Henry

by Cilika Kunovic

  But Barb could picture the children wallowing in the enjoyment of the water up at the cottage, even though she had never been there and had no idea what it looked like. “Oh, Henry, you are an angel! The children would be delighted. I can’t wait to tell them all about it. Oh, maybe you should tell them?” She didn’t want to take the pleasure of telling the children away from him.

  “No, no. I would be happy if you would introduce the idea to everybody, including Sam, of course. I hope that you can succeed in taking the Lamberts with you as well. Would that be all right with you?” His eyes pleading, he waited for Barb to honour his wishes. “So, are we in agreement on this? Now, I don’t mean this to be a charity case, as you will be doing me the favour and not the other way around. And you and Sam can then perhaps help me decide what needs to be done in order to update the place. As far as the location is concerned, it is exceptionally beautiful. You will see.”

  “Oh, I don’t doubt that. Lily told me plenty about the place. She was very fond of it. And I know what you are talking about, when it comes to the Lambert children; those children deserve a better life. I couldn’t agree with you more. We will all be very happy to accompany you there. The question is, are you well enough to go up? I know that you have made terrific progress, but you must not get ahead of yourself. So make sure you aren’t rushing things, okay?

  “As for us, we will be ready anytime. The only thing that worries me is Susanne. As you know by now, she can be slightly difficult at times, to say the least. And there is a matter of Dominic’s job at the Millers’ store. As you know, Dominic works there after school and on the weekends. He may have a hard time getting away from his work. He is very dedicated to it because he needs the money; he has big plans for his future — plans that will require money. The boy is a treasure. He takes care of his sister as well as his mother when necessary. But then, I am not telling you anything that you don’t already know, am I?”

  “I’m afraid not. My heart bleeds for those children as well as for their mother. She is not quite responsible for a lot of what is going on there. I wish she was more flexible in accepting help when offered. However, I have noticed that you get away with telling her off, without getting into trouble.” He was chuckling now. Barb laughed with him. The meeting between the two of them ended in a delightful way, and she couldn’t wait to tell everyone about it.

  The children came back from their walk just after Henry left. Barb was so excited that she totally forgot to offer Henry another cup of tea. Sam was surprised, but happy about the idea of all of them going up to the cottage and having a good time. He was instantly planning on helping with the necessary renovations with Henry at the cottage. He enjoyed doing things like that. Olivia didn’t seem to be overly excited, Nicole was overwhelmed and extremely happy about it, and Trevor couldn’t wait to go and jump into the water.

  Now, of course, came the task of talking to Susanne about the news. Barb knew that Dominic and Sasha would be delighted, even though Dominic might have a bit of a problem getting there. But things have a way of working themselves out.

  A few days passed, and Barb finally worked up the courage to approach Susanne about this conversation with Henry. She made certain the children would be present so that Susanne wouldn’t be able to smother the whole idea as being sheer idiocy.

  Barb called her friend on the phone. “Hi, Susanne, how are you? Are you in a good mood today? I would like a word with you about improving our summer. And by that, I mean for all of us.” Now she waited for the usual, “What do you mean?”

  “What are you talking about? I don’t get it.”

  “That is why I wish to come over and see you so as to explain it to you in person. I will be there in half an hour. Okay?” She hung up so that Susanne couldn’t turn her away. She left Susanne to wonder what it was all about.

  Half an hour later, Barb was at Susanne’s front door. Susanne had not even mentioned to the children that Aunt Barb was coming over, but Barb knew that the children were at home because Nicole had helped her make sure that they were.

  Sasha opened the door and was truly surprised to see Barb standing there.

  “Aunt Barb! What are you doing here tonight? Oh, I am sorry — I didn’t mean it the way it sounded.”

  “That’s all right, my dear. I didn’t know that I would be here tonight myself when I saw you earlier. Where is your mom?”

  “Mom, Aunt Barb is here. Please, Mom, come down so we can all talk together.”

