“Yes, of course.I apologize for the shock of my switcheroo.That wasn’t my intention.”
“Whatwasyour intention?”I ask, leaning into the phone.“It’s Henry, by the way.”
“Oh, Henry, I was about to ask Marnie for your phone number to apologize to you directly,” he says.
“We’re in our bi-weekly museum meeting,” Marnie explains, “with Dot and Marigold.It’s good that you called.We need to figure out what to do about the garden.”
“Ah, yes.Hello, everyone.”
Dot and Marigold offer muted greetings before Dr.Blake speaks again.
“Might I have a word with you, Henry?In private?”
With Marnie’s permission, I take her phone into the backroom with the obnoxiously frightening encased witch fromHunter, The Return.I turn my back on the creature to focus on our conversation.
“I’m here, Dr.Blake,” I say, taking the phone off speaker and setting it against my ear.
“Henry, I’m sorry for the distress I caused,” he begins.“Venus says you had an asthma attack.”
“You spoke to her?”
“Oh, yes, you’ll be pleased to know that she and her sister have given me a firm talking to about boundaries.But sheismy daughter, so I don’t apologize for interfering.Prompting your asthma, though—that is regrettable.I didn’t expect that seeing her would cause such a reaction.”
“Neither would I, but it’s been a long time, and she and I… well, you knowus.”
He chuckles.“Yes, I do.She tells me you’ve reached an amicable parting of ways this time.”
“Um, yeah, she came back later, and we talked.”
“Hmm, any sparks left in the ol’ matchbox for each other, then?”
A chuckle sputters out in surprise at the question.So much for his daughters’ talks on interfering.“Sparks were never our problem, sir.”
He laughs.“No, you two were more like a blazing fire, if all that sneaking around was any indication.You still haven’t fixed my trellis.”
“Oh, you knew about that?”I snicker lightly.“Thanks for not telling my mom.”
“You needed each other more than you needed parental lectures on boundaries.You were always a steadying presence for her.She needed your support and friendship then.I only wonder… Hmm.”
“What is it, Dr.Blake?”
“Well, I can’t make this debacle any worse, I suppose,” he says, more to himself than to me.“I love Venus.She’s brilliant, creative, tenacious, and beautifully free-spirited.”
In his pause, I say, “Yes, she’s all those things.”
“Stubborn and independent, too.She’s never needed much.”
He pauses again.“No, sir.”
“But she’s been all over the world, and she has yet to find where she belongs.She’s lost, Henry, and if she is ever to find happiness, I believe she needsyou.I only wonder… Do you need her?”
This time, I don’t know how to fill the pause that follows.He says it kindly enough, but it’s an intrusive question, and what good would it do to admit to him what I’d only concluded a few hours ago, that my heart belongs to her.Saying that aloud would lift the lid of Pandora’s box and let hope slip out when there isn’t any.
“It’s not that simple,” I say when the pause stretches too long.“We lead very different lives now—that’s whatshewanted.She’ll leave again.”
“Hmm, perhaps.Or perhaps she might find a reason to stay, a place where she belongs.Could there be a chance for Henry and Venus, part two?”
Through a frustrated sigh, I chuckle.“Perhaps I should join your daughters in reminding you not to interfere.”
