Ben gave a satisfied nod as he stood in his bedroom in the Conner house. He wore a dark grey suit and light blue dress shirt. His tie was light yellow with black vertical patterns of small black diamonds, which Ben was still adjusting. There was a section of the Seattle Times lying on Ben's bed. As he finished prepping himself the laughter of children and the ringing of the doorbell drew Ben's attention. "I'll get it," Amanda shouted from downstairs. Ben stepped out into the upstairs hallway to find his four year old twin cousins, Alex and Will, chasing one another outside his room. They wore miniature opposite colored Washington Huskies football jerseys. Alex had the home uniform, deep purple with white numerals. Will's was the opposite, white with purple numerals. Both had on a toddler sized pair of stonewashed blue jeans and tiny Nikes. Ben scooped one up in each arm and folded them over each shoulder at the waist.
"Like two big sacks of potatoes." Ben said playfully as he took them into his room. The two twins were not identical; William (Will) was slightly shorter and lighter than his baby brother (Will was older by four minutes and he never let Alex forget it). He had short brown hair, and chocolate eyes just like Ben's. In later life they'd be able to melt any female. Alex was maybe half an inch taller and felt considerably heavier to Ben. The younger of the twins had a chubbier face, blonde hair, and light blue eyes. They were the children of Amanda's younger sister and both were cute as a button. The Conner's were babysitting while Amanda's sister went out of town. Ben set them down on his bed and began to tickle them at the mid section. Both giggled and kicked vehemently in protest.
"Cos'in Ben, you, play, cops and robbbers with us?" Will asked after he stopped tickling. Alex produced a pair of children's play handcuffs from his back pocket. They were metal and from Ben's viewpoint looked real. Time and distance allowed Ben to chuckle at the request. His mind wandered back almost three years.
Ben never said a word to Monica while he comforted her in her holding cell. He just held and gently rocked her while she sobbed and pounded her fist against his shoulder. He understood that in this moment Monica was a mix of emotions, and she didn't know whether to love him or kill him. Ben also knew that salvation was not far away, he just hoped that it would get here before detective Collins could break one of his parents. At that moment, the guard watching the cells turned on the radio on his desk. The Righteous Brothers Soul and Inspiration came to Ben and Monica's ears.
"You're my soul and my heart's inspiration.
You're all I got, to get me by.
You're my soul and my heart's inspiration.
Without you baby, what good am I?"
Monica instantly stopped crying and looked up at Ben, running her fingers along his cheek. The chorus expressed perfectly how she felt about him. For a few moments the walls of the jail disappeared. They could have been lovers sitting on a park bench somewhere listening.
As he sat on his bed nearly three years later it was an omen Ben realized now. Shortly after the song ended, salvation arrived. Salvation was in the form of the Conner family attorney: Nick Jantzen. A tall, handsome, and athletic looking man in his middle thirties. He had short, curly sand colored hair and brown eyes, which were covered with black wire rimmed glasses. He rounded the corner and laughed when he saw both lovers clinging to one another inside the metal cage.
"Who's that?" Monica asked noticing the new presence. Jantzen wore a dark business suit and tie; he carried a brief case in his right hand. The clothing was the expensive and well-maintained variety a lawyer would own.
Ben smiled the smile of a tired, reluctant hero. "That is your ticket out of here. It's our attorney Nick. I called him on my way back home from Venchinzos." Monica closed her eyes in relief, and leaned against Ben's chest, she was about to be saved.
It didn't take long at all. Nick disappeared off to the interview rooms to find detective Collins. Except for the guard's radio there was complete silence for a few moments. Then Ben and Monica began to hear an argument. The voices were growing louder, approaching the cell. Nick was hanging detective Collins out to dry.
"This is false imprisonment Frank. Either she leaves this place, and I mean right this minute, or I'll see to it Monica Young owns the Seattle Police." Nick said in a mocking tone.
"We have an admission from the mother of the victim, that's more than enough to hold her while I investigate further." Collins shot back angrily.
"Bullshit, the alleged incident is over three years old and you've got no physical evidence. Besides the family doesn't want to press charges." Collins and Jantzen rounded the corner and came into view. Jantzen wagged an index finger in front of Collins. "I play golf with District Attorney Frank." Jantzen checked his watch; it was after midnight. "If you make me wake him at this hour, with as little evidence as this, I guarantee you will not have job by mid morning."
Collins looked at the floor in defeat and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Kick her." The guard blinked a couple of times and didn't move from the desk. "Let her go," Collins shouted again loudly. The guard obeyed this time. The bars slid open and Monica Young was allowed to leave a free woman.
In the front entrance of the station Nick, Ben and Monica were reunited with Ben's parents. Roland and Amanda's faces showed their bewilderment. "Nick what are you doing here?" Amanda asked, her voice just as puzzled as her face.
