Page 27 of When We Were More
“Is this a solo activity or do you want company?”
I gaze at him for several long seconds. He seems sincere, not like he’s making fun of me.
“It can be a group activity. My grandmother used to do it with me.” My voice is almost a whisper.
“All right, let’s do this then. It’s only ‘Fuck you, Joe,’ right?”
I nod.
“Okay, on three,” he says.
He counts us down, and we yell “Fuck you, Joe,” in unison. After, we stand there in the cool evening air, silent for a few seconds. Then Henry turns and walks over to the railing, staring out in the direction the sun is setting.
“It sure is a gorgeous view you have here, Matilda. I’d watch the sun set and rise out here every day if this was my home.” He doesn’t take his eyes off the landscape when he’s talking, seemingly caught up in the scenery.
I move and stand next to him.
“I try to catch as many of them as I can. I’ve loved looking out over this property since I was a little girl. It’s funny, my dad always said he hated growing up here, ‘in the boonies,’ but I would have given anything to live here full time with my grandmother. At least I got to spend some weeks here in the summer, though.”
Henry turns and looks at me for a few seconds, like he’s searching my face. Before he can say anything else, I step back.
“The pizza’s getting cold. Shall we eat?”
He smiles at me and nods, but there’s a hint of worry in his eyes. I suppose I would be the same way if I walked up upon the situation he did. He grabs the pizza from the table, then holds the door open for me when we walk inside.
“We’ll eat on the couch, if that’s okay.” I set my martini on a coaster on the coffee table.
“Sure, I don’t mind.”
I grab paper plates, napkins, and two bottles of water before joining him on the couch. He looks relaxed sitting there as if he belongs here, which is a strange thought for me to have. It’s probably my brain acting weird because he looks damn good in jeans, a T-shirt with an open flannel button-up over top, and clean work boots. Who looks good in that? Apparently, Henry does.
I sit, and Henry picks up a plate, then opens the pizza box.
“Two pieces for you?”
“One, please.” He puts a piece on the plate and hands it to me, along with a napkin, then he dishes out two pieces for himself. When he takes the first bite, he groans.
“Oh my God, this is incredible.” He pulls out his phone and takes a picture of the name and phone number for the pizza shop.
“You live in Aron Falls, and you’ve never had this pizza before?”
“Nope. But I promise you I will again. It’s delicious.” He looks up at me and grins. It makes him seem much younger than I suspect he is. “We’ve only lived in Aron Falls for about a year. Moved here from Meadow Creek once we relocated the company here.”
“I’ve only lived here full-time for five years. But I used to spend a lot of time here growing up. Have you met many people in the last year?” I take a bite of my pizza, and he’s right, it is delicious.
His eyes droop, and the corners of his mouth turn down. “No, I’m embarrassed to say, I haven’t met many people at all, except for people who work for us. I think being right on the edge of Meadow Creek has kept us from branching out more. But we should… I should. I plan for this to be my home long term.”
“Why’d you pick that far from downtown for the company’s location?”
He swallows his bite of pizza. “We had the property already. Fifty acres abutting the national park in Meadow Creek. My dad bought it from an uncle years ago. Now my four brothers and I own it. Well, we divided it evenly between each of us, and then the company sits on a few shared acres.
“There are five of you? I’ve only met two. You obviously do the construction end, and Holden does what, sales calls?”
“Yes, there are five of us. I’m a carpenter and the lead builder and CEO. Holden isn’ta salesman; he just happened to be helping out that day. He’s our structural engineer. His twin, Hayden, is our architect.”
“That’s three. What do the other two do?” Now I’m invested.
“Well, Harrison is an attorney. He handles all of our legal work, contracts, and that type of stuff, and Heath, he’s the baby, he plays professional football. He’s a wide receiver.”
