25. Henry
25
HENRY
H enry trudged through the village. It had been a week since he’d attended the Halloween party with Rosa, and he couldn’t believe he hadn’t seen her since then. Well, not seen her up close, that was, because they lived in a small village. He’d seen her in the shop, at the café and on the beach, but he’d done his best to stay out of her way. The last thing he wanted was to make her feel there was any pressure from him. He knew what that was like, had been on the receiving end of pressure, and it wasn’t what he wanted for himself or for Rosa. She had asked him to give her space, and that was what he would do.
And this even though he was desperate to speak to her, to ask her what had changed when they’d been down at the beach. To find out if he had said or done something to make her have such a dramatic change of heart. Things had been going so well. They’d had a lovely evening, and he’d felt like things between them were progressing. But then he’d said or done something and it was like a switch had flipped inside her and she’d shut down and left him. As she’d walked away, he’d longed to cry out to her, to beg her to stay, but he’d known that would be wrong. Rosa had needed to stretch her wings and fly away, and she had every right to do so.
Henry had gone to work, had got through the days, had done his best to put his sadness from his mind. It was difficult, though, when he had felt so connected to Rosa. They also had Christopher to think about, and Henry had tried to visit him when Rosa wasn’t there, when he knew she’d be at work. Christopher had asked if everything was OK, had patted Henry’s hand and told him that everything would be all right. Henry didn’t know if Rosa had said anything to Christopher about her feelings, but he knew Christopher wouldn’t break her confidence if she had.
He wiped a hand over his brow now. Despite the chilly November morning, he felt very warm after his morning run. He was trying to keep in his routine, to stay above the sense of loss for something that had barely just begun, but it wasn’t easy. He was off work today since it was Saturday, so he couldn’t distract himself with school, but he could visit Christopher and bring him breakfast. Perhaps he’d see if the elderly man wanted to go to the café to eat. It could be nice for him to have a change of scenery.
He’d pop home and shower, then go to Christopher’s and see what he wanted to do. Staying busy was the only way he was going to get through this strange time. He hoped Rosa would soon want to speak to him, but until she did, he needed to sit tight. She had to make the next move, so he’d wait to hear from her.