Warning: Slight period-typical racism.
Classes make things more bearable. Like Henry hoped, he doesn't see William most days of the week and when he does, they're both working on their own projects. Of course, that doesn't stop William from being a massive pain in those moments, but it's far enough between that Henry can tolerate it.
He calls his parents every week with a quick update. It's usually short, since he doesn't have much happening past his classes and Fredbear. He also keeps any mention of William out of their discussions to avoid having to think about him more.
He tries to call Jen every time, but she never picks up. He's starting to think he should just save himself the coins, but whenever he's in the booth, his hopes rise and he wonders if maybe this is the time she'll pick up.
There's a mechanic's shop a mile away from campus that lets him work on Fredbear whenever he wants, so long as he helps work on cars as a part-time job. It's a blessing now that Henry is actually starting to assemble some of the body parts. The springlocks are still finicky and get stuck together more often than not, but this is why he's making the rough draft.
As August passes into October, then into November, Henry gets a pretty good rhythm going. He's working hard on his class work, making good progress with Fredbear and keeping his dorm life civil. He spends Halloween with a few other Engineering students from his classes -though, they're more acquaintances than anything. They go to a haunted house and watch some classics until Henry's so tired that he ends up just sleeping over. It's really nice and although waking up with not so close friends is awkward, it's still something he would consider doing again next year.
His birthday comes and goes almost without notice. In fact, he probably would've forgotten had his parents not sent three gifts through the mail. He calls them as soon as he remembers and he gets to laugh at his parent's horrible singing of the Happy Birthday song over the phone. He tries to call Jen again, hoping she's remembered his birthday, but it's another failure.
Now, it's just a few days before Thanksgiving and Henry's packing up enough stuff to visit his parents again. He thinks of bringing Fredbear to show them but eventually decides against it. It wouldn't be worth the trouble. Instead, he takes a few pictures of it on the camera they gave him for his birthday. It'll do for now.
As Henry starts packing his things into a suitcase, he pauses at the sound of William coming in. They don't give greeting. Henry stopped bothering after two weeks and William never really did it in the first place.
"Where are you going?" William asks. Henry doesn't look at him, still focused on packing up.
"I'm visiting my Mom and Dad for the holiday. You know, since Thanksgiving is on Thursday." He snaps the suitcase shut and pulls it over to his bed. He runs through a mental check list of everything he has, nodding quietly when he confirms he's finished.
"Oh, right. The other holiday where you eat. I must've confused it with the first six you Americans have."
So he's in that sort of mood today. Great. Henry tries to bite his tongue but it's been a long three months and he's starting to lose his polite nature. "Aren't you an American citizen now? You can't exactly make jabs like that at your own country." He should feel bad at the way William looks back with distaste, but he doesn't.
Four days with his parents. He'll be in New Harmony again with slightly warmer weather and no roommate to bother him. He can sleep in his own room and just enjoy his family.
With that reassurance, Henry grabs his suitcase and slips on his boots. They're getting more worn with how much work he does, but the scrapes and scratches make him smile. It reminds him of home.
"Take your time. You do have the whole week to spend, after all." William suddenly turns, a sly smile on his face. It's never a good sign. "And you could go away for winter break as well. Christmas and New Years with Mummy and Daddy? Doesn't that sound like fun?"
Henry thinks of just leaving, but he doesn't. He chuckles, sounding more than a little bitter, and stares right back into those bright eyes. "That's the most British thing I think you've ever said." He waits for William's face to fall before officially leaving.
The drive back is long and by the time Henry makes it into New Harmony, he's sick of seeing farm land. He's not sure how he missed it on his way to Logan, but there's basically nothing to look at the whole way there. Any city he does cross through is short lived and heavily overshadowed by more crops.
"Honey!" Mom calls before he's even out of the car and he fumbles to return her hug, already feeling better. "Oh, look at you! You're starting to grow a mustache!" She plays with it a little and he has to move her hands.
"Mom, stop that! You can't touch a man's facial hair like that!" She laughs and begins pulling him toward the house.
