Page 41 of Watching Henry

“But then you always seem so happy,” said Florence, looking into her wine glass. “Taking life by the horns and all, having fun.”

“Is that how it seems?” Hadley asked, leaning forward a little.

“Of course, isn't that how it is?”

Hadley didn't answer that. Instead, she asked: “So why not be that way then? You don't always have to be strict and stern. You don't always have to be in control.”

“You want to hear something funny?” Florence asked, taking a deep drink from her glass.

“Sure,” shrugged Hadley.

“My parents were exactly like you. Free-spirited. Never tied down, never setting rules or limits, never enforcing discipline.”

“Then what on earth happened to you?” Hadley drank some more wine.

Florence smiled. “I rebelled, I suppose, in the only way you can against parents like that. I became stricter, more rule-oriented, and I found that that was what I'd been missing.”

“Missing? Really?”

“You try moving house every three months, sometimes going to school, sometimes not. You try keeping friends, learning to read, developing into a productive member of society without having some kind of education or some kind of discipline,” Florence said.

“Ah,” said Hadley. “Yes. I suppose I can understand that.”

Florence stretched out her legs too so that their feet were almost touching. Hadley could feel the warmth of her but didn't dare move any closer. “What about you? What are your parents like?”

Hadley smiled. “My dad's great. Supportive, he understands me, I think, even when he pushes me to do things that I might not like I know that they're good for me. We're close, I don't know what I'd do without him.”

“That's nice.” Florence took a mouthful of wine and swallowed. “What about your mom?”

Hadley looked back up at the sky. When she was a kid her father had told her that her mother was watching her from above. Not understanding that it was a platitude, she'd always kind of thought of her mom as a star.

“She died,” she said simply. “I was eight.”

???

Florence wanted for a moment to move, to comfort Hadley, but then she didn't. “I'm sorry.”

“I guess in a way that's why I'm the way I am too,” Hadley said. “She was so young, so vibrant, and then she was just gone. And I know this sounds stupid, but I don't want to miss things like she did. I try everything, I go everywhere, I do whatever I can to experience life because she didn't get that chance.”

“That's understandable.”

“Maybe,” Hadley said, draining her glass. “But then I envy you your consistency. I envy the fact that you so obviously have a calling, that you know what you're good at, what you want to do. I've never had that kind of certainty about anything.”

“More wine?” Florence asked. If she was going to be a little more like Hadley she might as well do it right. She picked up the bottle and refilled Hadley's glass, topping up her own as she did so.

“There's a lesson here somewhere about balance,” Hadley said, taking her glass back.

“Indeed. Henry might have needed my authority this evening, but the twins needed your comfort,” agreed Florence, sitting back in her seat.

“So maybe we can both learn a little from each other,” Hadley grinned.

“Well, I'm not sure that a calling can be taught,” said Florence. “But authority isn't difficult.”

“Really?”

Florence looked at her, all stretched out like a cat on a warm floor. Her legs seemed endless, her hair was a messy pile of curls that somehow still managed to look artfully arranged, her lips glistened with gloss. And Florence's heart flip-flopped and she took a big mouthful of wine.

“You earn authority,” she said crisply. “You say what you mean, you follow through, and you're consistent. Don't mince your words, give clear instructions and speak as though you know you will be obeyed. That's really all it is.”