Disclaimer:Monk belongs to the USA Network
Author's Note: Once again, thank you for all the helpful reviews. I truly appreciate every bit of feedback that I get.
Benjy jumped off the bus and ran up to the door of his house. When he entered, he could hear his mother and Mr. Monk talking in the kitchen about a case that they had been working on for the past couple days. He went into the kitchen to kiss his mother hello, and saw that Mr. Monk was deep in thought while he was washing the counter top. He was always cleaning. Sharona always told Benjy that cleaning helps Mr. Monk think, so he must think a lot. If he thinks a lot, then he must know about loads of things. Maybe Mr. Monk could help Benjy with his little dilemma, because he certainly didn't want to talk to his mother about it.
"Hey, Mom, can I talk to Mr. Monk for a second?" asked Benjy.
"Oh, well, sure honey, go right ahead."
"I meant, can I talk to him alone…it's guy stuff."
Monk looked over at Sharona and Benjy with a look of horror on his face and said, "Guy…stuff?"
"Yeah," Benjy said.
Sharona had huge smile on her face and said, "This wouldn't have anything to do with your dance would it?"
"Mom! Guy stuff, remember?"
"Oh, my little man is growing up so fast," Sharona said as she pinched Benjy's cheek.
"Mom! Please!"
"Okay, okay, I'm going. I have to take a bath anyway." She kissed Benjy's forehead and walked over to Monk. Smiling at the terror on Monk's face she said, "You two have a nice talk." She walked out of the kitchen, and pretended to go to her room, but when she was sure they couldn't see her, she crept over to the wall by the kitchen and listened to their conversation.
Monk decided to sit down at the table across from Benjy, and was searching for something to say. Benjy just kept staring at him. He was sure Benjy could see how nervous he was. Monk always wondered what it would be like to be a father, and here was his chance to see. Lucky him. "So…Benjy…what did you want to talk about?"
"It's about the dance."
"Yeah?"
"Well…you see…there's this girl that I want to ask to go with me, but every time I see her, I run the other way. My hands get all sweaty, and my friends laugh at me. I'm the only one who hasn't asked anybody yet! I'm a major wuss."
Monk let out a breathy chuckle. "Benjy, sometimes you just have to go for it. …I remember the first time that I asked Trudy to go on a date with me. I was so nervous that I was almost hyperventilating." Tears were gathering in Monk's eyes and he was smiling while he talked. "I had seen her in the park a couple of times, she was always writing. Writing poems in her journal. One day, I mustered up the courage to sit next to her. She looked over at me and smiled. She had this beautiful light in her eyes, and the sun was shining down on her blond hair, creating a sort of glow around her. She was wearing a pink dress, and a light blue sweater, because there was a slight breeze that day. She introduced herself and held out her hand. I took it… and I was so mesmerized by her blue eyes, that I forgot my own name!" Monk said with a laugh. "I just sat there, holding onto her hand, staring at her with my mouth hanging open. She was so beautiful. I finally remembered my name and we started talking. She mentioned that she liked Willie Nelson, and I remembered some guys at the station saying that he was in town for a concert. So I asked her if she would go with me. We didn't even realize that we had been holding hands through the whole conversation until we looked down. I didn't want to let go. If I hadn't have taken that chance… I would have missed out on the love of my life." Monk wiped his eyes and said, "Just go for it Benjy."
Behind the wall, Sharona had heard every word of Monk's story. She couldn't keep the tears from spilling out of her eyes. Trudy was loved so much. She wished she could have a love like that, but the only man she knew who could love so completely like that was Adrian. Sharona wiped her tears away and tiptoed to her room to take the bath that she had said she was going to take.
"But, Mr. Monk, what if she says 'no'?"
"Then, you ask somebody else. But you'll never know until you ask her."
"Thanks, Mr. Monk. One more question."
"Really?" he asked, worried he wouldn't be able to answer it.
"Yeah. If she does say 'yes', and we go to the dance, what do I do if we run out of things to talk about, and there's just this big awkward silence hanging in the air?"
"Um…maybe you could have a buffer?"
"A buffer?" Benjy asked, totally stumped.
"Yeah, you know, someone who—who can get you back on track…steer you the right way…give you something to talk about?"
Benjy's eyes widened and he exclaimed, "Hey, that's a great idea! You could be my buffer, Mr. Monk!"
"What? Oh, Benjy, no, no. I didn't mean me. I meant someone… who isn't me."
"Aw, come on, Mr. Monk! You could be a chaperone like my mom!"
"Hey, why don't you make your mom your buffer?"
"Cause she'll be busy dancing with Mr. Disher. It's their first date," Benjy said as he rolled his eyes.
"What?" Monk felt like his heart stopped beating.
"Her date is Randy Disher. He's meeting us here the night of the dance."
"You know what Benjy? I think I'll take you up on that offer to be a chaperone."
