Page 11 of Resilience on Canvas

Before Clara could protest, Robert stormed off toward their pathetic Model T, praying to God or Satan or whoever the hell might help him make it to town faster that it would start. Because if he was forced to walk, he’d probably lose some of his steam. And Robert wanted to stay mad. Because if he ended up hitting Henry, he wanted his punches tohurt.

Going back on his promise to marry Clara—what a bastard Henry was.

Robert walked to the front of the car. He clenched his teeth as he pulled on the choke, and then he began to turn the crank, muttering curses to himself with each rotation. Once he was finished priming the shitty old engine, he circled over to the cab, his heart hammering, both because he was so mad and because he was nervous that the car might not cooperate.

After throwing up the spark, Robert turned the key and said one final prayer before heading back over to the crank. He turned it once. Nothing. Twice. Still nothing. Three times.

“Son-of-a-bitch car,” Robert cussed before turning it once more.

And, thank the Lord, the engine roared to life.

Robert hopped into the cab.

Driving into town, Robert’s muscles started to shake, fury continuing to simmer beneath his skin. Henry Sherwood would soon learn not to break a promise. Robert would see to it.

After a few minutes, the wind kicked up a whole bunch of powdery soil, and Robert ended up coughing and sputtering worse than their lousy car had this morning when he’d tried to start it before church. He coughed so hard and for so long, he felt like his lungs might explode. It let up eventually. But only once he waswithin a block of the store. And so, when Robert pulled up and shut the car off, his whole face still felt like it was on fire. Not to mention his lungs.

Huffing and puffing, Robert threw open the door to Sherwood’s Goods. He spotted Henry behind the register, his eyes wide with fear.

“Goddamn liar,” Robert said, starting toward him.

He only made it halfway to the counter before Henry threw off his apron. And ran.

“Hey!” Robert shouted as Henry pushed through the door out the back of the store. “Get back here, you son of a bitch!”

Robert took off after him. When he reached the counter, he hopped right over the thing and then left out the back. Henry was already close to the end of the street, heading toward the open field. Where the hell was he even running to? He lived the other way.

“Yer makin’ it worse for yerself!” Robert hollered, his feet pounding the pavement. “I only wanted to talk, but now I think I better kick yer teeth in! Teach you some manners!”

Henry kept running. God, this was tiring. Threatening Henry hadn’t worked. Maybe Robert better try something else.

“I won’t really hurt you!” Robert called out. “I was only kiddin’! But we need to talk!”

Still, Henry kept running. Dammit.

Both men started sprinting through the field, and soon, their fast-moving feet sent the nearby Hoover hogs fleeing. Robert started chuckling to himself, and then that chuckle changed to full-blown laughter. He must have sounded like he had lost his marbles.

Sure enough, his laughter stopped Henry in his tracks. Robert caught up to him.

“Did you see the way them Hoover hogs scattered?” Robert cackled, thumbing over his shoulder. He leaned forward andplaced his hands on his thighs, trying to catch his breath, and although he coughed a few times, it thankfully didn’t turn into another one of them coughing fits. “Here I thought they weren’t never scared of people no more.”

“Instinct,” Henry said, his breathing even more ragged than Robert’s.

“Yeah, probably,” Robert said before heaving a few more times. “Why’d you run?”

“I thought you might kill me,” Henry said, wiping sweat from his brow.

Robert stood up straighter. Snorting a laugh, he said, “Yeah, I might have.”

Henry swallowed hard, and Robert shook his head. Henry was as scared as they came.

“I wasn'treallygoing to kill you,” Robert said with a roll of his eyes. “But why’d you tell Clara you can’t marry her?”

Henry chewed on his bottom lip. “Because I can’t.”

“But, then, why’d you say yes when yer parents brought it up? And why’d you wait ’til now to call it off? It’s beenmonthssince—”

“I wanted to make my parents happy,” Henry said. “I mean, I thought maybe... maybe things would change for me. But I came to realize that I can’t marry someone who... who I won’t ever love.” His face turned red. “Not that Clara ain’t lovely. She is. But she ain’t the one for me. I figure she should find someone else. Someone better.”

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