That One Night (That One Series Book 1)

by Josie Wright

  We all spend dinners together—talking and laughing. Only when the conversation steers to Ben’s disappearance, he clams up and the conversation ends there. And the few times I try to bring it up, it ends with him telling me to leave it alone, which only makes me angry and I end up saying something hurtful. Twice I have caught him on the phone with someone, but when I walked into the room, he hung up. I have no idea what to think of that, and when I asked him about it, he wasn’t very forthcoming.

  Other times, he is full of little innuendos, winks and smirks, and as much as they annoy me, deep down inside I also enjoy them. Not that they help anything, since I’m just as confused as ever. But I don’t think that is going to change anytime soon. Two weeks ago, I would have never believed that this could work, but we’ve somehow established a routine and it feels natural. It feels right, and there are moments when I think that everything went exactly the way it should have. It feels too good to be true. Call me a pessimist, but I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop.

  Just over a week has passed since Thanksgiving and I feel the need to bring up Christmas. I know my parents will expect me to come and visit, but I want one peaceful holiday—just some time with the people I care about. While we all enjoy breakfast on Saturday morning with Mrs. Walsh having joined us, I decide to broach the subject.

  “Guys, I was wondering what we’re doing for Christmas? I know it’s not for a few weeks, but I guess we should at least have some kind of idea.”

  “Oh, did I not tell you yet?” Dean looks at my apologetically. “Alex and I are going to visit his parents in Florida. Remember, they have that time-share there and decided they want to spend Christmas in the sun and invited us to stay with them. You’re not going to visit your parents?”

  “Yeah, no. I can only handle so many insults and jabs thrown in my direction before I decide to want a peaceful Christmas,” I say between taking bites from my toast. “Who else is deserting us then?”

  “I’ll be here. Unless I’m helping a woman push a child out of her vagina.”

  “Thanks for that mental image,” Ben frowns at Viv’s remark.

  “How do you think your child came out?” Viv starts pointing at Archer.

  “Okay, no need to start talking about my vagina. I’d like to get back to the topic of Christmas celebrations.” I look with hope at Mrs. Walsh. “You’ll celebrate with us, right?”

  “If you’ll have me, sure.”

  “What a stupid question. How could we celebrate without you?”

  That gets a smile out of her. I look to Ben and am surprised to see that he seems unsure, his brows drawn together, his lip clamped between his teeth—like he doesn’t know if he’s welcome to celebrate Christmas with us or not. Again, I’m taken aback by how insecure he seems at times. It makes me miss the cocky jerk he used to be—the guy who believes the world revolves around him.

  “You better get a Santa suit to surprise Archer with, Ben. It’s his first Christmas after all.”

  At that, his features relax before he starts grinning.

  “And you think an old, fat man in a red suit is what our child needs in order to experience his first traumatic Christmas?”

  “Oh, shut it. Santa is part of Christmas. Deal with it,” I laugh back at him.

  “Umm, guys, not to spoil this little moment of happiness, but who’s going to break the news to your parents, Frankie? I’m sure they will be thrilled,” Dean interrupts, bringing us back to reality.

  And just like that, the fun moment has gone to hell and been replaced by a feeling of anxiety. Yeah, that will go down well.

  “I’ll do it,” Ben says standing up from the table and walking toward the phone.

  I jump up and leap between him and the table the phone is on. Due to my lack of grace or balance, I manage to stumble over my own feet and instead of positioning myself between him and the phone, I tumble into the opposing wall. With a thump I land against it, thankfully managing to catch myself with my hands and not my face.

  The table erupts in laughter and I can hear Ben chuckle while he holds out his hand to help me get back in an upright position, instead of snuggling up to the wall. My face turning a darker shade of red, I grab his hand.

  “Yes, thanks everyone. I’m just fine. Nothing happened, but I appreciate your care. It means the world to me.”

  “Oh, our little drama queen in action,” Dean mutters under his breath.

