Henry

by Cilika Kunovic

  “Will you be okay to work tonight, or do you want to come back tomorrow?” Anna asked the poor girl. “Don’t get me wrong; I just feel for you and I want you to be all right. Your job will be waiting for you when you come back, but in the meantime, you should take a break. Go home and rest today; I will feel better if you do.” Her heart was bleeding for the poor girl.

  “Thank you, Mrs. Miller; I do have a headache. I assume you’ve heard about last night?” Sasha was quite sure that the word had spread about her mother being taken to the hospital again.

  When she got home, her mother was sleeping but she was all right. Dominic had left her a note in case she came home before he got back from the Prestons’ place. He had to talk to Nicole. As she was reading the note, he came back and even had a bit of humour for her.

  “What do you make of all this? I am glad that I made it for my last exam. My head was spinning, and it was hard to concentrate, but I kept telling myself: This is it for now. After this is over, I will try to find out what last night was all about. I have never seen him so angry before. What does he want from us, anyway?

  “I know he is our father, but there is something about him that I don’t like at all. In fact I hate him. It’s not a nice thing to say about your own father, but last night I saw him as a devil, not as a father.”

  “Oh, Dominic! I wish I had a way of finding out what is going on!” She paused; and then: “I feel I have betrayed you. Please don’t say anything until I finish. A while back, Father started bothering me and asking me for money on my way home from work. You were having your weird secrets at the time and wouldn’t tell me what was bothering you, so I couldn’t very well tell you about it; so I told Mrs. Miller.”

  “Sasha!”

  “Don’t speak! Mrs. Miller told me not to worry anymore about him.”

  “What else did she say?” Dominic was beginning to understand.

  “Nothing . . . anyway, he hasn’t bothered me since. The question is, what did she say to him in order to stop him from harassing me? When he came the other night, I was sure he was angry with me, not you.”

  “So where does the betrayal come in?” He was curious now.

  “Tonight I asked her what she meant when she told me not to worry. I wondered if you had anything to do with it.” Sasha felt bad. She trusted her brother with all her heart — except when it came to protecting her. “Forgive me, Dominic.”

  But he had already figured out what she meant and how their trust was never going to be broken. Dominic was nothing like their father and therefore could never hurt anybody. The problem was, however, there was a danger looming over their family: what was it? Nobody will be safe until this mystery is solved. The question was how. He was going over some possible clues without worrying Sasha. Perhaps he should be talking to Henry about this . . .

  But Henry had been slightly evasive lately. Ever since his accident, Henry had been battling an emotional dilemma — whether to follow up on his and his brother’s accidents or just let it all go.

  For some reason, his brother’s untimely death kept coming to his mind. The face he saw just before he was hit kept reappearing in front of him and disturbed him. He got only a glance of it and not a full view, which was disappointing. It happened so fast. Henry had repeatedly tried to go over that moment in his mind but he was unable to recognize the face. At the same time, it flashed in front of him as a familiar face.

  “Good morning, Sergeant Phillips; I would like a word with you, or someone who could tell me anything about the ongoing investigation regarding my car accident.”

  “You mean your brother’s accident?” Sergeant Phillips corrected him sarcastically.

  “No, sir; I mean my accident. I was hit by a-hit-and-run vehicle quite recently. So far I have not been informed in full detail about the circumstances regarding the accident.”

  “I don’t understand.” The sergeant was by now wanting to know about it himself. Henry told him the date of the accident and explained how he was never told where the investigation was leading to. He had not even been told about the mysterious police protection, his first few days at the hospital. Henry wanted to know if the police had found out who had hit him and why.

  “I am aware,” Henry said, “that in some cases the police can be unwilling to disclose any details to the public for the sake of the investigation; but I was the victim in this case, and it would be helpful for my recovery if I was told something — it would be better than nothing. I would like to believe that you agree with me on this.” Henry was being calm and polite.

  “Mr. Dobbs, I will see if my boss is in and if he would speak with you.” Phillips spoke with someone on the phone and asked for his superior. After a short wait, Henry was told to go into the adjacent room, where he was finally able to get some answers.

  Apparently they had been trying to figure out the connection between the two accidents ever since Henry had asked them to reopen his brother’s case. He was told that his brother’s case was not meant to be forgotten and it would definitely be reopened. Henry felt much better after that. Were they suspicious that the two brothers might have been hit by the same person — or persons? He felt faint all of a sudden. Why on earth would anybody want to hurt both of them? This disturbed him so much that he had neglected any thought of going up to the cottage. This was not the old Henry.

  Suddenly he decided to stop by at Barb’s office and say hello. “Hi, there, is anybody here, or am I talking to myself?” Henry teased.

  “Oh, hello, Henry! I must have done something right today to deserve this unexpected pleasure,” Barb said, coming out of an adjacent room with a pile of papers. “What brings you here today? You haven’t been here since I rented this place. Please have a seat. I will be right with you.” She put the papers down on a desk and came toward Henry, with a big smile. “Good to see you again. We talk about you at every meal and then some, but I haven’t seen you in a while. How are you doing lately?”

