Lifeâs a Beach | Flora, Henry (& Finley)
ohmissflora:
âYou heard me.â She bit back, still smirking smugly as she caught his eye when he looked back at her. If she could get her own back and wind him up then she would happily do so. âYou couldnât be an average Joe no matter how hard you try.â Flora snorted her laughter as they all climbed in the elevator. âFive minutes without your expensive motor and youâd go crazy.â She continued to tease, glad that Finleyâs innocence kept his attention fixed on the pricey car that his father had. She knew that Finley would be more impressed by the fact it was a fast sports car than by the huge price tag, but it was nice that he and Henry could bond over more than one thing in the short time theyâd known each other.
âNever heard you questioning my taste in things before.â Her tone was dipped in sarcasm and before she turned to watch Finley again with a smile. He always liked to watch the floors illuminate as they flew by. The number of times sheâd had to stop him from lighting up every floor was ridiculous â even now he was edging towards his teenage years he still did it. But her eyes soon widened at Henryâs words. Flora fought with herself to bat him on the arm, but then she didnât want to make a huge deal about it, because then Finley would no doubt know it was something he shouldnât be saying. And then heâd say it. Instead, she busied herself with glaring at Henry until he tried to rescue the situation. Finley continued to look utterly confused, tilting his head questioningly at his father. âBut-â He began. âNever you mind,â Flora forced a laugh, âyour dad just made a bad joke, thatâs all.â
Flora was the last to leave the elevator, following behind the two of them as they made their way outside. It was a beautiful day, and she pulled her sunglasses out of her purse to slip on as they edged into the sunlight. Thankfully, Finley was completely distracted by the car and she headed for the trunk to put the bags she was carrying safely in the back. âOh, she would.â Finley gasped his excitement, âreally, Mom?!â âNo sweetie, of course not. Letâs wait âtil youâre old enough to drive before you decide you want to become a boy racer like your dad, mmkay?â She waited for him to climb in the back of the car before she followed suit. âIt is a nice car though.â She directed at Henry as he climbed in to the driverâs seat.
âI never heard you complaining about the expensive hotels I brought you to way back when. Especially when it came to the mini bar. Maybe we should tell him about it.â A tight lipped smile pulled at the corners of his mouth, clearly he was getting a bit defensive at the dig about his vehicle of choice. Finley was too preoccupied to be tuned into their conversation, but Henry was sure he would get a kick out of some his motherâs antics from when she was younger. Of course he wouldnât just blurt out details about their past because he knew Finley would start firing off questions and there was only so much they could actually tell him. âI didnât think it was bad.â Henry mumbled to no one in particular. Finley was still looking up at him confused and he reach down to ruffle a hand through his hair. âForget it, kid.â
Even though it was still mid-morning, the Florida sun was radiating down on them signaling that it was probably going to be muggy later on. Then rain, then clear up, and be a warm night. He was still trying to adjust to the Florida weather. Pushing his sunglasses off the top of his head, Henry closed the trunk after everything was packed in and walked over to the driver side to get in. âDonât worry, Fin,â he waited for Flora to get in before he pressed the start button for the car. âIâll take you driving around someplace when your mom isnât around to act like an old lady shaking her cane. Howâs that?â His grandfather had always let him drive his truck in Upstate New York so he didnât really see a problem with it if they were in a controlled environment. âOkay! Does your car have bluetooth? Can I hook up my ipod?â Henry glanced over at Finley who was now practically climbing over the arm rest to get a better look. âYeah, and put your seat belt on so we can leave.â
As he was programming the GPS with the address to the beach they were going to, he smirked at Floraâs comment. âYou can act like youâre above it all and not impressed by expensive stuff all you want, snippy. But I know you are.â he quipped, putting the car in reverse so they could get on their way. âLike I said,â he continued, once they were out on the main road. âI never heard any complaints about my spending when your a-- butt was in a nice cushy robe at the Cambria and using their bathroom that looked like a spa.â Â













