He flushed then sagged against the bowl, sitting on the bathroom floor. A gentle hand rested on his head and fingers ran through his hair. He took comfort from the touch and knew it was Gabriella’s without looking.
“Promise me.”
“What, Ben?”
“Promise me you won’t abandon your dream just because of me. I don’t think I’d survive that. Everything else can be fixed but not that,” he said quietly.
Tears were running down her cheeks as she stroked his head. “How can I be away from you when you need me?” she whispered.
“I’ll always need you. Your moving to Milan doesn’t mean I’m giving you up. I’m never going to do that. You know that, right? I’ll get help. I have a support group here and I will visit you as often as I can when your busy schedule allows. Please Gabriella. Please!”
She was silent for a short time but he knew he had won. Then she spoke again. “It’s kind of moot anyway. They needed me to be there tomorrow to sign the papers but there’s no way I can get a flight now,” she said with a shrug.
“Silly woman. Have you forgotten how you arrived last time? Is it just for the day again?” Ben asked.
“Four days.”
He pulled out his cell and dialed his friend with the jet service. He explained the emergency and was assured they had a plane available that could get her there by the morning hours tomorrow in Milan. It would be waiting for Gabriella at the airport and would bring her back in four days.
Ben looked up at Gabriella whose beautiful green eyes were welling with tears. “No more tears. There is no more unhappiness. Uh, can you give me a minute in here?”
Gabriella smiled and moved back to close the door. She heard the water running and Ben spitting into the sink. Then a little mouthwash and he was done.
“Sorry about that,” he said opening the door. She hooked her arm in his and walked him back out to the living room.
Trish and Rochelle had shed some tears and jumped to their feet to hug Gabriella and congratulate her. Catherine had filled them in on the news. Gabriella still looked a little shaky. He wanted her to be as comfortable with this as possible. Catherine sat beside her and held her hand and an idea popped into his head.
“Gabriella, why don’t you take Catherine with you? Catherine can you take four days to visit Milan and keep Gabriella company?”
Both women looked at Ben in surprise then Gabriella looked beseechingly at her best friend. Catherine just grinned and nodded.
“When do we leave?” Catherine asked.
Ben looked at the clock. “In about three hours.”
“WHAT?!?” Catherine screeched and jumped to her feet. Gabriella laughed and stood up to show her what to pack.
“Do you have any large designer sunglasses that make you look mysterious and alluring?” she asked the blonde who nodded with a puzzled expression. “It’s all about the first impression.” She dragged Catherine upstairs.
“What about you Ben?” Tina asked quietly, her dark eyes looking up at him through her bangs. She would not allow herself to be distracted from her mission by the diversion.
He looked at her and nodded somberly. “I promised Gabriella I would get help. I will.”
Tina gave him a small nod and a smile.
Gabriella and Catherine came back downstairs and the blonde jumped up against Ben’s chest and gave him a deep kiss. She dropped to her feet and dashed out to get packed while Ben wobbled on his feet. Gabriella put her hand on his arm to stabilize him.
When he got his wits back Ben called his friend with the Jet and let him know there would be a second passenger. That done he turned to Gabriella and the others.
“While I have you all here could I ask you something?”
Gabriella nodded and everyone sat.
“Rochelle is aware of this situation and suggested I speak with you as well. The other day a reporter stopped by in front of my place and suggested that she and her company may be able to diffuse some of the media’s attention on me if I did an interview with them to ‘eliminate some of the mystery’. Rochelle knows the reporter from her college days.”
“Know only too well. She slept with every boyfriend I had during college!”
“Fuck! How many boyfriends can you have in four years?” Trish laughed.
Rochelle gave her a sour look. “I had five and each one ended up in her bed. She claims now she had poor self-esteem issues and apologized for it but she’s a reporter now for one of those pop culture magazines.”
“So you wouldn’t recommend her or her magazine,” Gabriella asked.
“… No. I guess I wouldn’t,” Rochelle said looking at Ben.
“Well, I won’t sleep with her either,” Ben said and Trish howled with laughter. Even Rochelle thought that was funny though she gave Ben’s arm a slap anyway.
