23. Henry
23
HENRY
I t had been ten days since the storm, and Henry had seen a lot of Rosa as he’d helped her to get the bookshop back to the way it had been. He’d been at school for some of the time, but now it was half term, so he’d be able to spend more time with Rosa, taking her food and drinks and making himself useful.
Rosa was, he thought, an incredible woman. She’d grown up living with her aunt after losing her mum. Her father was absent, demonstrating a lack of love and affection, and that would be hard for anyone to deal with. Henry knew firsthand how difficult it was to have a father who could be hard and cold, but to have no sign that you mattered to a parent would be even worse. Listening to Rosa speak about her mum had made him believe she admired her bravery, but regretted what it had cost them both. He suspected it had bled into Rosa’s romantic life and made her scared of trusting someone with her heart. Her mum had been there one day and gone the next, and that would understandably make a child wary of loving again. If the one person you’d loved as a child was suddenly gone, then how was that supposed to leave you feeling? Alone. Scared. Isolated. Bereft. Her aunt had taken Rosa in and they’d had a good relationship from what she’d told him, but now she’d lost her aunt too. So apart from a distant father, she had no one left. Rosa deserved so much more than that and Henry wanted to see her happy and secure, safe and loved. He was thinking — and wishing — that he could be her person, but he also suspected she would find it hard to trust him with her heart. Add to that the feeling that she was also hiding something else, something that had happened to her that she hadn’t yet divulged, and she was a deep river.
And this was why she loved books so much, he was certain of it. He knew how they could provide a refuge from the world, a place where a reader could escape and find comfort. Having that in common with Rosa gave them a special connection, and it was something he believed they could build on together. As he knew, relationships were not easy, but having shared interests and goals gave a couple something special. He hadn’t felt that with his ex, but he did feel it with Rosa. With her, he already felt that he could commit to a future, but only if she wanted that too. If not, he would have to be content with friendship. That would be a challenge when he found her so beautiful and wanted to kiss her every time he saw her, but still better than not having her in his life at all. Being around Rosa had made him realise exactly what had been wrong in his relationship with Shona. Committing to her for life had been something he’d been unsure about, but the idea of committing to Rosa made his heart sing.
Before leaving home, he looked in the mirror one last time. He hoped she was going to like what she saw because he’d spent quite a bit of time getting ready this afternoon, and he felt rather silly. But it was Halloween, and they were going to the fancy dress party at the café, so he’d done his best with his costume.
He walked to the bookshop and peered through the window that was decorated with fake cobwebs, pumpkin lights, and small velvet pumpkins. The display featured a range of new books with ghost stories, vampires, and zombies, and horror classics including Frankenstein, Dracula and The Shining. Rosa was behind the counter with Vinnie and a life-size skeleton wearing glasses and holding a book. He smiled at their costumes. It was like being catapulted into a parallel universe, watching them tidy up and chat away like it was just a normal day like any other. Unable to resist any longer, he opened the door and went inside.
‘Ta da!’ He held out his hands and watched their faces.
‘You look amazing!’ Rosa laughed, then came around the counter and looked him up and down. ‘What a fabulous costume.’
‘You both look amazing, too.’
The three of them, without discussing their costumes, had dressed as zombie pirates and now resembled a motley crew ready to sail the seven seas.
‘I think we’re ready to set sail, don’t you?’ Rosa said, and they all laughed.
‘How was Christopher?’ he asked as they got ready to leave.
‘He’s all set up.’ Rosa pulled her coat on over her costume, careful not to tear the delicate chiffon of the cobwebs around the neckline. ‘He has a bucket filled with sweets and Vinnie set pumpkins around the front porch and lining the path. Then we dressed Bobby in his pumpkin costume. I think they’ll be fine, but I told him to phone if he has any problems. I think he’s looking forward to having some trick or treaters.’
‘Brilliant!’ Henry liked the thought of Christopher having fun. They’d asked him if he wanted to go to the party at the café, but he’d said he’d be happy at home handing out sweets.
‘Ready then?’ Henry asked.
‘Ready!’ Rosa and Vinnie replied.
When they arrived at The Garden Café, they could hear the music from outside on the path. They went through the gate and into the gardens. Small pumpkin lights adorned the hedges and tree branches. Carved pumpkins with gaping mouths, uneven teeth and slanting eyes grinned at them from the path and on tables and benches, as well as from the windows of the café itself. The gardens were busy with people milling around, all of them wearing costumes, and Henry looked at them, trying to work out who they were, but it was difficult, especially with those wearing masks.
‘I’m going to see if I can find my family,’ Vinnie said.
‘Catch you later,’ Henry said as Vinnie walked away. ‘You OK?’ he asked Rosa.
‘Yes, thanks. It all looks incredible.’ She gazed around them, smiling through her black lipstick.
‘Let’s get a drink.’ He took her hand, and they walked towards the café.
‘Mr Clay!’ A small boy waved at Henry and he waved back. ‘Hello, Paul. Love the costume.’
‘Thanks, Sir. My mummy made it out of old boxes.’ The boy was wearing a box around his middle and had one on his head with a circle cut out for his face. They had been painted silver with some red patches to suggest he was rusting. Silver paint also covered his face, and antennae protruded from the top of his head box. ‘I’m a robot.’
‘I can see that.’ Henry smiled.
‘Is that your wife?’ the boy asked.
Henry glanced at Rosa and saw her eyes widen.
‘She looks like your wife. You match.’ The boy pointed at their costumes.
‘I’m his friend,’ Rosa stammered as she let go of Henry’s hand. ‘We’re just friends.’