"Saving her ass. And what an ass it is." Nick turned and smiled slightly as he looked down at Monica's backside. The group walked out of the station together.
"Hey now." Monica playfully slapped Jantzen's hand as he admired her.
"But, but, you're not a criminal attorney." Roland pointed out shaking his head.
"He isn't!" Monica's shoulders jumped in surprise. She turned toward Ben with narrowed eyes.
"No, his specialty is contract law. Roland and I use him to go over the contracts we sign as musicians." Amanda pushed her hair back with both hands in disbelief.
"Yeah well…" Ben looked down at the pavement behind his SAAB. "I didn't know anyone else, but I knew all the police had was hearsay."
"Yeah well you don't want to know how close the hearsay came to putting you away." Amanda looked at Monica. "Collins lied to me and told me Roland had sold you out. Thankfully Nick arrived when he did because I was telling the detective everything."
"He threatened me with assault and battery charges for punching Will Miller." Ben chimed in as he opened the door of his SAAB for Monica.
Miss Young was practically catatonic as she tried to process all that had happened this night. All the risk she took in coming back to Washington nearly blowing up in her face. All the risk Ben had convinced Nick to take to free her. Ben punching Mr. Miller, it was just too much. Monica held on to the open door of the SAAB but she didn't get in. "So Collins was cheating," was all Monica could think to say.
Jantzen winked at her. "Yes he was, and I was only too happy to call his bluff."
"And there is no more deeply moving experience than cheating on a cheater." Ben continued the thought as he helped Monica into the passenger seat.
"Ben, this just arrived from Fed Ex. It's for you." Amanda shouted as she tromped up the stairs toward Ben's room. Ben shook his head to clear it, as he was jolted back to the present. Immediately his eyes met those of two scowling four years olds whom he still hadn't answered.
"C'mon cos'in Ben, play wit us." Alex and Will said together as they each pulled an arm.
"After I see what I got. I'll be along in a few minutes." Ben replied gently to the boys.
"No he won't." Amanda said in a commanding tone. She entered the room and handed her son the Fed Ex box. Amanda knelt down and clapped her hands, indicating for the boys to come to her. "It's graduation day and it's almost time to leave." Amanda scooped up the boys and left the room.
Ben sat on the corner of his bed as he opened the FedEx box. Inside was a thick hard cover novel. The plastic jacket was black with large, silver embossed script lettering: Dying for 16. The one was made to look like the tip of a knife at the low end and had a speck of red on the tip. Ben couldn't help but smile as his eyes drifted to the bottom of the front cover. Embossed in smaller gold script was the author: Monica Young. Ben turned the book over to look at the jacket picture on the back. Monica wore a white blouse, yellow and pink dotted scarf, and a knee length burgundy skirt. Her flowing brunette hair was hanging freely at her shoulders. She wore an irresistible smile and that soft pink lipstick Ben loved so much. It was a professionally done airbrushed photograph, so she had no pores. She looked more beautiful than even Ben could remember. 'Now there's a picture I'd blow up and hang on my wall.' Ben exhaled and moaned slightly at the thought. He turned the book over again and opened the cover. On the inside of the front cover he found a post it note in Monica's handwriting: Dearest Ben please read the dedication, I hope you like it. Ben immediately flipped forward a couple of pages. The dedications were on an otherwise blank page, written in a fancy cursive script made to look handwritten. Ben couldn't help but grin as his eyes scanned the page.
To MD Scott Clair: Thanks for letting me pick your brain about all matters medical.
To Jane: Thanks for the tour.
For Ben: The Greatest Mistake I Ever Made
Ben heard his family calling him and closed the book with a loud thump. He walked downstairs and outside, he was still smiling.
Ben sat in the back of the Ford Explorer with the book propped open on his lap. Roland drove the family toward Husky Stadium; they were attending the graduation ceremonies at UW. Ben read the teaser summary on the inside of the front page. The story was about a sixteen year old boy who fell in love with an older teacher to disastrous consequence. Ultimately the story was a murder mystery but Ben knew where she'd got at least some ideas. The main character was a sixteen-year-old boy named Ken. The teacher and accused murderer was a twenty three year old Art instructor named Suzanne. Ben thumbed the book over to the back cover and read the dossier on Monica:
Monica Young is a thirty-year-old Post Graduate Student in Literature. She is scheduled to receive her doctorate in the spring of 2011. Miss Young resides in Seattle, and teaches Literature and Composition at the University of Washington.
