“Wait, you’re leaving?”he whines.
“The garden is finished.My work here is done.”
“But I want to show you my bedroom, and my sword?—”
“Play sword,” Henry corrects.
“—and I went on a boat this weekend?—”
“Olly, I’m sure Venus wants to hear all about it, but we have to go to Grandma and Grandpa’s, remember?”he tries, softly.
“Can Venus come?Grandma won’t mind,” Olly says.
A sardonic laugh bubbles from me, but I stifle it quickly.Grandma would mind very much.
Henry looks almost desperately conflicted, not wanting to disappoint his son or offend me, so I do what I always do.I save him.
“Olly, it’s a very considerate offer, but I have dinner plans.”I gather my tools, piling them unceremoniously in the empty bins.
“Will you come back another time?”Olly asks.
“I will return to check on the garden,” I say, “if that’s acceptable.”
“On a day that I’m here?”Olly pushes.“I go to Mom’s on the weekends.”
I meet eyes with Henry, who gives me an encouraging nod.
“I will arrange it with your father to make sure you’re here, and I’ll teach you everything you need to know about caring for our garden.Is that acceptable?”
“Very,” Olly chirps and then salutes.
They walk me to the Land Rover, Henry toting a bin and Olly carrying my trowel.Once the items are inside, Olly latches onto my waist and squeezes tightly.
“We should be best friends and go on adventures like you and Dad did,” he says, face crushed into my side.
Henry’s brow quirks over the rims of his glasses, and he seems about to counter his son’s request, but I say, “I’d like that,” before he has the chance.
Because it’s true, for Olly, but noncommittal for Henry’s sake.
On the drive home, I’m fraught with mixed emotions.I replay the entire encounter, analyzing my words and actions to find faults that I didn’t see at the moment.
I don’t find any, though.Perhaps conferring with Ivy and Dr.Broderick might enlighten me.
Until then, I resist my insecurities and take some satisfaction in knowing that Olly and I got along so well.He was an inquisitive delight, and I excelled socially, for once.
My hands twist on the steering wheel as irritation slips in.Henry tells his son about our adventures, but warns him that I’m not like other people.Henry builds me up in Olly’s mind, but is reluctant for us to spend time together.Henry knows I’m an adult, highly intellectual, and capable, and yet, he felt nervous leaving me alone with Olly.What does Henry think of me?
She’s smart, but… Always with a but.
At home, I enact my dinner plans—spaghetti, Dad’s jarred sauce, and veggies from the garden—feeling muddled and bothered.Henry doesn’t want me in his life or Olly’s.He only wants an idealized version of me that he can control and manipulate to teach lessons or be entertaining.I wouldn’t be surprised if he uses me as a cautionary tale.Venus is different than other people.She gets in trouble when she doesn’t listen to her teachers or do her homework.I’m nothing more than a bedtime story.
After dinner, I water the plants outside that need it, and as I wander through the garden, I see our old path through the woods.Henry’s there, not a half mile from me, at Maggie’s.
But for the first time, I have no desire to go there.
CHAPTER28
Henry
