Chapter Fourteen #2
Working on getting something quickly together for dinner while occasionally glancing at the two outside, Cora was surprised when Daisy nudged her thigh.
“Hey mom, we’re back,” said Oliver a little unnecessarily as he put away his coat and shoes. “Is Nick talking to Henry yet?”
Cora looked at Oliver in surprise. “You knew your brother wanted to talk to Henry?”
Oliver nodded. “He wanted to talk to Henry because he had more to talk about. I get to talk to you.”
Cora was surprised. She set aside what she was doing to give Oliver her full attention. “You can always talk to me.”
“I know I can,” easily said Oliver. He leaned against the counter. “It’s okay, you know.”
“What’s okay?” asked Cora, trying to follow her ten-year-old’s conversation.
“If you want to date Henry, it’s okay. Nick and I talked about it. So if you want to date each other, it’s okay with us,” blithely said Oliver.
Cora stared at her son in shock. She knew they had overheard Susan, but she hadn’t realized Nick and Oliver had discussed the possibility of her and Henry being in a relationship. “You and Nick talked about this?”
“Yup,” replied Oliver before going to the silverware drawer and starting to set the table.
“Do you have anything else to add to the conversation?” wondered Cora. Nick and Henry seemed to be taking a long time outside.
Oliver screwed up his face, thinking. “Oh yeah! We think he makes you happy. You smile more and since Henry makes you happy, I’m happier.”
“Oh.” Cora didn’t really know what to say. She didn’t know how she felt about her sons discussing her love life. Focusing her attention on finishing supper. She didn’t even look up as Henry and Nick returned. Cora couldn’t decide if she was more embarrassed to look at Henry or Nick.
Fortunately Adam decided to cry and take up her time so she didn’t have to worry about blushing in front of either of them.
Cora took Adam to her room to feed him in privacy.
She lingered, listening to the soft voices down the hall, Oliver giggling over something, then the boys cleaning up after finishing their meal.
Adam looked up at her, puckering his lips and frowning.
“I know. I’m avoiding the situation. It’s probably not a good thing,” whispered Cora.
Adam decided he was bored and closed his blue eyes on a happy sigh.
Giving the baby a kiss on the cheek, Cora carefully set him down to sleep. Heading to the kitchen she found Henry wiping the table down, the dishes already running in the dishwasher.
“The boys didn’t have any homework. They went upstairs with Daisy,” mentioned Henry as he went to the sink to rinse out the washcloth. “I kept a plate out for you. You might want to warm it up a little.”
Cora leaned against the counter, wrapping her arms around herself. Henry seemed calm and measured. Whatever he and Nick had talked about, it didn’t seem to upset him.
Henry looked at her in amusement. “So, three hundred cupcakes?”
Cora shook her head as a smile graced her lips. “Homemade from scratch with dietary considerations. Susan is out of her mind.”
“We could always hire a chef for the day. They could use your kitchen, bake up a storm, and you can submit them as your own,” replied Henry.
“Homemade from scratch. Those were the requirements. No one said you had to bake them. Besides, isn’t it a little ridiculous to ask the woman who just had a baby to bake copious amounts of cupcakes? ”
“Susan is ridiculous,” dryly responded Cora.
“So what are you going to do?” questioned Henry.
“I think if Susan follows up with me, I will simply order them from a bakery and have them delivered. I’m not going to pretend I baked anything,” decided Cora. “If they don’t like it, they can kick me off the committee.”
Henry smiled. “Or you can ask me to create another emergency for you.”
“No. No more emergencies. I almost believed you were really hurt,” protested Cora with a smile. Her smile faded as she decided to change the conversation. “How did the talk with Nick go?”
Henry hesitated. “It was interesting.”
“I had a talk from Olliver,” revealed Cora. “I think it was supposed to mirror your talk with Nick but Oliver is only ten so it was far less in depth.”
“Nick really did need to discuss some important things. I think the thoughts have been building for a little while. It was good for him to talk,” mentioned Henry. “You should enjoy your supper, it’s getting cold.”
Cora took the plate of food, putting it in the microwave. “Did he ask you to keep the conversation confidential?”
“No. I think he knew we were likely to discuss it anyways,” replied Henry as he took a seat at the table. “We talked about Nate. We discussed you and Oliver. Nick needed some reassurances from me regarding how you should be treated.”
“How I should be treated?” questioned Cora as she took out the plate of steaming food. She had a seat beside Henry. “What did he mean by that?”
“Nick is just trying to protect you,” softly said Henry, his eyes a little sad. “He’s working through some things.”
“Things Nate did that they witnessed,” guessed Cora. She pushed away the plate of food, suddenly not hungry. “Or how he treated our sons?”
“Yes. A little of both, I think,” admitted Henry.
“This is my fault. I should have left him sooner,” whispered Cora.
“It’s Nate’s fault. Not yours, not Nick’s, not Oliver’s. It is Nate’s fault,” repeated Henry. “It was Nate’s actions that caused this. You are not to blame.”
Cora shook her head, biting her lip to try to stop any tears from falling.
“Hey, I just had this conversation with Nick. I had to explain to him that it wasn’t his fault. You wouldn’t blame him for what happened, would you? Then you can’t blame yourself,” Henry told her.
“I’m the adult. I should have left.” She wiped the tears from her face, sniffing.
“You told me you were leaving the day Nate died. You were leaving, Cora. You were doing the right thing,” Henry solemnly said, carefully touching her shoulder. “You should talk to Nick about this. He and Oliver need to know that you intended to leave with them.”
Cora nodded. She dragged in a deep breath. “Oliver told me it was okay if I dated you. I think this all stems from something they overheard Susan Hythe say at the school. She was a bit crass.”
“So that’s what triggered it. I wondered,” mused Henry. “Nick said something along the same lines along with warnings for me not to mess it up.”
“What did you tell him?” quietly asked Cora. She looked down at her unappetizing plate, deciding she would put it in the fridge. She really didn’t want it.
“I told him his mother probably wasn’t ready to date yet. I also said I had an important surgery to get through. Nick seemed to accept that,” gently replied Henry.
Cora nodded.
It gave her the perfect out. She wasn’t ready. Yet Cora almost wished she was.
“Why don’t we go watch Tex get some revenge against the guy who put him in a coma?” suggested Henry, changing the subject to Cora’s favorite soap. “I think it’s Allan.”
Cora had a watery laugh. “Really? Allan, who is eighty if a day?”
“Hey, he has henchmen to do his bidding. It could be him,” smiled Henry.
“I think it's Tommy and his buddies from the bar,” guessed Cora.
“Only one way to find out,” replied Henry as he stood up. “Race you to the television.”
Cora smiled as she watched Henry wheel his way out of the kitchen with his walker.
Oliver was right. She had been happier lately.