NOTES:
More on how the kids might act between LMR and BP. To answer a reviewer's question - I have a couple more ideas I'm toying with in my slack time. Thanks.
/
Need a Lift?
Rising Phoenix Dojo
Late August
6:40 PM
— B —
Ben could feel the bruises forming up and down his sides as he crossed the parking lot to the dojo, the aftermath of a goal kick drill at the end of practice. Every one of his soccer team mates got two tries to get the ball past him, even the second goalkeeper - 30 shots he had to defend against from a dead standstill, with no breaks in between. Sure, a lot of them weren't all that hard to stop, even a few whiffs where the kids just dribbled the ball directly at him barely faster than a pass. But there were some good players on the team who could give the ball a hard, accurate kick at all four corners of the goal. He had to leap at them fully stretched out with his fists over his head for even a chance to deflect them, landing with the sides of his body unprotected from the lumpy, rock-hard dry ground. Not to mention the actual fist sized rocks that seemed to always be right where his ribs or thighs hit, no matter how carefully he searched for them before the drill started. Seventeen shots got past him, and for most his body hit the ground in the same five or six places - it was hard to tell since the first individual bruises kept getting abused and got bigger and deeper. At least he'd have some winners for tonight's bruise contest. Pulling up his shirt to show off the ones on his ribs would be good for a wicked deep flush on her face, too. And he couldn't get enough of the soothing feeling of her hands as she used her magic to make the injuries heal. Score!
It was ironic when he thought about it; the "safe", non-violent sport (at least according to his Mom) more often than not left him with uglier bruises than karate ever did. It drove the Dweeb crazy, just like any other competition with him that she lost. When he got one on his face, though - not uncommon as it turned out - it got him a make-the-booboo-better kiss on the cheek. Bonus!
So in spite of the aches and pains, Ben was feeling pretty good as he approached the front of the dojo, despite the abuse his body just took. Having to limp home, especially with the deep purple and sickly yellow patches throbbing painfully on his right thigh, was going to suck. But spending the night at Gwen's while his parents went to the U2 concert would make up for it, even if they had to be on their best behavior.
Class had ended about ten minutes earlier so the stream of gi-clad students and their parents was just starting to come out of the doors. Most of them recognized him and waved a greeting that he returned as he stopped and dropped his gym bag and a ball next to a sky blue classic Mustang parked six spaces from the doors. This was as close as he wanted to get so he could avoid the inevitable questions he didn't want to answer. He leaned against the right front fender and waited patiently - they would be coming out soon.
"Hey! Pendejo! You wanna get you're scrawny ass off my car!?"
Ben scowled hard as he looked towards the owner of that voice and saw a moderately tall, wiry blond teen in a gi with a green belt glaring at him as he walked purposefully from the doors in his direction. A couple white belts hanging around the front looked nervous, clearly wary of trouble, as were several parents. Behind them all Gwen was walking slowly towards him as well, covering her mouth with a hand to hide the smirk he saw as the boy called out his challenge.
"This POS is yours? I'm not sure I'd admit to that, but then I wouldn't be walking around in my dork pajamas, either."
"That's the best you can come up with, jock? I guess it's true that you morons lose your brains when you let the ball hit you in the head!" The menacing teen was five steps away and bringing his right arm up as Ben stood up from the fender with a sneer and unconsciously took up the kata stance he hadn't had a chance to use lately. More students and parents were surging their way, most of the kids wearing a grin in anticipation as the adults tried to shepherd them away from the scene. Ben started moving his right arm in response as a 30ish man was hurrying over to try to prevent the impending fight. Ben snorted. He was too far off to stop what the blond had started.
Ben waited until the much bigger boy was two steps away before taking one himself, bringing his arm up until it was extended over his head with the palm facing forward. The blond finished bringing his up as well, to meet Ben's with a similarly open hand; both boys stopped moving as they slapped their hands together in a noisy, perfect high five, grinning savagely at each other.
"YES!" Ben yelled first, as his friend called out "Good one, Squirt!"
Gwen caught up to them a second later, laughing. "Don't you two ever get tired of that?!" The students who knew Ben and Paul were laughing and buzzing to each other about the dramedy they just saw, the newbies were a bit shell shocked at how one of their senpais had acted, and most of the adults were grinning and shaking their heads, a few muttering "Boys!" as they all went back to normal.