  “I heard that.” Huffing, I manage to get upright and realize I’m way too close to Ben, still holding on to his hand. He makes no indications of letting go of my hand and I can feel my breathing accelerate, while he gives me a knowing grin, stepping a little closer. Thankfully, Dean comes to my rescue.

  “You were meant to hear it. So who is the lucky one to tell your parents?”

  I remove my hand from Ben’s, but not before glancing up at him again and making the mistake of looking into his eyes. God, I love his eyes. Subconsciously, I bite my lip and notice his gaze flicking to the movement. When he looks back up into my eyes, his seem darker, and if I would be inclined to be naïve and hopeful, I’d say I can see a hint of lust or desire in them. Instead of analyzing it any further, I turn to the phone.

  “I doubt they are done chewing Ben out. It might be Christmas by the time he gets a word in, so I better do it. I’m used to those conversations.”

  I take the phone into the sunroom where a lot of meditation pillows are strewn all over the floor and fling myself on top of them, taking a deep breath to steel my nerves. I have been avoiding my parents’ calls for the past week, not wanting to subject myself to any more emotional turmoil than I was already feeling.

  After the second ring, my mom picks up the phone. “Gilbert residence.”

  “Hey mom. It’s me.”

  “Francine. How nice of you to finally call back. I’ve been trying to reach you for a week.”

  “Sorry Mom. I needed to sort my thoughts with everything going on.”

  “About that...”

  I cut her off before she can continue.

  “I’m calling about Christmas, Mom. Listen, don’t be mad, but Archer and I won’t be coming home for Christmas.”

  For a moment there is silence on the other end of the line and I’m wondering if she passed out or hung up on me.

  “Mom?”

  “It’s Archer’s first Christmas.” She sounds genuinely hurt and disappointed, and I can’t help but feel guilty.

  “I know, Mom. But that’s why I want to spend it here at home with him and Ben.” I omit to mention Mrs. Walsh and Viv, hoping that if she thinks it’s us trying to be a little family, it will soothe the sting she’s currently feeling. Why I’m doing this is beyond me since she rarely seems to care how she makes me feel, but I can’t help myself.

  “Well, I guess we could finally take your grandparents up on their offer to spend Christmas with them in the UP.” My dad’s parents have a cabin in the Upper Peninsula, a beautiful region of Michigan, though it’s even colder than the rest of it. They always go there for Christmas.

  “Maybe we can come out and visit you for a weekend in January,” my mom continues.

  I’m slightly surprised by how easy the news went down. Ah hell, I’m not just surprised, I’m downright shocked.

  “Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.” Jesus, what am I saying? My parents in my home with the crazy bunch I call my family. Yeah, that’s a recipe for disaster. But one step at a time.

  “So you and Ben are together?” I can hear the hope in her voice.

  “No, Mom. I don’t know what we are. Or if we’ll ever be anything. Things are complicated. Just give us time to figure things out, ok?”

  This is the most sincere conversation I had with her in months and it makes me a bit emotional. What girl doesn’t want to confide in her mom and have her support? I used to have it, and I’m not sure how it went down the drain the way it did.

  She hesitates for a moment and it leaves me wondering what she wanted to say. But she
sounds as emotional as I feel.

  “Did you know that Ben hasn’t told his parents that he’s back? Or that they have a grandson? How can he do that to his mother? What is wrong with that boy?”

  I’m surprised at what my mom is telling me. I didn’t give it any thought until now. I guess it seemed natural to assume that before he’d shown up at my parents’ house, he went to see his parents. Again, questions about his time away come to my mind. Why would he keep his mother in the dark? Not even visiting her? She’s a sweet woman, and his dad is awesome as well. They both have been worried sick after he left.

  “Francine…you still there?” I realize I must have tuned my mom out while lost in thought.

  “Yeah, I’m still here. I don’t know Mom.”

  “Well, Judith is heartbroken. Not only has she not seen her son in ages, but never met her grandson either. I gave her some pictures, but it’s not the same.”