“What about the idea of giving a single interview? I’d rather not tell anyone anything but she may have a point about giving an exclusive and defusing the public interest,” Ben asked.
“If you don’t want to give any information then don’t give any. Eventually someone else will catch the public’s fancy and you will slip back into obscurity. It may mean you have to deal with the harassment in the short term but persevere. Interest in your story may surface again in the future but I think you’re making the best decision for yourself right now,” Gabriella said.
Ben nodded and stood up to give each of the women a hug and kiss. He looked at Tina who was still seated due to her cast. “You walked over here on your own with those didn’t you,” he said pointing to the crutches.
She looked up at him under her bangs again and nodded.
“I’ll carry you home.”
Ben moved to scoop her in his arms and hissed as he bumped his hand on the couch.
“Hang on Ben. Let me look at that,” Gabriella said.
She undid the wrappings and saw his middle knuckle was badly swollen. “Ben! This could be broken! Did you go to the hospital to have them look at it?”
He shook his head.
“I’ll take him over now,” Rochelle offered.
“Let me get Tina home first!” Ben complained.
“I can-” Tina began but a look from Ben and she waited to be picked up.
Ben was more careful this time and managed to scoop her up without hurting himself. He gave Gabriella an awkward kiss over Tina and carried his injured fiancé home. Rochelle was waiting for him when he came back out and walked with him back to her place. They stopped to speak with Dominic on the way and he took one look at the knuckle and shooed Ben away. Jayden looked a little ill seeing the swollen joint.
“THIS is why I’m not much into fighting,” Ben said and Jayden nodded.
Ben and Rochelle got into her car and she drove him to the hospital. Just as they were finishing up with the registration process he heard a familiar voice behind him.
“I thought you might come by today.”
He turned and saw Hannah standing behind him with her arms crossed. Her expression was stern and she looked professional as always. He lifted his hand.
“Have you come to kiss my booboo?”
Hannah couldn’t stop the snort from escaping and her intake worker gaped at her. She quickly got control her herself again.
“I ought to smack that with a ruler considering how you got it and how you still won’t listen to me,” Hannah fumed.
“Ben had to face an intervention once today,” Rochelle admitted. Hannah gave her an appraising look and gestured to the hall when Ben looked the other way.
“If you change your mind you know where I am,” Hannah said and Ben nodded.
Rochelle leaned over to Ben. “Going to the ladies room. Don’t leave without me.” He nodded and she stepped out of the waiting room. She spotted Hannah standing at the end of the hall speaking to a nurse. She headed in their direction. The nurse moved on and Hannah opened the door to her office and Rochelle entered.
“Did the fight last night include another blackout?” Hannah asked, getting right to the point as she did.
“Yes, Ben can’t remember the fight. We tried to get him to agree to see Dr. Granger again or someone else and I thought he was going to pass out. He asked for more time and Gabriella told him he could have it.” Hannah made a frustrated sound. “You should have heard him when Gabriella asked him what he was willing to do. He was almost panicking. I don’t understand.”
Hannah got a thoughtful look on her face. “Dr. Granger can’t tell me what is said in his sessions but I can let her know Ben is having this reaction to the idea of returning to her sessions. I’d like to know if she’s aware of that. Thanks for filling me in Rochelle. Since our little blowout I don’t get to talk with Ben very often,” she said with a sad expression.
“Soon you might not get to see him much either. Gabriella is taking a job a CEO of a new company in Milan. She’s going to have to move there. It hit Ben pretty hard but he insisted she follow her dream. I’m sure he will visit her as often as he can,” Rochelle explained.
“Oh my god! That must have rocked Ben’s stability quite a bit. When is she leaving?” Hannah asked.
“She and Catherine are leaving tonight for four days. When she returns we’ll find out how long she’ll have here. It’s going to be tough for Ben AND Gabriella. Cat too! I better get back to Ben. It was good talking with you!”
Hannah walked Rochelle out and headed upstairs to see if Dr. Granger was available. She caught the doctor as she was leaving her office with her jacket over her arm.
“Dr. Granger, could I speak with you for just a minute before you go,” she asked.