Page 27 of Resilience on Canvas

“Oh, uhm, I wasn’t too sure what to say. I never expected you to say sorry.”

“Wow, you think that little of me, huh?”

“No!” Henry said, his eyes widening. “It’s... well, I wasn’t never mad. I mean, there ain’t nothin’ for you to apologize for.”

“What? Of course there is! I was mean to you!” Robert smacked his hand on the counter, and Henry flinched. “Grow a backbone, Hen! Don’t let a hothead like me walk all over you!”

Henry lowered his head. “I’m sorry.”

Robert smacked the counter once more. “Quit it! Don’t—” He cut himself off with a breath. Goddammit, he was making everything worse, wasn’t he? Robert needed Henry to know how sorry he was. He needed Henry to know that he’d been wrong for yelling. Most of all, Robert needed Henry to take the peaceoffering. Robert snatched up one of the pancakes and thrust it toward Henry’s chest. “I made these pancakes for you because you said you like ’em. And because I was a mean son of a bitch this mornin’. Now, I want you to take this pancake and eat it. Because you areowedthis pancake. Do you understand me?”

“I think so?” Henry reached out for the pancake but hesitated, his hand hovering a couple of inches from the little yellow disc.

Robert clenched his teeth.

“Henry Sherwood, you have two seconds before I ram this pancake down yer throat.”

Henry’s eyes widened. He snatched the pancake and shoved the entire thing in his mouth.

Robert sputtered a laugh, and Henry shielded his mouth with one of his hands and started laughing, too.

“We’re still friends, then?” Robert asked after a moment.

Chewing slowly, Henry nodded. He was smiling so big that even though Robert couldn’t see Henry’s mouth from behind his hand, he could still tell. Because Henry’s eyes were smiling.

Robert reached into his pocket for the marmalade.

“I brought this, too. Even though I know you said you weren’t too keen on the sweet stuff.” Robert popped the lid and picked up a pancake. “But I am, and I’m hungry.”

Henry swallowed and said, “I, uhm, I thought you said these weremypancakes.”

For the briefest moment, Robert thought that maybe Henry was serious, but then he saw that Henry was still smiling like a fool.

Robert snorted and said, “Well, we’re friends, right? And friends share so...” Robert ripped the pancake in two and plunged one half into the marmalade. He popped it in his mouth and said, “Thanks for the pancake.”

Henry chuckled and picked up another one. He nodded toward the marmalade. “Mind if I try some?”

“Ain’t you never had marmalade before?”

“Of course I have,” he said, pulling off a piece of the pancake. “Just not the carrot kind.”

“Ah, I see. It’s because yer a Sherwood. Y’all are too fancy for this stuff, right?”

Henry ignored Robert’s jab. Instead, he tried the marmalade and hummed.

“I like it,” he said, his mouth still full.

After Henry swallowed, he proceeded to suck the leftover marmalade right off of his fingers. Robert smiled. It was nice not to fret ’bout manners. Robert had thought that maybe Henry would be the type to complain that there weren’t no utensils, but here the man was, eating with his hands and licking his fingers clean. Guess his family wasn’tthatfancy. Just not as close to starving as everybody else.

“I like it better than the store-bought crap,” Robert said.

Henry went back for more marmalade. “Yeah, this one’s more interesting.”

Robert’s face caught fire.Interesting.There was that word again. And Robert couldn’t let it lie this time. Leaning his elbows on the table, Robert looked up at Henry through his lashes.

“Guess you tend to likeinterestingthings,” he said, his tone slightly flirtatious, though his voice was trembling from having been so bold.

Henry’s cheeks reddened. He nodded once.

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