  “I’ll talk to him, Mom.” And I know I will, although I have my doubts that this will be a fun and harmonious conversation.

  “Good. Your brother wants to talk to you. We’ll talk soon.”

  “Ok. Mom...thanks for being cool about Christmas. I appreciate that.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  I can hear her handing the phone over to Dave.

  “Hey sis! How is everything going? Have you buried his body in your garden yet?”

  “No, he’s way too good with his hands to be killed.” Just as the words leave my mouth, I realize it’s the same innuendo that not long ago allowed me to make fun of Mrs. Walsh for.

  For a moment all I hear on the other end of the line are gagging noises.

  “I think I’m going to be sick. This is not something a brother needs to know about his little sister and his best friend.”

  “Oh, stop it. I meant that he repairs a lot around the house. It’s actually started to resemble a home with his help.”

  Dave starts laughing, pleased with himself for winding me up.

  “Listen Stinker, Ben still has his truck here. I thought I would bring it up, so he doesn’t have to rely on you to drive his ass around. What do you say?”

  An idea forms in my head.

  “Can you hang on for a minute?” I ask Dave, while already darting out of the sunroom into the kitchen. I can hear a mumbled “uh huh” on the other end.

  I skid to a halt in front of Ben and not surprisingly, he gives me a puzzled look.

  “Dave is on the phone. He wants to bring you your car. I was thinking if you don’t need it for the next two weeks or so, he could join us for Christmas. What do you think?”

  “Well, I like the idea, Frankie. But it’d be nice to have my car a bit sooner so I could start looking for a job, do some shopping, and just get around.”

  Just as my eyebrows are about to knit together and I start pondering a solution, Mrs. Walsh pipes up and saves the day, yet again.

  “Dear, you can use my car whenever you want. I just need to get to my Pilates class on Tuesday mornings and to my Zumba class on Thursday evenings. Other than that, you can use the car whenever you need to.”

  We all turn to her and Alex says what we are all thinking. “You are doing Zumba?”

  “Yeah. Where do you think I go every Thursday night? To meet my pimp?”

  Shaking my head in amusement, I turn back to Ben, who is smirking as well. “Ben?”

  “Yeah, that sounds good. Thanks, Mrs. Walsh.”

  I bounce back to the sunroom, putting the phone back to my ear.

  “Did you hear that, Dave?”

  “Yeah, every word of it. And now I want a lobotomy for imagining Mrs. Walsh in a tight workout outfit doing Zumba.”

  As always Dave manages to make me laugh.

  “Well, I can’t help your perversions. By the way, what are you doing at home?” I just realized he should be in Florida.

  “Transferred back to Wayne State,” he says, clearing his throat. Something doesn’t sound right, but I’m not about to grill him with mom and dad around him. After Ben had left, Dave dropped out of Wayne State to go to college in Florida, explaining Wayne State isn’t the same without his best buddy. I have no idea why he would decide to transfer back.

  “So, is Christmas a deal then?”

  “Hell yeah, especially since Mom and Dad will be up north and I’m sure I’ll manage to get some pussy in Massachusetts as well.”

  “And with that, I say thank you and goodbye.”

  Before I hang up, I can hear his booming laugh.

  I suppose the question of Christmas was easier to settle than I thought. Sometimes, Christmas miracles happen a few weeks in advance, I guess.

  Chapter 15

  Secrets

  I’m still lying on the yoga pillows with the phone in my hand, contemplating and analyzing the conversation with my mom, when Ben comes in.

  “I didn’t hear any shouting? Did your mom pass out?”

  “No, actually she was surprisingly fine with it. They are going up to the UP to spend Christmas with my grandparents.”

  “Wow, miracles do happen after all.” He cocks his eyebrow in slight bewilderment and I can’t help but grin at the similarity of our thoughts.

  “Did she say anything about our last visit?”

  “She was going to, but I changed the topic. I didn’t feel like talking about it, to be honest. But she mentioned something else...,” I start, but am not sure how to continue without getting his feathers ruffled again.

