Henry's End

by Julie Richman

  Kami laughed, clearly loving that she was torturing Seth. “You seriously didn’t notice the night before the wedding when it was just the gang of us sitting around the table out on the deck drinking champagne?”

  “Notice what?” Seth had his puss face on.

  “He was hanging on your every word, Seth.”

  “No, he wasn’t.” He waved a dismissive hand at her.

  “You know me better than that. If he totally wasn’t into you, I would say that to you.”

  “So you thought he was into me?” Seth’s big brown eyes were wide, waiting for reassurance.

  “I definitely do; but here’s the thing, put yourself in his shoes.”

  “I’d rather put myself in his pants,” he muttered.

  Kami sat back and laughed. Seth Shapiro was one amusing man. “Seriously Seth, here’s a guy who basically knew nobody there. He knew Schooner and Schooner’s parents. He hadn’t seen Mia in over twenty years. OK, and he probably knows Holly and Zac, too. But that’s it. And then there’s this extremely loud New York crowd who apparently have this very close and dysfunctional relationship.”

  Although she’d been a Manhattanite for twenty-five years, Kami was a southern debutante from Birmingham, Alabama, and the sweet drawl had never left her voice. “And have you ever listened to this group? It sounds like a busload of old ladies at a chicken market in the Caribbean.”

  Seth laughed, “I guess we’re not the shyest crowd on the planet.” He seemed proud.

  “So as I was saying, put yourself in his shoes. He’s the total stranger in the crowd, we all have a lot of history. We work together. We socialize with one another. We’re all a family. I think he did very well under those circumstances.”

  “And you think he liked me?” Seth hated how needy that sounded the minute it came out of his mouth.

  “Seth, you are like the mayor. You run everything. Everyone knows you. You’re at the center of everything and you had us all marching to attention last weekend. You are a force to be reckoned with. And you just don’t give a damn what walls are in front of you, you put your head down and charge through them.”

  “Ugh, you make me sound like a farm animal. Do you think I scared him?”

  “No. I think he was just trying to get a read on you.”

  Seth sighed, looking forlorn.

  Shaking her head with a smile, “In over twenty years, I have never seen you react this way.”

  “I felt like I knew him, Kami, and I couldn’t understand why he didn’t know me.”

  “Wow,” she was struck by his raw candor.

  “And we don’t know anything about the guy.”

  “Oh, but we do,” Kami disagreed.

  “What? What do we know?”

  “We know some really important things,” she paused and laughed at the face Seth was giving her. “He’s been Schooner’s friend all these years. Schooner, a huge control freak, trusts this man to run his vast west coast operations, or maybe I should say, empire. We know he was Mia’s friend first in college and she introduced him to Schooner, and from the reaction she had when she saw him again, after all those years, well, the word overjoyed doesn’t do it justice. If the two of them love this man so much, then I think we’ve just met the latest member of our little dysfunctional family.”

  Seth picked up his phone and looked at the picture again. “There’s something about him, Kami.”

  She smiled at her friend. “Well, enjoy the opportunity to find out exactly what it is. Why don’t you give Yoli a call? Find out if she’s transitioned the advertising and marketing over to him yet. She may not have, just because she probably doesn’t want to overwhelm him. But just let her know that you’ll be available to work with him directly, and get him up to speed, so that it’s one less thing she’s got on her plate as she picks up Schooner’s responsibilities.”

  “Yeah, but you usually do the day-to-day stuff on the L9 account.”

  “In the name of love, I am officially sharing it with you.”

  “OK, I’ll call her in the morning and make the offer.”

  “She’ll be thrilled. You just took a headache off her hands.

  He snickered, “Well, I’d like to make his head ache in my hands.”

  There was just something about Henry Clark and Seth Shapiro had to know if he’d felt anything, too.

