by Kim Koby
Her brother stood at the door. “We need to talk. I probably should have called first.”
“Ian? Yes, you should have. I’m about to go out.”
“It’s about Mom. This can’t wait.”
Abby closed her eyes, blew out a breath between pursed lips as she tried to find balance, then nodded. “Come in.”
Not a few moments later, the door bell rang again.
“I need to get that. I’ll be there in a minute.” She turned to answer the door. “Ben. I’m so sorry about this…”
Ben cocked his head to the side. “What’s the matter? You look gorgeous, by the way.”
“Thank you. My brother just showed up. He needs to talk…apparently, now.”
“Oh.”
“Can we postpone things?” she asked, hoping he didn’t take it the wrong way.
“Oh…”
“I wouldn’t do this if…look, I’m not bailing on our date. The timing just—”
Ian showed up behind her. “Hey, sorry about this. I’ve got a situation. Can I borrow my sister for a short while?”
“Sure, of course.” Ben politely agreed but couldn’t hide the disappointment in his voice. “We can do this another day.”
“No! I don’t need to push it off completely. Could you maybe give me half an hour?”
Relief slid across his face. “Do you want me to take Shadow for a walk?”
“Actually, that would be great. Shadow would love that.”
“Okay, then a walk it is.”
“Thank you for this,” she whispered.
Ben nodded, took Shadow’s leash, and together they headed out.
Abby turned toward her brother. “What’s going on?”
“Mom’s freaking out. She’s been acting really weird the last few days. Then this afternoon, she calls me and starts talking cryptically. I’m worried about her. I think she’s teetering on the edge. I went over, but she wouldn’t let me in. She changed the locks.”
“What? My key worked earlier this week.”
“I think she just did it. I don’t know what’s going on, but something’s wrong. Can you try talking to her?”
Abby nodded, grabbed her phone and dialed her mother. Nobody answered. “Do you really think something is wrong?”
“I don’t know, but her depression keeps getting worse, and then the lock change…” Ian added.
“When did you last talk to her?”
“This afternoon. I asked her if she was okay, then she hung up on me.”
“She hung up on you?”
“Yeah, not even a good-bye. It was like she cut me off, but when I tried to call back, she didn’t pick up.”
Abby sighed. “We better get over there. If she doesn’t answer, I’ll break a window and go in. I’m not taking any chances.”
“I’m coming with you.”
She nodded. “As soon as Ben gets back with Shadow, we can leave. Do you want to start over now?”
“Sure. I’ll wait for you to get there before we try to enter. I’ll see if she’ll open the door for me.”
When Ben returned from walking Shadow, Abby filled him in on what was going on.
“I’ll drive you over,” Ben said. “Come on.”
“You don’t mind? You don’t have to do this.”
“If it involves you, I want to be a part of it. I’m here for you Abby, through thick and thin.”
“Thank you, that means a lot.”
Abby twisted her fingers together and stared out the window as Ben drove. What was her mother up to now? Why would she hang up on Ian? And why change the locks? Something wasn’t right.
Ian was waiting by the front of the house. Ben and Abby joined him.
She asked, “Did you ring the bell?”
“Yeah. No answer, but her car is here.”
“Could she have gone out with a friend?” Abby asked.
“What friend? She barely talks to anybody anymore.”
“True.”
“Okay, let’s try again.” Abby banged on the door. “Mom, it’s me. Are you there?”
They waited, but there was no answer. What if she’d fallen and was stuck?
“I’m going to break a window and go in. We’ll board it up and fix it as soon as we can, but what if something’s wrong?”
Ian nodded. “Let’s do this.”
Abby wrapped her sweater around her hand, but Ian stopped her.
“Let me. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“Whatever.”
Ian picked up a rock and smashed the window by the door. He took his shirt off, wrapped it around his hand, and brushed away the broken glass. As he twisted his arm through the window to reach in and unlock the door, a shadow appeared in the hallway.
