December 11, 2021

The doorbell rang. "I'll get it!" Joey said. Ben walked out of the kitchen with Miranda on his heels. "It's Condola!" The teen said excitedly.

"Good morning. I have Danishes," the lawyer responded, shaking a small box. "Hi, Joey."

"Hi, Condola," Joey said, blushing.

Ben rolled his eyes and watched his wife do the same. "Boy, go downstairs somewhere," Ben told him.

Joey spoke again, deepening his voice: "Yes, sir. I'll be right downstairs." He didn't make a move.

"Okay, go," Miranda said. When he was gone, she ushered their guest inside. "Sorry about him."

"No, it's okay. It's a harmless crush. We've all been there." Condola sat in the armchair and Miranda and Ben sat down on the sofa. "Okay, so…"

"Wait, let me get a Danish," Miranda said.

"Me, too. Me, too. Condola, would you like some coffee?"

She put her hands together. "Yes, please."

Once they were all settled with coffee and deliciousness, she began: "I was thinking about anything and everything I could to help your case."

"Okay," Miranda prodded.

"And I think I found something that might help." The couple didn't speak, munching nervously. "I found some text messages." Ben could have crushed his mug with his mild satisfaction. "Now, before we get too… you know… it doesn't explicitly state that he wanted you two to have Pru, but…" She paused to take a bite of her pastry and Ben squeezed Miranda's thigh as she sipped her drink casually. "We were talking about what you two went through out in that water and he… he… he was scared and wanted to make sure Pru was taken care of. He mentioned you a couple of times, Ben. Not by name, but… you'll see." Condola pulled out her phone and handed it to him.

With his wife looking over his shoulder, they read through the message thread. Why? He jumped into the water to help me. He had a wife, two kids… He did that for me. Miranda sniffled and rubbed his back. So, you want to repay him or something? No, no. I asked him before because I just knew. But that night… You still there? There were a few hours between Condola's message and Dean's next one. Sorry about that. I think Pru might be coming down with something. Oh. You need help? I could come by. I got it. Thx. Good. Good. That night he made sure I was safe. He kept me... Awake, afloat and alive… He'd do the same for my baby. A tear slid down Ben's face onto his lap. They'd been so close to dying. Their conversation out on the water had been the most vulnerable he'd ever been with another man. And he remembered it so vividly. He had to, his memories with the man were getting capped at five years when it should have been twenty, thirty, forty… I know he will. Can you help me? Come and see me. For real this time, Dean. I'll be there.

"Most times, judges won't even look at text messages. But it wouldn't have mattered because I'd forgotten they even existed." Ben wiped his face. "I'm sorry."

"That's okay."

"And he didn't use your name, but…" He smiled. "Obviously, it's you."

Miranda held him, kissing his shoulder. "So, where do we go from here?" She asked.

"I'm taking these to the judge first thing Monday morning and hoping for something. But I'm sure their lawyers will try to get it tossed. So, if that doesn't work, maybe pleading to the Millers? Something."

He inhaled. "Mom! Dad! The game!" Tuck said coming down the stairs. "Oh, sorry! Hi, Condola."

"Hi, Tuck."

Ben looked at his watch. "Crap. We do have to go. And we still have to pick up Pru," he said with a smile. After several messages back and forth, the Millers had finally caved on letting Pru spend an afternoon with them. It was a small step, but it was a start.

He told all of this to Condola who sighed. "Gosh, I haven't seen her in so long."

Joey came into the room. "Want to come to our game?" He leaned on the sofa. "Then, you can see her."

Ben shook his head again at his oldest son's persistence as Condola made a face. "I may have an hour or so. Yes, I'd be delighted."

"Yes!" Joey said running back downstairs no doubt to bathe in cologne. Tuck hurried out of the door with his bag on his back and his shoes in hand.

When they were out of earshot, he turned to the lawyer: "This is good news, right?"

"It's the best thing we've got so far."

"And those are real?"

She grinned. "Good question." Pulling out her phone, she opened the messages again and showed it to the couple and then clicked on Dean's name. His face smiled at them as it rang.

Ben's chest vibrated with fear. Some part of him prayed that Dean answered. In moments of desperation, he, too, had called the number several times over. Even if his friend's death had been an elaborate joke, he could accept the deceit if only— "Hey, it's Dean," the man's deep voice started. It hurt to even hear and he wanted the woman to turn it off. "I can't come to the phone right now. I'm probably doing what I love or fighting fires. Text me if I know you. Bye. Wait, Pru—"

Miranda who had only been tearing up was crying unabashedly now. "Uh, thank you, Condola," Ben said with a genuine smile.

There was a loud honk and Miranda moved to the screen door. "Do not make me hurt you!"

