Page 89 of Resilience on Canvas

Robert turned onto his side. “Same to you, Hen.” He ran a hand through Henry’s hair, relishing the way Henry’s soft locks felt as they moved between his fingers. “I meant what I said before. Anything for you, little wolf. Anything.”

For the next few minutes, they kissed each other sweetly, touching their lips together over and over and over with tenderhearted softness.

Eventually, between kisses, Henry said, “Robert”—one more kiss—“can I”—another—“ask you somethin’?”

“Of course,” Robert replied. “What is it?”

After a moment, Henry whispered, “Do you love me?”

Robert’s eyebrows shot up, and he reeled back. Even though he knew exactly how he felt, he still needed a moment to sit with Henry’s question. Henry simply waited patiently, no trace either of worry or sorrow on his moonlit face. It was like Henry wasn’t really concerned with how Robert would respond, but instead wasonly curious to know.

Finally, once the shock of Henry’s bluntness wore off, Robert laughed warmly and said, “Of course I love you, dummy. We’re movin’ to California together.”

Henry then laughed too. “Yeah, I-I thought so. But neither of us has ever said it, so I thought I might check to be sure.”

Robert pursed his lips. It was true that neither of them had said it. But Robert hadn’t never said those three words out loud to anyone else before, either. Not even to his own family. Hell, no one had even said those three words tohim. Or, well, maybe his ma must have, not that he could recall a specific instance. It wasn’t that Robert had settled onnotsaying them to Henry. Saying “I love you” simply hadn’t crossed his mind. But now that Henry had brought it up, he found that he wanted to say it, especially if Henry wanted to hear it.

“Yeah, I love you, Hen.” Robert pulled Henry close. “I’m sorry I never told you before.”

“Nah, I mean, I never told you, neither,” Henry said, smiling. He hooked a leg over Robert’s torso, towing their hips together. “Gosh, I still haven’t, have I? I love you, Robert.”

Somehow, even though Robert had already known that Henry loved him, hearing those words still stirred something powerful within him. They felt real now, as though his heart had opened to their truth.

Henry’s “I love you” made a home in there in his heart, every letter seeming to settle in separately, the phrase taking root. With his next inhale, Robert breathed life into those words, and their roots reached further into his heart, making it flutter. The words then echoed in his mind, and he felt them blossom, his entire body tingling in turn. Christ, he hadn’t realized how nice it would feel to hear Henry say it.

“Thanks, little wolf,” Robert said, his eyes blinking open, chest still tingling with a beautiful, comforting warmth. “Do you wantme to say it to you more often? Because I think I kind of liked hearing it more than I thought I would.”

Henry’s sweet smile broadened. “Uhm, yeah, if you wouldn’t mind. Because I liked hearing you say it, too.” He leaned forward and touched their lips together. “Even though I kind of knew you loved me before, even without you saying so.”

Robert reached up to caress Henry’s cheek. “I love you, Henry Sherwood. I promise I’ll keep tellin’ you that. I’ll make sure to say it every day from now on.”

Henry took Robert’s hand and kissed every single one of his knuckles. “I love you, too, Robert Davis. And I promise to tellyouthat every day. Every day for the rest of our lives.”

Robert squeezed Henry’s hand in confirmation. “For the rest of our lives.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Henry

Henrywasbehindthewheel of the Sherwood family truck while Robert slept in the passenger seat. It was noon, and the heat from the sun was unrelenting as they traveled north on the Golden State Highway. Steadying the wheel in his left hand, Henry reached over to sweep a hand through Robert’s hair, pushing a few wavy-curly strands off of his forehead. Robert stirred, and his lips curled into a small smile, though he kept his eyes shut. Warmth bubbled up in Henry’s chest, and he hummed as the fondness he felt for Robert continued to percolate there, its constant simmering sending little wavelets of thankfulness rippling through him. Cruising up US 99, through the lush valleys of the Promised Land, it would have been hard not to feel hopeful. In only hours, they would be in San Francisco, and from there, the two men would search for work, whether in the city itself or on the outskirts, Henry wasn’t sure, but either way, they were on the path to their better tomorrow.

When Henry neared a sign for US 50, the route that would take them west toward the ocean and to San Francisco, he spotted something else too—a large, white wooden sign with painted black letters that said “Fruit Pickers Wanted.” Beyond it, there lookedto be a settlement of some sort—tents and shacks and people far off the main road. While Henry considered whether or not they should stop, he saw a man up ahead walking toward the camp, carrying a large pack over his shoulder, one of the straps broken and hitting the back of his thigh every couple of steps.

Rose and Joe, who were only one hundred or so feet ahead, must have seen him, too, because they soon sped up and then pulled over beside him. Henry stopped behind their car. After Henry cut the engine, Robert’s eyes fluttered open, but only for a moment.

“Are we there?” he asked, his voice raspy and slow, eyes now shut once again.

“Not yet, but, uhm, there seems to be a camp of some sort?”

Robert snorted. “Are you askin’ me or tellin’ me?”

“Both?”

With a half groan, half laugh, Robert opened his eyes and stretched before looking out the window.

“Huh,” he said, when he spotted the camp. “I wonder if they’re travelers or...”

“Well, there was a sign back there too,” Henry said, thumbing over his shoulder. “Makes me think they’re people who came here to work. You know, to pick cotton and fruit and such. Rose and Joe are talkin’ to some fella who was walkin’ toward the camp.” He pointed to their vehicle. Rose was speaking to the man from the window. “I bet they’ll find out.” After a pause, Henry said, “Would you want to maybe work here? If we could?”

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