“Don’t move. I’ve got a gun,” a booming male voice called out.
Ian jerked back. “Who’s there?”
“The police are on the way,” the voice called out.
They heard their mother’s voice behind him. “Go away.”
“Mom, it’s Ian. Are you okay?” he yelled.
“Ian?” She groaned, then walked over and opened the door. His mother was half-dressed, wearing a button-down man’s shirt.
“Mom?”
She glared at her son. “What are you doing?”
He cautiously looked at the man with the gun. “Is he holding you hostage?”
Her face dropped as she let out a sigh. She turned to look over her shoulder. “Put the gun down, Butch. It’s my children.”
The bare-chested man nodded and put the safety back on.
“Mom?” Abby said, looking between her mother and the strange man.
Her mother shrugged. “I met somebody. I didn’t want you to meet him this way.”
“You met someone?” Ian shook his head, not sure whether to laugh or cry. “We were worried about you. You changed the locks. You hung up on me…”
“Well…oh, you must be Ben, the fireman.” She quickly greeted him. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m sorry it’s under these circumstances.”
“Same,” he greeted.
“Come inside. Give me a minute to cover up better. I’ll meet you in the family room in a few minutes. Butch, come with me,” she said, grabbing his arm so he could cover up as well.
A few minutes later Butch and their mother joined them. “Kids, this is Butch. Butch, this is Ian, Abby, and her friend Ben. Shadow is Abby’s dog.”
He was flustered but offered his hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“Mom?”
“This all seems so silly,” she started.
“You changed the locks,” Ian started.
“When Abby came over the other day and let herself in, I realized how awkward that would have been if she’d walked in on…” She glanced over at Butch. “I wasn’t ready to tell you I’d met somebody.”
Butch placed his arm over her shoulder.
“There’s not a car in the driveway. We didn’t know you weren’t alone.”
“He parks across the street. I guess I was paranoid. The plumbing truck you passed is his. I had a problem, he came and fixed it a couple of weeks ago. We hit it off, have been seeing each other, and the rest is history.”
“Oh, boy,” Abby said. “All a big misunderstanding. Wow. This is embarrassing. It’s just that, well, you haven’t been yourself.”
“I know but having Butch around has helped me so much. We only met a short while ago, and I guess I wanted to keep that information to myself. I was a little embarrassed to be moving so quickly, to be honest. And I wasn’t sure how you’d feel about me dating again.”
“Why did you hang up on me?” Ian asked.
“Right, sorry about that. He’d been yelling something from the other room, and I panicked. I worried you’d hear him and didn’t know what to do. It was more of an involuntary reaction. I wasn’t ready to admit I was dating again.”
“So, you’re okay?” Abby asked.
“Better than I’ve been in a while,” her mother adm
itted.
“That’s good news, but I wish I’d known so we didn’t have to go through all of this. Why do you always keep things from me?” she asked.
Her mother stepped over and placed a hand on her cheek. “You’re fragile. I always worry about how you’ll handle something.”
Abby glanced down. “I’m not that fragile.”
Nobody said anything.
“Fine, so I’m a little fragile. Either way, I wish you’d be more open with me.”
“Maybe we should go,” Ben suggested.
“I think that’s a good idea,” Abby agreed. “Love you, Mom. Nice to meet you, Butch. Ian. Come on, Shadow.”
“It was nice to meet you, Ben.”
He nodded, not sure what else to say.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Ben took Abby’s hand as they walked back to his truck. “That was an interesting turn of events.”
“Yeah, I’d say.”
“About that date of ours?”
Abby sighed. “Do you want to reschedule it?”
“No! Not at all. I was going to ask if we could start our portion of the evening now.”
Abby laughed. “I’m more than ready.”
Shadow jumped up into Ben’s truck and sat between them.
“Is this the first time your mother has dated since…”
Abby nodded. “Yeah. It’s kind of weird, but it’s nice to see her smile.”