  “I am doing just fine. Serge makes sure that I get plenty of exercise.”

  “I know that Dominic has been quite busy these days and can’t take Serge out a whole lot.” Barb was trying to make excuses for the boy. Nicole had told her about the problems going on at home. Henry acknowledged with a nod.

  “Barb, I wish to ask you something.” He felt that he was imposing on her busy life.

  “Yes? What is it, Henry? You know you can ask me anything.” Then she waited for him to speak.

  “I feel we all need some distraction from our daily problems. How about getting together for a jaunt up to the cottage this weekend?” He felt awkward putting it that way.

  But Barb was way ahead of him, thanking him for a wonderful suggestion. She promised to gather the whole lot of them together if she possibly could for a little holiday. It would not be hard to inspire the young folks with the idea of a weekend away from problems at the cottage up north, where they all felt free (even if they weren’t).

  By the time Henry left her office, he could hardly wait to tell Serge all about it. His problems temporarily forgotten, he began making plans for the weekend.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  The Prestons decided to buy the house in Burlington. It offered plenty of room for all. It was located on a large lot with plenty of space for what they needed: four bedrooms, two-and-a-half bathrooms, a den that they could use as an office or a study, a large kitchen, a living room, a dining room, and a separate family room. The basement was finished, although not the best looking space, but they could improve it themselves. Because of the long driveway, they were able to park quite a few cars. But the most useful was the second driveway (roughly paved with gravel) for Sam and John to use to bypass the house and get to the barn, which they needed for their trucking business.

  The children were happy with the new place. They all enjoyed being near the water. Things have a way of sorting themselves out. If only the Lamberts could be so lucky . . .

  “Henry, I would like a word with you. Can
we walk together today?” Dominic was feeling unusually down. He tried to think positive thoughts but they simply weren’t coming forward just now.

  “Yes, of course, Dominic. What’s on your mind?” Henry could feel the weight on this young man’s shoulders. He could recall when he, himself, had walked in those same shoes. “I have been wanting to have a talk with you as well, but you go first.”

  “I don’t quite know where to begin. Don’t take me wrong; I am not expecting you to solve my problems — I just need someone to hear me out and possibly help me to figure out what we are up against. I know that you are going through some trying times as well, and maybe if you could tell me your problems, I might be able to help somehow.” He paused for a bit and then he continued talking and trying to explain what was going on and how he was unable to figure out what was really happening. He was literally slowing his pace, trying to make sense of life lately.

  Now it was Henry’s turn. “To begin with, nothing you are telling me makes any sense. However, I can’t help thinking that our problems are somehow related.” He went into a deep thought.

  “Henry —”

  “No, Dominic; you don’t want to know my problems — you have too many of your own.”

  “But I told you mine, so why don’t you tell me yours? With all due respect, you were the one who told me that talking about things actually helps to sort them out. Why are you unwilling to take your own advice?” The boy was at the end of his rope. He was now, finally, willing to talk.

  “Very well, then. I have been trying to find out about my brother’s accident. I mean, about the circumstances and why the case was never solved. Furthermore, I want to know more about mine. I know that I was hit while attempting to cross the road. But I don’t know what happened after that. I was on my way to go and see your mother at the hospital but never made it.

  “There are times when I get these flashes of the moments before it happened but I never get it quite clearly. It frustrates me no end, how I get these flashes but can’t unscramble them.”

  “Why were the police watching your room the first few days? I wanted to ask —”

  “What did you just say? Who told you they were watching my room? You mean the hospital room? How come you never asked me about it?” Henry seemed puzzled.

  “I don’t understand.”

  “I was not aware that they were watching my room. Nobody said anything to me. Not even when I questioned them about the accident. What else do you know that I don’t?”

  “Nothing! I have been waiting for you to tell me more about the details of your accident but I was afraid to ask in case you preferred not to talk about it. You appear to be a very private person, and I like you just the way you are.” Dominic felt good about the way the two of them were finally able to discuss things without the feeling of possibly imposing on one another.

  “Now, you’d better tell me about your problems all over again, because I am sincerely hoping that I misunderstood what you said the first time. I have never known anybody with that many problems. That is, except me.” Henry was trying to humour the poor kid. “I can’t understand why your parents can’t solve their problems without involving the two of you so much.”

  Suddenly, Serge reacted at something in the bushes they were passing at the time. This was not unusual. There had been other times when the dog reacted that way, but Henry or Dominic always pulled him back, as if to say: leave it alone. The dog, being obedient, managed to behave; however, Dominic often wondered what it was that was causing Serge to react so strongly.

  “My parents have been my main reason for wanting to study psychology,” Dominic answered. “I am determined to find out how the mind works and how much it actually affects the body. I get angry at my mother, but at the same time I feel sorry for her. I have seen her struggling to think and behave differently than what seems to be normal for her. She seems to be fighting my father, her demons, and, at times, the whole world. She gets so tired — I should say, exhausted — from her inner struggles, it is pitiful to watch her.”

