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Secrets by mommyofboth
Chapter Nine: Chopsticks and Chick Flicks
Angela Masen
The ringing of my cell phone startled me out of my dream. I sat up on the couch, disoriented and groggy. I searched among the pillows and blanket until I found my phone. Ben's cell was on the caller ID.
"Hello?" I asked, trying to make my voice appear energetic so he wouldn't realize he had awoken me.
"Angela." His voice sounded relieved. "I was worried about you. I've been knocking on your front door for a couple of minutes. I saw that your garage doors are open, but that you hadn't pulled your car in, so I thought maybe something was wrong. I know that Edward left last night. I just wanted to make sure you guys were doing okay."
"Oh, Ben," I responded as I sat up from the couch, smoothing my shirt and straightening my bed head as I walked to the door. "That's so sweet of you, we're fine. I must have dozed off, not realizing. I'll be right there."
I unlocked the deadbolt and opened the door, smiling as I hung up my phone. Ben was standing on the front porch with one arm full of Chinese take out and the other with a couple of DVD's.
"Hi. Sorry about that, come in," I said, opening the door wider, gesturing him to follow me to the kitchen.
"I didn't mean to wake you, I just thought you might like some company. I've heard you never turn down Chinese food." He smiled as he walked toward the kitchen, setting the boxes down on the island counter. He looked toward the playroom off the family room. "Where are the boys?"
"Oh, they're napping." I glanced at the microwave clock. "They've only been down for about thirty minutes, so I'm guessing they won't be up for awhile." I reached into the cupboard, pulling down two plates, handing one to Ben. "Thank you so much for bringing lunch. I didn't realize I was so hungry."
"That's what friends are for." He smiled, loading his plate with rice and noodles.
"Well, thanks," I managed before stuffing my loaded fork of sweet and sour chicken into my mouth. "MMMMM." Ben followed me to the kitchen table where we ate in comfortable silence. "That was delicious. How did you know I was craving Chinese food?"
"Lucky guess," Ben replied as he got back up to reload his plate. "Can I get you more while I'm up?"
"No, I'm good. Thanks, though. So what have you been doing today? Resting up for your shift tonight?"
"I'm actually off for the next few days," he responded, as he sat back at the table. "My mom and little sister are flying in this evening from Washington to visit for a week, so I took some vacation time. I'm excited for you to meet my sister Jenny. I think you two will hit it off."
"Well, then I can't wait to meet them." I smiled, but then paused, embarrassed. "I didn't realize you were from Washington, though. I guess I don't know that much about you, Ben."
"Well," he chuckled, reloading his fork. "You aren't missing much. I'm a simple guy."
"No, really. I want to know more about you," I said, determined. "Besides, I trust you with my kids, you could at least tell me a little about yourself."
"Well," he laughed again, "If this is an official nanny interview, then okay. I was born and raised in Seattle, lived in Silicon Valley for a few years after college, then switched to firefighting and … here I am. Your humble neighbor." He smiled as he bowed his head, placing his hand over his heart. "Do I get the job?"
"Maybe," I laughed. "So, the big mystery is solved… I was wondering how a firefighter afforded your house," I joked, taking both our plates to the dishwasher. "What, did you make your money as a dot com genius before devoting your life to public service?"
"Something like that," he laughed, winking at me. "Now, what movie would you like to watch? Romantic comedy or Action?"
"Ah, you're trying to distract me." I smiled at his attempt to change the subject. After drying my hands on the dishtowel, I hung it up, following Ben into the family room. "I'm afraid it's not that easy. You'll find that I'm quite persistent. I do have a few more questions, if you don't mind," I teased.
"Fire away," he said, smiling.
"Well…" I smiled. "Let's go with romantic comedy. Edward hates chick flicks, so I'm feeling quite deprived lately." I took the movie from Ben, setting it up in the player, then situated myself on the love seat in the family room. Ben stretched out on the sofa, slipping off his shoes.
"So…whose car is that parked in your driveway in the wee hours of the morning, Ben? Are you hiding a new lady friend from us?" I flashed him my biggest grin as I interrogated him on his love life.
"Hey, I'm not one to kiss and tell." He smiled. "If she lasts a bit longer, maybe I'll introduce you. I don't want you scaring her off, telling her stories... Now let's get this show on the road."
"Are you sure you have time for a movie?" I raised my eyebrows, smirking as I hit play on the remote. "Shouldn't you be cleaning your house, hiding your dirty magazines before your mom sees them?"
"HA. HA, Angela. Very funny," he snickered. "Luckily, Lauren cleaned my house yesterday. Plus I've already hidden my private stash."