  “What are you yelling about? Aren’t you supposed to be studying for school?” Susanne asked.

  “Oh, but Mom, we hardly ever have company. May I join you for a bit? Please, Mom?”

  “Actually; I came to see all of you. Where is your brother? Do you think you could persuade him to join us, please? I have some news for all of you.” Barb waited while Susanne dismissed her daughter in order to go and get her brother. Susanne was not in the least interested in all the excitement. Then Dominic came down, greeted her, and offered a cup of tea.

  “Yes, that would be nice, thank you. Perhaps we could all go into the kitchen and talk.” At which point, they all went into the kitchen as tea was being prepared.

  Barb began, “I had a very pleasant chat with Henry the other day.” She avoided saying that Henry had come to see her specially; she felt it might appear as a set-up. So she proceeded to tell them about the cottage, which Henry would like to show them and perhaps he would get some ideas as to what could be done about it in order to make it usable again. After all, Henry hadn’t been up there for quite some time. “So, what do you think? Shall we all join him in going up to reopen the cottage? Are you all on board with me on this?” Barb made it look as if they were doing Henry a favour by going there.

  Sasha instantly jumped up into the air out of sheer excitement . . . Immediately her imagination went wild and her face showed that magic of innocence that Sasha was capable of.

  Dominic was visibly happy but held back for his mother’s sake in case she decided to be difficult and protest. There was plenty of tension in the room as Dominic served tea. He cautiously glanced at his mother to see what he could expect next.

  Susanne said, “Well, I think it is a good idea for you all to go and help poor Henry with his cottage, but leave me out of it because I have no intention of rebuilding anybody’s cottage. The children might enjoy the fresh air up there.” Then she completely dismissed the whole idea and tried to change the subject.

  But Barb was on a mission. “Don’t you people want to know where this cottage is? That was one of the first questions my family asked. Henry has invited all of us to come, so why wouldn’t we want to go? And that includes you, Susanne!” By now, Barb was plenty annoyed with Susanne for being so lazy and not at all interested in going, not even for the sake of the kids. “Susanne, there is no reason for you to be so attached to this house that you couldn’t go and see the cottage in order to make an old man very happy.” She simply refused to hold back at this point and was determined to get the woman out of that dreadful house for her own sake if nothing else.

  “Are you telling me what to do? I can’t see what the urgency is about this place; after all, it is neither mine nor yours, so why the fuss?” Susanne hissed back.

  “Mom, Aunt Barb is trying to do us a big favour by getting us out of town for a change, and for the first time in a long while!”

  This surprised Barb, for she had never heard Dominic talking to his mother in that tone of voice. The boy was not being disrespectful but he was firm, and she knew that he was saying it for the sake of his sister and, to some extent, for Henry. In the meantime, Sasha was holding her breath out of sheer fright in case the whole thing blew up in her face and she wouldn’t be able to go to Henry’s cottage.

  “You stay out of this. You don’t know what I have been through because of your father.”

  “Susanne, stop blaming Larry for everything. I appreciate your letting the children go, but it is your responsibility to accompany the
m; especially when the opportunity is presenting itself to do so. I will hear no more of your complaining and I expect you to go willingly.”

  Sam arrived home, and Barb told him about her visit to the Lamberts’ place. She told him she wasn’t sure if Susanne would go along with the idea. She also admitted that she was very hard on her friend and wouldn’t blame her if Susanne refused altogether. Then she added, “I suppose I would eventually get over it but I had to try. Those children deserve more. They were terrified when I started yelling at their mother. That was long coming between us. She is not a bad mother, considering, but she has to get on with her life for the sake of her kids. Am I right?”

  “Will I get into trouble if I don’t agree with you?” Sam chuckled, and Barb hit him on his broad shoulder, meaning yes. “So, when are we going to this cottage?” he wanted to know.