"You men and your facial hair. If us ladies took as much pride in our leg hair, the world would be a different place." Henry has no idea what that even means, but he does laugh along. She probably saved that joke just for him. The thought makes him smile and he steps inside with her. He'll grab his suitcase later.
Dad's sitting in an arm chair but once he sees them, he gets up slowly. Dad did mention his back starting to ache this past week and Henry hopes it's just the cold starting to set in. "Hey, Buddy! Look at you, growing up so much!" Henry's pulled into another hug and he returns it with just as much grace as the first time. "We've really missed you."
Henry can't help the way his eyes water. "I missed you too. Life's been really crazy out in Logan."
Dad lets him go with a pat on his back. "I'll bet. You tell your mother all about it while I get your suitcase, alright?" He leaves before Henry can protest and Mom takes is attention again, sitting him down on the old sofa.
"I made a list for Thanksgiving and I wanted to run it over with you." She goes through the kitchen, getting distracted for a minute, then remembers why she was there and returns with her list, as well as a plate of cookies. Henry smiles and takes the plate as she sits next to him. "Alright, so here's what I have right now. I'm thinking of downsizing this year to save us some kitchen space."
She says that every year and nothing really changes, but Henry still looks at the list. There's the basic things, like turkey, potatoes and gravy, stuffing, and the pies; but then new things start to show up. Corn with Aligue butter? Patis-glazed carrots? Adobo? Leche Flan?
"Mom? What's all this?" He's never heard of these things but when he points them out, his mom smiles excitedly.
"Well, I was going to tell you over the phone, but I wanted to make it a surprise." He tries not to frown. "A new family moved in a little while ago and I thought it would be nice to invite them over for Thanksgiving dinner!"
Henry gives her a small smile, about to respond, but then Dad comes back into the room. He takes the suitcase to Henry's old room and returns to his arm chair with a sigh. "What are you two talking about?"
"I was just telling him about how the Abads are coming over for Thanksgiving!" She turns back to Henry. "It took a while to convince your father. You know how he is with politics-"
"Molly, it wasn't like that! I just don't like new foods."
His parents go back and forth for a while, leaving Henry to soak in the information. While he's happy they're helping the new family feel welcome in their small town, he also doesn't want something new this year. That's why he came back for Thanksgiving in the first place; to have a normal Thanksgiving. He wanted to spend time with his parents and eat the same stuff they do ever year.
Why is everything changing so much?
"Henry?" He jumps and looks at his mom. "So, what do you think?"
He's not sure whether she's talking about the new family or the food list. "Um, I think it's good." He says, hoping it can cover both topics. "Yeah, it's good. I'll..." He stands up and heads to his old room, already feeling tired. "I'll put my stuff away for now. Tell me if you need anything." He closes the door behind him.
Even with just the basics, the kitchen turns into a train wreck as soon as they start cooking. Mom does the turkey while Henry and Dad do the rest. Henry remembers the year when Mom was too sick to cook the turkey and they ended up burning it. Since then, Dad's been banned from even touching the bird.
The Abads arrive just as Dad's finishing the gravy. Mom welcomes them and takes the dishes they brought, letting them down next to the others. It's a little odd with the traditional American foods mixed with Filipino ones, but Henry can't deny that it does look good.
At 4:00 sharp, they all sit around the small Emily dinning table. They're pressed so close together that Henry's rubbing elbows with a six year old and his mom. It's awkward and the poor girl tries to scoot away, but her brother makes faces whenever she does. Henry gives her an apologetic smile as she accepts her fate.
"Well, since we're all here, who would like to pray?" Dad looks around the table, his eyes landing on Henry, but Mrs. Abad raises her hand. "Oh, um, good!" There's an awkward silence for a moment, then they all close their eyes and cross their arms.
She speaks with an accent, but her words are fluent. The prayer is short but sweet and as soon as it sends, the kids start reaching for the food. Mr. Abad waves them away and starts dishing up his family and Dad does the same for them.
"Darling, could you get me some of those carrots? Oh, and some Adobo too! Thank you." She takes her plate and Henry watches with growing anxiety as the gravy almost falls off the edge.
"What about you, Henry?" Dad motions toward the Filipino dishes and Henry hesitates.
