Page 48 of Watching Henry

And he was laughing but she could hear the tinge of sadness in his voice. She knew that her father had loved her mother. Enough that she'd never seen him with another woman. She couldn't fathom how much he must miss her.

The door opened and Eleanor slid in, lifting an eyebrow as Hadley flicked the coffee machine on and pointed at her phone.

“Dad, I'll call, I promise, but I've gotta get back to it.”

“Of course, of course,” he said. “Nice to see that you're really working, really getting into it.”

“Yeah,” she said, slowly. “I really am, actually. It's, well, it's kind of nice knowing what to expect every day, I guess.”

“Just so long as you make it through the full two months,” he said. “This tough love thing is as hard on me as it is on you. I feel like I haven't seen you for months. I can't wait for you to come home.”

“Me too, dad.”

“And your allowance will be waiting for you.”

She was about to thank him. But then she thought about it, thought about the money, thought about working. And being twenty seven and having an allowance suddenly sounded like the stupidest, most childish thing she'd ever heard.

“About that,” she started. Eleanor came through from the back with a stack of cups. “Well, let's talk about it. The allowance thing. Maybe it isn't the right way to go.”

“Huh,” said her father. “You might want to give that some serious thought.”

She looked down at her hands and across at the tip jar. “Yeah,” she said. “Yeah, I will. Promise. And I really have to go. Love you, dad.”

“Love you, kiddo.”

She hung up and slid her phone into her pocket just as Eleanor twisted the nozzle on the coffee machine letting out a flood of steam. Thirty seconds later, a mug was being pressed into her hands.

“Thanks.”

“There's got to be some benefit to working in a coffee shop,” Eleanor grinned. “Having free coffee on demand seems like it's kind of expected.”

Hadley smiled right back. She really needed this caffeine.

“Is everything alright?” Eleanor asked, sipping at her own coffee. “Only, you look like you haven't slept for a week. Are you burning the candle at both ends? Because if this job is too much for you on top of the kids, I totally get that.”

Hadley leaned down, putting her elbows on the counter. She wasn't sleeping right, she knew that. She also knew that she was far too old to be acting like a love-lorn teenager. She rubbed her face with her hands.

“You don't have to talk about it,” Eleanor said, gently. “But I'm here if you want to.”

“It's just... I don't know where to start,” Hadley said.

Eleanor laughed. “Maybe I can help with that. You've fallen for Florence. So what's the problem?”

Hadley opened her mouth, closed it again, then shook her head. “Is it really that obvious?”

Eleanor wrinkled her nose. “Kind of. I've been rooting for the two of you since the beginning, if that helps? Opposites attract and all that. It's a good look. Also, you complement each other well. Not that I ever see you together, but it's not hard to imagine how you balance each other out.”

“Really?”

“Really. Besides, Florence has been dancing around the issue for a while now. And you both... You sort of light up when the other one's name is mentioned. I don't know. Maybe I was just projecting my own wants onto the situation. But it seemed to me like there was real chemistry there.”

“I thought so too,” said Hadley.

“Thought?”

Hadley sighed. “We kissed. She walked away. And then she told me that we had to be professional. But she also intimated that she didn't actually regret the kiss. I got the idea that maybe there could be more, maybe after the summer or something.” She growled. “Confusing.”

Eleanor leaned down next to her so that their shoulders were touching. “It sounds confusing. It's always going to be confusing when you mix business and pleasure. Not to mention when you're dealing with someone who might not be as experienced as you.”

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