"Heck no!" Ben said. "Look at how much our adoring fans loved it! And don't wipe that smirk off your face and try to tell me you didn't, too!"
"Gotcha there, Gwen." their friend said. "That smile on your mug is a dead giveaway! I just want to know if it's for both of us or just your favorite?" Paul teased with a smirk.
"Well, both, of course. ... Besides, who said either of you was my favorite?" she replied, ducking her head with a sheepish smile and looking straight at Ben with those amazing green eyes...
Who felt his cheeks start to burn, looking back at her before turning to Paul with a start, catching him shake his head with an amused grin.
"Uh huh" was all he said, as he turned to go to the driver's side door of his car. Getting these two flustered is way to easy, not to mention serious fun, he thought.
"Not that I'm unhappy to see your fugly butt, Squirt, but what are you doing here?" Paul said as he opened the door. "D'oh, never mind, movie night. Right?" He paused barely long enough to take a breath, then continued before Ben or Gwen could answer. "Just out of idle curiosity, what're we watching tonight? Sumo, rom-com, cheesy space alien western? ... Chick flick?" he finished, waggling his eyebrows.
Gwen had moved to stand next to him as Paul sat down behind the steering wheel and started to put the convertible top down. Ben glanced at her before snorting "Chick flick?! Not likely! And it's not like we only watch movies. Sometimes we play video games - I've gotta kick somebody's butt at Sumo, and you're too easy dude!"
Gwen whirled on him and smacked his shoulder, ignoring his grimace. "Yeah right! Who got creamed seven to four last week?!" she said with a mock glare. Then she turned back to Paul as the top finished retracting.
"We do other stuff besides movies and games, too. Especially when we don't have to get up early" she said innocently, before turning a brilliant shade of crimson from realizing how many ways that could be taken wrong. And Paul didn't miss the opening.
"Do tell! And just what kinds of other, er, stuff do you indulge in that keeps you up late?" he asked with a particularly evil smirk.
Ben felt his face turn a matching red, but didn't stop from growling back. "Geez, Paul, get your mind out of the gutter! You know my folks are in Sacramento at a concert tonight, so I'm staying in the guest bedroom at Gwen's!" He fixed Paul with a semi-serious glare that might turn deadly any second.
Paul laughed. "Too damn easy" Ben heard him mutter, and he was about to back up the death glare when Paul dialed it back, holding his hands up in surrender.
"OK, OK, cool your jets Shorty!" he said as he held back another chuckle. He looked at Gwen and bowed his head a little at her. "My apologies, Gwendolyn-san, for being a contemptible pig." he said with exaggerated formality.
Gwen forced back a giggle and nodded back once, then shot a surprised but pleased grin at Ben over his outburst. Paul looked up at her, then back to him with a shit eating grin and raised eyebrows but didn't say anything else.
"Shut up!" Ben grumbled as the burn got more intense. He reached down and grabbed the soccer ball and gym bag, wincing as he slung the bag over his shoulder. "Come on, Dweeb, let's get going. The sooner we get to your house the better. My leg is killing me!" he said as he looked down at his now disgustingly colored thigh.
"I don't see your ride. Are you walking?" Paul asked in surprise after making a quick scan of the parking lot. Ben nodded ruefully. "How come?"
Gwen answered first. It was her family problem that put them in this predicament after all. "My Mom's car is at a mechanic's, something about the alternator shorting out yesterday afternoon. Grandpa would normally fix it, but he's ..." She almost said he was in Phoenix again, but Paul didn't need to know any details. "He's not able to this time. Daddy brought us to practice, but he's got a big trial starting Monday so he has to work late all weekend. And you know about Ben's parents. So we're walking home." She shrugged. "It's only half an hour."
Ben watched Paul think for a second, then he said "Screw that! Jump in, I'll give you a lift." He grinned with appreciation at the thought of not aggravating the ache his leg and was about to toss his stuff in the back seat when he saw Gwen's doubtful frown.
"I don't know, my parents probably wouldn't ..." was as far as she got before he cut her off.
"Ugh! You're overthinking this, brainiac. They never said you couldn't, right? They know Paul, and my parents let me go with him plenty of times. Do you really want to take a thirty minute hike after the workout you just had? I don't, my legs are killing me!"
"We-eeell... when you put it like that..." Ben's grin came back as her reluctance faded.
