Eileen held Henry’s hand steady. She sat on the floor in front of him while he took a place on the couch, hunched ever so slightly to give her more room to work. Her brows pinched in concentration as the tiny brush in her grasp applied a coat of its paint. Henry’s pinky finger now wore the lovely new navy polish like the rest of them. Eileen had been insistent on giving it a try on Henry when she got the color a few days ago. Henry’s light eyes followed her movements as he did his best to stay still.
“There!” Eileen declared, “One down, one more to go.”
Henry nodded as he watched her dip the brush back into the bottle; renewing the supply on its bristles. He glanced at his hand - admiring the color and how it caught the light. It was very similar to the shades of the deep sea and he wondered if that was why Eileen picked it out.
Her voice drew his attention back.
“You know, I don't think I know much about your family.”
Henry looked at her fully, brows high, “Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Huh…” Henry’s head tilted in thought, “I guess you're right…”
He realized for all the time they knew each other; they really hadn’t had a chance to talk about things like that. Their pasts, their families, their experiences before the events that brought them together. Henry’s lips thinned as it washed over him. He wasn’t sure where to start on a conversation like this. Eileen shifted, crossing her legs, and seemed to pick up on Henry’s roadblock.
“I guess a good place to start is parents. Or maybe siblings? That sort of thing.” she offered with a small smile.
“Oh, no siblings. Just me.” Henry said, quickly adding, “My mom met my dad in college.”
Eileen placed a hand over her chest, “Aw, that's sweet! Did they meet as freshmen then?”
“Nah, they met when my mom did an exchange program her sophomore year.”
Eileen looked at him with eyes that said ‘tell me more’ as she continued to paint the nails on his hand. Henry’s gaze flicked up in thought before settling back to Eileen.
“My dad's from Spain.”
The two sat in silence for a few moments. Eileen’s lips parted, brows high and eyes wide, her brush still.
“Henry, what the heck?!” her voice rose with excitement, “That’s so cool!”
“Is it?”
“Yeah, that's like, seriously cool!” she affirmed, leaning in, “Does that mean you have family there? Have you been before?”
Henry’s cheeks flushed at her sudden burst of energy. He hadn’t ever given his family much thought, or attention, and never knew others might find it so interesting. He made sure to keep his still wet nails in the air as he continued.
“Well…yeah, I have some aunts, uncles, and cousins over there. Probably a niece or nephew too, at this point. I've been a few times, but it's been a while since I was there last.”
Henry then rattled off names of said relatives, as well as the cities and towns where he last knew they lived. Eileen took it all in with wonder - brain trying to figure out if she knew where any of these places could be on a map. With each moment, Eileen also noticed the shift in Henry’s voice as Spanish flowed freely on his tongue - pronouncing words with surprising fluency so much as Eileen could tell. She wondered how it might be to hear him talking with relatives, navigating beautiful countrysides, and busy cities. She couldn’t contain her excitement at the thoughts as Henry recounted some trips from when he was a young teen. Eventually, he roamed back to the story of how his parents met.
“Then my dad married my mom and took her last name and then they had me. So yeah, that's about it.”
Eileen’s pretty eyes were still wide and Henry swore he saw some stars in them.
“Can we go?”
“Huh-?”
“To Spain!” she exclaimed, “I've never been outside the country before. And I'm sure your family would like to see you!”
Henry made a move to scratch the back of his neck but caught himself; fingers still in the drying phase, “I….I guess we could. It might be weird to show up out of the blue though…”
“Well, it might be a good idea to talk to them more, then!” she said, smile wide, “I certainly wouldn't mind having an excuse to go, at least.”
Henry laughed at her earnesty, “I'll keep that in mind… And what about you?”
“Me?”
“Yeah - your family.”
“Ah…they’re nothing special.” Eileen said, sinking back sheepishly.
The stars in her eyes faded as normalcy replaced the mood. There wasn’t much to remark on, especially with Henry’s newly revealed background in mind, and she let out a little breath. Henry waited patiently though, looking between her and his now mostly painted nails. There was still one left, however. Eileen’s hand held his gently; her skin soft and warm against his. She resumed her work as she spoke softly.
“I’ve always grown up around here; a state or two away. My mom and dad split when I was little,” she said, “Just been my dad and I since - at least until I moved out. My mom's a fine lady, don't get me wrong, but I was always closer to my dad. So I stuck with him.”
“I see…” Henry replied, “do you still talk to him?”
Eileen’s eyes lit up a little more, “Almost every day! You can imagine how worried he was when… well, South Ashfield and all.”
Henry nodded solemnly. He hadn’t talked with his parents in…well, he wasn’t quite sure how long. They’d never done wrong by him and they got along well enough though there was always that thread of isolation he carried. Wanting to be alone, keeping to himself. Once he’d moved out, they assumed he’d vanish from their lives. It wasn’t entirely untrue and he felt a pang in his chest at the idea that they hadn’t worried about him during…that time. Henry forced himself back to the conversation as Eileen passed the brush over his nail slowly.
“What about siblings?”
Eileen hummed softly, “I have an older brother… He’s way older though - has a family and all in California last I checked.”
“Maybe you could visit him.”
“Maybe…” Eileen replied. She shifted in a way that signaled some discomfort at the idea. The little twitch in her brow and lowering of her eyes gave Henry clues to piece it together. He himself had felt the same not so long ago, after all. It wasn’t so easy to just reconnect with others, sometimes.
“I’ve never been out that way…” Henry offered, “Maybe, we could go together?”
Eileen’s eyes narrowed gently, her lips pulling into a gentle smile. It was one that felt more contained, content, comforted. Henry felt himself following suit, a smile coming across his face slowly. Eileen examined her work before putting the brush back into the polish bottle - screwing it shut tightly.
“That might be nice.” she replied, voice soft.
She looked over Henry’s nails, fingers caressing his gently to inspect her work. The touch made Henry’s skin tingle pleasantly and the pressure set off some goosebumps along his arms. He watched her carefully - her brown hair hanging in her face just a touch - and felt a softness in his heart.
“Well, all done for now,” Eileen declared, releasing his hand, “What do you think?”
“I like it.”
“Doesn't feel too icky or anything?”
“No, it's nice.” Henry replied, holding a hand up to inspect it himself, “You did a great job, Eileen.”
“Aw, thanks, Henry.” she said with a laugh. She didn’t think it was so impressive though appreciated his words. She stretched then, arms rising above her head. She made a little sound before standing up.
“Once that dries, we’ll finish it all up!”
Henry looked up, “There’s more?”
“Yeah, if you don't want it to chip off in like three days, I need to put on a top coat.!” Eileen explained.
Henry’s brows twitched, not realizing just how long it took for the entire process. He settled into the couch, being mindful of what was still wet and what was dry on his nails as Eileen sat next to him.
“Since we have time,” she said, “tell me more about your family?”
Henry gave a lopsided smile as she leaned into him, feeling her warmth along his body.
“Only if you tell me more about yours.”
She nodded, offering her pinky, “Promise.”
Henry reached to hook his pinky in hers but paused. The polish on his nail was a little too wet to risk it so he opted for his other hand. The ensuing shuffle of hands brought some laughs to the pair’s lips as they figured out how to lock in their promise. In the back of his head, Henry made a note to call his parents when he had the chance.
End.