I groaned.“Oh, god.Not this story.”
Henry’s grin widened.“Is it true you wanted to take karate instead?”
“I wanted to break boards,” I deadpanned.
Mom laughed.“Her grandmother got her ballet lessons for her birthday, so we made a deal.Stick it out until the recital, then she could switch.I probably should have specified she had to at leastattemptto follow the choreography.”
I stared at her, stunned by the clarity in her voice.She hadn’t told a story this easily in years.Hadn’t been able to remember details like this.
“What happened?”Henry asked, leaning against the counter, his smile crooked.
“Well,” Mom continued, “she made it to the recital, all right.But when the music started, she did her own thing.Half the class followed her because she’d been so confident in her routine.It was chaos, but in the best way possible.”
Henry laughed, a deep, unguarded sound that filled the room, but I refused to let it chip away at the wall around my heart.
“You little rebel,” he teased.
“I wanted to take karate.”
“And did you?”
“I did,” I said.“But I hated that, too.”
He chuckled, shaking his head.“So whatdidyou enjoy as a kid?”
Before I could respond, a soft voice broke through.“Sorry for the interruption.”
I glanced toward the doorway to find Krystal standing there, dressed in her scrubs.
“Dr.Irwin is here to check in on you, Daphne.See how you’re doing.”
“Can she have something to eat first?”
Krystal opened her mouth to answer, but my mother beat her to it.“I’ve already eaten,” she said with a breezy, matter-of-fact tone I hadn’t heard since I was a teenager.“I made myself some oatmeal earlier.”
“I’ll come with you to see the doctor,” I said automatically, already pushing back from my chair.
Mom stopped me with a gentle hand on my forearm.“You stay.Have some breakfast.You don’t need to worry about me anymore.”
“I don’t think I know how,” I replied honestly.
She smiled, soft but firm.“You’ll figure it out.For now, let me be the mom again, okay?”
The words snagged something deep in my chest.“Okay.”
“And as your mom…” She squeezed my arm.“It’s my job to remind you that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.So stay.Enjoy your breakfast.”She wrapped me in a tight hug and whispered, “He’s a good man.Give him a chance.”
When she drew back, she had that knowing gleam in her eyes.The same one she used to give me in high school when I claimed the late-night calls from my lab partner were just about our chemistry homework.
With one last smile, she followed Krystal down the hall, leaving me alone with Henry.
At least the dog was a buffer.A warm, breathing distraction following Henry through the kitchen as he set a plate in front of me — eggs, bacon, and a biscuit that smelled like butter and rosemary.He sat beside me, close enough that I could feel the heat radiating off him.There may have been a few feet between us, but his presence seemed to consume everything around me, even the air itself.
I picked up a strip of bacon and took a bite, savoring in the salt and grease.The eggs were runny, just the way I liked them.He’d remembered that, too.
As we ate, the only sounds were the scrape of forks and Cato’s occasional whimper for more bacon, which Henry tossed his way every so often.
“Do you have to work today?”I asked, glancing sideways at him, unable to stand the silence any longer.“Or do…whatever it is you do.”I furrowed my brow.“Whatdoyou do?”