The thought of our common housekeeper stumbling across a stash of hidden dirty magazines made me laugh. "Oh, good," I giggled. "I don't want to hear any more about your bachelor habits when she comes to clean my house tomorrow. You've given us a lot of material for gossip and speculation over the past year, you know. It's been highly entertaining."
"Hey," I yelled, teasing, as a throw pillow came whizzing past my head, landing on the seat cushion next to me. "I'm in a delicate state, here," I said, motioning to my belly. "No need for violence. I'm pretty sure pillow combat would not fall under "taking it easy," you know."
"Sorry." Ben's expression was a mix of guilt and playfulness. "Let's just watch the movie. No more gossiping with Lauren... and definitely no gossiping with my mom and sister, okay?"
I smiled slyly. "I don't know… I have some pretty good material just begging to be shared. What's in it for me?"
"Oh, I'll tell you what's in it for you." His mouth drew up into a smirk. "Lauren's gossiping knows no bounds, you know. I'm sure your mother would love to hear what Lauren found in your sheets last week… something about a squishy bull shaped toy…"
"GAHHHH!" I screamed, throwing the pillow back blindly in his direction, while burying my face in my hands. "Okay, you win. No more, please. I don't want to know what you know. Ignorance is bliss. Your secrets are safe."
Peeking between my fingers, I glanced at Ben who was still laughing. "I'm officially mortified. Please, let's never speak of this again."
"Deal," he chuckled. "Now let's watch the movie. I can't get enough of these chick flicks," he teased.
As Ben focused on the movie, I couldn't help but laugh at him as well as at the situation. I wasn't even paying attention to the my mind was thinking back to all the things my housekeeper could have found over the past three years. She helped with our laundry, after all… changed our sheets. Gah! Edward was going to be humiliated when I told him Lauren was sharing our secrets. I can't believe that my cleaning lady is sharing our dirty laundry with our neighbor. It was comical… almost, if it weren't so embarrassing.
Ben laughed loudly at the screen just as my phone rang from the coffee table. Edward. I grabbed the phone, pulling myself off the couch as I answered.
"Hello, Edward?" I asked as I walked out of the family room, not wanting to disturb Ben or his movie. "How's your day going?"
"It's fine, it was a long flight," he sighed. "I'm just missing you and the boys. We just got to Lanai, I'm on the shuttle to the hotel as we speak. We're hoping we can get a nap in before heading back. I sure wish you were here with me. You are so much more fun than pay per view," he laughed. "What are you up to today?"
"Just hanging out," I answered. "Ben brought me lunch and we've been watching a chick flick, or I should say, he's been watching it. The boys are napping, but should be up soon."
"Oh. Ben's there?" He sounded disappointed. "Well, that was nice of him to check on you. How are you feeling today? How's the bleeding?"
"It's barely there now, I'm feeling a lot better. Just trying to take it easy," I said, sitting down on the bench in front of Edward's grand piano. "When will you be back?"
"We fly back late tonight, but it's a six hour flight, so with the three hour time change…" he answered. "Hopefully I'll be back by the time you guys get up. Do you want to get a sitter for tomorrow night so we can go out?"
"I can try," I said, a bit skeptical. "It's Friday night, but I'll see what I can do. My mom's still sick, so she's out. I'm definitely not asking Ben. His family will be in town, plus he's got a new love interest, so he'll have plans, I'm sure."
"Really?" Edward asked, with a little too much excitement in his voice. "Maybe we could all go out sometime. You know, I really like Ben. I'd love to spend more time with him."
"Sure," I laughed, "I'll bet you would. I'll tell him you're up for a double date sometime and see what he says." I continued to trace the keys on the piano with my finger, accidentally applying too much force, causing a note to sound.
"Oh, wow," Edward said disapprovingly. "That needs to be tuned. Would you mind calling Carlos and setting up an appointment to get the piano tuned? His number is in my rolodex in the office."
"No problem," I replied. "I've been meaning to get it tuned, I just haven't gotten around to it. I'll call him. Well, I probably should go… I'm not being the most considerate hostess right now. Will you call me later?"
"Of course, but I won't be able to talk very long," he admitted. "I'll call you after we get back from finding something to eat. I really need to get a nap in since I'm flying the red eye home."
"Okay." I was disappointed I didn't get to talk to him longer, but felt guilty for abandoning Ben. "I love you. Be careful and don't forget to call me before you go to bed."
"I love you, too," he replied. "Give a hug to the boys for me. I'll talk to you later."
I continued to hold the phone to my ear, despite the fact that I knew he had ended the call. I sighed, getting up from the piano bench and lowering the lid. Walking back into the family room, I noticed that Ben was snoring on the sofa. I wondered what time he had to pick his family up from the airport, but decided a short nap couldn't hurt. I returned to my spot on the love seat, curling my feet under me as I tried to figure out what was happening in the movie.
