Page 67
Story: Watching Henry
Chapter Twenty Nine
Hadley pulled her keys from her pocket and slid them into her front door to let herself in.
The apartment smelled of dust and sun, like it had been empty for months rather than weeks, but she hadn't exactly had time to arrange for the cleaning company to come. She wheeled her cases in and slammed the door behind her.
She'd left in the middle of the night. She'd packed her things, looked in on the kids as they slept, then snuck out of the house and started back for the city.
There'd been no point in staying, not really. Not after she'd been fired and Florence had turned her down. Not after she'd opened her heart, committed to something for the first time, and then had it thrown in her face.
She kicked off her shoes and didn't bother to undress before throwing herself onto her bed and finally letting herself cry. The tears came, the sobs wrenched at her throat, until her world was fuzzy and stuffy and eventually she fell asleep.
WHEN SHE WOKE it was already afternoon and her eyes were sticky. She took herself off for a shower, then took a long, hard look at herself in the mirror.
“Maybe you are a flake,” she muttered to her reflection. “Maybe this is what you do. Maybe you only told Florence you were falling in love with her because you knew she'd turn you down. Maybe you're incapable of committing to anything.”
In the background, her expensive speakers were streaming out music. Her feet sank into deep-pile bathroom mats. She was wrapped in a thick, expensive towel and reeked of potions and perfumes. And she shook her head at herself.
“So what?” she said. “So what if you are. Is this life so bad? Is it?”
She had her own apartment, she had money, she had friends. So what if she didn't have a partner? So what if she didn't have a full time job? Or a calling, for that matter. Who cared?
“I was happy before,” she said to the mirror. “So I should just go back to how things were then. That makes sense. It's logical. Right?”
She pulled herself up, spine straight and gave herself a brisk nod. “Operation Back In Business,” she said, and started to get ready.
Ten minutes later, she was sitting on the couch, feet up on the coffee table, phone pressed to her ear.
“Brent? Can you hear me?”
There was a crackling and then: “Yeah, I got you, babe. What's up?”
“Oh, just wondering how that bus tour thing was going.”
“It's pretty dope, sucks that you're not here.
Hadley crossed her legs. “As it happens, I'm back in the city.”
“No shit, really? Listen, we're up somewhere in New Hampshire or something, just trolling around. But I gotta be back in the city in a week or so for my brother's birthday. You still be there then?”
“Sure,” Hadley said, laying her head back on the couch cushions.
“Well, we're heading up to Burning Man right after, and there's a free seat with your name on it still,” Brent said.
“Say no more,” Hadley said. “What time can you pick me up?”
Brent laughed. “I'll get back to you on that one. And, Had?”
“Yeah?”
“Glad to have you back. I kind of missed the old Hadley.”
“Yeah,” Hadley said. “Me too.” Except she wasn't entirely sure she believed that.
That was part one of the operation handled. A few days at Burning Man, a bus tour, that sounded pretty good to her. After that, well, the world was her oyster, she could do anything. Pending solving certain financial problems, of course. Which led to part two of the operation.
She pressed the icon and waited for the call to connect, then grinned down the phone. “Dad? I'm back in town.”
Was it just her, or was there a slight pause? “So soon?” her father said. “I mean, I'm damn glad to have you home, honey, of course I am. But I thought you were up at the lake for another couple of weeks or so yet.”
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