Pewter Angels (18 page)

“Yeah, it’s just like the ones we saw on our walk. I really like them, too. Someday when we’re married, we’ll own a house like that. And maybe the window in the middle will be Camilla’s room,” he added, hoping Jenny would be pleased he had remembered the name she wanted to give her daughter.

Jenny squeezed his hand, and Henry knew she understood why he had stopped.

They lay there, absorbed in their own thoughts. Jenny’s forefinger brushed the top of his hand. He knew she was deep in thought, trying to figure it all out. He thought about talking about it, and he thought Jenny might want to, too. Yet, they remained silent. A dispassionate discussion would spoil the beauty of what they’d shared. Jenny shifted her body towards Henry and rested her head on his shoulder.

After a long pause, she murmured, “I really love you a lot, Henry.”

Henry didn’t know how to respond. He hadn’t expected Jenny to say that, but his heart soared at the words. He tried to contain the joy bubbling inside him as he whispered back, “I love you too, Jenny.”

Jenny squeezed his hand again as they lay there, oblivious to the world. There was nothing more to say. Henry would never forget the oneness, the ecstasy of being so close to another human being. He didn’t feel cheated out of sex. They had done the right thing. There was no guilt, shame or worry—only pride.

They stayed in each others arms for a long time, dreaming of their future. When Henry opened his eyes and became aware of his surroundings again, the air had cooled and the sun hung near the treetops to the west. The moisture in the air told him that rain had fallen a few miles away. Huge cumulonimbus clouds reached high into what had been a clear blue sky.

“We better get going,” Henry said.

“Yes, I guess we better,” Jenny said, opening her eyes.

Moving to her knees, Jenny kissed his lips lightly and gazed longingly into his eyes. How her own could capture the blue of the sky and the warm radiance of the sun at the same time was a mystery to him. He could gaze into them forever. She tugged on his hand.

“Come on,” Jenny coaxed him up, grabbing hold of both his hands and pulling him sharply towards her. Just as they were about to collide, she let go and threw her arms around his neck, burying her head on his shoulder. “Thank you, Henry.”

Henry knew what she was thanking him for. He’d removed the pressure and freed her from worry. He felt like her knight in shining armour, a gentleman in the true sense of the word.

“I had a great time today,” she smiled.

“So did I.” Henry wrapped his arms around her. As he did, he noticed a huge elm tree directly behind her. Near the water’s edge, its large trunk almost divided the view of the Legislative Building on the other side of the lake in half. “Come on, Jenny. I want to do something to remember this day.”

Casting Henry a puzzled look, she followed him to the tree. He let go of her hand, reached into his pocket and pulled out his jackknife.

As she stepped back to give him room, she said, “Oh, great artist, are you going to carve out my heart?”

Henry just smiled and turned to the tree. Using the point of the knife as a pencil, he outlined the shape of a heart large enough to hold printing. Then, holding the knife with two hands, he carved away the protective bark, gradually exposing the bright wood of the tree’s interior. He could smell the sappy first layer that had started out so many years ago as a single, tiny twig, protecting all ensuing layers as it grew into a fully mature tree. That was what their love for each other would be like, too; it would grow like the layers of a tree into a strong, everlasting love, weathering all the storms of life that came their way.

Finally, the entire shape of the heart was visible. It was almost three inches wide and four inches high, a little larger than he wanted. It contrasted sharply against the dark bark and was now permanently embedded into the large elm.

“Henry,” Jenny breathed, entranced, “The tree will always share the beat of our hearts!”

Henry smiled. “What a nice thought, Jenny.”

His gaze remained steady on the trunk as he carved their initials, HP + JS, into the heart.

Behind him, Jenny put her hands on his shoulders. She raised herself on her toes to peer over his shoulder at the tree.

“Oh, Henry, it’s beautiful.”

“There’s just one more thing I want to add.”

Since the heart was large, there was room beneath each of the curves at the top. With the point of the knife, he scratched in a tiny cupid figure, almost in a reclining position, first on one side and then on the other side of the heart.

As he etched the shape of a wing on each figure, Jenny exclaimed, “And there are our guardian angels watching over and protecting us.”

Henry nodded, happy that they seemed to share the same thoughts.

Jenny slid her hands off his shoulders and wrapped one arm around his waist instead. He drew her close, allowing her to snuggle in next to him. They held each other, gazing at the inscription before them.

It was getting harder to pick out the details and Henry again realized how late it was. He’d been so excited to carve the heart in the tree he’d lost all sense of time. Shadows grew longer and the air cooler. Jenny noticed it, too.

“Yikes!” she said, looking at her watch. “It’s quarter to six. We better start back.”

“Yeah,” Henry said, reluctant to do anything that would end their day until Jenny’s lovely face lit with mischief, her eyes dancing. She startled him by putting her hands against his chest and giving him a quick shove, “Race you to Albert Street!”

She was on her bike before he realized he’d been challenged.

Albert Street was busy. They rode single file, not side by side as they had on the way there. Jenny was in the lead and pedalling as fast as she could. When they arrived at College Avenue, they turned east. Traffic wasn’t nearly as congested now so Henry pulled up beside her. She turned and caught his gaze, smiling, and extended her hand. He reached up and grabbed it, and in almost perfect unison they rode down College Avenue together.

At Broder Street they turned north. Home was only a few blocks away. Their adventure would soon be over.

Jenny’s mother was standing at the gate looking their way as they rode up.

“It’s about time you got back.” Her eyes flashed with anger.

“It’s still early, Mom, and I said I’d help you all evening with the last of the unpacking.”

“I’m sorry if I kept Jenny out too long this afternoon, Mrs. Sarsky. I guess we didn’t realize the time.”

