Page 66 of Watching Henry

“Henry,” his mother began.

“Fuck off!” shouted Henry, stamping his feet. “No!”

Florence gave Henry a stern look. “Henry McLeod-Allan, you apologize to your parents for that language immediately and then get yourself in for breakfast. You can help the twins pour cereal. Now, please.”

Henry looked up at her, eyes narrow, mouth half-open, as though he were calculating the odds of what would happen if he defied her. Then he took a breath, looked down at the floor, and mumbled sorry before leading the twins off to the dining room.

“He's angry,” Florence explained. “Because he can't control what's happening around him. His anger needs an outlet.”

She saw Ms. McLeod flash a look at her ex-husband.

“Don't look at me,” he said. “There's still the question of the money, one that's far from being settled to my satisfaction.”

Florence could feel hope slipping through her fingers.

“If it's only money,” Charlie said, coming out of the dining room. “You can have this if you want.” He passed a fifty dollar bill to his father who chuckled.

“Thanks for the help, son, but play money isn't...” He trailed off as he rubbed the bill between his fingers. “This is real. Charles, where did this come from?”

Charlie, who was on his way back to his breakfast, shrugged. “There's a whole bunch of it in Emily's grocery store,” he said before disappearing back to his cereal.

Florence groaned. “I never thought to check the twins' room,” she said. “I assumed it had been stolen, I thought...” She shook her head.

“Let's settle the matter then,” Mr. Allan said, marching up the stairs.

Florence made to follow him, but Maeve caught hold of her sleeve.

“Listen, if I can persuade him, will you stay?”

Florence cocked her head. Stay here with no Hadley. Stay here with the children. Maybe start paying off some of that debt. It wasn't everything, it wasn't the happy ending that other people got, but it was better than nothing.

After all, her career was the most important thing.

“Are you sure?” she asked.

Maeve laughed. “I know that I'm the typical hippy mom who lets her kids run around being free and not having a bedtime. I get that. But I love my kids, I truly do. And Colby, for all his faults, loves them too. You're right that we haven't been thinking about the effect all this has on them, we've been too wrapped up in ourselves. I thought I could take care of them alone for the rest of the summer.”

Florence bit her lip. She'd never spoken out of turn before, never made a splash or a fuss about anything. Yet maybe that was what it took to be taken seriously.

“But I saw the way my kids look at you, and I saw the way Henry respects you, and as much as you and I might disagree about methods, my kids want you to stay. Which means I do. If that little outburst from Henry was any indication, I'm going to need your help. So what do you say?”

“Jesus Christ,” Mr. Allan's voice came from upstairs. “There's thousands of dollars in here.”

Unbelievably, Florence laughed. She couldn't help herself. The thought of all that cash just sitting up there in a toy cash register was pretty funny.

And perhaps there was a little glimpse of light in her future.

She'd been serious about what she'd said to Hadley. Like Eleanor had said, she couldn't confuse feelings with emotions. And she couldn't afford to take a risk on Hadley.

Maybe there was another future for her though. One that wasn't so bad. One that could start right now.

“Yes,” she said, finally. “I'd be happy to stay if your ex-husband agrees.”

“Perfect,” grinned Maeve. “Let me go and talk to him for a minute. Wait here.”

Florence looked at her suitcases in the hall, heard the chatter of the kids in the dining room, thought about what the hell she was going to do about the debt agency.

Then she looked back toward the living room, thinking that she saw a flash of blonde. But there was nothing there. Hadley was gone and Florence would go on without her. It really was that simple.