Page 24 of Dear Henry, Love Edith
“Sounds to me like a bum knee is the least of your problems.” Lance pointed to the leg lifts. “Twenty more.”
Henry completed another set and collapsed onto his back. “How come I never see you pushing anybody else as hard as you push me?”
“Because nobody else here needs it as much as you. Plus, it would kill them.” Lance smirked and tossed him a towel. “So what are you going to do about the mystery woman?”
“I don’t know.”
“Angela?”
“I don’t know.”
“Edith?”
“Marry her. She seems the least complicated of the three.”
Lance laughed. “See? I knew you had a thing for old ladies.” He handed Henry a water bottle. “Your knee’s getting stronger. I think you’d be okay if we cut back your sessions to just a couple times a week now. Unless you think you might miss me too much.”
“That’s a risk I’m willing to take,” Henry said. “Does this mean I can start climbing ladders again?”
“Not if you have any more tackle football games on your schedule.”
“That was just the one time.”
“And look where it landed you.” Lance pointed to the blue floor mat as he pulled out a green resistance band. “Just keep doing your exercises every day.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Henry eased down on the mat and took the resistance band from Lance. “You sort of nag like an old lady, you know that?”
“Must be why you like me so much.”
After a shower and a bite to eat, Henry drove down to his office. “Hey, gorgeous.” He swooped in to give Peg a quick peck on the cheek on his way past her desk.
She stared at him with wide eyes. “Did something happen to Fred?”
“What? As far as I know, your husband is fine.”
Peg’s look of horror switched to confusion. “Then what’s going on? You never act this way.”
“What way?” Henry eased into his desk chair.
“Nice.”
Henry scowled. “I’m always nice to you.”
“Not when you’re barking at me about the heat.”
“What heat? There is no heat.”
“It’s summer. Who wants heat in summer?” Peg hollered. “I swear, if I didn’t love your folks the way I did, I’d throw you out on your ear first chance I got.”
Henry couldn’t keep his lips from twitching, picturing the five-foot-one woman trying to even reach his ear, as he shuffled through the pile of papers on his desk. “I’m sorry.”
Peg opened her mouth to start another tirade but then stopped. “You’re sorry? Oh no. Something did happen. Is it your knee? They planning to cut your leg off or something?”
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Henry tapped the papers against his desk until they were a nice tidy package. “Well, don’t worry. I’m going to be out of your hair soon enough.” He put a paper clip on them and tossed a few pens into a cup holder before he rose. “Lance said I can hit the ladders again.”
He grabbed his thermos and planted another kiss—this time on the top of her little permed head. “So turn the temperature all the way down to single digits for all I care. I’m out of here. If anybody comes looking for me, I’ll be downtown in the historical district, taking measurements.”
“Oh, Henry,” she said in a singsong voice. “I think you’re forgetting something.”
