Page 91 of Resilience on Canvas

“I mean, I think there’s a chance ofyoufindin’ work. But I haven’t worked nowhere except the store. Who would want me?”

“Don’t talk like that. Everyone will want you. Look how strong you are. Smart, too. And that whole sketchbook you showed me...” Robert shook his head. “Incredible.”

Henry smiled to himself, though he wasn’t sure how his so-called artistic talent could ever help them. Still, it was sweet that Robert had been so impressed by it.

About two hours later, they reached San Francisco. From there, they had to find someone who knew how the heck to find the house they were looking for. It was confusing to be trying to navigate such a large city, one that none of them had been to before. Even with the help of maps, it was easy to become turned around, and the way some of the streets were sloped like a mountain wasn’t helping, neither.

Finally, after forty or so minutes of searching, they seemed to have found the house—pale blue in color, which wasn’t what Henry had expected. Otherwise, it looked like the photograph thathis parents had shown him. It was somehow both smaller and larger than Henry had thought it would be in person. It wasn’t very wide, but it was taller than the houses in Guymon by a good measure—three stories if you could count the bottom one, which was level with the street, even though the main entrance was up a whole set of stairs. Along the left, there was a column of windows, one set on each floor.

After parking in front, everyone climbed out of their vehicles. Since Joe and Rose were supposed to stay with the Sherwoods for a night or two, they were coming too. Tomorrow, Joe and Rose would probably first focus on finding somewhere to live, rather than securing some kind of work. Goodness, they had so much money saved up still from that contest. Even if they couldn’t find no work for a month or two, they would survive just fine.

Joe met Henry and Robert near the foot of the stairs, and he rocked back on his heels while whistling in a real exaggerated manner.

“Nice house,” he said.

“Yeah, uhm, I think my parents must have had more saved up than I thought. Or maybe this bank will be payin’ real well?” Henry said, his ears turning hot.

Even though the Sherwoods weren’trich, they certainly had more money than a lot of folks, especially more than a lot of the people in Guymon now, with so many struggling to produce enough from their farms to make ends meet. Chewing on his lip, Henry swiveled his head back and forth to survey the other houses on the street. Most of them looked pretty similar in terms of their construction. So, maybe Henry’s family wouldn’t stand out so much here. It would be like being back in Oklahoma City in some ways, where Henry hadn’t really thought of his family’s status so much. He wondered if his parents would miss little old Guymon. They seemed to like the pace there, as well as their place in thetown. Would they miss the way that everyone knew who they were? Henry wouldn’t. He liked the thought of blending in with the crowd a bit more. It had been a lot of pressure to live up to the Sherwood name in Guymon—to be the son of a (former) bank manager, the son of one of the town’s two schoolteachers,andthe nephew of the man who ran the largest corner store to boot. It would be nice to just be Henry for once, without everything that had come with being “Henry Sherwood.”

While these thoughts were running through Henry’s brain, he caught Robert’s eye. Robert threw him a wink, one that made Henry’s chest swell and his stomach tumble. Gosh, he loved Robert so much. Maybe out here in California, Henry Sherwood could be Henry Davis instead.

Together, everyone walked up the stairs, and Henry’s palms were sweating by the time he had to knock. It would be strange to face his folks and to live with them for a while now that him and Robert were together in a romantic sense.

After a minute, Henry’s mother opened the door.

“Henry,” she said, wrapping him up in a warm hug.

For the next few seconds, she stroked his back and pet his hair. Henry could feel how much she had been missing him. Gosh, this was probably the nicest hug he’d ever received from her.

“Hi,” he finally said, breathing in her floral scent. It had sometimes made his nose wrinkle in the past, but right now, he found himself realizing how much he’d missed it.

While they were still embracing, his father came to the entryway. He stayed in the threshold, smiling a crooked smile, one that had a bunch of warmth to it. Thank God.

“Hi, son,” he said. “Glad to see you made it so fast.”

“Hi, Pop,” Henry said, pulling back from his mom’s embrace, which took a bit of effort since she was clinging to him like she never wanted to let go. “Yeah, it, uhm, it wasn’t too bad of a trip. I kind of liked seeing the country a little, you know?”

“Wait ’til you see the ocean,” he said. “Nowthere’sa sight.”

Henry smiled. Wow, thatwouldbe something to see, wouldn’t it?

Henry’s father took Joe’s hand and shook it, followed by Robert’s. His father seemed to be behaving friendly enough. Hopefully he wasn’t blaming Robert for Henry being the way he was. Or for their relationship. Henry was the one who had started everything, really, thanks to his long-held crush.

When they finished their greetings, Henry’s folks welcomed everyone inside. Robert went to see his family right away, but Henry headed back to get some of their bags from the truck first. Joe followed to help, and then the two of them took two of Joe and Rose’s bags in as well. Robert stayed busy listening to the children tell him what the ocean was like and how much they were enjoying San Francisco.

Over the next couple of hours, everyone spent time together in one of the large rooms on the second floor (or was it the first floor? Henry still wasn’t really too sure what you were meant to consider them when the main entrance was floating up on the second level like that). Rose and Joe told the story of how they’d met, and Rose talked about New York a little. Clara and Rose started bonding over their shared hatred of constantly mending clothing for their loved ones, which Henry found pretty funny since Rose was making it sound like Joe tore through pants as often as a little kid. Joe was happy to play Tiddlywinks on the floor with May and the twins. All things considered, it was a nice time, like everyone was a big, happy family. Henry could still feel a bit of tension between his father and Robert, however. He could tell by their tight smiles, their curt nods, and the fact that they seemed tobe intentionally staying away from each other, typically keeping to opposite ends of the room.

At six o’clock, it was time for supper, and the moment Henry and Robert stepped into the kitchen and saw the spread—baked chicken, a whole big pan of roasted vegetables, and some buttered noodles—Henry had to fight back a wince. Without even seeing Robert’s face, he knew how Robert must have felt seeing such a lavish show of money. Or what was lavish compared to the meals that the Davis family had been eating before leaving Guymon, which had mostly been bean or rabbit stew, sometimes with a simple salad or a helping of pickled fruit on the side.

Even back in Oklahoma, every meal Robert had eaten with the Sherwoods had likely been a reminder of their struggles, but now...

Henry’s muscles tensed. Now, Robert wasalreadyfeeling like he owed the Sherwoods so much. To be presented with a spread that looked fit for a holiday feast...

Lord Almighty, what a slap in the face this was.

Henry’s father clapped his hands together. “Alright, everyone ready to eat?”

Everyone sat. Henry made sure to take a seat next to Robert, whose shoulders were unmistakably tense. Henry could practically feel the unease radiating from him, his red-hot fury erupting off of him like sun rays, though probably Henry was the only one who could see it. Robert was being perfectly pleasant otherwise, thanking Henry’s parents for the meal and keeping a smile on his face while Henry’s mother began serving everyone some chicken. But Henry knew better. He couldn’t miss the way Robert’s smile never reached his eyes or the way he was rubbing his palms on his thighs over and over to expel some of that energy that was burning beneath his skin. Gosh, Henry wished he could make it better,either by helping Robert cool his temper or letting him release some of that fury rather than keeping it in.

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