"Now you're talking!" he said happily. His gym bag and the ball landed with a thud behind the front seat as he opened the passenger-side door and started to get in. "Let's go."
That swept away the last of her misgivings, replaced with determined irritation. "No way, knucklehead! I'm not sitting in the back. Do you have any idea what the wind will do to my hair back there? Move it!"
Ben looked at Paul "A little help here? Shotgun is first come first serve, amiright?"
"Sorry Squirt, not this time." Paul wasn't even a little apologetic, the traitor. "When I get a choice between a pretty girl and your ugly ass up front, there's no choice. Pretty girl wins every time, 'specially if she can kick both our butts! Besides, it's in the convertible car rules. Look it up. ... You heard her - move it!"
Ben glared at his so-called friend, who just grinned and hooked his right thumb towards the back. He scrambled between the front seats into the rear bench, grumbling "Hate you both so much!" as Paul laughed and Gwen pretty much crowed in his seat and closed the door. He barely had time to turn around before Paul hit the gas, launching the 'Stang towards the parking lot exit.
"Hey!" he cried, flopping into the seat as the sweet sound of her laughing drifted from the right front.
— P —
As they approached the intersection of El Camino Real and Devonshire, the road into her neighborhood, Gwen gave Paul some directions. "Take a left at this signal; then the third right. That's my street."
"Got it." Paul drifted into the left turn lane just in time for the signal to turn yellow. "Ah crap!" he muttered, "This'll take forever to get through. ... And this song sucks too much to keep listening." Stopping at the light, he reached out to change the radio station away from the disco tune that had started blaring from the speakers.
Ben leaned forward from the back seat and piped up, now that the road noise was gone and the mufflers were only emitting a low rumble, "Ugh, you got that right! Put it out of my misery, will ya?!"
The next preset station was fortunately playing the tail end of a decent song all three of them seemed to like, judging from the way his passengers reacted - Gwen started moving her upper body and arms along with the beat, and a glance in the rear view mirror showed Ben nodding his head, both with a content expression.
The song ended and segued into a new one without any DJ jibber jabber, one Paul recognized during the first two measures of the drum intro he unconsciously tapped out on the steering wheel. A Foo Fighters tune he learned several years ago, one he played at the Squirt's house back in the spring when they discovered their shared interest in playing guitar. He always felt a pang of loss whenever he heard My Hero, but the memory of the spontaneous jam session took over and replaced it with a grin - that had been a fun day! He looked back in the mirror when the lead guitar line joined in expecting a similar expression on Ben's face, but was surprised to see the grin from the previous song fade to a frown, then to sadness as his friend stared down at his lap.
As the lyrics started Gwen was again bobbing along with the music, catching Paul's attention as she shifted in the seat next to him, turning to look back with a grin. "This sounds like another song you should learn ..." she said before she got a look at Ben's downcast expression.
Her happy attitude changed to concern when she did. "Ben?" she asked, just as the radio was belting out 'There goes my hero...' Before Paul could even blink, Gwen had slipped over the center console into the back seat and was huddled against Ben's left side, her right hand on his arm, whispering in his ear.
— G —
The feel of the wind curling over the windshield, swirling into the seats of the topless car just behind her head was amazing, way better than how she imagined it would be whenever a convertible had passed her before. She smirked a little at the thought it probably wasn't all that great for her Doofus sitting behind her, but then again he wasn't complaining. The sight of the turbulent air making a cute mess of his hair, and the goofy smile he gave her whenever she looked back made her heart stutter.
She had to agree with both boys when they complained about the hideous disco tune. She was grateful for the pop rock song that was playing when he flipped the radio to another station. When a new song started she grinned and looked over at Paul as he tapped the drum rhythm on the steering wheel. When the guitar parts kicked in, just right for Ben's playing style, she turned around to tell him it should go on his list of songs to learn.
Then the lyrics started, and she saw Ben's stricken look at the song's hero theme. The past month wasn't enough to erase the memories of the last time he used the watch, or ease the pain of hearing those words. She couldn't bear to see him beating himself up again at what he did, what he had to do. In a flash she was beside him, leaning her head against his to whisper "Ben, you're OK".
"No. No, all those people, even him, they're gone because of me. Because I had to be the hero!" Ben said in a haunted murmur, spitting out the last word like it was poison.
