Chapter Text
The first time it happened, Henry had just gotten back from work. He had already finished any homework he had for the week and just wanted to relax for a while. He was calmly but happily lying in bed reading a book, when a diiiiiing! disrespectfully interrupted him.
[Unknown number]
Hi! It's Alex
We met at the library
the other day 😁
Henry stared a his phone for a few seconds, trying to remember an Alex but nothing came to mind. Was it a new coworker or something? No, he would remember the name. He always did. Plus, no one new had been hired so it didn't make sense to have forgotten anybody.
Hello
Sorry, I don't think
I know an Alex
He saw 3 bubbles pop up, but soon stopped. Maybe it was a mistake. He put the phone back on his bed and was about to continue reading when another diiiiing! caught his attention. It was the same number again.
[Unknown number]
I'm the guy who was
also stressing out about
the fleming book lol
He frowned. That made even less sense. Fleming book? Had he sold one of those these past few days? He didn't think so. Not that many people asked for those, which was absolutely ridiculous. Even if it wasn't his style, classics shall never be forgotten. But anyway, back to the message. He quickly put the phone down and grabbed his laptop where he kept record of every single book sold and books people had asked about and they promised they would order soon. He had everything on his laptop. He loved his job and was proud of doing it well. He worked at a place that was part bookstore —with a small library on the side— and part coffee shop. He loved it, it was the most entertaining and beautiful placed he had ever worked at. He double checked and sure enough, there was no Fle– wait a second. If it was in fact a customer... how did he get his phone number? It wasn't like Henry went around giving everybody his number.
Sorry, how did you
get my number?
He was internally freaking out now. Was his number in a receipt or something? No, that didn't make sense, why would it? Had somebody asked for it at some point? He didn't remember anybody asking. Well, there was the occasional girl trying to shoot her shot but he had never accepted. Girls weren't exactly his thing. He had always smiled and declined politely. Unless... somebody gave a customer his number for him. Did Pez–? No, there's no way. He wouldn't do that. Playing cupid and matching him with some guy he thought was cute was definitely something Pez had tried to do in the past, more times than he'd like to admit, but this was a bit far. He wouldn't do that without actually talking to him first, right? That'd be messed up. But... okay, just to be sure. He was about to call his best friend when a new message from this Alex guy popped up.
[Unknown number]
You gave me your number...
Henry looked at his phone dumbfounded. There was no way. He would absolutely remember doing that. Specially since it never happened.
I don't think I did
[Unknown number]
Ok this is getting
embarrassing now
[Unknown number]
If you changed your
mind or something
[Unknown number]
I'd rather you tell me
than play dumb
I'm not trying
to play dumb
I just don't think
I've given my
number to
anybody
How did you say
we met again?
Going over a book?
[Unknown number]
I was trying to
understand the
fleming book but
was getting stressed out
[Unknown number]
You happened to be
reading the same one
and came over to me
[Unknown number]
And we went over
the book together
[Unknown number]
We spent hours
talking about it first
[Unknown number]
Then other stuff
[Unknown number]
So you are either
fucking with me
[Unknown number]
Or you have some
type of amnesia
and need to get
it checked
Nothing made sense. He did often talk to customers about books they were selling at the bookstore, answering questions or even telling them what certain books were about when they couldn't decide which one to buy. He also talked to customers in the library area sometimes, but this seemed a little more... personal, which is not something he would do. As much as he would love to talk about books for hours, they never had only one customer, so he was always talking to a lot of people and trying to help everybody with what they needed. He could tell the guy was getting frustrated —understandably— so he tried to explain himself. He did feel kind of bad about the whole situation.
Sorry Alex.
I really don't
remember
any of that.
But I usually talk
to a lot of people at
the library so
please don't take
this personal.
Do you mind telling
me which Fleming
book it was?
[Unknown number]
Just say you changed
your mind
[Unknown number]
It's embarrassing
enough as it is
I promise that's not it
But like I said I talk
to a lot of people
on a daily basis so
I don't always remember
everybody... Sorry
Which Fleming
book was it?
