Page 100 of Dear Henry, Love Edith
Edith covered her mouth. So this was why he had rushed off earlier. And why everyone had conspired to keep her from chasing after him. He needed time to give her a story.
The glow of the sun dipped beneath the horizon, gentle shades of orange warming the landscape and lighting up her heart.
“Well, go on.” Henry motioned his head toward the arch. “Step through it.”
Edith looked through the arch. At the familiar faces gathered beyond it.For her.
Amahle and her brood. Dr. Reddy, Kaya, and their three little explorers. Mama Peace. And dozens of others. All of them blending their voices together in a song of hope.
Edith turned back to Henry and grabbed his hand. “Not without you. I don’t want any story that doesn’t include you.” She pressed a kiss to his knuckles. “I want to sit on your bench, Henry.”
His blue eyes sparkled with unshed tears. “I’m not really sure what that means.”
“It means you better carry me through that arch and never let go.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Henry swooped her up in his arms and stepped through the arch.
Edith’s foot banged against a slanted IV pole missing its wheels. “Ow.” The arch teetered.
“Sorry about that.” Henry swiveled to make room for her legs and something cracked. “That wasn’t your head, was it?”
A bucket bounced off her shoulder. Before Henry made it another step, the structure collapsed into a heap of mop handles, poles, basins, and broken crutches. Edith buried her face against Henry’s shoulder as the singing came to an abrupt halt, replaced with shrieks and laughter.
“Well, that wasn’t supposed to happen,” Henry murmured.
“Who built this flimsy contraption anyway?” Edith said, trying not to laugh or sneeze from the tufts of dirt circling around them.
“Flimsy? Did you hear that?” Henry swung Edith around so they were facing the Reddy kids, who were all jumping and pointing at the rubble. “After all the work we put into it?” Henry lowered his face close to Edith’s. “Just for that, I’m feeding you to the crocodiles.”
“Oh, please don’t.” No wonder Henry had a bruise on his forehead if the Reddy kids were involved. “I didn’t say flimsy. No, no. You misheard. I said...whimsy-cal. Finest arch I’ve ever seen. Wonderful job, kids.”
Henry set Edith down on her feet, keeping his arms wrapped around her as the kids began using the mop handles and crutches as pretend swords. “In my defense, the original idea was to do all this at sunrise tomorrow. But then we ran into some logistical issues. Mainly how to keep you in bed five more minutes, let alone an entire night. It turned into a rush job.”
“I was afraid you were leaving me.”
“Why on earth would you think that?”
“Because you said you were leaving me.”
“I said I had to go, not that I was leaving you. I needed time to finish the arch.” He waved to the pile of rubble. “A smashing success if I do say so myself.”
“What about your job? Charles Henderson? Don’t you need to get back? That’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for you. I don’t want you to mess it up because of me.”
“Edith,youare my once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Don’t you see that? You’re stuck with me, babe.”
“Even if I want to stay here? What would you do?”
Henry wagged his head side to side as if giving it some serious consideration. “Seems rather obvious. I’d open an arch business. Word of mouth about this project has probably already spread across the region.”
He pressed his forehead against hers, turning serious again. “Truth is, no. I can’t stay here forever. At some point I do need to get back to my job in Westshire. But I’ll wait for you, Edith. As long as it takes, I will wait for you. I’m not here to pressure you into coming back with me. I’m only here to tell you I love you and I’m willing to wait.”
This man. Edith closed her eyes and simply breathed him in.
“You know, one of the reasons I came here was because I thought this was my big shot to do something important with my life. I figured I’d be able to make a huge difference simply because the people here desperately needed my help.”
Edith opened her eyes, taking a moment to glance around her. Amahle, Kaya, and Mama Peace stood together, looking back at her with gentle, knowing smiles. Okay, maybe not Mama Peace. But Edith had the feeling it was the sortof smile Mama Peace might give to a sister—a sister who annoyed her but she couldn’t help loving anyway.
Edith returned her gaze to Henry’s gorgeous blue eyes. “But now I’m thinking maybe the reason God placed this area on my heart was because all along he knew there’d come a time when I needed them. Desperately.” She clasped Henry’s hands between hers as joy washed over her, filling her with a glow to match the South African sun. “I think I’m ready to go home.”