"You can't think that! He caused all that, not you. Because of you so many more people are still here! Phoenix is still here!" Gwen told him in a low, firm voice.
She pulled her head back so she could see his tormented face. "Grandpa and I are still here!" she said gently. Then in a fierce whisper-shout "And the Universe is better without that... thing in it!" Ben looked up at her, eyes glistening. He opened his mouth as if to say something but just closed it after a few seconds.
"You saved us all from that monster that day. And you've been saving me for years, even without the watch. That's what heroes do! And you'll always be one, especially to me! You need to believe that!"
— P —
Paul sat dumbfounded at the crisis in the back seat of his car, watching Gwen say something that finally made Ben look up with a far off, hollow stare before he focused on her. He couldn't guess what about the song set his buddy off but it was clearly devastating. He reached over to push in the cassette hanging partially out of the radio, hoping a more upbeat style of music would help make him feel better. The red light turned green, but Paul didn't notice it until the driver behind them honked his horn angrily.
"Yeah, yeah, I hear you. Pinche cabron!" he growled as he pressed on the gas pedal, letting the traffic behind him go by so he could pull into an empty parking lot and check on the two in the back seat. Turning around he saw Gwen holding Ben's arm with concern and a touch of anger on her face, focused only on him. Ben was still looking down but seemed a bit less miserable than a few minutes ago when this whole episode started; whatever she whispered in his ear had a positive effect. With these two he'd probably never know the why, but he could at least try to snap them out if it and back to their happy selves from just five minutes ago.
"You two OK back there? ... I know I just got done with a workout but I'm not that pungent, am I?" he said with a lopsided grin.
Ben finally looked up at him with a weak smile "No, we've suffered worse stink from Grandpa's cooking. ... I guess I'm not over the crash."
"Yeah, I get you. Violent accidents can have that effect." Paul replied with a serious look. After a short pause, he put on a mock frown. "And I don't remember saying anything about stinking, thank you very much!"
The music from the cassette was still playing, and Gwen picked up on it as a new tune started. "Hawaii Five O, Paul?! Dreaming about a vacation?" she said in a playful tone, picking up on his attempt to pull Ben out of his sadness.
Paul grinned. "Nah, just surf music. But I wouldn't turn down the chance to watch some hula girl hip action!" he said, exaggerating an eyebrow waggle at them. Which got the reaction he was looking for, at least from Ben, who snorted and broke into a real grin before bringing up a hand over his mouth to stifle any ill-advised laughing. Gwen's reaction was almost as good, if a bit surprising - she shot eye daggers at Ben for a second before turning to Paul and shouted his name using at least two syllables.
The grin turned to a short laugh as he said "All right, if you don't like that..." while he reached back to hit the reverse button on the radio. The cassette started playing the other side, catching another song in the middle.
'... beach baby, beach baby there on the sand, from July to the end of September...'
"That isn't any better!" the girl shouted again in mock outrage.
"What? You don't like The Beach Boys?! That's almost un-American." Paul laughed harder as he turned back to them. "Besides, that was my reality back in San Diego. A sexy new vacation Sheila every summer! What's not to like?" he continued, giving Ben a wink.
Gwen lost it at that, slapping Paul's shoulder. "You are such a pig! And all this time I thought you were one of the good guys!" She whirled on Ben, who's self control failed and was now seriously cracking up through the hand over his mouth.
"Stick a cork in it, Doofus! If you know what's good for you, you'll stay away from this jerk from now on!" she yelled and tried to glare at both of them before collapsing against him with a clipped laugh before giving in to a fit of giggles, burying her face in his shoulder.
After their laughter subsided, Paul rubbed his eyes and asked "Are you two ready to get going?", looking with lingering concern from Ben to his cousin. His friends' haunted looks were gone, reflecting instead their normal fun loving characters.
"Yeah, I'm OK." Ben ducked his head and replied. He gave Paul a grateful smile. "Thanks, dude."
"For what? Missing a turn? That's on my navigator! Who seems to be missing in action."
Gwen winced. "Sorry, Paul. Take a left out of the parking lot and stay in the inside lane. My street is the first left." she said, also giving Paul a grateful look as she sat up from leaning heavily against Ben. She didn't move away from sitting against his side, though, and the arrangement clearly didn't bother him either, Paul noticed. Curiouser and curiouser cried Alice he thought with an enigmatic smile.
