Chapter Six - Late Night Calls
A simple click on his name and she was calling him…
'Hello? Elizabeth?' She heard his low gravel voice through the speaker, her heart skipped a little as it was the first time he had said her name without an underlying annoyance to his tone for a very long time. She cleared away the lump in her throat and picked the phone to her ear
'H..Hi Henry'
'Is everything ok?' Her call had raised a little panic in him, she was the last person he expected to hear from anytime soon. His facial expression laced with confusion as he listened out for her. Elizabeth smiled softly into the phone, his caring nature never did leave him
'I'm fine, I just…' she paused as It dawned on her she had no reason to call him. 'I hadn't heard from any of the kids and I just wanted to check if they were ok'
'Oh' his tone was a little disappointed, for a moment he clung to the hope she wanted to speak to him. 'They're ok. They watched the press release earlier today, Alison was upset and has pretty much cried herself to sleep so that will be why she didn't answer, and Jason… well he's Jason' he ran his fingers through his hair and scratched his head. There it was, the reality of their broken family highlighted again within seconds of a call. Elizabeth closed her eyes tight as she heard him talk about her babies, two of whom left the family home to live with their dad, two of whom she had not seen for a few days. 'They're fine Elizabeth, they just need time' He attempted to reassure her but she shook her head profusely,
'And this is all my fault?' She tried not to snap, sometimes she struggled to hide her anger and annoyance, after all it was Henry who filed for the divorce but Elizabeth was the one the kids blamed.
'Jason will come around, I don't think he blames you for any of this, I wouldn't let him Elizabeth. I think he is more upset you didn't put up a fight to keep him in DC with you'
'Oh Henry, I want him with me more than anything, I want all of them with me, but he was so happy at the prospect of going back to a school he loved I can't take him away from that, again' She whispered, the hurt within her sinking into the words.
'I know, I've told him this. I just think he is having a hard time adjusting. They will be ok, `` he sighed heavily before continuing,''And so will you.`` Her eyes closed and she moved the phone from her face a little as she squeezed her eyes tightly, determined to not let the tears fall, after a few moments of silence, she returned to him.
'And you?' Her faint voice told Henry all he needed to know, she was hurting just as much as him. Hearing her break tore his heart apart even more, he cursed himself daily for ever getting those divorce papers, he knew deep down it was all his fault.
'Missing you' was a simple but effective reply. One that caused a wave of sadness to drown them both. Her chest bent forward with the emotional weight as Henry lifted his head to try and blink away the tears which threatened to fall.
'Don't' Her words were barely a whisper as they escaped her lips but she pleaded so heavily, unable to take the emotional pain of his sadness too. Elizabeth knew the reason she struggled with that statement so much, it was because she felt the exact same. A longing for him had set in a while ago, and as each day passed it became more and more evident to her that the longing was incurable.
'So, are you going to tell me the real reason you've called?' He was direct but no amount of a firm tone could hide the lump in his throat. She thought about his question for a moment, a simple lie would save them both a little more heartache right now, but she felt compelled to be honest.
'I feel lonely,' she admitted quietly, but not so quietly that Henry didn't catch watch she said.
'I'm so sorry' he instantly sighed, his tears spilling down as he spoke in a much more emotional tone. 'So, So sorry Elizabeth' he began to choke on his tears, his sobs filtering through down the phone to Elizabeth where she lay motionless with silent tears streaming down her cheeks, holding back her sobs to protect him from the true depths of her pain. They both remained silent, neither knowing how to fix the other's broken heart anymore, something which had led them to this very moment in the first place. Despite all this hurt and longing between them they both knew it wasn't fixable, that's what made their hearts ache even more. It was like they were standing at opposite ends of a bridge watching the middle crumble away, unable to reach one another again.
Henry sniffled and cleared his throat, he slowly removed the phone from his ear as he wiped away his tears. He inhaled sharply before speaking to Elizabeth again. 'I just realised it's about 3am for you, you should get some rest' he sniffled.
'I can't sleep'
'Well, let me sit on the phone and talk to you until you fall asleep' he whispered lovingly to her. She nodded down the phone. Henry knew the silence was a yes so began to talk to her about anything and everything. 'I've always wanted to visit Paris you know, I've flown over it a few times and passed through but never stayed and took in the sights' he began. She smiled, listening to Henry talk away was always one of her favourite pastimes, it instantly nourished the soul.
'Where would you visit first?' She asked, her tiredness creeping in as she curled over and got comfy
'Probably the Eiffel Tower. I'd climb all the way to the top and then I'd be able to see the whole of Paris within my first stop' Her heart fluttered as he continued to speak. 'I'd like to think I'd climb all those steps but you and I both know it wouldn't happen, not with my back now' he chuckled. Elizabeth laughed along with him. A simple giggle but a sound that neither of them had heard for a very long time, so long in fact Elizabeth had convinced herself she had forgotten how to laugh.
'Tell me more' her soft slumber voice came through the phone, Henry knew from the sound of her voice that her eyes were heavy and she would fall asleep soon so he spoke in a lower tone, hushing her to sleep, endlessly talking about the delights Paris has to offer until eventually she had fallen asleep. He climbed into bed himself and looked at the phone, they had been talking for nearly an hour which was the longest they had even conversed with one another in months. He lay down and nuzzled his head into her pillow, then placed the phone, which was still connected to Elizabeth by his ear and listened to the soft breathing of her sleeping, his own lullaby. He eventually ended the call but never removed the phone from the pillow, it was like a part of her was tucked into bed with him and it made it that much easier to drift off.