Page 94 of Dear Henry, Love Edith
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
“I know.”
“And you’re absolutely positive you want to walk away from a multimillion-dollar contract just because the woman who walked away from you might be sick?”
“Yes.”
“Well, then.” Peg folded her hands in front of her. “I guess all that’s left to say is... I’ve never been prouder of you in all my life. Because you are finishing what you started.”
Henry nodded, a burst of gratitude preventing any words from making it past the thickness in his throat.
“But, Henry?” Peg dabbed the corner of her lip. “Just because I’m proud of you doesn’t mean I don’t think you’re an idiot.”
“Excuse me?” Henry paused in grabbing his truck keys.
“You heard me. You’re an idiot. How can you even think about throwing away an opportunity like this? I’m calling your brother.”
“How’s he going to help?”
“He’s retired, not dead. Do I need to remind you the nameof this company? Is it Henry’s Painting and Construction? No. It’s Hobbes Painting and Construction. Got that?Hobbes.A family name. Your family name. So let your family help you out before you do something stupid. And yes, I absolutely include myself in that definition of family.”
Henry’s arms fell to his sides as he stared at the woman who’d come to mean as much to him as his own mother. “Peg, I love you.”
“I know you do. Now get out of here before that cameraman gets back.”
Right. Henry sprang into motion, feeling his back pocket for his wallet as he headed toward the door, his only plan to swing by the house for his passport and catch the first flight out of the Quad City airport to Chicago and go from there.
“Oh, and, Henry?”
Henry paused halfway out the door, ready for one of Peg’s “For all that’s holy, don’t screw this up” comments.
What he got was a soft “I love you too. Now go get our girl.”
He smiled and closed the door, aiming to do just that.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Sometime after sitting on a warped bench and talking about adventure with Amahle, Edith had enteredThe Twilight Zone. She heard Rod Serling narrating her life. Or was that a doctor?
No, it was her dad. Wait. No. It couldn’t be her dad. Could it? Why was her dad here?
He peered down at her, shaking his head side to side as if disappointed she was trying to follow him into the afterlife. She wasn’t, was she?
Edith tried to speak but couldn’t form any words. Her body shivered and her teeth chattered around a tongue that had shriveled up like a raisin.I’m sorry,she wanted to say. After all these years, she wasn’t sure what she was even sorry for anymore. She only wished they would be reconciled at last.
But when her dad leaned closer, it was no longer him. It was Dr. Reddy’s worried face. Or Mama Peace’s stern face, speaking in tongues right before she jabbed a needle into her arm. Once, Edith opened her eyes to see that the hands replacing a cool washrag to her forehead belonged to Kaya. Then the next moment she swore she saw Junior standing next to her bed holding a chicken.
But the one person Edith longed to see more than anyone never appeared.
Edith called for him on the nights she thought she was at his home, tucked under the cool sheets of his bed, and he was only one floor below her. She yelled his name when she thought they were back in the crisis nursery house and he was fending off an intruder. She asked for him when she thought she was at Julie’s bakery. “Is Henry here? I’m looking for Henry.”
“Shhh. Quiet.” Mama Peace again. “We call Henry. But first, you drink.” She poured a pungent medicine down Edith’s throat. “See? Better.”
Edith didn’t think it was better. She returned to her restless sleep.
Sometime later she heard more voices. But the heat that raged within her body held her prisoner. She couldn’t fight off the weights pressing down her limbs. Or break through the haze fogging up her mind.
Like a radio station filled with fluctuating static, voices volleyed back and forth above her.A mix-up... tank pill... expired... hopeful... fever... asking for her fiancé... talk to her... wait and see... pray...