"Got it" he said, putting the car in gear and heading to the driveway. As he made the left turn he heard Ben say quietly "Thanks, Dweeb. I... I can't handle that on my own. Not yet."
"You don't have to. That's what I'm here for, Doofus." he heard Gwen reply before the road noise got too loud.
Driving down the road Paul pondered again what really happened to them in Phoenix. A traffic accident, even one that left an RV not worth repairing, couldn't account for what he just witnessed. Or for the first month after they got back, when he watched helplessly as the two agonized apart from each other before something happened that got them back together.
He glanced in the rear view mirror in time to see Gwen finish a kiss on Ben's cheek. What the hell is going on with those two? he wondered, not for the first time. Lately, though, the thought always seemed to make him smile.
—X —
Still Friends
Bellwood Middle School
Bellwood, Ca
September 5, 2000
7:45 AM
"Jamie! Jamie, hey, wait up!"
The object of that call stopped as he was reaching for the center door at the main entrance of the building, causing the girl and boy walking behind him to abruptly go around to the doors on either side. A second boy bumped his shoulder hard as he also went around to the right, grumbling "Dude! Get the hell out of the way!"
The shove jostled Jamie's sturdy, practical glasses down the bridge of his nose, so it only took another push by a fourth schoolmate to finish the job of knocking them off. He was bending down to retrieve them, muttering "Geez, would it be that hard to just go around me?" when a pair of black striped sneakers stopped next to him, and a hand grabbed his glasses first. He straightened up as the owner of the hand did the same, when yet another boy almost ran over them both.
Jamie looked at the glaring face of the shorter boy holding the glasses, who growled out "You can see we're stopped here, go around us!" The intruding kid started snarling back "Screw you, don't stop in the middle -", then stopped talking as the full force of the glare caught him. "Oh, its you, Tennyson. Sorry, man, I'll just..." And then that boy hurried past without another word.
"Inconsiderate prick!" Ben mumbled, then turned to Jamie with a slightly concerned look and held out his hand. "Here. Sorry about that, Jamie, I didn't mean for you to become a speed bump."
Jamie took the glasses and put them back on, shrugged his backpack higher up his left shoulder saying "Thanks, dude. Don't worry about it, they're not scratched or anything."
Ben nodded and said "Good. ... Hey, can I talk to you for a minute? Come on, let's get out of the way.", barely avoiding yet another collision and led the way to the left of the doors to a mostly unused bike rack. He stopped and turned, and gave Jamie a weird, awkward look. What's that for?, he thought.
"Listen, Jamie, I..." Ben started, rubbing the back of his head with his left hand. "You know when you came over after I ... I got back from Phoenix?"
Jamie nodded as he shifted his left hand on the strap of the backpack. Yeah, he remembered that, four or five days after Ben got back. He went over to play some Sumo, and maybe hear some first hand details about what the alien attack was like. Ben had been in a prickly mood, though, and he couldn't play the video game to save his life. Which was so unlike him, he usually kicked everyone's butt. And he didn't keep up his end of the trash talk, either. After maybe ten minutes they just gave up when Ben ran out of lives, and he got more irritated when Jamie started asking questions about the attack. At first his descriptions of the space ship and the robots and how he and his cousin and grandpa were racing to get help were interesting. But he almost looked like he was gonna cry when he talked about his grandpa's RV getting busted up and they all got hurt as it tumbled. After a couple questions about the alien and the lasers and stuff, he finally snapped "Look, Jamie, just drop it! It was an attack and innocent people died and got hurt! There was nothing cool or exciting about it!" Jamie finally said he was going to walk back home, and maybe come back another day when Ben felt better. He never did.
He looked at his, what? Friend? Game buddy? Whatever. Ben had changed a lot since his birthday party; he must have gotten grounded hard for chucking that slushball. There had been an obvious cut back in game playing, but Jamie never heard a reason why.
He was surprised to see Ben staring at the ground as he crossed his arms. "I know I was being an asshole. I was still kind of banged up, and I was worried about my grandpa and dwe-, er, Gwen, and I didn't get much sleep then. I still shouldn't have taken it out on you, though" he looked up with a sad look. "I'm sorry."
What the hell?! Jamie thought. This can't be right. Ben was always an asshole, and he never apologized for it. Not once, not really. Sure, he was fun to play Sumo with, when he wasn't being a total dick about winning, and usually his class clown shtick was good for a laugh. But...