"Um, a little bit of everything, I guess." Henry glances toward Mrs. Adab, who just gives him a sweet smile. It helps Henry relax and once his plate is also full, he takes it carefully.
Really, it doesn't look very odd. All of it is recognizable to him, especially the corn, but he has no idea what to expect from it. Will it be spicy or sweeter?
He waits for Mom to eat first. She takes a big bite and immediately praises it. It gives some reassurance. Mom could never fake liking someone's food. So, Henry goes after and he finds that it really is good. It doesn't taste like Thanksgiving, but it doesn't have to. He quietly gives his own praise and it's enough to make Dad try some as well, which is surprising in itself.
Dinner drags on and Henry doesn't really listen to any of the conversation. He catches that the Abads moved to New Harmony from California and that all of them have been here for about three years besides Mr. Abads, who just got another visa. Once they stray onto other things, like the local town and the things they can find in Utah, Henry stands up from his seat and washes his now empty plate off. The kids left a little while ago to play in the front room, so Henry retreats back to his bedroom.
He sits on the bed with a sigh. It feels like he's always tired now-a-days. He hoped that would change after coming back to New Harmony but if anything, he's more exhausted. Then again, he could blame it on being full more often than not. His mother does feed him better than he feeds himself. He hasn't skipped a single meal since he got back and it's starting to show.
William's comment pops into his head and Henry lays down on his side. Should he really come back for Christmas and New Years too? He's sure his parents would love it, but what if it's the same? What if he's still tired and stuck in a mood over those three weeks as well? What if things never go back to how they were before he left?
Henry looks at the phone on his nightstand, his thoughts falling on Jen. Maybe she would understand this. Maybe that's why she never visits or returns his calls. She doesn't want to be stuck with this feeling like she doesn't belong at home anymore.
He sits up and dials the number without much thought. He almost doesn't even listen for the ringing that follows, but he still has his naïve hope. Maybe she'll answer because it's the home phone and not a random number.
She doesn't pick up.
Henry sets the phone down and lays back again, his eyes drooping from the disappointment. Did he do something when he last called? She wouldn't tell him if there was a problem. She's just like that, never wanting to address the issue right in front of them. He's starting to see her differently now than he did before. At least when he was living with Mom and Dad, he could see that she answered their calls most of the time. He could hear her voice coming from the phone. But now that it's just him, he doesn't know what to do.
There's a knock on his door and Henry sits up. Dad peeks his head in. "Hey, we're getting dessert out if you want some."
"Yeah, I'll be right in." Dad nods and closes the door, leaving Henry alone again. He sits there for another minute, still not sure what to do about Jen, but then he shakes it from his mind and goes out to get dessert. She'll answer eventually, he's sure. He just has to wait until that time comes.
"Oh, we hate to see you leave again." Mom cries as she holds Henry tight, not letting him take a single step away. He holds her back just as tightly, though. "It was so nice having you over and I hope you come out for Christmas too. It really wouldn't be the same without you."
"I'll see about it. They still haven't talked about Winter Break yet and I need to check up with the mechanics too. They might not give me the time off."
"If they don't, you get me on the phone and I'll tell them a thing or two! No one-"
"Molly, don't get him fired." Dad joins the hug instead of pulling them away. Henry feels a large hand ruffle his hair and he looks up. "But really, it would be great to have you over again. I'm sure you could use a few extra pounds on you."
Henry flushes and pulls away. "Dad, come on. I didn't get that skinny." He tugs at his shirt nervously, too aware of how his stomach pokes out.
"I'm only teasing. You look just fine."
They go quiet for a moment as Mom gives him the left overs from Thanksgiving. He got to keep some Adobo and most of the apple pie. "You'll share with William, won't you? I'm sure he could use some good cooking too."
Henry resists the urge to laugh. He definitely won't be sharing any of this. "Sure thing, Mom." He gives them each one last hug. Then, he walks back towards the car and gets into the driver's seat, setting the food aside. He waves at them before driving away and this time, it's easier not to look back.
So, I will be keeping it to just Henry's pov. It's the best for storytelling as well as the tension, which I know you guys love.