Page 51 of Resilience on Canvas

“I need to figure this out! I can’t have you blubberin’ while I’m tryin’ to piece together a plan to keep my family from starvin’!” Spinning in a little circle, Robert kicked the bottom of the nearest shelf, causing a tower of cans to topple onto the tile floor. “Christ, or maybe the Goddamn Devil’s snow will take us before it even comes to that! Without our farm, we’ll suffocate if we ever have one of them huge storms again. I mean, hell, look at May! She’s coughing all the fuckin’ time! Just like...fuck, just like Pop had been before he spiked that fever!”

Henry’s hands flew to his mouth, stifling a cry. Gosh, poor little May.

“Fuck, Henry, I’m losin’ everything,” Robert said, running a hand through his hair. “Everyone will suffer because of me.”

“Because ofyou?!” Henry spluttered. “Robert, you’ve been workin’ so hard for everyone!”

“And it wasn’t enough, was it?!” Robert yelled back. And then, in a much smaller voice, he repeated, “Was it?”

Those two tiny words struck Henry like a bullet. He staggered back a step, laying one hand over his shattered heart. How could this be? How could everything fall apart like this?

Even though everything felt hopeless, even though he himself felt helpless, Henry knew he needed to be there for Robert. Any way he could. He wiped his still-wet face with his sleeve.

“Robert, I can take yer shift today. Why don’t you head on home, be with yer family?”

“Weren’t you even listenin’ to me?” Robert huffed. “I need the money.”

Despite the fact that Henry knew Robert’s harsh tone was only the result of him hurting so bad, Henry still winced at the sharpness of Robert’s words. His first instinct was to curl in on himself, to slink off and tend to his emotional wounds, but instead, he took a moment to close his eyes and force the pain away. Because Robert needed him now.

“I know, but I could still let you have the money I make, then?”

“No way in hell that’s happenin’,” Robert scoffed. “I earn myownmoney. I know I’ve let Clara take you up on the offer for free cans of food here and there, but that ain’t the same as me lettin’ you work yer tail off and then takin’ the money from you.”

Henry looked at him pleadingly. “It wouldn’t be too much work for me, Robert. There’s only one skid of cereal to put out. Workin’ the register’s easy enough.”

Robert pointed a finger and poked Henry in the chest. “Hen, if you think I’ll be changin’ my mind because of them puppy eyes of yers, I have to tell you, you are sorely mistaken.”

Heat flooded Henry’s cheeks. Gosh, would Roberteverthink of him as something other than a little helpless puppy?

Robert’s expression softened, the fury fading from his eyes, and he retracted his hand. Sighing, Robert moved the same hand through his own brown locks. Henry looked away.

Keeping his gaze fixed on the floor tiles, Henry felt sorrow bubbling up inside of him, starting as a pinching in his chest and moving up his windpipe. He had to bite his tongue to keep himself from whimpering.

Like a Goddamn puppy.

Robert cupped Henry’s chin and lifted it. “I’m sorry I said that, Hen. I promised I wouldn’t never call you a puppy no more.”

“It’s okay,” Henry said, though his words were lacking even a lick of conviction.

“Hey, I know how you can help me,” Robert said sweetly. “Do you still want to?”

Henry’s heart fluttered, some of that heaviness lifting. “Of course.”

Robert said, “Everyone in my family’s hurtin’ right now. I need someone to check on them. Think you can do that for me?”

After a beat, Henry nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I’d be happy to.” With a firm nod, Robert removed his hand, and then Henry said, “Should I tell Clara about the, uh, bank stuff?”

Robert shrugged. “Might as well. Maybe she’ll take it better if yer the one to break the news. I mean, I think you’re likely to say it better than I would. Because I’ll probably flip a Goddamn table if I’m the one to tell her. And so, if you tell her without the same kind of... liveliness, then maybe she won’t fall to pieces from worry.”

“Yeah, I won’t flip no tables or nothin’,” Henry said. “I’ll make sure she knows that we’ll figure it out, too.”

“Don’tlieto her.”

“I won’t!”

Robert let out a little incredulous-sounding huff. Henry rolled his bottom lip between his teeth for a moment.

“We’ll figure somethin’ out, Robert. I promise.”

---