Ben hung up and dug into his meal as he flipped on the local news. He wondered what the fuck was taking that asshole so long to join his family at their new home. He felt the dull throb of a headache starting behind his eyes.
Gabriella opened the door and saw Catherine standing there with a very tall blond woman with a baby on her hip. Catherine’s smile was wide but she saw the new woman looked a little intimidated. Behind her stood two teen girls who also seemed shy. She welcomed them into her house and Catherine stood to the side as the women entered. Miriam and Daniel were standing in the living room entrance. Once everyone was inside Catherine and Gabriella made the introductions. They moved into the living room.
“Dinner will be ready in ten minutes. I hope you like spaghetti and meat sauce!” Gabriella said.
Madison and Savannah smiled brightly and Ashley nodded with a small smile. She was looking between Gabriella and Catherine. She couldn’t get over how lovely both women were. Both were well dressed and had stylish hair, make-up, and manicures. She felt like dishrag next to them. She’d had the chance to have a nice shower and she’d done her hair today at Catherine’s but she couldn’t compare to these two ladies. She began to worry about Eli’s reaction to all the beautiful women in this neighborhood and her own appearance. Her confidence took another hit.
Gabriella had a long conversation on the phone with Catherine that afternoon. It seemed Megan had recognized some behavior in their new neighbors that suggested they might be in an abusive relationship. As the husband had yet to arrive the source was likely him. She saw Ashley was feeling out of sorts so she did her best to be friendly.
Ashley caught Gabriella’s eye. “When we had dinner at Ben and Tina’s he told us you travel to Italy and France. Can you speak the languages?” she asked.
Gabriella smiled. “Yes, I had some background in Italian from my parents but I took courses in French and Italian in University as well as Business Administration. The best education is just being there and speaking with the people. Immersion in the other culture and environments really accelerates the learning curve. Do you have an interest in languages?”
“I can speak Spanish.” Ashley said almost reluctantly though Gabriella caught the merest touch of pride.
“That’s a beautiful language!” Gabriella gushed and Catherine moaned that she wanted to learn Spanish.
“You can teach us Spanish and we will teach you French!” Gabriella exclaimed excitedly.
Madison and Savannah looked at Ashley with nervous expressions and her smile was a little brittle. The woman just nodded.
“Well, I think dinner is ready, Catherine could you get our guests situated in the dining room?” Gabriella changed the subject. She was beginning to agree with Megan’s assessment. She wanted to help but she’d have to tread carefully so as to not frighten them off.
Miriam was aware of the odd behavior and looked at her mother with a troubled expression when she entered the kitchen to help her bring the food out. “Mama?”
“Just be their friend.” Gabriella said with a smile. She proudly watched her daughter absorb that and give her a firm nod.
They carried the plates of spaghetti with rich meat sauce from the kitchen to place them in front of their guests. Once more Ashley had managed to take a chair on the side of the table and Daniel was sitting in the guest of honor spot. Joshua was sitting in Ben’s clamp-on highchair Catherine brought from her place between his mother and Catherine. On the opposite side of the table were Miriam, Madison and Savannah. Gabriella sat at the head. A basket of garlic bread was passed around.
Ashley looked at Madison and Savannah and they bowed their heads. Daniel looked guiltily at his mother with a piece of bread in his mouth but she just smiled and indicated he should be quiet.
Once the prayer was over everyone dug in and were soon enjoying the meal. Daniel gave Madison and Savannah a lesson on the proper way to use a spoon to assist in the twirling of spaghetti. Savannah in particular found this charming though Miriam rolled her eyes.
When they were finished the meal Miriam, Madison and Savannah jumped to their feet and cleared the dishes. Daniel excused himself politely and assisted with the cleanup then headed upstairs to his room to finish his homework. Miriam brought the teens up to see her room.
Ashley turned to her host. “I’ve been very impressed with how kind everyone has been since we arrived. Everyone has been very respectful of our desire to say a prayer before our meal. So many people have stepped forward to greet us and welcome us to the neighborhood. I haven’t felt that level of hospitality since I was a child living in a small town in rural Texas. I’ve lived in the city for years and while people can be friendly there it certainly didn’t approach this level.”
Catherine smiled at Gabriella who answered. “I think much of that is due to Ben. He’d been a driving force in the neighborhood since the accident that took the lives of so many of the husbands.
Ashley’s eyes widened. “What?”
“You might have seen it on the news around six month ago. Nine men, husbands, from this neighborhood died in a plane crash in Las Vegas. It was a very bad time.”
“This is that neighborhood!?!” Ashley gasped.
Gabriella was a little unsure how to proceed as Ashley’s face had gone white. “Uh, yes. I’m surprised your realtor didn’t tell you in advance.”
Ashley had a troubled look. “It was Eli’s decision. I wasn’t included in selecting where we moved.” She was recalling Eli’s excitement when the story was on the news. “The Khaleel Sisters.” she muttered recalling the disgusting things Eli had said about them. What he’d like to do to them.
Catherine heard her and shuddered recalling that particularly nasty moment in time. “We change our surnames to my maiden name McGovern. My marriage was over by that point anyway. My husband treated me no better than property. He had no respect for me and treated his children like a burden. I was about to file for divorce when it happened.” Ashley looked at Catherine in surprise.
“My husband loved his children but he stopped loving me a long time ago. I hadn’t felt loved in years. If I’d been as brave as Catherine I would have filed for divorce myself. But I lacked the confidence in myself. My marriage was cold but it was safe. We had no idea our husbands were cheating on us. If I had I would have divorced him the moment I found out. No one should be treated that way.
“But you- you had something to fall back on. Your business! Your education!” Ashley blurted.
Gabriella nodded. “That’s true. But Ben said something to the group of widows when we got together that day he was injured by the man with the club. He told us that we were all good people and we could rely on each other when we needed help. I think we’d been so caught up in our own individual miseries that we’d forgotten we could care for others and others could care for us. Once we realized that our friendships strengthened incredibly. That’s the true strength of a community. Caring. The willingness to lend a hand, to support each other if we have trouble of any kind. Even just knowing someone nearby is ready to help has given me a peace of mind like I’ve never known before. Ben exemplifies those values of community. He is the first one to raise his hand to offer his time and effort. He’s very protective. And he never, ever expects anything in return, not even praise. That’s something you will see once you get to know him. Ben has an issue with praise. It makes him really uncomfortable. We try not to say how much we appreciate him when he’s nearby as it drives him away. He’s actually seeing a councillor about that.