Ben thumped the book closed again and stared out the window, resting his head on his knuckle. Monica stay with the Conners three years ago had been a month long. That was enough time for her to transfer back to Washington University and find employment among the graduate teaching staff. Ben's parents had helped again with the move from Denver. A move that included two trucks, one for Ben's things and the other for Monica's. She still refused to stay with her mother and so found a small apartment similar to the one she'd had in Denver.
Miss Young had received her Masters in the spring of 2009. She had no career training or experience outside of teaching. So she went right on into her postgraduate program. Ben cringed for moment at the thought of having to call his girlfriend professor, or doctor. It seemed so formal after everything they'd been through. Ben and Monica had dated publicly and were inseparable ever since she returned.
It was while pursing her doctorate that Monica discovered that in addition to teaching, she was a splendid writer. Her first formal effort was what now sat on Ben's lap. She'd found writing a very therapeutic way of dealing with her past. Life owed Monica Young a break, and it came when she showed her first novel to one of her professors. He shopped the manuscript around to publishers, and McGraw-Hill bought the rights. Ben didn't know it, but Dying for 16 was already a commercial success. It was currently number seven on the New York Times bestseller list, and unprecedented feat for a first novel.
The Conner's arrived outside Husky Stadium just before eleven in the morning. The sky was a bright and a warm breeze blew Ben's suit coat as he stepped out. The family waited a few minutes, Roland stood in the empty parking space next to them to reserve it. The space was soon filled with a bright red BMW convertible. Monica Young stepped out wearing her black graduation gown, her left hand holding her cap on her head. She greeted the Conners with a lovely smile and kissed Ben on the cheek. Ben blinked his eyes at her new wheels. "BMW 325CI," Ben said aloud has he admired the new vehicle. He noticed it was another stick shift. "Anyone who can afford this doesn't need to worry about gas mileage."
Monica smiled coyly, "Write a best selling novel and get a big advance on your next book, suddenly a lot of things become affordable."
"Yeah I got your book right here." Ben held out the novel with his hand.
"It's the first copy ever printed. It would've gotten to you sooner, but my editor forgot to send it." Monica made an apologetic face.
"It's a best seller, well I can see why. The picture on the jacket alone would make me buy it." Ben traced the picture with his finger.
"Number seven on the New York Times list as we speak." Roland interjected.
"You deserve it Monica." Ben turned towards the football stadium.
"We deserve it." Monica corrected, extending her hand for Ben to take. He took it and the group started walking toward the stadium.
"Congratulations Monica." Amanda reached out with her free hand and patted Monica on the shoulder. Each of Ben's parents carried one of twins.
"Oh by the way, these are my cousins. Mom is holding Alex, and dad is holding Will." Ben extended a hand toward the sleeping boys being carried by Roland and Amanda.
"Oh my, both so cute. I just may have to replace you Ben." Miss Young smirked at her lover. Ben answered with a playful smirk of his own. 'Keep at it Monica, and you won't get what else is coming to you.' Ben pulled his hand away from Monica's for just long enough to reach into his pants pocket. There he fingered a small jewelry box.
The graduation ceremonies were slow, and Ben passed the time by reading Monica's novel. The Conner family sat in first deck of the stadium at about the forty-yard line. Husky stadium is large and made mostly of metal. There were two tiers of seats spanning the length of the football field. A large stage was set up in one of the end zones, just in front of the track that looped around the field. Monica and the other students receiving their doctorate degrees sat just to the left of the stage. The field itself was covered with hard black mats and had rows of folding chairs set up on top of them. An immense number of students receiving bachelors degrees sat facing the stage. The scoreboards displayed the message: University of Washington Class of 2011. The stands were about half full with spectators watching the ceremonies. Ben concentrated on the novel to the exclusion of all that was around him. He'd known she was writing it and she'd asked his permission before using details about their relationship. Still Ben was surprised just how much of her past, their past, she put into it. His concentration was interrupted only once, when the Valedictorian of the Doctorate class was announced.
"The Valedictorian for the doctorate level is a fine student and a better person. She's also a newly published, best selling author. And I'm proud to say she'll be remaining here at UW as a professor of English. Ladies and gentleman the Valedictorian for the doctorate class of 2011, Monica Kathryn Young." Ben got his head up just in time to see the university chancellor yield the podium to Miss Young as she ascended the stage."
