I leave work early and drive to Santa Monica because seeing his house makes me feel closer to him, even if he won抰 let me inside it. The work trucks are gone. So is the construction permit. I wonder if he抣l finally invite me over. On the way home I buy groceries. He mentioned once that his favorite food is homemade chicken pot pie. I suppose it won抰 kill me to try to make him one.
When I wake on Friday, the first thing I do is check the weather in DC. They got three inches of snow, but so far, Ben抯 flight is still leaving on time.
I call my mom as soon as I arrive in the office. 揑 heard about the snow. Are they shoveling??
揌oney, you worry too much,?she replies, sounding oddly卙appy.
揑 don抰 worry too much, Mom.?I begin to pace the floors of my office. 揊or God抯 sake卙ow will you even work at the bar if you sprain your wrist again? Or what if it抯 something worse??
揑t抯 all been taken care of,?she says. 揕ook.?
She texts me a photo of her parking lot, where not a single thing is shoveled, aside from the path to her car, which has also been cleared of snow.
揟hey only did yours??I ask.
揧ou can抰 ask questions about it,?she replies primly, which immediately floods my brain with worst-case scenarios: a creepy apartment manager offering her special favors, an obsessed customer, following her home at night.
揗om, this is fucked up. Of course, I抦 going to ask. Who did this? Is it someone you even know??
揑 know him now,?she says with a quiet laugh. 揧our friend Ben did it. You never mentioned how handsome he was.?
揃en??I repeat incredulously. 揃en from work??
揑 can抰 believe you said he was 憆eally old? I抳e been picturing a middle-aged man for the past two years.?
I exhale, exasperated. 揗om, how the hell did you meet Ben??
揑 heard someone outside this morning, so I went to the window and there he was, shoveling my path, wearing a suit.?
I perch on my desk, legs suddenly weak. 揂 suit??
She laughs. 揧es. No one was more shocked than I to discover it was the terrible Ben Tate, of whom I抳e heard so much.?
My eyes fill and I swallow down the lump now firmly lodged in my throat. He drove all the way out to Manassas before he went to settlement. He must have left before it was even light out.
揌ow??I whisper. 揑 mean, he抯 staying in a hotel.?
揑 have no idea. But he brought a shovel and salt, and he did the whole thing then came in and fixed my towel rack and the shelf. I抳e got to tell you, Gemma卙e didn抰 seem to dislike you nearly as much as you dislike him. In fact, I抎 venture to say he likes you an awful lot.?
I close my eyes. 揑 don抰 dislike him, Mom.?
She laughs again. I抳e never heard her laugh quite so much in one phone call. 揧es, honey, I know. And I抦 glad. If you ask me, he抯 a keeper. But he swore me to secrecy, so don抰 tell him I told you. That boy might be my son-in-law one of these days.?
揌e won抰 be,?I reply. My voice cracks.
揗y sweetest girl,?she says with a sigh. 揧ou think you can see the future, but all you抮e really doing is choosing it for yourself in advance. And I wish you抎 stop choosing the things that can抰 make you happy.?
When we get off the phone, I lock the office door then sit with my face in my hands, trying not to cry.
I love him.
I love him so fucking much it terrifies me.
When Ben抯 flight gets in that night, he comes straight to me from the airport, dropping his suitcase in the foyer and wrapping his arms around me, as if it hurt him to stay away. The apartment smells like smoke from the chicken pot pie I accidentally set on fire, but he doesn抰 seem to notice.
I don抰 tell him I know what he did for my mom. I don抰 tell him I抦 ready to be official. But I finally admit something that抯 been true since the beginning. 揑 missed you,?I whisper, pressing my head to his chest.
42
Work, in the days leading up to the first depositions, is frantic. In theory, we抮e getting ready to go to trial, but our hope is that we can scare Fiducia into settling. It抣l be a lot faster and cheaper for everyone involved.
Ben and I are working out of his office night after night and over the following weekend. It抯 stressful but it抯 also協un. I抳e never enjoyed getting ready for a trial, until now. I didn抰 even realize it was a possibility.
At the moment, he抯 preparing questions for Ryan Venek, a manager who got promoted despite several fights at work. I抦 working on the questions for Rick Sandburg, the vice president who charged two of the strip club outings to his corporate card. I yawn and look up to find him watching me.
揥hat??I ask.
揅an we go away when this is done? On an actual vacation. Not just a weekend somewhere.?