Page 15 of Resilience on Canvas

Robert cleared his throat and said, “How’s yer finger?”

“Uhm...” Henry curled and uncurled it. “It ain’t botherin’ me no more.”

“When this lets up, you better clean it. I’ve seen people lose their limbs to infection, you know.”

Henry’s eyes blew wide. “From a splinter?”

“Well, no, but from cuts and things.”

“Yeah, I-I’ll clean it,” Henry stammered. “How’s yer, uhm, yer knee?”

“Ah, it’s fine. Just knocked it.” Robert shifted, his movement making the couch creak. “Dammit, I hope Clara took the kids inside. With their little lungs, they really could choke on all of that shit out there.”

Henry’s heart sank. If not for him, Robert would be at home taking care of his family.

“I’m sure she took ’em in,” Henry said, trying to provide some comfort. “Clara’s smart.”

“Yeah, she is. Still, I ought to be there now.”

Guilt pinched Henry’s stomach.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

“Not yer fault.”

“Well... it sort of is,” Henry said softly. “I’m sorry, Robert.”

There was a pause.

“Yeah, I suppose itiskind of yer fault,” Robert mumbled. “But it’s mine too. Clara told me to stay home, but I was set on beatin’ some sense into you.”

Henry’s stomach tumbled. Goodness, the thought of Robert being tough with him shouldn’t have been making him feelexcited. But itwas. Not really the fact that Robert would be hurting him, exactly, but the fact that Robert was so passionate.He had thekind of passion that made Henry’s heart stutter, the kind that kept Henry from sleeping sometimes. And the knowledge that Robert had been feeling such a fiery upset because ofhim? Gosh, why was that so thrilling? Probably because Henry could sense that Robert would be passionate in all kinds of ways.

“Wow, not even a flinch,” Robert said in a mocking voice. “I thought you’d have reacted somehow to me tellin’ you that I came to town to fight you.”

“It wouldn’t have been much of a fight,” Henry said shyly.

“So, what, you’d have let me kill you?”

“If you caught me,” he said, as pathetic as that was.

Robert snorted. “Yeah, you were fast. Real fast. I never thought I’d say this, but thank God for them Hoover hogs. If I hadn’t started laughing like that, you’d have never stopped runnin’, huh? Not ’til you lost me.”

“Probably not, no,” Henry said, smiling, and then his smile faltered a bit when he started thinking of the rabbits. “I feel bad for the, uhm, the Hoover hogs.”

“Yeah?”

“Well, they ain’t doin’ nothin’ wrong. I know they’re eatin’ our crops and such, but they’re only bein’ rabbits. Can’t really fault them for it.”

Robert hummed. “Me and the kids saw a little baby one die today.”

“Goodness,” Henry said, frowning.

He felt kind of silly for thinking that was sad. After all, it was one fewer rabbit for the townsfolk to try to maim later.

“Ain’t that sad?” Robert asked.

“Yeah,” Henry said, his voice low. “I know it shouldn’t be, but it is.”

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