Monica was almost literally the size of a small doll from Conner's vantage point as she adjusted the microphone to fit her short frame. "Two roads diverged in the yellow wood… I took the road less traveled by, and that has made all the difference. Robert Frost's poem tells us to look beyond that which is skin deep and obvious. It also teaches us that the journey is more important than whatever destination we might reach. We are gathered here today, the class of 2011, all having come here by differing roads. We are old and young, some of us have traveled miles to be here and others have barely stepped outside their door. Some of us have met many friends: had help along our road; others have wandered more alone. However we came, our task class of 2011 is to explore all of the roads, the roads less traveled by. The journey will seldom be easy; in fact it'll be outright unbearable at times. Yet in certain way we should embrace the hardship. For if there is no resistance along our path, than we cannot truly understand and learn from the journey. And we do learn from the journey, that's what make it so much more important than the places we reach." Monica tilted her head as her speech neared its end; her eyes searched the stands on her right for the Conner's. Even from great distance her and Ben's eyes managed to find one another. "The places we reach, the people we meet, only have meaning because of what it took to get to them. How we feel about the places and people we find along the road is woven in a tapestry of happiness and strife. My life, and all our lives, would not be, as rich, as joyous, or as fulfilling to have one without the other. That tapestry is the reward, class of 2011, for taking our own path, the road less traveled by."
Ben sat absolutely still in the stands listening to Monica. He had to admit that it was a turn on to hear her sweet voice projected throughout the stadium. However, he also found near poetry in her words. She might have been speaking to him, and at the end he knew she was. Ben watched in awe as the short beauty descended the steps and took her seat again. He couldn't believe how lucky his road was to let him know this special lady. Ben reached into his pocket and fingered the jewelry box again. His father saw him, and he and Ben exchanged a knowing glance across Amanda seated between them.
After the ceremony was over Monica followed the Conners back to Venchinzos. Since the night at the jailhouse Roland and Amanda had finally fully embraced Monica as a part of their son's life, and therefore part of the family. Ben could not believe how many memories the restaurant held for him from just that one night. Today he'd make sweeter memories.
Ben was nervous that Monica might object to Venchinzos, but she never gave it a thought. "I've never had to speak in front of that many people before, I was nervous," she said as she sat. She pushed the kinks out of her black skirt, and adjusted the collar of her pearly white blouse.
"I bet you were." Ben whispered in her ear as he pushed the chair in. She turned her head and gave him a smile; he looked devastating dressed up.
"Your speech was unbelievable." Amanda said as she seated the boys in high chairs.
"Yes it was, if you'll excuse me a moment." Ben gave Monica peck on the cheek and disappeared toward the front entrance.
Ben found the hostess and pulled the jewelry box out of his pocket. He opened it and inside was a ring with a silver band and diamonds studded to look like daisies. He handed the ring to the hostess and gave her a series of instructions. Then he returned to his seat.
"So I see the book business has been kind." Roland took a sip of water, but Monica noticed his eyes kept darting to Ben.
"Very kind." She replied somewhat puzzled by the odd behavior she was witnessing.
"Will there be anything besides water to drink?" the waiter asked.
"We'll have a bottle of Korbel." Ben's father said, again making eye contact with his son.
"We have a new doctor in our midst." Ben continued.
Monica noticed he was fidgeting, drumming his fingers and pulling at his collar. "Alright somebody tell me what's going on here?"
"I'd like to know myself." Amanda chimed in while tending the twins.
Ben took a deep breath and rose from his chair. In front of fairly large late lunch crowd, Ben circled the table and knelt down on one knee beside Monica. He pulled the jewelry box out of his pocket and handed it to her. Monica covered her mouth with both hands as she watched him kneel. There was audible inhale of breath from all the patrons at Venchinzos, the dull roar of conversation stopped. People twisted and turned their heads in all directions to watch what was happening at the Conner's table.
"Empty, it's empty." Monica stammered out after opening the box. Her unsteady hand displaying that there was nothing inside.
"Empty, it can't be empty." Ben pretended to sound panicked. There were several moments of awkward silence, nothing happened. "I said empty, it can't be empty." Ben shouted again while still kneeling.
This time the waiter heard the code and brought the champagne. Monica dropped the box and again covered her mouth as the waiter set a glass in front of her. Lying at the bottom of the glass, tinted gold by the liquid was the ring. "Is that a ring?" Amanda asked wide-eyed.
"Yes, and a rather expensive one, so please don't gulp your drink." Ben said nervously as he stared at Monica.
"Oh my gawd." Miss Young whined through her shaking hands. Her deep emerald eyes grew into saucers, locked by Ben's chocolate ones.
"Monica, some people go their whole lives and never have anyone fall in love with them. Some are lucky enough to find a person so special that it makes them more than they thought they could be. But very, very few ever find what we have. We are each that special person for the other. I love every part of you, mind, body, and spirit. And whatever road life takes us down from here; I want you with me. Will you be my wife Monica?
"Yes," she squeaked out, barely in control of herself. Tears welled in her eyes as she fished the ring from its bubbling bath. Ben was still kneeling as he placed it on her finger: it fit perfectly. Monica placed her hands on either side of his face and leaned in giving him a long gentle kiss. The entire restaurant clapped and cheered loudly as they watched the couple.