Tangled Up

"Harry, do you have a girlfriend?" He asked after approaching him.

"What?" A young adult mumbled as his eyes widened after hearing the question.

"You heard me, didn't you? "He said as he looked at him.

Lifting his eyes to the sky, he said "Dad, I...., I think it might rain today."

"That is true, but you haven't answered me," Alexander said making eye contact with his son.

"Yeah, that's right," Harry said staring at the pool in a distance.

Harry, your response please?" Alexander asked as he waited for Harry's answer impatiently.

"About?" Harry asked, raising his bushy black eyebrows beating around the bush.

"The girlfriend question," insisted Alexander.

"Oh, about that, I now get you, dad, that is a good one, wow," He said as he turned his eyes looking over his shoulder to the garden filled with flowers.

"Harry, are you making an effort to avoid my question?" Alexander questioned.

"Dad, why do you say that?" asked Harry.

"You did it again," Alexander said.

"Do what?" Harry asked.

"Harry, Answer the girlfriend thing already."

"Dad, I'm still somehow immature for that kinda stuff," Harry said.

"Hey, stop fooling me, everyone knows that you are eighteen now," Alexander said, " don't tell me that..."

"That I fear girls, of course not."

"I didn't say that you feared girls Harry, those are your words, " Alexander said.

"No, they aren't, they are yours."

"Why would you say that Harry?" asked Alexander.

"I said those words because I just anticipated that they were the same words you were going to speak," replied Harry pacing back and forth.

"Breaking news here on the Banks news Channel, Harry Banks the son of the richest business tycoon Mr Alexander Banks is afraid of girls and as a result, he doesn't have a girlfriend." Alexander kiddingly said taking on the role of a news reporter.

"What! Alexander, don't tell me that..," Harry is what I heard true?" asked Martin, for he gave attention to the breaking news, he said as he moved towards them.

"Uncle Martin, it isn't, " Harry said.

Martin is not only Alexander's best friend but also the Banks family friend, Harry addresses him as uncle occasionally, since they are close, and Alexander loves and trusts him like his own brother.

"Hey Martin, don't believe him because he already admitted it to me," Alexander said ( Harry's dad)

"Wow, so it's true?" asked Martin.

"Yes it's true Martin, he is just like you, " Alexander said.o

"Wait dad, wait, don't tell me that uncle Martin too didn't...., " Harry said as he found it interesting.

"That's it," Alexander said hitting his palm on the round table.

"What! Uncle Martin, is it true?" Harry asked as he smirked.

Taking a seat on his right hand he said, "Yes, yes I won't deny it, it is true."

"Oh my God, so, Uncle Martin, what went wrong?" Harry asked sitting back and ready to listen.

"The problem that I had was one, " Martin said as he cleaned his eyeglasses.

"And what was that?" asked Harry because he was curious.

Martin stared at Alexander and at the same time his eyeglasses as he cleaned them, he did this multiple times.

"Go on Martin, answer him already, will you?" Alexander asked.

"Okay, I was shy and even though I was the best in the whole class, you know, in the classwork thing, in biology, mathematics blah blah, I wasn't good or the best in the go get a girlfriend thing, he said,

"Alexander, why are you giving me that look?"

"I think there is something that you have to rectify, Martin," Alexander said.

"I don't think there is anything that needs to be rectified, Ale-xa-nder,"

"The lie," Alexander said.

"Oh, the lie, and what lie could that be?"

Martin said as he glanced at his fingers," oh, I recall now, Harry, Alexander was always number one and I was the second in the classwork thing, in those days."

"Thank you, '' Alexander said, "speaking of being number one in class, Harry here is also as gifted as me, so if it is shyness or fear then he got it from his mother and if it is brightness, then he got it from me.

"Really?" asked Harry.

"Nope, I think someone here is trying to cover up something," Martin said as he moved toward Alexander.

"Covering up what?" asked Harry Banks.

"Will you or should I?" Martin asked.

"I also feared girls," Alexander confessed," but not that much."

