F O U R // H E N R Y

"Hey, Henry!" the overly-cheerful and instantly recognisable voice said.

"Shh," I said. "I have the most awful hangover."

(That was kind of true. Shania and I had gone out the night before and gone a tad overboard, but I was kind of just trying to shut him up.)

To no avail.

"Oh, sorry!" Isaac replied. "Anyway, i was thinking about what you said about your Dad -"

"Isaac," I groaned, "I understand you have a deep need to talk to me. It happens to a lot of people. But I'm really not feeling the -"

"Henry," Shania warned.

I nearly fell out of my chair. "Bloody hell, when did you get here?"

She rubbed her forehead. "About thirty seconds ago. Why did I let you make me have tequila, again? We all knows what happens when I have tequila."

I nodded sincerely. "We do indeed."

"Hi, Shania," Isaac called, and Shania smiled.

"Isaac! What's up?"

I frowned at her. "Since when have you been friends with Isaac?"

She shrugged. "It just kinda happened. Plus, he's, like, our only customer."

"See!" Isaac said. "Some people appreciate me."

"Whatever," I yawned. "How's your cat?"

"Dead!

"Oh, shit, yeah -"

❄

We'd been talking for about fifteen minutes when Isaac brought up my Dad again. "So, what you were saying about your dad..."

"I don't want to talk about it," I said, inspecting my nails.

"Since when did you ever want to talk about anything?"

"Never," I mumbled. What a good trait in someone who works at a helpline. People normally worked at helplines because they wanted to talk.

Isaac paused for a second, and in the background, I could hear a siren blaring - it sounded like an ambulance. "Look," Isaac said, "just try it. He might be more accepting this time round."

"Doubt it."

More silence. Shania made some crude movements on her way to the toilet. You know the sort.

Sometimes I worry about her. She pulls even less than I do, and I hardly ever pull, although I have no idea why.

"Do you talk to your dad?" I asked.

Isaac exhaled slowly. "He's on a Spanish cruise right now. To be honest, I don't really talk to anyone -"

"Alright, alright, spare me the details -"

"You're the only one i can really speak to -"

"Shut up!"

"And you act like you don't like to talking to me," Isaac finished, and I could practically see him grinning.

❄