[Unknown number]
Ok, you are definitely
fucking with me one
way or the other
[Unknown number]
You described yourself
as a bit of a loner
[Unknown number]
Which we related on
[Unknown number]
And now you are saying
you talk to a lot of people
in the library
[Unknown number]
You can't even keep your
story straight
Henry started to feel guiltier. If this really was a customer, he truly didn't want to upset him and he was definitely doing that. He kept closing his eyes and scratching his head trying to remember the encounter but his mind was blank. He simply could not remember a) talking to a customer about a Fleming book, and b) giving his number to anybody!
[Unknown number]
I shouldn't have texted
[Unknown number]
I won't bother you again
Wait
If you just tell me
which book
it was I'm sure
I'll remember
[Unknown number]
I already told you...
[Unknown number]
The fleming book
I know
but there
are many
[Unknown number]
???
Was it a book
about Fleming
or was it one of
his 007 books?
[Unknown number]
Again
[Unknown number]
???????
I don't understand
what's confusing
about my question
[Unknown number]
What are you even on?
[Unknown number]
Where did 007 come from?
The author you
mentioned
[Unknown number]
I don't see how that has
anything to do with
what I've said
I apologize
Was it not
Ian Fleming?
Was it maybe
Thomas Fleming?
[Unknown number]
Ok
[Unknown number]
What the actual fuck
are you taking about?
I get that you are mad
But there's no
need to be rude
It'd be easier if you just
told me which book/author
you said we talked about
[Unknown number]
Hold on
[Unknown number]
[Unknown number]
Do you now get my ????
[Unknown number]
Because ??????
[Unknown number]
?????
The less sense the conversation with Alex made the more sense things started to make in Henry's head. The situation was so bizarre, it had to be a huge mistake. He kind of felt bad for him. Not only was it embarrassing but the poor guy seemed to be invested in whoever he thought he was talking to, judging by how detailed he remembered their encounter.
Alex, right?
[Unknown number]
Come on
[Unknown number]
Just cut the crap
Who do you think
you are talking to?
[Unknown number]
Alright you don't need
to mother me
[Unknown number]
That's how I talk
Henry chuckled. The poor guy...
No, I mean
Who do you think
you are talking to?
Alex stopped replying after that. Henry sighed after staring at his phone for a while and went back to his book, thinking that maybe Alex had realized his mistake and had decided to leave their conversation at that. He continued reading what he intended to be just a couple of chapters when he noticed his eyes started to hurt. He looked out his window and noticed it was dark. What? Already? The natural light was pretty much gone and he hadn't even realized. No wonder his eyes hurt. He closed his book a little annoyed, blaming Alex for making him waste the majority of the afternoon. Because it was obviously his fault. Because Henry had never gotten hooked on a book and read it for hours nonstop before without realizing. No, never. Pffff.
He got up and went downstairs. He saw his dad in the living room, still watching TV. He hadn't moved since he saw him this afternoon after coming home from work. He smiled. Whatever he was watching was probably very interesting.
"Hi, dad" He said standing by the door frame, but his dad didn't answer. "Dad?" He walked up to him calmly, as to not startle him, and gently rubbed his shoulder. His dad seemed to give a little jump at the touch and turned around a little confused and nervous. "Dad, it's me" Henry said while kneeling down next to the couch where his dad was sitting, talking a little louder than usual so that his father could hear him.
"Oh, Henry" He smiled brightly. "You scared me"
"I'm sorry"
"When did you come home?" Henry sighed, feeling sad but tried to hide it by showing his dad a smile.
"A few hours ago"
"You should've let me know" He looked down, again, trying to hide his sadness. He took a deep breath and faked a smile before looking at his dad again.
"I'm sorry" He tried to keep up the act and ignore that he had in fact let him know. Just like he had always done... every single day. He looked at his dad's head, almost completely bald but with a few white hairs still sticking out. "I won't forget to let you know next time"
"Okay" His dad lovingly patted the side of his son's face. "Where is Zahra?"
"She already left"
"Oh, ok..." Henry pushed some of the little white hairs back. Time had gone by way too fast.
"Tell your mom to give you salmon"
"What?"
"Salmon, it's good for memory power. That's what my old man would always say. That way you won't forget to say hello next time". Henry smiled again. This time genuinely.
"I will tell her that" He gave his dad a hug and went to the kitchen. "I'll go check on mom" He said before happily going to the kitchen.
