They break away after a few more seconds and Inéz looks down at the table. Will rushes back to the door. “See you later ladies.” He bows his head and leaves.
“What was THAT?” I ask Inéz. She is blushing and shrugs. “It was like a lightning strike.” I giggle.
“I thought you said Ben Johnson was the cute one.” I am still giggling.
“I couldn’t see William properly.” She says with a soft voice. “He’s nice.”
I laugh. “Just nice?”
Inéz nods frantically. “Just nice.”
I let it rest. We have to finish our lunch so the toddlers can go to bed.
The kids have all been picked up by their parents and Inéz and I lock the door. “You want to stay for dinner?” I ask. Inéz shakes her head. “Rodrigo is waiting for me.” She says and leaves quickly. “See you Monday.” I yell. She raises her hand to wave at me but doesn’t look back.
The living room is quiet. Theo runs up to me when I step inside. “Hi sweetie.” I say and scratch him behind his ears. He licks my hand and wags his tail. “Want to go for a walk?” I ask and he wags his tail faster.
I open the back door and walk outside with Theo and bump into a tall man. “Hey.” I say and take a step back. “Oh, David.” I say.
“Hi Lynn.” He pulls me into a big hug and I gasp for breath.
“When did you get here?” I ask. “We’ve been sitting here for a while now.” David replies.
“Why didn’t you come to the daycare? I could have let you in.” I say. I feel bad that they had to stay outside for such a long time.
“It’s okay. The weather is nice.” He replies. “Lynn, I would like you to meet Joanne.” He says. A beautiful dark haired lady steps forward and I shake her hand. “Nice to meet you Lynn.” She says. “It’s good to see that there is someone able to tame Ben.” She laughs.
“Nice to meet you Joanne.” I reply. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Depends from whom you heard it. If it’s from David, they are all lies.” She laughs and David glares at her. “I only say good things about you.”
I laugh. I now know where Ben gets his puppy dog eyes from. “Well, where is my son?” David asks and I shrug. “Out with the guys.” I reply. “Shall I call him to let him know that you are here?” I pull my phone from my pocket and scroll through it to find Bens’ phone number.
“Hmm Lynn?” His voice sounds at the other end. “Yup, it’s me. Your dad’s here. Where are you?” I ask.
“Eric’s bar.” He replies. I think for a moment. “Eric’s bar? Downtown?” I ask. Ben hums. “Yeah. I’ll be on my way soon.” He promises me and I hang up the phone.
“Apparently he’s on his way.” I tell David. I get some drinks for us. “Shall I make something to eat?” Joanne asks me. “No, that’s okay. I will quickly make something.” I reply and head to the kitchen.
A quick pasta will do for today.
I’m almost done cooking when I hear laughter and chatting coming from the backyard. I smile and turn off the stove.
“Honey! I’m home.” Ben shouts at me and I giggle. “It’s about time.” I shout back and go outside. Ben is clearly drunk and so are Will and Ben Johnson. It’s good to see Ben with his friends, but I don’t like him to be drunk all the time.
“Dinner is almost ready.” I say and lift my head to Ben for a kiss. He gives me a quick peck on my lips and continues talking to Will. I shrug and walk back inside to get the plates ready.
Joanne follows me. “Let me help.” She says. “It’s okay.” I mumble.
“Sit down for a moment.” She orders and I do what she says. I sit down at the kitchen table and Joanne grabs a chair. “Are you feeling well?” She asks.
I shrug. “I think so. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I feel sad, jealous and happy at the same time.” I confess.
“Must be the hormones.” Joanne tells me. I shrug again. “I am jealous that Ben is spending so much time with his friends. He is always here when I come home from work. Today he wasn’t here. Am I too demanding? I know he needs to spend time with his friends too. But I thought I was more important.”
I don’t like myself this way. Insecure, jealous and sad. That’s not the way I am.
I avoid looking at Joanne. She must think that I am a crazy person.
She rests her hand on my shoulder and squeezes gently. “It’s definitely the hormones speaking.” She finally says and I smile a bit. “I hope so. I’ve never been the jealous kind. Especially not when it’s about men.” I say.
Joanne nods understandingly and pulls me into a hug. “It will be alright.” She assures. “Now let‘s take the food out to them.”