‘I think you should get married. You look happy together.’ The boy turned around, then glanced at them again. ‘Sorry, I better go. My mummy said not to wander off because I can’t see very well with the box on my head. She said to stay close so she can stop me bumping into things.’
‘You’d better get back to her then,’ Henry said. ‘Have fun.’
‘Thanks, Sir. You too!’ The boy shuffled away, and Henry turned to Rosa. ‘Sorry about that. He’s not in my class, but I know him from school. Children say exactly what’s on their minds.’
Rosa chewed at her bottom lip and concern filled him. ‘What is it?’
She shook her head.
‘Please tell me.’
‘I just … I’m not sure, really.’
‘Do you like children?’ he asked.
‘Of course. I couldn’t eat a whole one but…’ She winked.
‘Ha ha! But do you think you’ll want children in the future?’
Rosa looked down and brushed at the skirt of her dress as if cleaning something away. She sighed, then met his eyes again. ‘It’s not always that straightforward, is it? Wanting and having aren’t always the same thing.’
Something in her tone told Henry not to push the conversation. He’d only wanted to find out how she felt about having a family because he’d doubted that he would want children, but now, being around Rosa had made him question his prior beliefs.
‘Let’s get a drink,’ he said, reaching for her hand again. When she let him take it, he breathed a sigh of relief because the last thing he wanted was to irritate her or make her anxious when they’d been getting on so well.
Orange cloths covered the tables in the café, with pumpkins in the centre of each one. Small LED lights flickered inside the pumpkins, and fairy lights adorned the counter and windows. The café smelt of cinnamon and ginger and when they went to the counter, he could see why. Green-and-orange iced cupcakes featured bats and ghosts, mini loaves of gingerbread had been decorated to look like coffins and mini cinnamon apple pies had faces carved into their pastry lids.
‘Cake?’ he asked.
‘Please.’ Rosa selected one with a bat on it and he got one with a ghost.
‘What would you like to drink?’ Pearl asked from behind the counter. Dressed as Cruella de Vil, Pearl’s outfit was so convincing that Henry had to remind himself she was actually very nice and not a cruel dog thief.
‘What have you got?’ Rosa asked.
‘We have non-alcoholic bloodthirsty punch, which is cranberry juice with lime juice and lemonade. We have Frankenpunch, which is ginger ale, pineapple juice, lime sorbet and tequila. Finally, we’ve made caramel apple mimosas, which contain caramel, cinnamon sugar, apple cider and caramel vodka.’
‘They all sound delicious,’ Rosa looked up at Henry. ‘What do you fancy?’
He bit back the reply ‘You!’ and said, ‘I’ll have a Frankenpunch, please, Pearl.’
‘And I’ll have the same,’ Rosa said.
Pearl got their drinks, and they took them along with their cakes to the green leather sofa. Sitting next to each other, they sipped their drinks simultaneously and Henry felt his eyes widen. ‘Wow!’
‘It’s so strong.’ Rosa licked her lips. ‘Delicious but strong.’
‘It is indeed,’ he said. ‘We should drink these, then try the mimosas too.’
‘Really?’ She giggled and for a moment, he saw the relaxed Rosa he adored. She could be so calm and lacking in guile, but then a wall would shoot up and he’d find it hard to know what she was thinking. It seemed to happen more often now, and he wondered if it was because she was confronting feelings she hadn’t dealt with for a while. It could happen when people felt vulnerable. He knew it because he’d felt it himself, but he wanted Rosa to feel safe with him and not to worry about being hurt. He had no intention of hurting her. Not ever.
‘Really,’ he said. ‘We’re here to have fun this evening and we can do whatever we like.’
‘I enjoy being with you, Henry,’ she said. ‘You’re fun company and so sweet.’
‘Why, thank you.’ She covered his hand with hers and leant her head on his shoulder in a way that made his skin grow warm. ‘I try to be good company.’
‘You are.’ She sat up straight again and sipped her drink and Henry did the same, enjoying how the alcohol in the cocktail warmed him right through. Outside in the gardens, people had started dancing and they watched them for a while as they ate their cakes, then Rosa said, ‘Want to dance?’
‘Why not?’
Rosa led the way outside and they joined in with the dancing. They shimmied around with other zombies, ghosts, vampires, pumpkins, astronauts and more. They danced to Thriller, Monster Mash, Ghostbusters and I Put a Spell on You … Henry could see Rosa relaxing as she danced, and he was glad. Whatever had happened to her before she came to Cornwall had left its mark, but he hoped she could work through it and have the life she deserved going forwards.
When a slow song came on, Annie Lennox’s Love Song for a Vampire, Henry held out his hand and Rosa accepted it. She stepped into his embrace and he held her gaze as they moved slowly around on the grass. With the moon high above them, the flickering pumpkins and the air sweet with cinnamon and crisp with autumn, it was a magical moment.
Everything else seemed to fade away, and it was just the two of them and the music.
Their connection.
Their hearts beating as one.
Rosa’s eyes glistened and Henry brushed a loose strand of hair from her face before kissing her forehead. Her skin was warm beneath his lips, grounding him in the moment. In awe of the depth of his feelings for this woman, he held her closer. He’d known her just two months, yet he felt as if his soul had always known her and had been waiting for her all this time. Everything that had come before didn’t matter because now he was where he was meant to be, and the woman he belonged with was finally in his arms.
When the song finished, they stood still for a few moments as if they both needed to gather their thoughts, and then Rosa said, ‘Now, about those caramel apple mimosas.’
‘Come on. It would be rude not to try them.’ He led her back inside the café and up to the counter, hoping he would be able to do this every Halloween.