His mom, who was already having back problems that could easily be kyphosis, was trying to reach something from the pantry but failing. It was too high. Henry smiled tenderly and walked up to her. He stood behind his mom and grabbed the little container she was trying to reach.
"Oh! Hello, sweetheart" She said smiling.
"Hi mom"
"Why did you come home so late?" She asked, worried.
"I didn't. I came home a few hours ago" He rested his hands on her shoulders and started gently rubbing her arms up and down.
"You did? You should've let me know, I could've made something for you. Are you hungry?" He could see in his eyes how guilty she felt about him possibly not having lunch, so he knew he couldn't say the same white lie he had said to his dad minutes earlier.
"Don't worry, you did" She seemed confused. Henry gave his tinny mother a kiss on the forehead and a hug. "We ate together when I came back from work"
"...Really? I don't..."
"It's okay if you don't remember. Don't worry about it. The food was delicious" He could feel her smile against his chest for a second before pulling away. She looked around the kitchen at the ingredients she had put out just before Henry showed up.
"So I shouldn't cook anymore?" She asked confused, but relying on Henry to keep her on track like he had been doing for years.
"Well... that was lunch, I wouldn't mind having dinner" Both laughed and gave each other another hug.
"Alright then. Sit down, dinner will be ready shortly"
"Don't you need help?"
"Nonsense, I'm still your mother and I shall always spoil you" He smiled brightly and nodded, knowing better than to argue with his mother about this. He used to insist more, years ago, since he knew it was getting harder and harder for his mom to do things like that, but she loved him and she loved doing things for him. No matter how old he was, he would always be her precious child and she loved doing things for him.
Shortly after, his dad showed up, having some difficulty walking, so Henry immediately ran up to him to help. He guided him towards a little table in the kitchen and helped him sit down.
"Henry! When did you get home?" His dad asked.
"Just a second ago. I was about to say hi" He sat down next to him and leaned forward so he could hear him.
His dad and him talked while his mom was cooking. A little bit about his day, how work went and more than once he had to repeat his answer because his dad forgot he had already asked him that. As much as it broke his heart seeing his parents like that, he had gotten used to their little dynamic. He was actually proud of himself because he was dealing with it better now that he himself was older.
When things started to get complicated and he was afraid of leaving them at home by themselves, it was as if his life had paused. His best friend knew how much Henry loved working at the library and how much he loved what he was studying at university, so when he kept asking his coworkers to cover for him at work or kept missing a crazy amount of school, he knew something was wrong. They got into a huge fight when Pez suggested hiring a nurse to look after his parents, simply because Henry refused to accept that they were already at that point. He wasn't a kid anymore, he was a grown man in his 20s, but still... this wasn't supposed to happen until he was at least 40. He wasn't supposed to see them like that this soon. After a lot of conversations about it and crying to Pez a few times, he finally agreed. He had to start over at school because as hard as he was trying and as smart as we was, he had missed too many classes —if not all of them— and kept failing, but he did end up going back, picking up extra shifts at the library and was finally able to hire a nurse and focus on his studies. More than anything he didn't want his parents to feel bad. He loved them too much to let that happen. So he started relying on white lies and just going along with whatever they believed to give them a sense of normal and make them feel like nothing had changed.
When they were finished having dinner and after he insisted on washing the dishes instead, everyone said their goodnights. He walked his parents to their room, which now was the once guest room downstairs so that they wouldn't need to walk up the stairs everyday, and gave each of them another kiss goodnight. Then he ran upstairs and went to the bathroom. He took a quick shower and grabbed a random green shirt and sweatpants to wear to bed. He was about to start his skincare routine when he heard a diiiiing coming from his phone.
[Unknown number]
Ok
[Unknown number]
I checked like 20 times
[Unknown number]
And this is definitely
the right number
Henry actually laughed out loud this time. There was no way this guy was still at it. Whoever gave him a fake number must have looked stunning if he wasn't giving up.
Alex
[Unknown number]
What?
Who am I?
[Unknown number]
Hailey
[Unknown number]
😳
[Unknown number]
Ok
[Unknown number]
Maybe you are
not Hailey
~ Sam☀️