Jenny’s mom glared at Henry for a moment. “You better get on home, Henry.” Her voice carried a tone of finality, almost as if she’d never let Jenny go out with him again.

Henry didn’t know what else to say. Jenny smiled and winked at him behind her mother’s back. She had just laid her bike on the front lawn when Mrs. Sarsky grabbed her arm and led her up the front stairs.

“See you tomorrow,” Jenny called over her shoulder.

Henry thought it better not to say anything, but lifted his hand in a halfhearted wave. Sweat rolled down his back. He wiped away beads of perspiration from his forehead with the back of his hand before wheeling his own bike home. When he entered the house, his mom was in the kitchen, preparing supper.

“Is that you, Henry?”

“Yeah, it’s me, Mom. I’m going to wash up.”

Mary Pederson was peeling carrots when her son walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table. “How was your bike ride?”

“It was great. We had a lot of fun. We went to Wascana Park.”

She turned and looked at him. “That far?”

“Oh, it’s not so far. I showed Jenny the Legislative Building,” Henry said. And before she could ask him any more questions, he added, “When’s Dad coming home?”

“Oh, he said he’d be home late,” his mom answered, in a voice that Henry knew meant she was still concerned that he had gone to the park with Jenny and wanted to talk about it.

Sensing her concern, Henry quickly put in, “I’m going to finish painting the inside of Mr. Engelmann’s store tomorrow. Do you know if Dad can spare any more paintbrushes?”

“You’ll have to ask him when he comes home.”

After a short silence, Mary asked, “Did Jenny’s mom know you two were going to the park?”

“Yeah, I think Jenny told her,” Henry answered, trying not to feel as though he were being interrogated.

“Well, make certain you always tell her parents where you’re going,”

“Yeah, I will, Mom.” After a brief pause, Henry voiced something that had been bothering him, “Did you think we were out too long this afternoon?”

“No,” his mom was thoughtful, “I don’t think so. Why do you ask?”

There she went again, putting him on the spot.

“Well, when we got home, Jenny’s mom seemed a little upset.”

“She’s probably concerned about her daughter being new to the city and all.”

“Well, it seemed like she was more upset at me.”

“Parents tend to worry more about daughters than they do about sons. Always tell her parents where you’re going and always bring her home on time, and things should be all right.”

“Why do parents worry more about girls?”

“Oh, it’s just a parent thing. When you’re a parent and have a daughter, I’m sure you’ll understand.”

She hadn’t exactly answered his question but he sensed his mom was ready to drop the subject.

“Would you please set the table?”

“Yeah, sure.”

Henry never really thought about how parents felt when their children went out on a date. It occurred to him he was responsible not only to Jenny, but also to their parents. He had definitely seen worry on both his mom’s and Mrs. Sarsky’s faces.

His thoughts flashed to the gym locker room and the comments he’d heard from other boys. How would the guys feel if the parents of the girl they were talking about were sitting in the room too? Would they boast about stolen bases or what they’d done with her in the back seat of their car then? What if the girl they were talking about was sitting in the room and listening to how she was being used? It was awful. He was proud of himself for thinking things through earlier and honouring Jenny.

When his dad arrived home, he was kind of grumpy and hardly did more than grunt. Henry caught his mother’s eye. Something was bothering his dad, but they knew from past experience it was best not to ask until Bill was ready to say what was on his mind. They ate supper in an uneasy silence.

Afterward, Henry went outside to sit on the steps. He wanted to visit Jenny but was afraid he would upset Mrs. Sarsky even more. Besides, his best friend Gary Franklin and his family should’ve been home late last night, so Henry decided to walk over to Gary’s place, which was on the next block in the opposite direction of Jenny’s.

Henry smiled as he thought about playing in Gary’s backyard. They had discovered an old airplane cockpit at the junkyard one summer and had brought it home on a wagon. They’d heaved it onto an old mattress that had been discarded in the alley and had discovered great joy in pretending to be Canadian Air Force pilots being attacked by German planes. Of course, they won every battle. They’d played on that airplane every time Henry visited. Now that he was in love and thinking about getting married, Henry wondered if he was getting too old for that kind of thing. It was hard to believe that had only been a couple of years ago.

“Hi, Hank!” Gary called out as Henry turned into his driveway.

“Hey! How was the holiday?”

“Great!”

Gary told him about visiting his dad at the army base and the leave they took to Jasper and Banff, and all about his first time seeing the Rockies and glaciers. The way Gary described it, Henry sort of wished he’d been there.

Henry filled Gary in about working for Mr. Engelmann, how the old man had, surprisingly enough, become a good friend and about his own ideas to increase sales by offering a delivery service.

“By the way, would you like to work Saturdays delivering groceries?”

“Sure,” Gary said, “how much does he pay?”

“Whatever he can afford. There’s no standard amount.”

Gary thought about it. “Yeah, sure, why not? It’ll help pay for some of the school books.”

That was Gary. Steady, practical and dependable. He was always there when Henry needed him.

From there the conversation turned to how they’d used to tease Mr. Engelmann about the squeaky floors in his store. Over the years, Mr. Engelmann had become attuned to the sounds each floorboard made and used this knowledge to keep a watchful eye on Henry and his friends. On several occasions, they entered the store as a group, spread out and jumped up and down on the floorboards all at the same time, trying to confuse the old store owner.

Henry and Gary’s laughter brought Gary’s sister, Sarah, out onto the porch. She sat down next to them on the steps.

Sarah was a bit overweight and had a large dark purple birthmark on the left side of her face. She didn’t have very many friends, partly because of her appearance. But Henry liked Sarah and was as comfortable around her as he was with Gary.

Henry told them about Jenny, thinking she and Sarah would get along well, and told them he would introduce them if Jenny was around the next night.