December 18, 2021

"I know you're not asleep," Miranda said laying across his back to grab his ringing phone.

"I am," he said with his eyes closed.

"Hello? Oh, hi. How are you?" Ben tried falling asleep again as his wife continued the conversation. "Unh-uh. That's no problem at all," she told the caller, shaking him. "Yes, we're both here…" He looked over at her and she pointed to the phone putting it speakerphone.

Bill's voice hit his ear and Ben acknowledged it as overwhelmed, frantic, but steady. "I know it's early and short notice and things have been… tense since the last time you came by the house."

"Something like that."

"Yeah, but," the man cleared his throat, "my wife and I were wondering if you two could take Arike… Pru…" Ben's eyes widened and his heart thumped. "Just for a couple of days."

Ben wiped his face and sat up. "Of course," Miranda said quickly.

"It's just that Yemi is studying for finals, her other grandparents are out of the country and…" Bill paused. "We don't have anyone else we'd trust with her," Bill said.

Miranda squeezed Ben's arm as she was saying: "That's not true. You have us. Pru will always have us."

"Are you sure it's no problem?" He asked. "If we had other options, we really wouldn't bother you."

Ben screwed up his face, his blood boiling. Why were they the last resort? They should have been first on the call sheet. If nothing else, they were the godparents. He started to say as much when Miranda touched his arm, assuring Bill once again that it was fine.

"Is everything okay? With you and Ifeya?"

"Yeah, well… Ifeya is… sick."

"Oh? Is she alright?" She asked, full of concern. Gosh, his wife was a saint.

Bill sighed deeply and tried to cover it by clearing his throat. "Yeah, a bit under the weather with a little head cold."

"Well, we hope that she feels better."

"We do," Ben echoed, speaking for the first time.

"Thank you," Bill said. "So…?"

Ben poked her gently and she chuckled behind her hand. "We'd love to have her," she responded.

"So for the weekend, correct?" Ben asked for confirmation.

"Yes. Please.

Throwing his arms in the air, Ben did a little dance shaking the bed. It was small, but it was something, wasn't it? Maybe they could get back to actually getting to see the girl regularly. "You can bring her right on over," she told Bill.

"See you in an hour," he said.

When the call was over, they lay in bed, giddy, talking about everything they wanted to squeeze into the two days. Thankfully, there were no games, but the boys did have practice, but they could work around that. Miranda flattened Ben on the bed. "Is it bad that I don't care one bit that that woman is ill?" She asked slithering into his lap.

He laughed and kissed her chin. Saint his ass. "What woman?" His arms hooked her shoulders, gluing them together as they rocked, kissing softly, happy. "Damn, baby…"

Their bedroom door rattled under a knock. "Uh, Mom? Dad?" Tuck said.

"Y-yeah?" Ben answered while thrusting upward into the clothed crotch of his wife. She moaned in his ear. "Shit," he groaned.

"Dean's dad is outside with Pruey. Did you know they were coming?"

Miranda nodded, her hips out of control as she pushed her face into his naked chest, huffing trying to catch her breath. "Oh, God, Benjamin…" she whispered. "I'm…"

"That was quick," he said chuckling into her breasts.

"God, I'm coming!"

"Shh—"

Tuck cut through their noises. "Dad? Mom?"

Ben bit his wife's jaw gently as she released, kissing him all over. "Uh, yes, son, let… let them in please," he told the teen, quickening his moments since it was his turn.

"Okay."

"Oh… kay," he said gripping Miranda's tightly, bursting. "Fuck, Miranda." She kept moving on top of him and he shook hard, his body powering down.

Planting a kiss on his neck, she said: "Thank you for that." He couldn't speak or even think straight. "But we have to go downstairs," she said, smiling. He wanted to whine and lay back in her arms, but knowing that Pru was waiting gave him the strength to hurry from the bed and throw on a robe, trailing Miranda. "Hello, Bill!" She greeted, raking her hair into a low ponytail. "Where's our girl?"

Bill pointed to the living room where Pru was already playing a game with Tuck as he shook hands with Ben. That was a sight he'd never get tired of. "How is Ifeya?" Ben asked.

"She's okay," Bill said avoiding their eyes.

"And you?" Miranda inquired and Ben knew his wife was slowly putting on her doctor's hat.

He gave a wry smile. "I'm okay, too."

She glanced up at Ben before saying: "It's nice seeing you again, Bill. Have a good weekend." Miranda walked away, shouting gleefully: "Is that my Pruitt Arike?"

Ben walked the older man out. He saw Bill tighten his fists, slightly clenching his jaw. A part of him wanted to ignore all of the signs of stress that this man was exhibiting especially after the hell he'd put them through, but he thought about what Miranda would do. "Bill, I know we've had our differences—"

"I didn't want this. Any of it," he said in a low voice. "And… and I'm sorry." Ben started to respond, but Bill cut him off. "Uh, see you on Monday." The man climbed into his car and was gone.

Joey pulled up and a confused Ben waited for him by the stairs. "Was that Dean's dad?"

"There's a surprise inside."

"It's Pru, isn't it?" Ben laughed as they moved inside. "It is, Pru!" Hearing her name, she ran over, her steps wobbly. The teen lifted her and a giggle exploded out of her as he flew her around the room.

"Is she here to stay?" Tuck asked. Though he had a younger brother, Jayden, on his father's side, the teen had confessed to them that he'd wanted another younger sibling on this side. "For good?" He looked from one parent to the next.

Ben shook his head and rubbed Tuck's head. "No, we just have her for the weekend, but…"

"But it's going to be a great weekend," Miranda finished.

"Indeed."