  “What was it? Was she mean to you?” I like that he seems to be genuinely upset on my behalf, and it gives me the push to mention the rest of the conversation.

  “No, she wasn’t. She mentioned your mom though.” As soon as I mention his mother, I don’t just see, but feel him tense up—even from a distance. His body goes rigid and his hands clench into fists at the side of his body. It’s like someone flicked a switch and he’s sending off vibes for me to leave it alone. I have never been one to listen to warnings though.

  “She said your mom didn’t even know you’re back. Or that you have a son. I thought you went to see her before you came over to our place or called her when we got here?”

  “Leave it alone, Frankie.” His tone is clipped, his voice not leaving much room for argument.

  Again, I ignore the warning in his tone.

  “Why wouldn’t you let your mom know you’re okay? She was worried sick about you when you left. And don’t you want to tell her about Archer?” I’m really confused by this and want to know what’s going on. But it doesn’t seem like I’ll get far.

  “That is none of your business, Frankie. Don’t push me on this. If I wanted her to know, I would have told her. She’s not a part of my life anymore. So. Leave. It. The. Fuck. Alone.”

  At that he turns abruptly and storms out of the room, leaving me sitting on the floor—dumbfounded, confused, and angry. It’s Archer’s grandmother after all, of course it’s my business. Or at least, the dumb woman I am, I’m planning to make it my business.

  Alex peeks his head into the sunroom.

  “What was that? It looked like a blurry version of Ben, grabbing his running jacket and storming out the door. Dean looked out and saw him jogging down the road toward the woods.”

  “I mentioned his mother.”

  “And?”

  “Nothing. He yelled at me and took off. Whatever is going on between him and his mom, I think it has to do with him doing the disappearing act. Something happened—but he won’t tell me what.”

  I get up off the floor and decide to go after him. He doesn’t know his way around here yet and when he gets out of the neighborhood and to the side roads and wooded area, he might get lost. Or at least that’s my excuse to go after him.

  “Alex, can you watch Archer for a bit? I’ll go find his daddy before he gets lost and needs another eighteen months to find his way back.”

  “Ouch.” Alex chuckles and cocks an eyebrow at me. “You can be a bit venomous, can’t you? And yeah, I’ll watch
him.” As I’m about to leave the sunroom, Alex calls out to me.

  “But a bit of advice. Don’t push him. You know I love you, but you can be like a freight train at times. Be gentle. Something is weighing him down. I don’t think he’s being difficult on purpose.”

  I just nod my head before grabbing my coat and bending down to kiss Archer on the forehead, while he plays with Mrs. Walsh and Dean on the living room floor. Then I head outside. Thankfully, it’s not as bitterly cold as I’m used to after living in Michigan all my life, but it’s not tropical either. I sling my coat tighter around me, pull the hood over my head to shield myself from the cold wind, and head in the direction that Dean saw Ben taking off to.

  After half an hour of trudging through unpaved roads, between fields and a little forest, I’m about to give up when I see his silhouette sitting on a makeshift bench made out of tree trunks that I tend to sit on and read while out and about with Archer in warmer weather. But warmer weather it’s not. My fingers and ears feel like someone is stabbing them with little needles. And considering Ben has been out here for longer and isn’t dressed half as warmly, I’m sure he is freezing.

  I approach him and sit down next to him on the bench. He doesn’t look up, just stares into the vastness of the fields around us.

  “You’re gonna freeze to death or catch pneumonia, Ben.” I can think of a few words to add. Asshole, jerk, idiot, crazy man. But Alex’s words are ringing in my head, keeping me from flinging them at Ben.

  “Maybe you’d be better off that way.” I’m not sure I heard him right, as it was more mumbled than anything, so I decide to give him the benefit of the doubt.

  “What?”

  His voice is louder this time. “I said, maybe you’d be better off that way.”

  That’s enough. I don’t deal with bullshit well. And I’m not the most diplomatic person on a good day—feeling like an icicle definitely doesn’t qualify for a good day.