In front of the Millers' home, the couple huddled together for warmth. When Bill opened the door, Ben followed his wife inside. The house was huge and roomy and exactly as he'd imagined, tasteful and chic. When he and Miranda finally retired, he imagined she'd want to live in a place like this or in a cottage deep in the woods. There was no in-between. "Hi, Ifeya is just getting her ready for you."

"How's she been?" Miranda asked, taking off her gloves.

Bill shrugged. "She's been okay. Adjusting to her new schedule and school."

"Oh, she's at a new school?" Ben inquired though the two of them already knew that. They'd planned on attending the movie night holiday celebration event that was open for anyone on her approved pickup list only to get there and see that she was no longer enrolled. It'd been embarrassing to say the least.

"Yeah, the Branford Academy."

Ben resisted the urge to ask why, but he stopped himself. "Oh, nice."

"There she is!" Miranda squealed. Seeing the almost three-year-old decked out in a mint green sweatsuit with black sneakers, Ben's heart shook. It was going to be tough having to bring her back at the end of the night. His wife bounced as Pru wandered over, recognizing them. Picking her up, she said: "Oh, Miss Pruitt, you are looking so cute today."

"Hey, baby girl. Remember us?"

She smiled and moved to Ben's arms, babbling a mile a minute. He inhaled her and kissed her head. "Yeah? Well, we've missed you so much, too."

Their warm reunion was doused by Ifeya saying: "She needs to be back at 8 PM for her music lesson."

"A musi—" Miranda had elbowed him, eyeing her watch. "Got it."

The game went into overtime twice and by the time it was over, Pru was jumping around in Miranda's arms. The girl probably didn't know what was going on, but she was hopped up on snacks from the concessions stand and, if the bright smile on her face was any indication, enjoying herself immensely. "She'll be zonked during her music lesson," his wife grinned.

"Hopefully." Taking out his phone, Ben snapped a couple of pictures of the two of them. For a second, he almost sent them to the one person in his phone who wouldn't respond. Even with all the celebrations happening, he wondered if this was the last time they'd get to spend with her. The Millers were hoarding her. Even Vic was having a hard time getting facetime. It was beyond unfair.

After Condola left, the five of them went to a restaurant and enjoyed a nice meal. The way Tuck and Joey fawned over the girl pained him in so many ways, he got choked up thinking about it. He must have been quite quiet because in the car on the way to the Miller's home, Miranda reached over and touched the back of his neck. "What's wrong?" She asked.

In the rearview mirror, he saw both teens knocked out on either side of the car seat of a sleeping Pru. This should have been an everyday occurrence, family time that they all deserved. "Nothing. Just tired. You okay?"

"Yes," she said turning in her seat a little to face him. "I'm good."

"She's an hour late," Ifeya said pulling her robe closed and stepping out of the front door.

Miranda went to respond and Ben stopped her. "The game ran long," he started, taking full blame, "and it was out of town."

"Out of town? I thought it'd be right in—"

"Ife…" Bill said picking up Pru. "She's back. She's fine. Drop it."

Ifeya stared at the child. "And asleep. How's she supposed to have a lesson now?" She stared at the younger couple. "You did this on purpose. This is why we didn't want her to go at all! You're trying to steal Arike back!"

Ben could feel his nostrils flaring and he was seconds from yelling at the woman. "We're doing no such thing," Miranda said in a low tone. "We did our best to get her back on time, but like my husband said, the game was in Bellevue." Miranda gripped his hand and he put pressure on her palm. "We, and I'm speaking for everyone in Pruitt's life, would never do anything to harm her. Or hurt her. We want what's best for her, what her father wanted for her." Ben nodded. "I wish we could say the same for her grandparents." Ever polite, Miranda mumbled a goodnight and spun on her heels.

Feeling a sense of pride, Ben nodded to the stunned couple before following. Thankfully, and miraculously, the boys were still asleep. Miranda was in the driver's seat. She only switched midtrip if he was too tired or if she needed something to soothe her nerves. "Let's go home," he said stroking the back of her head as she followed the curvature of the Millers' driveway.

Once they arrived at home, Ben checked the backseat to see that Pru's jacket had fallen onto the floor. He had half a mind to drive it back to her grandparents' house so they wouldn't accuse them of anymore thievery. But he just went inside listening to the boys stumble around while getting dressed to go to a party. There was complete silence in the bedroom he shared with his wife. They'd had such a good day only for it to get ruined and that upset him. He stripped down to his briefs, slipping into a pair of basketball shorts before climbing into bed. "Are we doing the right thing by continuing this whole thing?" Miranda asked as he pulled her into his chest. He loved falling asleep with his face in her back.

There was no hesitancy in his voice when he said: "Yes". The boys came to the door saying that that they were leaving. "Do you think we're doing the right thing?" No answer came because Miranda was asleep.