"Uh, yeah, sure man. No worries. It's OK." was all Jamie could think to say. Even so, it was enough for Ben, as he got a sheepish grin and said "Thanks, dude!" Neither boy said anything for a few seconds before Ben continued "I, um, didn't bring my Sumo deck today, but maybe we can play a game at lunch later this week?"
Jamie grinned. "Really? Yeah, we can do that. The other guys may want to play, too." Then the grin faded as he remembered. "But not on Thursday. I'm meeting with the band director during lunch then."
"The what now?"
Jamie rolled his eyes. "The band director. I decided to sign up for beginner band this semester." He sighed. Here it comes ...
"You are?!"
"Yeah. My parents said I should do something else after school besides the gaming club. Dad suggested soccer with you, but you know how much I love running." Jamie grimaced and shrugged his shoulders. He never went in for sports, after always getting picked last for games during recess and getting clobbered when he did play. Complaining about running was a transparent dodge, but it worked to deflect questions he didn't want to deal with. Ben gave him a sympathetic grin; there was no point in arguing. "So when the beginner band notices came out last month I figured I'd give it a try."
"Sounds cool. So what do you want to play?"
"Well, I thought maybe saxophone or trumpet. But when I went to an information meeting last week, I saw some drumsticks and a rubber practice mat, and started fooling around with them. I was doing the drum thing for Wipeout " Jamie saw Ben grin at that - everyone thinks it's so easy, but it's really kind of tricky. " ... when the band director came over for my interview. He showed me the right way to hold the sticks and said to do it again."
Now it was his turn to smile with a little pride. "I can't say I nailed it, but I did pretty good! Good enough the director asked me if I ever thought of playing drums. So that's what I'm going to do. We have an orientation meeting in the band room this Thursday at lunch."
Ben looked at him with a smirk as he shifted his weight from right foot to left. Here it comes, all the band geek jokes and I haven't even started yet, Jamie thought. At least be original and come up with some new put downs. He knew Ben, just like he knew that's what was coming. He was shocked when instead he heard "That really is cool, Jamie. I can definitely see you tearing up a drum line!"
And even more shocked when he felt the light punch Ben gave his right shoulder, smiling. "I think you'll do great! ... Come on, we need to get inside before the bell rings." They joined the crowd of other kids heading to the doors and walked through. Ben was asking "So what homeroom are you in? I'm in 241A."
"Um, 163." Jamie read from the schedule he took from his pocket. Ben stopped about two yards inside the doors. " Bummer, we're in different sections. Well, we'll see each other during the day. We must have one class together, at least."
As he was talking Jamie noticed the other kids made a point of going around them, like there was a bubble there or something. Ben didn't pay attention to it, like usual, but Jamie saw the way the crowd looked at them as they passed by. Ever since he busted Cash's nose, and especially after he saved Cash from those three 8th graders last year, Ben had gotten a bit of a reputation. Not as a bully, and he could still be weird as hell, but none of the other guys wanted to screw with him.
"Well, if we do I'll sit behind you and kick your ass so you stay awake for a change. And keep you from getting busted for texting during class." Jamie smiled a little - the teachers hated it when he dozed off, but never said a thing about using his phone. How'd he get away with that? Ben just laughed. "Sounds like a plan! See you later", he said as he turned and headed towards the stairs.
Jamie walked to his classroom, shaking his head in amazement. He and Ben and the other guys in their gaming group mostly got along fine while they were playing, but they didn't really hang out otherwise. Ben had gotten more interested in karate last year, and no one suggested he was pretending about that anymore. And the phone thing - there was a lot of guessing going on about who was on the other end, most of it too outrageous even for Ben; but only he knew and he never talked about it. Now here he was acting so different - not busting his chops about being in band, and apologizing for being a dick of all things! What got into him? was swirling in Jamie's head. Whatever it was, at least it helped make the first day of school start out OK.
— X —
Home Life
Gwen's House
September 9, 2000
1:45 PM
The commotion from the stairs was only a little louder than usual, but it caught Frank's attention this time. He looked up from his book in time to see his daughter and her cousin damn near tumble down the stairs. His brother referred to Ben's method of coming downstairs as a semi-controlled crash, but when he followed Gwen - who had a light but sure-footed glide while holding the rails lining the sides, feet skipping over every third step - the overall effect reminded him of a slow motion scene of an Indy car crash through a turn; his nephew acting like cars skidding and crashing into each other and clogging up the track, and his little girl slipping gracefully between the wrecks without a scratch. All the while both of them saying the nastiest insults in the most endearing way.
