry?” Jay asked, bringing in some dirty dishes from the dining room. Louis was standing at the sink, hand washing the dishes. He didn’t want to put his wedding china in the dishwasher.
He shook his head. “Nope.” He answered, taking the plates from his mother to rinse them off. “I told him to stay at a hotel tonight.”
“Why?” Jay questioned. She began to put the leftovers away in plastic containers.
He shrugged. “Heat of the moment sort of thing. I didn’t mean it. He knows I didn’t mean it. I was just frustrated that he hadn’t given me any warning or anything.”
Jay clicked her tongue. “I know, dear. Husbands are frustrating.”
“Heard that,” Dan sang, carrying in more dishes.
Jay made a kissing face at him. “But not you, dear.” She said sarcastically. “Never you.”
Dan leaned over and kissed her cheek. “Thanks, lovey. Louis, Robin and I are going to go and look at the deck.”
“Don’t get my den muddy!” He shouted after his dad. He shook his head and looked over at his mother. “Very frustrating.”
He made quick but careful work of doing the dishes and putting them away. Niall and Liam helped pick up the dining room, and Anne kept Archie company in the den. When everything was done, Louis had a feeling of satisfaction.
He’d hosted his first ever dinner party, and it was a success. He was so proud of himself. Though Harry’s presence would have made it better, it was a grand night.
-
Just as his mother and father were about to leave, there was a knock on the door. Niall and Liam paused from putting on their shoes, and Jay stopped sliding her coat on.
“Expecting anyone?” Dan asked.
Louis shook his head and made his way to the door. “No. I don’t think I invited anyone else.”
Behind him, Anne whispered to Jay, “I don’t think Harry would knock, either.”
Louis swung the door open and his heart dropped into his stomach. His whole body froze as he stared directly in front of him. Two policemen were standing on his porch, holding their hats to their chests.
“Mr. Styles?” One asked. “There’s been an accident.”