Chapter 3: The Reason
When Sharona reached Benjy, he was gathering a 20-dollar bill from a scowling girl in pigtails.
"Benjamin!" she gasped, and the circle of kids around her son suddenly dissipated. Benjy quickly stuffed the remainder of his winnings into his pants pocket and looked up at her. "What is going on here?"
"It was just 5 bucks," he replied, mimicking his earlier words.
"That looked like a lot more than 5 bucks to me," she stated.
"Well, okay, I'll tell you," Benjy said reluctantly, and quickly added, "but you have to promise you won't get mad."
"It's statements like that that worry me," Sharona mumbled, then sighed. "Alright, okay. I won't get mad."
Benjy let out a deep breath and began. "So, I went and got my 5 bucks from Shane. By that time, Mr. Monk had already dunked you twice and you were out, dripping all over the place. Shane joked about how Mr. Monk was probably going to have a heart attack if you got him wet, and I told him to shut up." He paused and sighed. "I told him I'd make a bet that one of you two would kiss the other. Some other people showed up, and nobody sided with me. They know how Mr. Monk is. I never expected to win."
"Then why'd ya make the bet?" Sharona asked softly.
Benjy shrugged and looked up at her hopefully. "I was just hoping something would happen," he admitted. "I just want you to be happy, and even though all you and Mr. Monk do when you're together is yell at each other, I know that's normal. He could really make you happy, Mom."
"You think so, huh?" Sharona asked him. "Well, I hate to burst your bubble, kid, but Mr. Monk is still in love with his wife that died. Even if I did want something to happen, it never would."
"But he kissed you, Mom!" Benjy exclaimed. "He has to have some feelings for you."
Sharona sighed. "I don't know why he kissed me, hon, but I can assure you that he doesn't have any feelings for me that aren't completely platonic. If you really want to know, you can ask him." She turned around to see Monk approaching them, and she slid his blazer off her shoulders. "I'll leave you two alone and you can ask him."
She walked towards Monk and offered his blazer back to him. He declined, of course – it was all wet now.
"Adrian, I don't know what's going on here with us, but I think Benjy's starting to get ideas," she informed him, slipping his damp blazer around her shoulders once again.
Monk reached over and straightened the jacket so it was even, then looked up into Sharona's eyes. Her eyes. They said so much. More than words. They said words Sharona would never speak to him. They said, 'Kiss me again, Adrian. Hold me in your arms. Make me your prom queen.' But he couldn't give in, not yet, not here.
"Sharona, could – could I ask you a favor?"