“That’s great to hear!” Ben said, a feeling of relief sinking in.
“He’s been asking when you would be back. Said he needed to talk to you. I’m hoping he’s not going to ask you how to tell me he’s leaving.” Dominic said honestly.
Ben raised his eyebrows then spotted the young man in question. The eyebrows stayed up as he saw the shiner.
“Who gave you that?” Ben asked him and Jayden ducked his head with embarrassment.
“The brother of one of the girls I dated… before,” he said quietly. “I went to the houses of the girls I… dated and apologized. A few had brothers that decided a beating was in order. After the first one,” he pointed to his eye, “I started bringing along some friends,” he pointed to the crew walking past, “who waited for me on the sidewalk and kept an eye out for angry family members. I took the slaps from the girls if they needed it.”
Ben looked at the young man standing before him, seriously impressed. “What brought this on?”
“You said I had to ask myself what kind of man I had been and to be honest. I thought a lot about that. When I was honest with myself I could see how self centered and callous I’d been. I knew I couldn’t take back what I’d done but I could apologize. I could see it made a difference for them. I also learned that slaps from angry women hurt. The guys I had with me started rating the slaps after we left.”
“How many…”
“Five. Just five but that was enough,” the young man said looking ashamed.
Ben nodded.
“I was hoping that if I could be a better man… I might be good enough to date Karen,” he said looking hopefully at Ben.
“Let’s go inside where it’s warmer so we can talk,” Ben said.
They made their way into the house and Ben was very happy with the open layout of the living room, dining area and kitchen. They went into the living room by the huge picture window.
Before they began Jayden lifted his pant leg and Ben saw the ankle monitor was gone.
“How?” Ben asked.
“Mr. Selleni went with me to my interview with the judge last week and said some really nice things about me and how integral I’d become to his team. He really impressed the judge.”
“You must have done a little of that as well or he wouldn’t have trusted you.” Ben admitted.
“Well, you did say they weren’t the enemy.”
Ben paused to look at the young man, surprised. That felt good!
He collected himself then looked back at the nervous expression on Jayden’s face. “Karen is a special woman. What she’s been through… no one should have been treated like that. She’s just now learning she has value, her place in the world, and how she’s good at something real. Her culinary skills are very good and I want her to expand upon them by going to school to learn more. She’s really excited about that.” Jayden was beginning to look a little deflated. He was starting to hear a ‘no’ in Ben’s words.
“She’s also lonely. I think it would be very healthy if she were to have a boyfriend in her life right now. Someone who could show her what it is to have someone who truly appreciates her as a person. Someone to be proud of her accomplishments to help build her confidence in herself. She’s going to need patience and to be patient herself, even if that means her boyfriend controls the pace. She doesn’t know what it means to be treated as a person. Dating, flirting, first kisses, holding hands, taking the time to build a relationship. Then and only then should sex be introduced. She needs to learn these things. Do you think you can be that kind of boyfriend?”
Jayden was vibrating with excitement. “Yes, sir.”
Ben gave him one more critical look. “Then I’m ok with you dating my daughter.”
Jayden’s smile was brilliant. “Thank you! I won’t let you down. And I won’t let her down!” he finished when he saw Ben’s eyebrow go up.
Ben nodded with a smile. “I’m still learning what it means to be Karen’s dad. Being her boyfriend will have its own challenges. Please know you can talk to me about anything.”
“Thank you.” Jayden actually looked like he was about to hug Ben but settled with shaking his hand.
“I’ll let you get back to it then. Dominic said you wanted to speak to me about something. Was that it?” Ben received a nod so he patted Jayden shoulder as he turned to go. As Ben was leaving the room he heard cheering behind him and glanced back to see some of the crew coming in to congratulate Jayden.
He smiled and continued out to see Dominic. He filled him in and saw the big man sag with relief. That made Ben feel even better about his decision. They said their goodbyes as Dominic went inside.
Ben looked down the street and saw Luis Hernandez pulling into his driveway. When he last spoke with the man there had been some issue with the wedding of his son so Ben wasn’t sure when he should do the renovations on Tina’s house. He wanted to be able to finish the updates to the bathrooms and the kitchen before the newlyweds moved in. He walked down the block and knocked on the man’s door.