“And your brother?”
“He’s fine. I’ll leave him to sort out what he needs to with her, but my family’s time is cutting into my date. I’m finished talking about them for now.”
Ben smiled. “Then it’s all Abby and Ben from this point on.”
“That sounds amazing,” she cooed.
“When I was out walking Shadow earlier, he mentioned I might want to tell you again how pretty you look, since we were interrupted.”
“Thanks, Shadow.”
“Wait, don’t I get any credit?” Ben teased.
She shrugged and teased him. “You clean up pretty nicely yourself. Where are we headed?”
“I thought it might be fun to go to a hibachi place. It’s always entertaining and the food is really good. There’s a place I know that does it right,” he said.
“Sounds fun. I haven’t gone to a hibachi place in ages,” she added. “In fact, I think the last time I was probably a kid. They have one at Disney World, in Epcot.”
Ben leaned in and turned the radio louder. “I like this song.”
Abby liked the acoustic rock sound. It had a coffee house feel. “Butch, huh?”
“I thought your family was off-limits tonight,” he said.
“You’re right. I’m just kind of surprised. It took me off-guard. I didn’t really think about my mother dating again. It’s been a while, so it’s not that it bothers me, it’s weird is all. I’ve never seen her with anyone other than my father. It was weird to think of her being part of a couple again, and you know, only being partially dressed. I’m not sure what I think about that part. It seems kind of fast.”
“I can imagine that would be odd to take in, seeing your mother with somebody else.”
“Yeah, it really is. I mean, if it makes her happier, I’m all for it. I just wish it hadn’t happened the way it did, you know, us breaking in, her in an awkward situation. The gun was an uncomfortable experience.”
“Yeah, I hadn’t expected that.”
Their talk drifted to current events, and then to trivial things. Nothing heavy, which suited Abby fine. Once she’d agreed to their date, it’s like a weight fell off her shoulders and she decided to enjoy it. Their past was that, their past. She planned on starting over, just like her mother.
Ben pulled up in front of the restaurant, Bonsai. Together, they made their way inside. Shadow followed along between them.
Once at their table, they politely greeted the others that were there before them. It was a group table where approximately eight people sat around a large, rectangle grill. The other couples had already been seated. When the table was filled, the chef came out to prepare their orders.
The chef told small jokes as he diced and sliced the food. He tossed cooked shrimp to a few people to try to catch in their mouth. The group laughed and applauded the chef’s talent. It was both fun and delicious. Everything was cooked to perfection. As he turned off the grill after each member was served, he bowed and accepted another round of applause.
Abby leaned into Ben. “That was awesome. I wish I could wield a knife like that! I can barely be trusted with a spoon.”
“Yeah, he’s so talented.” The chef had since left the table and headed back to the kitchen area of the restaurant.
“The steak is cooked perfectly,” she said. “I’ll need to save a piece of Shadow for being so well-behaved.”
“He really blends in,” he added.
“Yeah, it was a learning process as we both trained together. I got some help obviously, but a lot of it was time and repetition while rewarding the positives. You’ve met my family. Tell me more about yours.”
“I wish I had something interesting to tell you, but we’re pretty boring overall. Mom’s a lawyer, Dad’s an accountant. I have a brother, but we’re not especially close. We used to be, but he moved to the other side of the country to be with a girl, and we don’t talk a lot. We’re sort of night and day when it comes to interests. He’s into aviation and fishing. I think he’s been with his girlfriend now for a couple of years. I suspect they’ll get married at one point.”
“And what about this other character, Ben? What else does he like to do on his days off?”
He reached over and placed his hand over hers. “I’ve got this new thing. I’ve become an explorer, discovering tunnels and things of that nature. There’s a girl I’ve fallen for, and she’s added all sorts of different layers to my life.”
She grinned. “Has she?”
“Definitely made my days brighter,” he added.