  “Yes, I have observed that on several occasions. One thing is certain; she loves the two of you very much. It shows that she suffers in her own way about not being in charge of her inner self —”

  “Yes, I know that. Henry, do you have any suggestions as to what I should do to get to the bottom of this latest situation?” Dominic wanted to straighten things out between his parents; without having to give in to his father’s wishes. The man was the type of person who would take advantage of anybody’s momentary vulnerability and use it to his own advantage. Dominic had had the experience of finding out about that the hard way. However, being who he was, he needed to protect his mother as well as his little sister from this man.

  “I wish I knew. Nothing is ever as simple as we would like it to be. I have not had the privilege of meeting your father. Frankly, at this point, I am not sure that I want to meet him. I might be tempted to punch him in the face. Perhaps having a chat with Mrs. Miller would help. You might ask her what she meant when she told Sasha not to worry about your father. She may have had a plan to talk with your father about letting Sasha go home from work without harassment. She likely feels partially responsible for her safety because Sasha works for them.”

  “Thanks, Henry. I just knew that you might think of a way to get through this.” Now Dominic knew what he had to do next. He went to work earlier in order to take care of that talk.

  But Mrs. Miller was standing outside of the store and chatting with one of the regular patrons. It didn’t take her long to recognize the look on his face that said he needed to have a word with her. So she quickly dismissed the other lady and asked him, “Yes, Dominic? What is on your mind?” But of course she knew what it was. “Is everything all right?”

  “I’m afraid not; there are things going on in my family that I can’t quite explain. You just might be able to help me. It concerns my sister and my father. I just found out that my father had been harassing Sasha on her way home from work. He hasn’t been doing it lately, however; there seems to be a mystery as to why he stopped. Do you by any chance know why he stopped?”

  She was at first a bit startled by his question and did not answer.

  “Please don’t take this the wrong way, Mrs. Miller. I have a great deal of respect for you and your husband; I am only trying to solve a mystery, here.”

  “Well, Dominic, Sasha has already asked me the same question but she got so worked up about it, she never stopped long enough for me to tell her my side of the story. I told her not to worry about your father bothering her anymore, because I asked my boys to have a talk with Larry.”

  “You mean —”

  “Yes, I did. But I never asked them how it went. I am a busy woman and at times a forgetful one.”

  “My father claims that I have attacked him from some bushes at night and threatened him.”

  “Threatened him with what?” Mrs. Miller asked. Now, she was bewildered as to what was going on. “I know that my boys would not hurt him — although he deserves it — but they might have frightened him a bit. From where I see it, it worked. The problem is; your father is so guilt-ridden that he jumped to conclusions and assumed you were the one who scared him. The question here is: What was he doing there again? Was he waiting for Sasha again? He is guilty of something and he is trying to unload it on you, as he did before. He should be in jail or in an institution so the rest of you might have a chance to live a normal life. I promise you; I will have a talk with the boys and help you clear up this mess, even if we have to send him to jail after all.”

  Anna picked up the phone and asked her husband to come to the office. He was at the back in the warehouse, so it took him a while to come.

  “Remember when we talked about Larry Lambert? He has accused Dominic of attacking him from some bushes. He went to the house and tried to manhandle the boy and threatened to kill him if he ever did it again. As a result, Sasha was hysterical, Dominic got roughed up, and Sus
anne overdosed again and ended up in hospital. What do you make of it?”

  “I would go to the police with it.” He was visibly angry. “This has got to stop. He is a madman. I never liked the bastard and now I know why.”

  “Well,” said Dominic, “I feel better for knowing what prompted him to accuse me for attacking him. He and I don’t get along. I don’t have any respect for him for many reasons, including deserting us when we needed him the most. He knows that I hate him and it bothers him.” Dominic felt apologetic and exhausted. “Thank you both. Please believe me when I tell you I am very sorry for all your trouble. You have been so kind to me and Sasha. I wish there was something I could do to repay you.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous; go on home, and we will all work on this to end it.” The Millers wished they could adopt those kids in order to save them from harm. Henry was another one wanting to do the same. He and George both agreed that this situation should be taken up with the police. As Henry put it, that might prevent another and perhaps more serious incident.

  Anna, however, being who she was, wanted to solve the situation in a milder manner. She was always on a peacemaking mission when it came to conflicts. She believed that approach had been good for the business. People enjoyed coming in to the store; sometimes they told her their problems and felt better for it. The Millers worked very hard but it paid off. Their business ran smoothly, and they were willing to deliver the groceries to those who needed that kind of service. This particular service most certainly came in handy for Henry while he was unable to do his own grocery shopping.

  Consequently, by providing such services, they also delivered some groceries to Larry Lambert when he was first hurt at work; or so he claimed. He, however; did not ask for help, he demanded it. His excuse was, “You provide the service to less needy people, so why not to me?” At the time, the Millers took it in stride, but later, when the demands continued and increased, they questioned the need.