Quarters are better than pennies, he figures, when he makes the detour after school to the fountain. And if he's gonna do this, he better do it right. For her sake.
She doesn't smile with Walsh. Oh sure, her mouth and teeth go through the motions, but the corners of her eyes don't crinkle, and if she laughs, it sounds - like someone else. Not like Mom. Not like when it's just the two of them, and they're playing games or she's helping with his homework.
Maybe it's because of his dad -whoever that guy was. Maybe she's just afraid to get close to someone again. He doesn't think that's it though. He has dreams sometimes, of another life, and somehow - they seem more real to him than this.
Walsh is nice enough, he guesses, and she says she's happy, so he tries to be supportive. But when she comes home after The Big Night Out, he can tell. She's been acting funny since breakfast, when someone had pounded on the door. She hadn't told him who or what it was, but he can tell. Whatever it was, it shook her.
Quarters are better than pennies. Did making that wish a few days ago actually work?
He wonders if she has the dreams too. But instead of asking, he puts a happy face on the situation - he's good at that. He doesn't even know where the words come from, really, but they feel true.
He looks at his mom, and he can't imagine that there's not some happy ending out there for her. Something like a story, or one of his games - some dashing prince or charming scoundrel who does think the world of her, who would cross realms just to be by her side. Who does want them to be his home and family.
From the look on her face, he can tell she's not thinking about Walsh, but about - someone and he almost asks, but he doesn't want to admit to something so stupid as making a wish in a fountain.
Before he heads to bed, he sees her in the kitchen, clutching a bottle of rum, which is weird, cuz she always drinks red wine. But she's not drinking it at all, instead, she seems lost in thought. He wonders if those dreams he had about the pitch and roll of a wooden deck beneath his feet have any basis in truth. Or if that was the reason she always seemed to entrust him to her friends who had boats when she had to go away for work …
But he doesn't ask her any of this. Instead he does what he does best, and that's push her a little. He loves her, but she gets complacent sometimes. She does too much for other people and never really thinks about what shewants. He knows she doesn't want to marry Walsh but he pretends like it's the best idea ever. She doesn't seem convinced until he tells her to follow her heart.
That changes something, and she takes off quick. It isn't Walsh who has her acting this insane, that much he's certain about. Whatever is going on - one way or the other, she's gonna have to make a choice.
He hopes it's the right one. Just in case, he stops by the fountain on his way to Avery's.
Quarters are better than pennies.
She's smiling brightly in the kitchen the next morning, wearing the same outfit she'd had on last night, laughing - really laughing - about not accepting Walsh's proposal as she made breakfast. She's also talking crazy about taking him out of school for a little while to go on a trip.
Someone bangs on the door, and he has a sense of deja vu. She looks up from the stovetop, and he doesn't miss the way her eyes widen a little, the corners of her lips pulling up. She wipes her hands nervously on the front of her skirt and quickly goes to the door.
She's smiling when she comes back into the room - a real smile, and her eyes are bright. She's wearing that look she gives him all the time, that exasperated, affectionate one. She sounds nervous when she introduces them, but she'ssmiling and he's so floored by that that he forgets he's supposed to have manners.
The man is dressed in funny clothes, but he acts like heknows Henry, and the weird thing is that it doesn't feel weird. She's looking between the two of them as they squabble, and her eyes are bright with a light he can't remember ever seeing there. He goes to pack then, and he hears her laugh again and he feels warm all the way to his toes.
Quarters are better than pennies.
She's lonely. She doesn't say it, but she is. I can tell. She isn't in love with Walsh, but she's going to marry him for my sake. I just don't want her to be lonely any more. She's the best mom, she does everything for me. But I know she feels like something is missing. Surely someone as good as her deserves something better. Quarters are better than pennies, right? Just … I want her to be happy.