"Watch out, you clumsy putz! You almost knocked me down the stairs! Honestly, Doofus, can you even stay out of your own way!?"
"I'd be fine if you'd keep your sorry butt moving, nitwit! It's your own fault for going so damn, er, darn slow!"
Frank decided to overlook the boy's cussing - he'd heard both of them say worse, and Ben did catch himself.
He smiled as the bickering faded into the kitchen, with a muffled rattle as one must have hip-chucked the other into a cabinet before the refrigerator door opened. "Ow! Geez, Dweeb, I thought dancing was supposed to make you graceful! You sure aren't getting any lessons for it at the dojo!"
Ouch! That last dig had to hurt. It wouldn't go unanswered.
"Oh, get stuffed! You're one to talk, flailing around like a rag doll in the goal. Man up, pendejo!"
Annnnd, that was his dainty little girl! He sighed. If he ignored Ben's verbal indiscretion he'd have to do the same for Gwen's colorful Spanglish. He looked down and tried to pick up the story where he left off.
"Oh, gross, Dweeb! You kiss your mom with that mouth? That's disgusting!You know I hate avocados!"
The last comment made Frank lose his place in the book. There wasn't an avocado in the house - he wouldn't eat the nasty things any more than Ben would, apparently - so the reference didn't make any sense. Which actually wasn't all that odd, now that he thought about it. If there was one constant with those two over the past couple years, it was how strange they often acted together.
He tried again to resume reading when one of their new, more welcome habits started. One of them started to hum a current pop tune out of the blue; after ten seconds or so a second voice chimed in with the harmony. It wasn't always easy to tell which voice belonged to which kid - Ben's voice was in that changing phase, but he could still deliver a sweet boy tenor when he wanted to. Most of the time they wound up doing a more than credible job with whatever tune they started, which would sometimes lead to a set of three or four songs.
As long as they thought they were alone. Whenever he or Lili inadvertently interrupted one of these performances they clammed up in embarrassment, turning a remarkably similar shade of red to boot. It was funny, six months ago they were too self-conscious to do this around each other, but he heard Gwen do it by herself before Ben started coming over on Friday nights. Carl told him he heard Ben humming when he was learning a new song, too. Then they gradually started harmonizing together a little bit at a time, seemingly without a conscious intention. They just did it. When they did, both Frank and Lili tried not to intrude - regardless of how good or bad the tune was, it was adorable!
There were unmistakable sounds of lunch being made underneath the humming - drawers sliding open and shut, glass containers clinking together and against the counter top, the fridge door slapping shut. Then Gwen poked her head around the corner and the tune regrettably stopped as she called out "Daddy, Ben and I are making sandwiches, do you want one?"
"No thanks, Pumpkin. I had something while you were upstairs."
"OK" she said and went back to the kitchen.
Frank smiled to himself in the sudden silence. The snarky back and forth would start up again when they finished eating, if not before. It was as entertaining in its own disturbing way as the humming was, and in any case far preferable to how they were through July. That oppressive quiet, punctuated by his daughter's screams in the middle of the night and the random crying jags from their shared trauma in Phoenix had been tragic. And unnerving, as neither he nor his wife knew why she did, and neither could manage to really console her.
"Pass me the lemonade, Doof - hey, watch it!" he heard, followed by the sound of a soft thump and liquid sloshing on the tile floor. "Way to go, numbnuts! ... You messed up, though, there's still some in the carton."
"That wasn't my fault! Next time let me pour it into your glass instead of trying to take it out of my hand, Cootie Queen!" Ben shouted back, followed by a grumbled but clear "I was just trying to take care of it for you, Dweeb."
Frank barely heard her sigh. "I know, Doofus, and I appreciate it." Gwen said in a somewhat uncharacteristically low, soothing voice. "But you still have to mop it up!" That part was just like usual.
"Aw, man!"
Music to his ears! It was good to have that kid in the house again, even if he was responsible for a third of the food budget. As far as Frank was concerned, whatever it was that got them over their isolation and back to being friends again could just keep on going.
He chuckled once and went back to his book.
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