Jaclyn Hernandez opened the door and a wide smile burst onto her face. “Mr. Shepherd! How nice of you to visit! Please come in!” She was a short woman with a happy round face and a plump body. Curly black hair reached her shoulders and she wore an abundance of gold. He’d never been able to get her to call him Ben.
She led him into the living room where Luis was just getting up from his chair. He was grimacing in pain.
“What happened?” Ben asked in concern.
The older man just waved it off and shook Ben’s hand. “Just a sore back from moving some things at Bianca’s parent’s home.” Ben recognized the name of their son’s fiancé.
Juan was just a little taller than his wife and had the stocky build of someone used to heavy labor. Greying hair and square jawed he still looked very fit. He owned a chain of autobody shops and liked to get his own hands dirty working on the more challenging jobs. Seeing Ben’s eyebrows go up he smiled. “Books. So many boxes of books. Terrible things for the back!” Everyone took seats, Juan back in his chair and Ben next to Jaclyn on the couch facing the chair.
“What can I do for you Ben?” Luis asked.
“I was just following up on our last conversation. You mentioned there was an issue with the wedding?” he asked gently.
Luis and Jaclyn shared a sad look. “There was a tragedy in Bianca’s family. Her father suddenly passed away. Rita has no other family in the States and her friends moved to a retirement home two streets west of here but far from her home. She’s all alone. Bianca is still living at home and leaving now is not a good idea,” Juan said.
“How does Ramon get along with Rita?” Ben asked.
“Very well! The woman is very sweet and quiet. Her husband was the loud and commanding one in the family.” Jaclyn said.
“Have they considered a mother-in-law suite in the house?” Ben suggested.
“Rita’s house is too small for the three of them especially if they start a family,” Juan explained.
“No, I mean in the new house. There is a lovely room at the back of the house that’s currently set up as an office. It could easily he redone as a bedroom. It already has a private three piece washroom with a toilet, sink and shower. I could replace some of the built-ins with wardrobes for clothes.
The couple blinked at him.
“Bad idea?”
“No! No, it is a very good idea! We did not think of it! We were keeping the house as a surprise but this solves everything! Would it be alright if I called Rita to ask?” Jaclyn asked excitedly.
“Of course! I’ll need a week to do the renovations on the place. When was the wedding going to be again?”
“November the twenty-third.” Luis said.
“That’s do-able. I will talk with my contractor friends to see if they are willing to make a little extra money,” Ben said with a grin.
Luis looked uncomfortable. “You have been too generous Ben. I feel like I should-”
“Please. Let me do this. To be able to keep our little neighborhood filled with good people brings me a tremendous sense of satisfaction! The idea of more kids coming to the street makes me especially happy!” Ben said and the couple grinned at him.
“They will pay rent!” Luis said with a firm voice.
“And I will be very fair. I don’t need to make a profit from these homes. As long as the tenants are taking care of the home and the rent covers the utilities and property taxes. I’m good,” he replied. “As a young couple they need to save as much as they can. Especially if they plan on starting a family.”
“You are such a good man, Mr. Shepherd!” Jaclyn gushed and leaned over to hug Ben on the couch.
“Woman, you are embarrassing the man!” Luis exclaimed but his eyes held only amusement and love for his wife.
She sat up from the couch with a broad smile and a blush as she rushed away to make the phone call.
“How many homes do you own in the neighborhood now?” Luis asked.
Ben thought about it. “Five? First mine, then Trish’s, Tina’s, Ashley Beaumont’s, then Barry Walker’s place.”
The older man nodded thoughtfully. “I’m surprised you didn’t buy the White’s home.”
“I put in a bid but the bidding war got crazy. I hope she got a good price for it. I haven’t seen the new owner yet,” Ben said.
Luis smiled. “You haven’t seen them because every winning bid failed to arrange their financing. Three failed deals so far. The home remains unsold.”
“Really? Huh. Give me a second.” Ben tapped out a quick note to Joanne to see if she was still entertaining offers. He indicated his offer of 1. 15 million was still on the table. He hit send and looked back at Luis.
The man struggled to get out of his chair. Ben moved forward to pull him to the edge.
“Ah. May I suggest a soak in a hot tub?”
“That sounds lovely but we do not have one.” Luis said with a smile and a small shrug which tweaked his back.
“I do and I insist you come use it to heal your strained muscles,” Ben said with a smile. Luis looked like he wanted to say no but his back really was bothering him. He finally nodded with a grateful smile.