"But you still feared them, right? Questioned Harry.

"Yeah, I did, " Alexander answered back.

"What! You did, how come you never told me about it, Alexander?" asked Lydia, Harry's stepmother.

"Hey, you are back?" asked Alexander.

"Yeah, here I am, just as I left," she replied.

"Hey Martin, how are you, how are your wife and Jeremy?" asked Lydia.

"I'm fine, they are all fine and you?" asked Martin.

"I'm good, I don't have any problems because my sweetie over here takes good care of me," Lydia said as she gazed at him and held his hand.

"Hey, uncle Martin, it looks like we have some love birds here," Harry said.

"That's true, give me a high five," Martin said.

"You two gentlemen are really funny, Alexander I'm going inside now because I interrupted your conversation, so continue," Lydia said as she left.

"So pa, are you happy?" asked Harry as he smiled.

Harry Banks is always delighted when his dad is happy, so his dad's happiness makes a difference to him because he is the only one he is left with.

"Yes Harry, after a long time, I can now say that I'm glad and I want you to always remember that even though I got married again, I still love your mum very much even though she is no longer with us," Alexander said.

"I understand that dad, as for me I want you to remember that I love you so much and that I will always agree to any decision that makes you happy," Harry said.

"You already did Harry, by letting me remarry, a hug please."

"Okay," replied Harry as he came forward to grasp his father a little closer.

Being touched to the heart, Martin said, "Seeing the both of you in this situation makes me miss my family, so Alexander and Harry I'm taking off, good day."

Alexander placed his hands on his hips and shouted, "I thought that you were going to join us for the evening tea before leaving."

"Sorry Alexander, not today because I'm exhausted, I have to rest because today has been a long day for me," Martin said.

"Alright then, don't forget to fasten your seat belt and say hi to all," Alexander said as he smiled.

"Thanks for the reminder I will do just as you've said."

"Uncle Martin, don't rest forever, okay?" shouted Harry.

"Alright," he said.

"Father, Harry, how are you?" asked Stanley (Harry's stepbrother)

"Oh Stan, I'm fine," replied Alexander (his stepfather)

"And I'm fine too, how is it going?" asked Harry Banks.

"Planet earth is still rotating, the clock from the time it was invented to present is still moving clockwise, and the London bridge still exists; it is not falling, so everything is fine," replied Stanley.

"Not forgetting the Statue of Liberty, " Harry said.

"Yeah, that is America's," Stanley said.

"Hey I noticed that you were not home for a couple of hours," Alexander said (his stepfather)

"That's true, I'm sorry for leaving without notifying you or anyone, but I had gone out to hang out with some of my buddies," Stanley said.

"Oh, I see," Alexander said.

"I'll go inside now if you don't mind because I have to say hi to mom," Stanley said moving towards the door.

"Alright, we will be showing up inside shortly, it is just that I'm still having a serious discussion with Harry, you know, girlfriends," Alexander said.

"Oh, that's wonderful, I also think that he should get a girlfriend even though he is a bit shy or possibly afraid of girls," Stanley said.

"Stanley White," shouted Harry.

"Father, Harry, I'll go now, so, go on with your conversation," Stanley said.

"Dad, if you don't mind, can you tell me how you and my mom met? " asked Harry Banks.

"Sure, no problem, I met her in college, you know I was the best in school, so she would come to me for assistance in some schoolwork, and gradually we came to be good friends, we would hang out together on weekends, things like that, and later I fall in love with her," replied Alexander.

"That's all, " asked Harry.

"Yeah, nothing more, is there anything else you would like to know?"

"No, just that I find some scenes missing, you know according to the movies," Harry said.

" Scenes, what kind?"

"Scenes like, how you knew she loved you, her parents; how did they treat you, things like that."

"A crush," Alexander said.

" What!"

"Both of us already had a crush on each other so..," Alexander said.

"Oh, it was easy for you guys to get to know each other," Harry said.

"You can say that but her parents, especially her father was nuts,"