As the credits began to roll, I glanced at the clock, realizing it was almost two o'clock. The twins should be up any minute. As if they realized I was thinking about them, I heard a cry from the monitor on the end table.
"Momma? I waked up, honey!" Seth's voice began. I turned the monitor off, walking toward their shared bedroom. As I opened the door, I was greeted with two enthusiastic bronze haired boys sitting up on their beds.
"Hi! I missed you," Connor exclaimed, throwing himself off his bed, grabbing onto my legs.
"I missed you too," I said as I picked him up, placing a kiss on his cheek and moving to open their window blinds. "How was your nap?"
"Fine, honey," Seth answered. I laughed at his new favorite word. He had taken to using "honey" in almost every sentence this past week. I must say it a lot more than I realize.
"Oh, good. Guess who came to play?" I asked them as I straightened up the beds.
"Grandma?" Connor yelled, excitedly.
"Nope, not grandma," I answered as I carried Connor out of the room, Seth following closely behind me.
"Daddy! Daddy's home!" Connor yelled, wiggling out of my arms, and running down the hall.
"No, Daddy's at work. It's Ben from next door, but he's napping, so we need to be quiet for a little bit longer." I tried to grab them before they headed into the family room, but was too late. The boys rushed to the couch, practically pouncing on Ben. Seth stuck his face inches from Ben's, watching intently, as Connor pried Ben's eyelids open.
"Wake up!" Connor yelled.
"No sleeping, honey," Seth said as Ben was startled awake. I chuckled as Ben sat up suddenly, appearing disoriented.
"Hey, guys! You woke me up!" Ben pretended to be angry as he grabbed both, beginning his tickle torture. "You will be punished for disturbing my nap."
I smiled as the boys squealed in delight, both hanging over Ben's knees as he tickled them. "Sorry, I couldn't stop them fast enough," I explained. "They were so excited you were here to play."
"Oh, it's no problem. Huh, guys?" Ben asked, stopping the tickling as he put both his hands up. "Give me five… now… knuckles." Both boys slapped Ben's hands with their own and then rammed their fists into his. "Excellent," he exclaimed.
"Come play trains, come play trains!" Connor demanded, as Seth pulled on Ben's fingers, trying with all his strength to get him to move off the couch.
"Okay, but only for a couple of minutes, and then I have to go," Ben responded as he allowed the twins to pull him off the couch, leading him into the playroom. I could hear them making train sounds while acting out a story as they played for the next half hour while I read my vampire romance.
"Ben?" I called from the family room, "What time is their flight? Should you be heading out now?"
Ben emerged from the playroom, glancing at his watch as he dragged a child on each foot. "They get in around five, but I need to go for a run, so I guess I better get going."
"NOOOOOOO!" the twins sang as they each tightened their hold on Ben's legs. He pretended to be walking through thick mud as he walked to the foyer.
"Okay, that's enough," I scolded. "Let's all thank Ben for coming to play with us. If you boys are good, maybe he'll come back again. Okay?"
"Thank you!" they sang in chorus as they released their grips on his pant legs.
"Anytime, guys," Ben replied as the boys ran back down the hall, hollering like monkeys. "Thanks for letting me play with you and for the leg work out," he called after them.
"Thank you, Ben," I said as I handed him the DVD's. "I really love that you brought me lunch and hung out with us today. I know you probably had better things to do with your time, but I'm grateful."
"No problem," Ben responded as he gave me a friendly hug. "Please call me if you need anything, day or night…especially while Edward is out of town. I hate thinking about you being here alone if something were to happen. I can be over here in a matter of minutes, you know that, right?"
"Yes, thank you, Ben." I opened the door for him. "I'll definitely call you if we need anything.
He paused on the edge of the step, almost as if he had something else to say, then waved quickly and walked toward his house.
Walking back into the house, I closed the door behind me, calling to the boys to settle down as I saw one of them leap off the living room chair to the couch. I shook my head, Boys! Hopefully this little girl will be a bit calmer. I gathered the empty boxes of Chinese food, throwing them into the trash, then pulled a package of chicken out of the fridge and began to make dinner. I hate cooking when Edward is out of town, but decided it would give me something to do for the next half hour.
Just as I was putting the casserole into the oven, the doorbell rang.
I quickly glanced at the counter and end table near where Ben had been sitting, figuring he must have forgotten something if he were back. I didn't see anything at first glance and hurried toward the foyer as I heard one of the twins unlocking the deadbolt to open the door.
I told Edward we needed to change to handles the boys can't open.
"Connor Masen! How many times have I told you never to open the door without mommy with you?"