  Almost 8 P.M. on Wednesday night and Seth sat in the quiet of his office, looking at the lights of lower Manhattan and the Freedom Tower. He hadn’t spoken to Mia in over a week, arriving at the office one morning just after she’d called in. Schooner had taken her on a honeymoon sailing trip on their boat, headed up the coast to capture fall foliage and the Northern Lights.

  “I just hung up with Mia,” Kami had told him when he got to the office that morning. “Try her cell, they might still be in port. The signal wasn’t great, but she definitely wanted to talk to you, too.”

  “She knows my cell number.” The news did nothing to improve his mood. Sitting down at his desk, he tried her cell, but it went right to voicemail, and his mood became even fouler.

  “So what did she have to say?” he asked Kami later that day.

  She laughed, “I wondered when you were going to ask. She said they’re having a great time, but she misses the kids and she misses us. She sounded like she was ready to come home. You know Mia, she doesn’t do well with the whole relaxing thing.”

  “BBC relaxed is an oxymoron.”

  Early on in their friendship, when Seth had given Mia the nickname ‘BBC’, she returned the favor with her pet name for him, ‘Princess’. Having survived breathtaking highs and gut wrenching lows, the two had a relationship that was thicker than blood. Oftentimes words were not needed between them, yet the other instinctively knew what was being thought.

  As he sat in the quiet office, everyone gone for the evening, Seth thought about how different things felt without Mia around. The energy felt incomplete. And in some ways, he felt incomplete.

  He literally jumped in his chair as his thoughts were broken by his desk phone ringing.

  “M. Silver and Associates. This is Seth Shapiro.”

  “I somehow knew you’d still be there and would pick up the phone. I’m sure everyone else has gone for the evening.”

  “Am I that predictable?” He sat back in his chair, smiling.

  The soft laugh on the other end of the line felt like a caress, and he actually felt himself pressing his cheek into the phone, as if it would bring them physically closer.

  “Well, I don’t know you well enough to really answer that. But my gut tells me there’s nothing predictable about you.”

  Seth smiled into the phone. He had put off calling Yoli to offer help, feeling as if he’d look too transparent, so this call was a surprise. “How are you doing, is everything falling into place for you out there?”

  “Oh, so you do know who you’re talking to?” he sounded amused.

  I’ve been trying to remember in my head for eleven days what your voice sounded like and the minute I heard it, it felt like yesterday since I’d heard it last and there was no doubt that it was you. And now my eleven days of pissyness is officially over. You called me.

  Sigh.

  “Well, if you had started out with some heavy breathing I just would have thought it was the usual suspects.”

  Laughing, “I’d never want to be lumped in with the usual suspects.”

  Mister you don’t get lumped in with anyone I’ve ever met.

  Seth laughed, “Well, that would depend on your kink factor.”

  There was silence on the other end of the line and Seth immediately wanted to smack himself. Had he stepped over the line? After all, this was business even though the core executive groups of Schooner and Mia’s organizations were like one big, crazy family. He was still an outsider, the new guy. He hadn’t been privy to the way they all joked around with one another.

  “See, you’re definitely not predictable.”

  Phew … he took t
hat in stride.

  “So seriously,” Seth asked, “how are you doing?”

  “I’m good. It kind of took me a little bit after I got back from New York to feel settled in again.”

  “Why is that?” Seth wanted to know everything about him.

  “Well, I think it was a couple of things. Starting a new job, and then having a break, that although the break had a business aspect to it, it was primarily pleasure and it kind of halted the groove I had going. And while it was great meeting everyone, it was also really hard to leave everyone in New York and be the sole guy to come back here. You’re all together there.”

  “Watch what you wish for.” Seth tried to lighten the moment, but had the distinct feeling that Henry Clark had been feeling as out of sorts as he had since Schooner and Mia’s wedding.

  Laughing, “That’s probably very good advice.”

  “Well I’ve got plenty of that to dole out.”

