Retreat Read Free

lips were pursed and his thick eyebrows were furrowed. He was disappointed in me; that much was clear.
    Henry and I stood at the head of the table, our fingers still entwined. He cleared his throat. “I guess Elsie and I have some news…”
    “No shit, Sherlock,” his dad, Trent, said. The man had always had a colorful vocabulary.
    “How long has this been going on?” my mother asked. I met her eyes, feeling like a willful teenager again. Then it struck me that Henry and I were two consenting adults and I had nothing to be ashamed of.
    I stood straighter and said, “Right before he left for deployment in March.”
    “That long?” Helen asked, her eyes flicking back to her son. “And you didn’t think to tell us?”
    “We weren’t ready yet,” Henry said.
    “When were you going to be ready?”
    “Now, I guess,” I said. “We wanted to have you all together before we made the announcement.”
      “Speaking of getting ready…” Henry looked down at the watch on his wrist. He turned to me. “I’m sorry, but I have to leave.”
    “What?” I tugged him down to hiss in his ear, “You’re going to leave me to face the inquisition by myself?”
    “I have my therapy session in forty minutes.”
    “Take me with you.”
    “I’m sorry, I can’t.” He grinned, looking anything but sorry. “I’ll be done in an hour.”
    My dad stood up then and my heart stopped. Every cell in my body stood at attention in anticipation of his words. He approached us with an expressionless face, stopping in front of Henry.
    “Sir,” Henry began. “Before you say anything, I just want you to know that I am in love with your daughter. I will treat her with the respect and care she deserves.”
    I held my breath when my dad lifted his hand. He paused for the longest time then gave Henry a hearty slap on the shoulder. “I know you will, son,” he said with warmth in his eyes. “You’re a good man, Henry. Jason was right to ask me to give you a chance.”
    I felt the shift in Henry’s posture, his shoulders sagging a little from relief or sadness or both. “Thank you, sir.”
    Then Dad turned to me and placed two hands on my shoulders. “I think you picked a good one,” he said.
    I hugged him. “Thanks, Dad.”
    “Just please don’t get caught naked in his bed again,” he said so that only I could hear. “I brought you up to be more of a lady than that.”
    I nodded as I pulled away. “Yes, Dad.”
    “How about we all have dinner tonight?” Helen asked, standing up from the table. “I have to meet a client in an hour, but I’ll be free for dinner at around five.”
    My mom nodded. “That sounds like a good idea. These kids are not getting away this easy.”
    Henry squeezed my hand. “We’ll be there.”

     
    ~

     
    I met up with Henry at Cannery Row after his therapy session and had lunch at Louie Linguine’s Seafood Shack. We sat at a table by the large windows with an unobstructed view of the dark blue ocean.
    “How did the session go?” I asked as we ate. It felt good to be spending time with him again, just the two of us.
    He took a bite of his sourdough burger. “Can’t tell you,” he said with a smile.
    “Well, are you making progress?”
    He made a noncommittal shrug. “I think so.”
    I shook my head and ate a spoonful of clam chowder. “You’re really not going to tell me?” I asked. “The person who is most affected by all of your issues?”
    A shadow of a grin crossed over his face as he shook his head and I knew, even without saying, that therapy was working. It didn’t look like he’d shaved since he arrived in California and his hair was curling a little at the ends from not having it cut for so long, but underneath his scruffy appearance was the light behind his eyes that I was afraid had been extinguished in Afghanistan.
    I let out the sigh of relief that I’d been holding for so long.
    He raised an eyebrow. “What are you looking at?”
    “I’m looking at you, Grizzly