  “I have no idea. Maybe you should have a talk with Henry. He will be encouraged about going if you approach him about it. Especially now, since he suggested it with such pride. Don’t you think?”

  “No problem. In fact, I can’t wait to go and see where this place is.” Then, after a while, he said: “How about this coming weekend?” To which Barb agreed, providing everybody could make it.

  Sam would talk it over with Henry, he promised, and the rest would be up to her. She would prepare food for all of them for the day, not knowing what to expect, so nobody would be deprived in any way. She was as excited as any small child could ever be. They all needed a change.

  In the meantime, Sasha could not keep it to herself and proceeded with her usual questions. She wondered what they could do at the cottage when — or if — they went there. Could they possibly swim there? Is the cottage near the water? Could they sleep there if they stayed overnight? And so on, much to her mother’s annoyance. However, Susanne secretly wondered about those same things herself, although she wouldn’t admit it even to herself.

  Dominic, on the other hand, worried about not being able to leave work in order to go with the others to the cottage. He would have to ask the Millers for a weekend off. But would they allow it?

  Sam came home on Thursday and informed his wife that he’d had that talk with Henry, and they can go as soon as they wish. This started things stirring at the Prestons’ house.

  “Mom, would I be allowed to ride with Mr. Dobbs? Would you mind?” Nicole asked.

  “What brought that on?” Her mother wanted to know. Not that she minded. “Yes, of course you may, but don’t you think you should wait till you are invited? Oh, never mind.”

  “Thanks, Mom. I like to spend time with Serge.”

  “Serge is not the only one you like spending time with.” Olivia had suddenly appeared. It was sarcasm. That kind of behaviour was not unusual with her. A sense of humour was not one of her better traits. She preferred to pick on people instead of praising them. Not necessarily out of menace but out of habit. Not a good thing, where it came to communication with people.

  “Now, girls; we don’t need that kind of behaviour around here,” their mother warned. “And furthermore, I will not tolerate such exchanges at the cottage. I am hoping to have a good family time, and that includes our friends.”

  “Oh, so now we have to be on our best behaviour just in order to impress Mr. Dobbs.”

  “Olivia, nobody is forcing you to go. Everybody is invited, but nobody is being forced to except Trevor; he is too young to stay at home alone.” Barb was having a hard time humouring Susanne and, of all people, her own daughter. “Young lady, you are reminding me too much of Mrs. Lambert at times. I would like to think that you are not going to be like her when you grow up. This ‘poor me’ attitude is getting on my nerves more and more every day.”

  “I’m sorry, Mom. I didn’t mean it that way.”

  “Yes, you did! This is not the first time you’ve jumped on Nicole with such remarks, which does not become you at all. Your sister has been good to you for years and all she gets is sarcasm.”

  “I’m sorry, Nicole. I am just having a bad day. The girls at school are going away for the weekend and they won’t even tell me where. I didn’t mean to take it out on you.”

  Before Nicole could answer her sister, Trevor came running into the kitchen all excited. “Guess what! Dad says we are going to the cottage soon and he is going to buy me a fishing rod so he and I can go fishing there. Mom, did you hear me? Dad says —”

  “Yes Trevor, I heard you the first time. Your dad told me the same thing, and I hope you will catch plenty of fish, so we can have some for supper while we are up there.” Now Trevor was even happier.

  “Yuck! You don’t really mean it, do you, Mom?” Olivia was quite disgusted with the whole idea but quickly stopped arguing. She knew better as soon as her mother gave her that look. (The Look.) In the meantime, Nicole had a good chuckle about the whole thing. She wondered who would be the one whom they just might throw into the water up there in order to teach her a lesson?

  On Saturday morning, everybody gathered at Henry’s place ready to go wherever that may be. Henry had been unable to sleep that night out of sheer delight, as well as some discomfort about the fact that he would not be taking his beloved Lily with him. He knew better, but one couldn’t blame him. After all, they had spent weekends there for years and years. Then; after he retired, they were able to stay at the cottage for most of the summer. While Henry was away in the service, Lily was often very lonely but never complained. Now it was time for Henry to be lonely. Or was it? He’d had a long time to mourn her; he would always love her and miss her, but time has passed by and just maybe this day would change his life for the better.