We fill the plates and take them outside where the men are chatting and drinking. Ben takes another sip of his beer and waves his hands while telling a story. I love his gesturing when he’s talking.
“Dude!” Will ducks to avoid Bens’ swinging arms and I giggle. “Ben, sit down and eat.” I say and he does so.
“This food is good.” Ben Johnson says and I blush a little. “Thank you.” I reply.
Ben keeps talking and laughing so much that he forgets to eat. By the time he finally takes another bite, the food is cold. “It’s cold.” He says unnecessarily and I chuckle. “Of course it’s cold. Heat it up in the microwave.”
It’s a warm and nice September night. “This is the last Friday before you become Mrs. Ben Graupner.” David laughs and I shiver. “I am still not used to the sound of it. Though I keep saying it to myself all the time.” I reply.
“To Mr. and Mrs. Ben Graupner.” Will raises his glass and Ben looks me in the eye. I giggle. “This time next week we will be Mr. and Mrs. Graupner.” He smiles and I shiver again. “Can it be next week yet?” I ask and Ben leans toward me for a kiss. He softly bites my bottom lip. “In only seven days.”
I smile against his mouth. “Only seven days.” I pull back and Ben takes another sip of his beer. “I am going to town with the guys again tomorrow.” He says before plopping down on the couch next to Ben Johnson. I frown.
Another day without Ben.
But I can deal with it.
I sit on the bench in the garden in between Ben and Will. My eyelids are getting heavy and I rest my head on the closest shoulder.
I am startled awake when I feel a soft nudge in my side. I sit up straight and look at the one who just nudged me. “Will, I’m sorry.” I mumble.
“You should go to bed.” Will says with a smile and I nod slowly. “I think you are right.” I get up from the bench and wave around. “I am off to bed. See you all tomorrow.” I say.
I walk towards the door and Joanne grabs my hand. “It will be okay.” She assures me one more time. “Can you keep an eye on him for me please?” I ask before heading to bed.
I crawl under the blankets and fold my hands on my belly. The little one is kicking up a storm. I wish Ben was here to sing the little one asleep.
The window is open and I can hear the soft laughing come from downstairs. It sounds like Ben is playing his guitar. I crawl out of bed and open the window a bit more.
Soft guitar tones seep into the bedroom and I rest my head back in the pillows. The little one is quiet and I enjoy the soothing sounds of Bens’ guitar that are softly coming from downstairs.
The bed next to me is empty when I wake up. I look at the clock. It’s almost noon. Where is he?”
I slowly step out of bed. It gets harder by the day.
There is no sound coming from downstairs and I peek around the door. A curly haired guy is fast asleep on the sofa. A dark haired fro peeks out from the kitchen. Is he really asleep on the floor in the kitchen? I softly giggle and see that Ben is asleep on the love seat. His legs draped over the arm rest. He snores softly.
I walk up to him and poke him in his stomach. He opens his eyes and yawns. “What’s wrong?” He asks and I laugh. “Why did you sleep here?” I ask.
Ben yawns again and rubs his eyes. “I guess I was too drunk to go upstairs.” He admits. “Can you make some coffee?” He asks and I give him a stare of death. “Do it yourself, I am going back to bed.” I mutter and turn around to go back to bed.
I am not sleepy at all but I just can’t be around Ben when he has a hangover.
I waddle back and forth from the bed to the balcony. The sun is too hot to sit up here and I don’t feel like lying down on the bed.
I eventually decide to take a bath before heading to Erica’s to have some fun there. She doesn’t know it yet, but I am sure she won’t mind if I come over.
The hot bath relaxes me and I am all refreshed when I get dressed. I slip into my long white cotton dress, with my flip flops and big white hat and go back down to the living room. Ben fell asleep again and I grab the car keys.
I honk my horn when I arrive at Soñador and Erica rushes outside. “What are you doing here?” She asks while looking back over her shoulder. “I was bored. So I came to entertain you.” I grin.
Erica keeps looking over her shoulder and tries to push me back to the car. “I am kinda busy. Can you come back later? Do some grocery shopping first or something.” She asks.
I try to look past her to the house but she’s blocking me. “Erica, what’s going on?” I ask.
“Nothing. Like I said, I am busy. Can you come back later?” I am sure she did not mean to sound harsh but it feels like she threw a bucket of cold water over my head. I grunt and start the car. I leave without saying anything.
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