After dinner, they drove to the dog park.
Ben parked his truck. “On our earlier walk, Shadow suggested I should include him on the date as well. He thought the dog park would be a nice addition.”
Abby laughed. “He was quite talkative.”
“He was. He mentioned one other thing,” he said as he took her hand and they walked down the path to the park.
“What was that?”
“This.” He turned toward her, placed his hand on her cheek and gently brushed his lips to hers.
Abby’s heart fluttered. His kiss was tender and warm.
Ben pulled back to look at her. “I hope that was okay.”
She nodded as heat crept over her cheeks. “It was nice.”
Shadow barked at them as they stood on the path.
“Okay, okay,” she said. “We’re on our way.”
The couple sat down in the sand and watched Shadow bounce around, playing at the edge of the water.
“I didn’t think this through very well,” he said with a laugh. “We’re going to have a wet dog between us in the truck.”
She cautiously reached for his hand. “It’s okay by me.”
Ben liked the feel of her hand in his. Their fingers intertwined. Shadow danced in the water, then chased a pug who had joined him. The dogs played and frolicked in the surf. With it being low tide, it wasn’t rough.
“I’d like to see you again,” Ben started. “In fact, I’m hoping it becomes a new habit.”
“I have to admit, I do like being around you,” Abby said. “There’s something about a handsome, strong fireman wooing me that I find very appealing.”
“Do you now?” He couldn’t hide his smile. “Is there something about a fireman kissing you?”
“Oh, most certainly. I especially like that.”
He held her gaze. A slow sizzle smoldered between them. Ben leaned in to kiss Abby, but just as he did, Shadow ran up, barked and shook off. Wet droplets sprayed everywhere. The couple laughed and groaned. Ben got up and chase
d Shadow to the water, while Abby watched them dodge in and around each other. It was the happiest she remembered being in way too long.
After Shadow got more playtime in, they walked back to Ben’s truck hand-in-hand.
Ben turned to open Abby’s door. “I hope this isn’t too forward, but can I see you again? I’m off for a little bit longer with work. Once I start back up, my time will be more limited. I’d like to take advantage of the time off.”
“I’d enjoy that. I do have to get some writing done, but I’ve got a lot of flexibility in my schedule.”
“Can I take you out for lunch tomorrow?” he asked.
“Why don’t I make lunch? You can come over and I’ll cook on the grill. I make a mean burger.”
“You had me at burger!”
“Great, let’s say around one or two? Is that too late? That gives me the morning to get some work done, then I’ll be free during the afternoon.”
“Sounds perfect. What can I bring?” he asked.
“Yourself. I’ve got everything we need.”
He closed the door behind her, once both she and Shadow were in the truck. Ben walked around the truck and climbed into the driver’s side, wearing a big grin.
On arriving back at Abby’s house, they parked, then walked up to her door.
“I had a nice night,” she said, suddenly feeling more nervous than she’d expected. He’d already kissed her. But standing there, the expectations, the end of the date…it felt bigger.
Ben reached for her hand. “I’m glad we went out. You’re something special. You hooked me in from the moment I met you.”
“I’m not that special,” she said shyly.
“Don’t close down on me now.” With his other hand, he tipped her chin up so she was looking at him. “Can I kiss you?”
She giggled nervously. “I wish you would.”
He drew his thumb along her bottom lip with such tenderness that it gave her chills. She couldn’t look away from him. The way his gaze locked on her sent her heart racing out of control. It was a new kind of anxiety, not a scary one. It was a rush of adrenaline, a shot of enthusiasm. She dared to drink him in, to taste his kiss. With her guard down, she slowly parted her lips.
Ben leaned in and closed his eyes, greeting her mouth with his. The suppleness of her lips, the sweetness of her mouth…he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. What had been only a momentary kiss earlier was deeper this time, hungrier, more passionate. He turned her the slightest bit and pressed her to the door.