Page 36 of Resilience on Canvas

Chapter Nineteen

Henry

Descending the stairs from the bell tower to the main floor, Henry felt like his head was spinning.

It was turning like one of them steel cylinders on a wheat thresher, his thoughts whirling so fast he could barely keep up with them.

Golly, he had spent the last fifteen or so minutes kissing Robert Davis in a church.

Not only that, but he had temporarily ruined one of his nicest pairs of pants.

Goodness, how sinful it was! Sinful and wonderful .

If Robert hadn’t insisted that they try to return to the competition, Henry probably never would have stopped kissing him.

Even though Henry had been feeling tired before the two of them started kissing, now he was wide awake.

And the only part of his body that was still feeling sore was his lips.

Every other event in Henry’s life paled in comparison to kissing Robert.

Nothing else could ever be so sublime. Except maybe kissing him again.

Once the two men were more than halfway to the main floor, Henry let out a small, pathetic whimper-sigh. Robert turned and looked up at Henry with a playful smile.

“Don’t be makin’ those filthy noises when we’re out there,” he chastised.

“Sorry,” Henry said. “But . . . ”

Descending two more steps, Henry took Robert by the shirt collar and kissed him. Once. Twice. Three times. Lord, what a travesty it was that they’d ever have to stop! Four. Five.

Robert started laughing.

“Henry, Henry,” he said, pushing on Henry’s shoulders. “We need to head back.”

“Yeah, I-I know,” Henry stammered. “One more?”

Robert huffed a laugh. “ Two more. But only because I’m crazy ’bout you.”

Twice more Henry pressed a kiss to Robert’s lips. Somehow, each kiss they shared seemed to be even better than the last. Henry couldn’t even imagine what their thousandth kiss would be like. It might be so incredible he wouldn’t be able to stand it.

Once they reached the bottom of the stairs, the two men crept out into the hall. Thank God no one else was out there. It was curious that no one had tried to find out why the bell had rung earlier. Henry couldn’t help but wonder why that was.

Henry and Robert started back toward the competition room only to see Rose, Joe, and Audrey rushing toward them, huge, toothy smiles on each of their faces.

Joe said, “I told you we’d find ’em here. They were in the chapel subjugatin’ the Lord for us to win the contest.”

Robert reeled back. “We were what now?”

Rose laughed. “Joe, what in the world are you trying to say?” Turning toward her husband, Rose tilted her head, her brows furrowing.

Joe’s unique choices of words confused even her sometimes.

After a moment’s more thought, her eyebrows shot up, her face brightening.

“Are you thinking of the word supplicate? You know, the word Auntie uses sometimes?”

“Maybe?” Joe said. “I meant like... like prayin’. ”

Smiling fondly, Rose shook her head. “Then, yes, supplicate is the word you want, though I’ve never heard a single other person in Guymon use it.”

“Well, that’s why I like it. It’s a neat word. Makes me sound worldly.”

“Only if you use it right,” Rose teased, to which Joe responded by flicking her arm.

Henry chuckled and said, “Uhm, so, is the contest over, then?”

“It is!” Rose exclaimed, beaming. “And we won!”

Both Henry’s and Robert’s mouths fell agape in tandem.

“What?!” Henry spluttered. “Really?”

“Mm-hmm,” Rose hummed. “And you’ll never believe how it happened. Joe and I were barely even able to stand and then—”

“BONG!” Joe shouted. “Someone rang the church bell!”

Rose said, “It startled everyone. That other couple—they both fell right over!”

Audrey cut in with a chuckle. “It was real funny.”

Henry’s face caught fire. Holy heck, him and Robert had helped his friends win the contest! It was like a miracle! Probably no one had come to check on them in the bell tower because everyone had been busy celebrating the end of the marathon.

Henry was still reeling from the information, his cheeks continuing to blaze, when Robert burst out laughing.

“Isn’t that something ?” Rose said.

Joe said, “God must have been listenin’ to those prayers of yours.”

Robert laughed even louder.

“What?” Joe said. “Were you two not prayin’ in the chapel, then?”

Henry reached up to rub the back of his neck, huffing a laugh. “No, uhm, we were somewhere else. I’ll tell you about it later. ”

Robert elbowed him. Henry cringed. He would have to break it to Robert sometime soon that he’d already told his friends there was something between them.

Not that he’d told them everything that had transpired over the last week or so, but Henry was sure neither Joe nor Rose had forgotten the marmalade incident.

“Yeah, you better,” Rose said. “Now let’s take our winnings back to Guymon. If we leave right away, we’ll make it back before bedtime.”

