Page 57 of The Heartbreak Hotel
Shani nods, running a hand over Alfie’s head. He looks pretty zonked, eyes half-closed, tongue poking between his lips. The daisy makes for starkly cheerful contrast.
“Okay, I’m going to send you home with some Gabapentin in case you notice any signs of residual pain, like drooling or restlessness. And if you’re seeing that swelling or redness again, you can always start by giving him a Benadryl at home. Half a pill in some peanut butter usually goes down fine for these guys.” Henry folds his hands between his legs, fingers lacing together. “Any questions for me?”
Shani shakes her head, pressing a kiss to Alfie’s head. She looks up at Henry through red-rimmed eyes. “No. Thank you so much.”
“Of course.” He smiles and stands. “Jorge will walk you up to the front and they’ll give you those medications at checkout.” All of us stand, Jorge opening the door and guiding Shani through.
“Louisa,” Henry says from behind us. I turn, Quinn on my hip. “Can I talk to you for a moment?”
I glance down at Quinn, who’s completely absorbed in my phone, and back at Henry. “Um.”Yes, my body says.Yes, from the tug in my belly, the heat in my throat. “Nan?”
She stops in the doorway, looking back at us. “Would you mind taking Quinn for just one minute? I’ll be right out.”
“Of course.” She smiles, and when I put him down I slide my hand over the phone screen so he’ll look up at me.
“Is it okay if you go to the lobby with Nan while I talk to Henry really quick?”
Quinn looks up at Nan, who reaches for his hand. He takes it before looking back at me, his other hand still clenched around my phone. “Okay,” he says, and I smooth my fingers over his hair. Quinn looks up at Henry. “Are you gonna come over again?”
Henry looks at me, then back at Quinn. “Would you like me to?”
“Yeah,” Quinn says. “Me and Lou-Lou are doing tattoos this weekend if you want one.”
I bite my lip, and Henry tracks the movement before saying, “Tattoos?”
“Temporary,” I say. I picked out three packs weeks before Quinn and Goldie arrived: dinosaurs, the solar system, animals. “It’s kind of our tradition, the day he leaves.”
“My mom hates them,” Quinn says, so matter-of-factly that Henry laughs. Even here, in this sterile room, the sound of it does something to me—an ache in my stomach I can’t breathe out.
“Well, in that case.” He smiles at Quinn before looking at me. “If your aunt is okay with it.”
“I’m okay with it,” I say, holding Henry’s gaze.
“Come on, Quinn,” Nan says. She leads him through the doorway, glancing back at me with a conspiratorial look. “Let’s let Lou talk to Henry.”
The door falls shut behind them, and I tip backward to lean against it. For a moment, neither of us moves. Henry’s standing in front of an environmental allergens poster, hands loose athis sides. The air in here feels absolutely still, like it’s waiting for us.
“Hi,” I say.
His voice is soft. “Hi.”
I brush at my neck. “The flowers are a nice touch. On the collars.”
Henry’s eyes flick to the door behind me, like he’s trying to remember anything that happened before it was just the two of us in this room. “Oh,” he says. “Yeah—they, um. They make them for me at the senior center. People like them.”
A self-conscious flush rises to his cheeks. I want to touch him there. Instead I ask, “How are you feeling?”
Henry swallows. I watch his throat move and imagine it under my mouth. “Better.” He takes a step toward me, then draws a breath. “Embarrassed.”
“No,” I say. The truth is I knew I wanted Henry—it’s become an indisputable fact in my body, the way everything inside of me turns toward him like the point on a compass. But last night—his loosening muscles under my palm, his breath steadying in rhythm with the movement of my fingers—it deepened everything. It opened him up to me in a way I can’t get out from under my skin. “Please don’t be.”
He takes another step toward me. “Thank you. And I’m sorry.”
“If you apologize to me one more time, Iswear.”
His lips twitch. I want to touch his mouth. “You swear what?”
“I’ll tell everyone who works for you that you identify as a delectable chocolate brownie of a man.”