  “Good, that’s what I was hoping,” and his tone immediately became business-like. “I noticed on the calendar that there is a photo shoot set-up for three weeks from now to redesign brochures. I asked Yoli about it and she said to work with you and Kami and that you’d help me through the process. I’m not a marketing guy, so I’ve never done this before.”

  “I’m just pulling up the production schedule for you.” Seth scanned the data on his laptop. “It looks like you’ve got Scott Hoover booked for a three-day shoot, multi-locations, a generic brochure and then a few facility specific pamphlets. Have you talked to Scott yet?”

  “No, I haven’t.”

  “Well, he’s very easy to work with and has done multiple L9 projects, so he’ll need to know concepts, goals and things of that nature, but he’ll be fairly self-sufficient. I’m going to have our art department get you and Yoli some comps and once we’ve got the basic promotion worked out, we’ll start on model recruitment. Scott can help with that piece.”

  “This sounds overwhelming.”

  “It’s really not. After the first one, you’ll feel like a pro.”

  “Will one of you be on-site for this?” The discomfort was evident in his voice.

  “Kami and Mia have been handling L9 personally, so don’t worry, one or both of them will come out and take over everything. You’ll just have to follow the bouncing ball with those two little control freaks.”

  “You’re not involved with this side of things?” he asked.

  Seth laughed, “Oh please, I’m involved with everything.”

  “Well, maybe you could be involved with this.”

  Rarely at a loss for words, Seth sat there with his mouth hanging open. The man whose picture he had been staring at for days wanted him to personally help out.

  “Would you be more comfortable if I was?” Seth wanted so badly to hear him say it.

  “Yes, I would.”

  Henry was direct and didn’t beat around the bush. Seth found that very attractive.

  “Then consider it done.”

  “Great.” There was relief in his voice.

  “And, Henry…”

  “Yes?”

  “Don’t feel bad about not being here with us. You’ll have so much contact with Schooner and Yoli for the operations piece and the MS&A staff for the marketing and advertising, you’ll forget that we’re not just down the hall.”

  “Hmm,” he paused, “I don’t think I’ll be forgetting that you’re not near.”

  Is he talking business? What exactly is going on here?

  “Let me give you some numbers to reach me. Don’t hesitate to call me if you have any questions about anything.” Seth gave him his cell and home numbers.

  “Yeah, I’ll be right there,” Henry was talking to someone at L9. “Hey Seth, I need to go put out a fire. Thanks for walking me through this and for helping to get it all set up.”

  “Anytime,” he was trying not to sound sad that the conversation was ending.

  Henry laughed, “You just gave me your personal numbers so you probably shouldn’t be telling me anytime.”

  “Like I said, anytime,” Seth reiterated.

  “I’ll keep that in mind.” And he was gone.

  You do that. But Seth’s gut told him Henry would keep it just a business relationship, and he’d only hear from him here in the office.

  Later in the evening, as he sat on the deck off the back of his brownstone in Brooklyn Heights, Seth stared off into the night, his eyes trained on the Manhattan skyline and the newly erected Freedom Tower. Although, that’s not what he was seeing. In his mind’s eye, he was seeing the man he’d met almost two weeks before at Schooner and Mia’s wedding and he was hearing something he had recently told Mia.

  He wanted to find his Schooner. He was ready.

  We have been through so much, but we came through it. And here you are, about to marry your true love, a guy who came back for you because he was as broken without you as you were without him. He stayed married to someone he didn’t love because he didn’t want to feel, and you almost drove yourself over the edge trying to feel, something, anything. But I have to tell you, you two are not broken when you are together. You complement each other’s strengths and fill in the gaps of each other’s weaknesses. You guys dream together and then turn it into reality. I know what I want now, Mia. I want to find the other half of me. My Schooner.

  Swirling the dark ruby colored cabernet around his wine glass, he wondered did Henry just show up at a time when he was vulnerable and lonely? Or was it some divine providence that he was finally ready, after all these years, to change his priorities and build a future with that special someone, and this enigmatic man just appeared out of the blue?