Everyone left for the car together. Halfway to the vehicle, Robert came up to Henry and bumped him with his shoulder, clearly trying to be flirtatious. Henry bumped him right back.

On the way back to Guymon, Joe and Rose took turns behind the wheel so that each of them could sleep a little.

Even with the loud roar of the engine, it was impossible for Henry not to want to sleep.

Rose and Joe were probably feeling the same way.

While Rose and Joe took turns, Henry, Robert, and Audrey slept intermittently as well.

When they finally reached Guymon, the first stop was Robert’s house.

Henry volunteered to go inside with him, mostly because he wanted the two of them to spend more time together but also because he wanted to thank Clara for watching the children and tending to the farm so that Robert could come on the trip.

Finally, him and Robert had found the time and privacy to kiss!

Robert and Henry waved to Rose and Joe once they reached the porch.

The car pulled away, and then the sound of the churning engine was replaced with an eerie silence.

Henry furrowed his brow. Why weren’t there no sounds coming from the house?

Surely everyone should still be awake. Robert must have thought it was peculiar too.

His face was screwed up with what looked to be confusion as he reached for the doorknob.

Inside the house, everything was silent and still.

There was a thin layer of brown powder covering the living room space.

One of the windows had been left open a crack, though some of the topsoil had probably been blown in through the two-inch space between the bottom of the door and the floorboards.

“Clara?” Robert called out as he made his way toward the kitchen.

Henry followed. Simultaneously, Henry and Robert spotted a note resting on the kitchen table. Robert picked it up to read it. Henry made a little circle on the floor with the toe of his shoe.

“It says they’re stayin’ with yer parents,” Robert said, a twinge of sadness in his voice.

“Oh.” Henry made a second circle with his foot. “I’m sorry.”

Robert blew out a breath. “Nah, it’s fine. I know they like it there. You Sherwoods have that real marmalade and everything.”

He crumpled the note in his hand and flung it onto the farthest countertop. Henry’s chest pinched, the bitter sadness in Robert’s voice squeezing his heart.

“Hey,” he said, taking Robert’s hand. “I like that carrot marmalade, remember?”

Robert smiled a bit and squeezed Henry’s hand right back. “Yeah, I remember.”

“And, uhm, that means we have this whole place to ourselves.”

Robert’s small smile broadened, turning playful. “Yeah, that’s true.”

“No one knows we’re back in Guymon either, so... maybe we can stay here tonight?”

Robert yanked Henry close. His eyes went wide and wild and full of that fire Henry loved.

Henry’s stomach tumbled from the sight. He released Robert’s hand and instead took Robert by the shirt collar to pull him in for a hard, passionate kiss.

Robert placed his hands on Henry’s shoulders and pushed him back a half step.

“Do you want to... see my bed?” Robert asked, slightly breathless.

Henry blinked a few times, needing the extra seconds to let his mind catch up.

“Yeah,” Henry finally replied. “Yeah, I, uhm, I forgot what it... what it looks like.”

Robert made a sound somewhere in between a hum and a laugh. He took Henry by the hand and started toward the bedrooms, urging Henry to follow.

Henry’s stomach was somersaulting like mad by the time they reached the threshold. Gosh, he had been thinking about Robert in a sordid kind of way for years . Shuffling toward Robert’s unmade bed, Henry realized that he was mere minutes from his fantasies coming true.

Nervousness began to percolate in Henry’s stomach, the pleasant tumbling he’d been experiencing earlier now transforming into something not as pleasant. Goodness, him and Robert were climbing into bed together. Even though they’d only kissed for the first time a few hours before.

When the two of them reached the mattress, Robert stopped and turned toward Henry.

The fire in his eyes had been reduced to a few barely burning embers, his forehead creased with what looked to be unease.

Robert’s obvious nervousness was like a soothing balm, calming some of Henry’s own fears.

Whatever they might end up doing, it would be Robert’s first time doing it too.

Emboldened by Robert’s hesitation, Henry rested a shaky hand on Robert’s chest.

“Are you sure you want to, uhm, to stay here together?” Henry asked.

“Yeah, I’m sure,” Robert said. He looked at Henry’s hand. “We can stick to kissin’, though, if you ain’t ready for more.”

“No, I-I’m ready. Are you . . . ready?”

“Yeah.” Robert planted a soft kiss on Henry’s lips. “Yeah, I am. ”

“Alright, well, should we...” Henry moved his hand to the top button on Robert’s shirt and tapped it twice. “I can maybe help you take this off?”