  As Henry pulled onto his property, his heart felt tight, although he soon recovered like an officer.

  “Now, everybody, come and look at the water, how blissfully quiet it is at this time of the morning. However, if you are here earlier in the morning it is even more mesmerizing. I used to get tears in my eyes over the view from here.” Nobody said a word; they simply stared at the view.

  The cottage sat overlooking the water but it was very simple. It looked a bit like an oversized tool shed from the outside. It sat on two acres. It had low ceilings; the front entry was small; on one side, there was a common area, the kitchen was in the middle, and on the other end were two bedrooms. Nothing extravagant. The windows were on the small side, and the siding was showing its age. It was the property that was valuable. Yet none of that mattered to these people.

  “Henry, this is absolutely priceless. I don’t know what else to say.” Barb was teary-eyed.

  “Well, what are you all waiting for? Let’s get unpacked. I will show you all in and around the house and then you can put your things wherever you want. These young people will want to swim.”

  Sam and Barb sat down at the front of the cottage and they likely had the same thoughts about the place, but Sam spoke first: “Where have we been, while other people have had this kind of life?” He felt he had lost a lot of time making a living instead of spending it living. “You feel you owe it to your family to provide for them but you miss the point that you should have taken some time away from work and given them this kind of fun. I would call it spiritual food.”

  “I know what you mean,” Barb added and hugged him. “The same thoughts flashed through my mind the moment I saw this.”

  At that moment, Henry came toward them and asked if anything was wrong. The two of them looked at him misty-eyed. He understood and was pleased.

  After the initial acquaintance, there was much to see there. Henry had a small boat and a canoe for the children, but Barb would not allow them to use it on their own.

  “Sam, if you let those kids go out there without any supervision, I will personally hang you from that tree.” They all laughed, but she had made her point.

  “Oh, not to worry, I will personally take them around at first until they get acquainted with the surroundings. Who is willing to join me for the ride of your life?” So the young folk disappeared around the
bend with Henry as the captain to teach Sam how to get comfortable with the boat. Henry was not yet in any shape to get too active, and Sam was only too happy to learn.

  So Barb and Susanne got the chance to have a chat while the rest of them were off on the boat.

  “Have there been any developments regarding Larry?” Barb inquired.

  “He was away for quite some time recently. I get these shivers when I think of how he just disappears and then reappears. Now he claims, having hurt his back at work, he is unable to go back. He called the other day and asked about the children.” Susanne was being evasive.

  “You mean, he is calling now that he needs help?”

  “Well, Sasha wants to go and see him, but Dominic is being difficult about it. He has no problem with his sister going but he refuses to do so. Dominic has washed his hands of his father.”

  “Well, I can’t blame him — not really. After all, he is the one who has had to take the load on his shoulders that his father has unloaded. I know that you don’t see it that way, but everybody else does. I don’t know how else to put it to you. Dominic understands that you have issues at times and he loves you unconditionally; but he is only a boy himself and he is expected to act as a man.” Barb was surprised at Susanne’s silence. Maybe she was finally penetrating this woman’s wall. However, she decided not to pursue the issue so as not to spoil the day for all of them.

  By the time the boaters returned, the two mothers had lunch all organized, and it was time to eat.

  “Mom, you won’t believe how beautiful this place looks from the lake.” Olivia was trying to make a point. The others quickly added, “Yes, it’s breathtaking!”

  “Mommy, I have never seen anything so beautiful in my entire life,” Trevor was gasping. They saw a lighthouse and Trevor could not stop talking about it. Sasha drew breath to speak. “Sasha, I am telling Mom about it, if you don’t mind?”