13. Henry
13
HENRY
A fter bobbing for apples, Henry went inside the café to warm up a bit. In the toilets, he put his head under the drier to dry his hair and face, then he looked at himself in the mirror and laughed. His hair stuck up like he’d been shocked, and his face was bright red from the heat. He pushed his hands through his hair to tidy it as best he could, then he went back outside.
Rosa was sitting with Christopher and Vinnie and she looked contented, like a woman sitting with her grandpa and brother. They could have been family, and it made him wonder about her and if she had an actual family to turn to. If not, how did she manage? Henry had his parents, sister and friends too. Not having family would be hard, he suspected. Despite his difficult relationship with his father and his father’s frequent disappointment in him, Henry knew his father would be there for him. His mother and sister would be there no matter what, he was certain of that, and his mum always made him feel safe and loved. Did Rosa have that security, or was she alone in the world?
Something fluttered in his chest and he rubbed a hand there as he wondered at it. He barely knew Rosa, and yet he felt like there was a connection growing between them. He’d felt this once before and it hadn’t worked out and it had terrified him. But this time, he was older and wiser, and not being influenced by what others around him wanted. He was an adult now, and he was more certain about who he was. He escaped his father’s expectations, a loathed job, and an unhappy relationship by moving to another part of the country. To him, it was a step toward self-discovery. The relationship he’d left had been wrong on so many levels, but he was in a position now to create a more equal partnership with the right woman. Previously, he’d been unable to devote himself fully because he wasn’t being true to himself. He was living a life that others wanted for him and not the life he wanted for himself. Now, the time had arrived for him to choose, to embrace love, and to develop as a person.
A woman like Rosa could be the perfect partner for him if she felt the same. There was something else, though — something deeper inside him that stirred whenever he thought about her. It wasn’t easy to admit, and others might baulk at it, but it was there, undeniable. He wanted to be there for her, to protect her. Not out of weakness or necessity, but out of a quiet, instinctive need. Rosa was clearly a strong and independent woman, but even the strongest people needed someone by their side. And maybe — just maybe — he could be that someone for her.
‘Mr Clay?’ A hand tugged at his arm, and he turned to find Johan grinning at him.
‘Yes, Johan?’
‘Can we carve pumpkins now?’
He laughed. ‘Yes, of course.’ Looking back over at Rosa he waved and caught her eye. She nodded, then said something to her companions before getting up and coming to him.
‘Yes?’
‘It’s time for pumpkin carving now. Would you like a go?’
‘Oh…’ She pulled a face. ‘My hands are a bit cold, to be honest. Could I just watch you instead?’
‘Only if you cheer him on,’ Johan said with a cheeky grin.
‘I can do that.’ Rosa nodded.
‘Come on, then.’ Johan led them over to a table where Pearl was standing with Jasper Holmes. His partner, Ellie, was there too, along with his two children, Mabel and Alfie.
‘Right then … first up we have Jasper versus Henry.’ Pearl ticked off their names on the list on her notepad.
‘Go on, Daddy! You can do it!’ Alfie said, his little face filled with determination. ‘Do the punkin face we planned.’
‘Punkin?’ Johan’s eyes widened.
‘It’s OK,’ Rosa whispered. ‘Pumpkin can be hard to pronounce.’
‘OK.’ Johan shrugged. ‘I understand that because my brother Willem, who’s also five, can’t say hippopotamus or elephant.’
‘What does he say instead?’ Henry asked.
‘Hitopotamoose and hephalant.’ Johan laughed.
‘Wow! Two new creatures right there.’ Rosa winked. ‘The tale of the hitopotamoose and the hephalant.’
Henry took a seat at the table next to Jasper. They shook hands and swished each other luck.
‘Three. Two. One. Go!’ Pearl clapped her hands and Henry took a deep breath then got to work. He’d thought about what he could do to the pumpkin, but in reality, it was much tougher than he’d imagined. Meanwhile, to his left, Jasper appeared to know what he was doing and to be doing it quickly. Nearby, Ellie and Jasper’s children cheered him on and a crowd gathered around them all. A bead of sweat ran down Henry’s forehead and he shook his head but couldn’t move it. Suddenly, a gentle hand pressed a tissue there and he looked up to find Rosa smiling down at him.
‘Thanks.’ He flashed her a smile.
‘No problem. You need to be able to see what you’re doing.’
‘And I couldn’t use these…’ He looked down at his sticky orange hands and grimaced.
As he worked, Pearl called out how long they had left and he tried to focus. The pumpkin evolved a shape as he tried to carve it to look the way it did in his mind.
‘Go on, Daddy, do that punkin right!’ Alfie shouted.
Henry looked over at Johan and saw that the boy was cheering him on, but in that moment he knew that even if his carving skills were better than Jasper’s, he couldn’t win this. Alfie needed his daddy to win, so that was what would happen. Losing didn’t have to be a bad thing at all and all children needed to learn that at some point. But he suspected Alfie was more emotionally invested in this than Johan anyway, and so he slowed down, held the pumpkin out to look at his handiwork, then tweaked it a bit.
‘And that’s it, guys! Time is up!’ Pearl said loudly and they downed tools and sat back to wait.
‘Wow! Love what you did there.’ Jasper admired Henry’s pumpkin.
‘Yeah but yours is outstanding,’ Henry said, filled with admiration.
‘If the judges can now score the work, please,’ Pearl said, and a few locals walked over to the table and assessed the pumpkins while Henry and Jasper went to wash their hands.
When they came back, Pearl was smiling at them.
‘So, as you know, the winner will get a voucher to bring their family to the café to eat a meal for free. The judges have decided unanimously that the winner is…’
‘Daddy!’ Alfie said and everyone laughed.
‘Yes, indeed. You’re right, Alfie. Your daddy is the winner.’
Alfie ran to Jasper, and he scooped him up and hugged him tight. Henry clapped his hands while trying to swallow the lump in his throat. Alfie’s delight at his daddy’s win was clear, and the love between them was very moving to see. Mabel also ran to Jasper, and he hugged her too, and then Ellie joined them. They were a beautiful little family unit, demonstrating once again, Henry thought, that family didn’t have to be all about blood but about love and compassion, kindness, and support. Ellie wasn’t the children’s biological mother, but she loved them nonetheless.
Henry had once felt pressure to start a family and that others had mapped out his life without his consent. It had made him think that having children wasn’t something he’d ever want or need. Seeing this display of love and solidarity though, now there was no pressure on him, he felt differently. Perhaps one day he would want a family, would want to have children and to be a dad. If he ever got the chance to do that, he would take the best of what his father had done for him and forget the worst, then be the dad he would want for himself and for his children. He would be like Jasper and do everything with his children at the forefront of his mind, be the very best dad he could be and make them proud of him.
He felt like he was being watched, so he turned and found Rosa gazing at him. Something in her eyes made his chest tight, and he struggled to suck in a breath. He saw her dilated pupils and slightly parted lips, realised she was experiencing something too. Had she understood what he was seeing? What he was feeling? What he was thinking? Was it possible that they had a connection strong enough to build into something more?
He was about to go over to her when he saw Vinnie come to her side and whisper something in her ear. Her expression changed, and she turned and crossed the gardens with him and the moment was gone. Johan came to Henry and told him he really liked the shape of a fish that he’d carved into the pumpkin but if he’d been a bit more skilled, he could have carved something like Jasper had done — a mini pumpkin inside the mouth of the bigger pumpkin. Henry simply nodded and agreed because he didn’t have the heart to tell Johan that he hadn’t carved a fish. It was, in fact, a cat — so it seemed his carving skills definitely weren’t up to scratch after all…