Tomorrow Will Come- A Hatchetfield Story

Chapter Three: Hero Is My Middle Name

Henry Hidgens drove quietly. There was a tension in the car that was uncharacteristic of it as of late. A tension that, if he was being honest, he had missed. The girl sitting beside him in the seat beside him sat looking silently out the window, completely content and yet unsmiling. She was Henry's second pride and joy (Working Boys being his first- nothing would top that) and yet... he still had little to no clue as to how to approach her.

Harriet Hidgens was Henry's niece. He'd raised her, though, because his brother and sister-in-law had both died tragically young, when Harriet was only a month old. They had a... special bond. Henry had had to send Harriet to a school for gifted children at a young age when she had proved not only to be significantly smarter than the average child her age but significantly less sympathetic abou that fact than she should have been.

Mind you, that was also partially due to quirks of her autism. She was, as an ableist may say it, 'highly functioning'. She was very capable of taking care of herself, and for the most part she just saw the world a bit differently from everyone else. However, she was easily and frequently annoyed by below her intellectual prowess- which was most people, and made it very necessary for her to have a highly specialized job. She was getting better every day with that, but it took a lot of work. On top of that, she wasn't great at social cues. She was educating herself on those as well, but oftentimes she was blunt and socially unaware. She also couldn't do eye contact- not even with Henry. It made her wildly uncomfortable.

These were all reasons why she really didn't interact with people she didn't need to, and why a lot of people didn't consider their relationship with her 'close'. Why she'd sort of vowed not to get close to people. Because as oblivious as she was, she did know the harm she could do without even meaning to do it. And she didn't want to hurt anyone. It's why she'd moved away from her Uncle Henry. She never wanted to accidentally drive him away.

That wasn't to say that Harriet and Henry weren't close in their own way. Once again... she was his second pride and joy. She'd graduated school significantly earlier than the average person, and held multiple doctorates in the sciences at age 22. There was plenty to be proud of. Truth be told, he could never be driven away from her, despite her fears. For Harriet... her Uncle Henry was the only person she'd ever dared to have a genuine relationship with. In fact, as much as she preferred to take a logical approach and call him her uncle... she saw him as a father. Of course, he didn't know that- much like he didn't know quite what to say in that moment.

Harriet had begun a new job recently- based in Texas. Perfectly suited for her skill set, or so she said. She was a part of a government organization, working on a project in collaboration with NASA. What, precisely it was that she was working on- or even who exactly she was working for- Henry had no clue. But... she said it was important. And he trusted her. She was practically incapable of lying to him. He knew her ticks too well.

"So... are you excited to be back in Hatchetfield?" Henry tried.

"No." Harriet sighed. She paused for a beat, realizing how offensive that might seem considering how she was in Hatchetfield to visit her uncle. "But... I am excited to spend some time with you."

"So am I." Henry chuckled. There was more silence in the car. Henry bit his lip. He knew he shouldn't. But... he wasn't sure what was killing him more, the silence or the curiosity. "So... what are you working on?"

"You know I can't tell you." Harriet chuckled softly.

"Can you give me a very vague overview?" Henry suggested.

"Fine." Harriet sighed, smirking softly. "I can do that... though it likely won't interest you."

"Try me." Henry smirked back.