Secret World Seven
"Ah, Ben, you're back with us!"
A kind-looking lady in her early fifties smiled at him.
"I'm Nurse Duffin. You can call me Duffy, everybody else does. You had us all scared for a while, you know; you could have died if that appendix had burst."
Ben wanted to say grumpily that he didn't care, but he smiled as best he could.
"Thanks for saving me."
"You're welcome. Now you'll not be up to eating for a couple of days but as soon as you feel you can we'll make sure you'll get your Christmas dinner after all."
Ben couldn't help shuddering.
"Oh, please, not yet!"
Duffy laughed.
"What day is it?" Ben asked.
"It's the twenty eighth."
Oh, no. He'd let down his family. He'd wanted to be his brother's party, as he had a present for his nephew and niece.
"You really have been out of things."
"Ricey! Ricey!"
Ben's eyes lit up. Ralph had come to see him with Paul and Caitlin.
"Now don't you two dare sit on Uncle Ben's bed."
"Ah" Duffy chuckled as she understood, "You call him Ricey because he's your Uncle Ben. I'll get some chairs so Sir and Madam can sit down and help Ben catch up."
"Ricey, Dad said you've been at death's door! Have you?"
Ben nodded, and asked if anybody had a pencil and a bit of paper. Duffy obliged. Ben drew a sketch of himself trying to scurry away from a door which was half-open. The Grim Reaper was beckoning him inside.
"Awesome!" Paul slipped the drawing into his pocket.
"It's mine too!" Caitlin protested.
"Do you still have that spare key of mine?" Ben asked Ralph.
"I certainly do."
"Good, because there's something for these two in the cupboard near the stairs."
"Did you get us the new Minions Trilogy, Ricey?" Caitlin asked.
"Caitlin! What have I told you about being cheeky?"
"No Minions" Ben replied with a straight face, "I got you a three hour Japanese film instead."
"You didn't! Dad, Ricey's got us Minions!" Cheered Paul, who knew his Uncle too well.
"Don't you three have a party to go to?" Ben asked. He knew the kids had been looking forward to the party night. So had he, in fact it was probably the only thing he had been looking forward to this Christmas.
"Couldn't let my brother be alone when we're all partying, could I?" Ralph shrugged.
"Don't be daft! You go and have your party, you can have another one for me when I come out."
"Thanks, Ben. You take care and do what they tell you. Come on, kids."
"Love you, Ricey!"
"Minions! Yayyyy!"
And Ben was alone again. Ah well, he was tired anyway.
Suddenly he was wide-awake. Dylan was walking towards him.
"Ricey. What kind of a name is that?"
Ben gave a little shrug.
"Maybe the right kind of name for a moron like me."
"Oh for goodness sake. You're going to bitch at me until I tell you exactly what I said in that conversation you were unlucky enough to overhear, aren't you?"
Ben pouted.
"I was saying to Connie, your ex-line manager, that it might look as if you're not big on brains but you could surprise us all yet. And that even if you weren't big on brains it wouldn't matter a stuff because you have such a huge heart."
"Look where it gets me."
"Don't knock it. Look at those two kids, it's obvious they adore you. How many other kids would be so cheerful if they had to do a hospital visit before a party? Look at those drawings you did for everybody, for free. People like you, Ben, and that's what got up Madam's nose. You did get the bit about her being your ex-line manager, I hope."
"So she's being transferred?"
"More than transferred. A few people spoke up and Jordan's sacked her for workplace bullying. You could have died of bloody peritonitis if you'd stayed any longer in that office. You could actually sue the panties off her if you felt that way out. And I'm sorry I didn't stand up for you more."
"She's hard to stand up to."
Thanks for understanding, Ben. But I'm afraid she's not the only one who's fired."
"Oh? Who else?"
"You."
"That's not a good thing to say to somebody with stitches in their gut."
"Don't try to make me feel any worse, Benjamin."
"Then please don't joke about my job."
"I'm deadly serious. Ben, you're not happy doing spreadsheets and making drinks all day, surely? You need to work with something that makes you happy. Which is why I took down that drawing you did from the notice board and sent it to my mate. He's the head of a company that publishes graphic novels. He wants you on board. Interview would be just a formality."
Ben's eyes widened, Dylan had his full attention now.
"Really?"
"He'll be coming in to see you when you're feeling better. But there's another reason that I'm firing you."
"Surprise me."
"Do you ever notice how Zoe and Max's little squabbles are affecting the workplace? One minute they're Romeo and Juliet. Next thing, they're Harry Potter and Lord What's his face. Deadly enemies. It's a pain in the butt so I'm definitely going to do my best to discourage workplace romances from now on."
"Okay…"
"So, Ben, when you're completely recovered, you and I are going to go for dinner. On a date."
"You and – seriously?"
"Oh don't tell me my Gaydar's failed on me. Ben, enough of pussyfooting. Will you go on a date with me?"
Ben's heart monitor started bleeping, which had Duffy running over. Dylan tried to look ashamed and failed.
"Sir, it might be best if you leave now" Duffy began, then saw the expressions on Ben's and Dylan's faces.
"Well, just try not to over-excite him again" she said weakly, and walked down the ward with a huge grin on her face.
"Oh, I forgot" Dylan said cheerfully, "Robyn had another of her collections. We planned to get you fruit at first then Alicia had a better idea. She thought you'd prefer these."
He held out a package towards Ben, who sat up to open it and groaned.
"Oh come here, Malingerer. I'll do it."
He unwrapped Bens' gift; a set of good quality pencils and a sharpener.
"Those" Ben said, "Are perfect."
"So are you, Ricey, so are you."
And, ignoring the rest of the ward, he bent down gently and kissed Ben's nose, then his lips.
Sometimes real life worked out better than dreams.
One final chapter to go.
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