  Finishing off the robust, oaky wine in his glass, he decided that it wasn’t Henry Clark – he was ready, that was the bottom line. He was finally ready to settle into a real relationship of his own, and Henry was just a handsome man who had shown up on an extremely emotional day when he was literally giving away his best friend.

  It could have been anyone who showed up that day, he told himself. It just happened to be Henry. And he was hot and gay.

  Picking up the wine bottle, he refilled his glass. For years, friends, business acquaintances, mothers of friends, had always tried to set him up. There were a few men in his life, who were just close friends, that he could count on when he needed a ‘date’ for a function. But there had been no one special, no one that made him look at his phone, and will it to ring, as he’d been doing for days.

  It’s time to put the word out that I’m looking, he decided. Finally. People will be shocked and happy, he mused and most would attribute it to losing his best friend to marriage. The truth was, Mia and Schooner had been back together for a while now, so it wasn’t their marriage precipitating this – it was the relationship that made them decide to finally marry. And that is what he wanted.

  Picking up his cellphone off the small wrought iron table next to him, he looked at his darkened phone. Henry now had his cell number and he knew his phone’s silence was going to drive him insane.

  Why didn’t I get his number? He shook his head. I’m out of practice.

  He began to loathe his silent phone as the next few days passed, looking at it obsessively, as if it were a mute jailer, refusing to use the key to free him from exile.

  It was 4:12 A.M. three nights and three very long, pissy, moody days later, when the sound of a text coming through woke him.

  Reaching over to the nightstand, he grabbed his cell and glasses. Area code (619) and a number. No name was attached to the contact record. It wasn’t anyone in his address book.

  Smiling, he reread the single word message a few times.

  Anytime

  He now had his number. Sitting up in bed, he smiled at the phone, his wonderful hope-bearing phone. It was 1:12 A.M. in San Diego and Henry Clark was thinking about him. He was awake and thinking of him three days later. That was a damn good sign.

  Sleep was Seth’s one word response.

  H: S
orry. I woke you.

  Seth smiled at the message. There was only one answer for that. Anytime

  H: ☺

  Shocked that his heart could actually be soaring over receiving a smiley face, snarky, sarcastic Seth Shapiro was certain he would wake up in a few hours to his alarm, check his horrible, little tease of a phone and find no trace of the conversation. If he’d dreamed this, he was going to be super pissed-off.

  H: Seth

  S: Yes

  H: I’m sorry I woke you

  S: I’m not

  H: You’re not?

  S: No.

  H: I’m smiling

  S: Me too

  H: Call tomorrow?

  S: Yeah. Night Henry

  H: Night Seth

  This had better be on my phone in the morning, Seth rolled back over. Smiling to himself as he settled back into his pillows, who knew this could happen - anytime?

  Henry Clark liked to text. That was Seth’s observation and he was OK with it. As long as the communication kept going, he didn’t care what medium was used, he felt like the door was finally open – and he wanted to ram through it and knock it down.

  H: Hey, if you talk to Schooner, can you find out if he can come out during the photoshoot?

  S: Oh, please, I have not spoken to either one of them since they left on their Robinson Crusoe adventure.

  H: LOL. Well, if you do get a chance, tell him if he comes out, I’d like to throw a birthday party for Edwin.

  Edwin? Who the fuck is Edwin? Seth’s mood took an immediate nosedive. And how could I ever be jealous of someone with the unfortunate name of Edwin?

  S: If I hear from them, I’ll ask.

  Figuring Schooner and Mia would eventually hit a port and texts would come through, Seth left Mia a message. Who the fuck is Edwin?

  Seven hours later, as he was wrapping up for the day, his cell buzzed. Henry’s Edwin?

  His heart sank. Henry’s Edwin.

  S: Yes.

  M: Schooner is laughing. He said it’s you in 30 years.

  S: Fuck you, both. What the hell does that mean?

  M: He says you’ll love Edwin and that you are Edwin.