Chapter 24
“Did you talk to him?” Sydney asked her husband when he returned to the kitchen.
Michael nodded and walked closer to her so he could speak quietly. “He says you hate him – we both do…and that no one cares about him anymore, so he wanted to get rid of Annie so we would love him again,” Michael said to her.
“That’s ridiculous. Of course we love him! He just needs to realize that he has a sister now, and we cannot focus all our attention on him; we have to share it between him and Annie,” Sydney said simply as she set dinner plates out on the table.
“Well, yes that’s part of it but-” Michael cut himself off when Henry walked in the room; their discussion would have to wait until later.
Dinner that night was very silent, save a few gurgles from Annie. The second Henry was finished eating, he left the table and disappeared into the other room to make up for the TV watching he missed out on during his punishment. At this point, Michael felt it safe to continue the conversation he had been having with his wife.
“Syd I think… I think that while what Henry did was very wrong and he should not have done it, he does have a point,” Michael said.
“What do you mean?” Sydney questioned as she lifted Annie out of her carrier and set her down on her lap.
“Well, I mean that ever since Annie was born you haven’t spent much time at all with Henry. I was always the one who took Henry to the park and played with him and you just took care of Annie,” Michael said.
“Well what am I supposed to do Michael? She’s a baby. It’s not like you can breastfeed her!” Sydney exclaimed, slightly annoyed. Annie was tiny and helpless; Sydney couldn’t just leave her alone. She had to be there to take care of her.
“Yes I realize that,” he grumbled slightly. “But I can take her and watch her for a few hours while you spend time with Henry. C’mon,” he said, holding out his hands to take the baby. Sydney pulled away from her husband, locking her arms around Annie. “Sydney,” he said warningly. “You have to spend time with Henry.”
“I just spent all day with him. Annie needs me too, you know,” Sydney said, cuddling the baby tighter.
“Sydney what’s the deal here? I mean… do…do you really not like Henry anymore now that you have a daughter?” he asked. Normally the thought would have never crossed his mind, but Sydney did seem to go out of her way not to spend time with Henry, using Annie as her excuse to hide behind.
“Don’t be ridiculous!” Sydney snapped. Her tone was incredibly defensive, but that was only because deep down she knew Michael had a point. While she would never stop loving her son, she was reveling in having her daughter there with her. She did favor spending time with Annie over spending time with Henry, and not just because Annie needed her more either. While with Annie, she would muse about the future when she would be able to braid Annie’s long dark hair down her back, or when she could dress her up in adorable clothing with matching shoes so that she looked like a perfect little princess. Sydney could relate more to her daughter simply because they were both female. When Henry was younger, the two of them got along just fine, but as he grew older their tastes obviously changed. Henry liked to do ‘boy’ things, just like Michael, so Sydney felt this was a perfect exchange. Only upon hearing differently from her husband did she come to a rather shocking revelation.
“Please give me Annie?” Michael asked softly. “C’mon. I had a long day at work and I could use a nice little cuddle.”
With a half smile, Sydney passed over her youngest child and then walked into the other room, where Henry was lounging on the couch. “Hey,” Sydney said cheerfully when she sat down beside her son. “You wanna play a game or something?”
“No,” Henry said sounding very indifferent.
“Are you sure?” Sydney asked. Henry shook his head. “Okay then, we’ll just sit here…” She sighed and sat back against the couch cushions, casually glancing over at the TV to see a cartoon that she did not recognize playing on the screen. A moment later, she heard Annie whimper and nearly shot off the couch to rush to her side, but she restrained herself and stayed seated.
Ten minutes later, nearly being strangled by silence, Sydney spoke once more. “Henry, I’m sorry I yelled at you today. I was just really scared that something had happened to Annie. You know what you did was wrong, don’t you Henry?”
“Yes,” he said in a very quiet voice.
“Your dad told me that you said that I don’t love you anymore. That’s not true Henry, not true at all. I love you very much and I’m sorry if we haven’t been spending a lot of time together.”
“’s okay,” he mumbled while shrugging.
“No, no it’s not okay,” Sydney said firmly. “It’s not okay and we’re going to fix it. How about you and I set aside a special time together – let’s say at least half an hour a day Daddy will take Annie and you and I can do whatever you want. What do you say about that? Wouldn’t that be nice?” she asked with a hopeful smile.
“Yeah I guess,” Henry nodded with a half smile.
“Good,” Sydney said before leaning over and kissing his cheek.
Immediately Henry rubbed the spot her lips had touched with the palm of his hand, grimacing the whole time. “Ew! Mom! Don’t kiss me!” he whined.
“Why can’t I kiss you?!” Sydney asked, mocking extreme offense. Henry only grimaced further so she leaned over and kissed him again, then proceeded to tickled his chest and armpits. Henry laughed wildly and begged his mother to stop. Finally, she did and then he settled back on the couch to continue watching his cartoon. That time, though, he had a huge grin across his face.
Epilogue
“So where’s Annie at this afternoon?” twenty-two-year-old Henry asked his mother as he dug into yet another slice of home cooked cherry pie. With his busy academic schedule, he rarely had time to visit home except on designated school holidays. However, when there was fresh pie and a mountain of laundry to do, he usually managed to find a Sunday afternoon free.
“She went to the mall with some friend,” Sydney told him casually.
“And that boy,” Michael added with a growl.
Henry’s ears perked at this. “Boy? What boy?! Why is she out with a boy?! She’s only thirteen!! WHY DID YOU LET HER GO OUT WITH A BOY?!” he exclaimed. This, of course, was an extreme overreaction, but in the later years of his life, Henry had realized just how important his sister was to him and had become very protective over her. Since he was away at college, he did not play as active a roll in her life as he would have liked to and this was the first he had heard of any coed social activities she was involved in.
“She’s not on a date; she’s too young to date,” Michael insisted firmly.
“Relax you two; she’s out with a few friends and parents,” Sydney informed them. “And you realize Annie has to date one day.”
“No she doesn’t,” both Henry and Michael responded in unison. “I’ll find her a boyfriend,” Henry continued, “when she’s twenty-five.”
“Oh well let’s be fair,” Michael back tracked. “Make it twenty-two.”
Sydney rolled her eyes dramatically. “You two are horrible; you’re trying to destroy her life.”
“No we’re not,” the men insisted. Sydney merely shook her head.
sorry i didnt give you a warning guys but i forgot honestly!
hmmmmmm i dont think i have time to post a new fic tomorrow...so i'll do it later tonight and it will be "A Helping Hand"