Chapter 28:
With Abigail and Henry now in the latter's apartment, the town's current mayor was surprised to find that the place seemed oddly impersonal. Nothing seemed to show that Henry lived in this apartment. No photos, no memories, nothing. Just clothes stored here and there.
As Henry opened a bag and stuffed some things into it, Abigail walked over to Henry's bed. A bedside table was there on which was placed a simple frame containing a photo. She took it and looked at it for a few moments.
"This is your son?" Abigail suddenly asked.
Henry stopped putting his things away and walked over to Abigail. He took the frame in his hands and looked at it in turn. In the black and white photo, a very young boy could be seen in the lap of a very young Henry Gowen.
"He is my son, yes. He must have been barely 5 years old." Henry said with a voice full of regret.
"Have you heard from him since you sent him the letter?"
Henry looked at her hesitantly.
"No… no I haven't heard from him." He put the frame down, clearing his throat and walked back to his bag to buckle it up. "Let's go?" he tried to return to his usual expression.
He did not know why he had not mentioned the open letter to Abigail. To be completely honest, he had forgotten about it during his illness, the infirmary, and the coffee. But now, seeing his son's photo again, he immediately felt bad. He did not want to talk about it. Or at least not now.
Abigail looked at him as he tried to put on a smile that seemed fake. She did not know why he suddenly looked so sad, but she suspected it was about his son. Maybe he said something that hurt him. But she would talk about this with him only when he broached the subject himself. When he wanted to talk about it. So, she just smiled and followed him outside.
As he walked down the main street. They ran into Elizabeth.
"Henry! Abigail!" she screamed, running towards them. "I heard Henry passed out this morning, are you okay?"
"All is well, Elizabeth, thank you." he replied, smiling at the teacher.
"We are just waiting for his results and in the meantime, he will come and live with me. Carson didn't want him to leave the infirmary unless he wasn't left alone." Abigail shook her head.
"It was a good idea to welcome him to your home. You'll see, Henry, living with Abigail is exceptional." Elizabeth smiled at Henry.
"I am already sure that it will be exceptional." he said, laughing heartily, the morose mood of the letter being opened and being sent back by his son having subsided a little bit.
"How was class today?" Abigail questioned.
"The kids were a little restless today as Christmas approached. They only think about the play they are going to play in front of the city."
"It's true, Cody only talks to me about that anymore."
"We will soon start rehearsing." Elizabeth assured. "Okay, I'll leave you, I have to pick up baby Jack at Laura's."
The young woman smiled and waved at the couple and walked over to where Abigail and Henry had come from. They started walking again, still heading towards the café. When they pushed the door open, Cody was already having his self-prepared snack.
"I'm sorry, Cody, I didn't have time to make your snack for you." Abigail said sadly to her son.
"It's okay mom!" he smiles as he gets up and takes his mother in his arms. "Hello, Mr. Henry! Are you coming for dinner tonight?"
"In fact, I'm coming to live with you for a few days."
Henry saw the boy's face light up.
"That's great! You'll see! We will have lots of fun."
"Henry needs to rest, Cody, he mustn't try too hard." Abigail informed as Henry laughed at the young boy's enthusiasm.
"Okay, okay… But it's still great." he smiled before sitting down and resuming eating.
"Come on, Henry, I'll show you your room and then I'll have to go back and clean up before evening service."
Henry nodded and followed Abigail up the stairs, his bag in hand.
Note: Henry and Abigail are going to live together for a few days with Clara and Cody! How could it be?