“Good evening Mike,” Ben said.
The man deflated when he saw who Lisa was smiling at. “Hello Ben.”
“Please give my regards to Dawn.”
Mike’s eyes flashed to his. From Ben’s knowing look he realized Ben had overheard his flirting and he nodded quickly and led his daughter outside.
Ben looked to Lisa who was grinning at him. “I’m pretty good at deflecting unwanted attention you know.”
“Yes, I know. I just wanted Mike to know I wasn’t impressed.”
Her smile grew a little wider. “I’ll get Christopher for you.” She went into the back.
The door opened behind Ben and he glanced back to see Ashley stepping inside.
“Ben! Hello!” she said with a dazzling smile.
He wrapped her in a warm hug and returned her smile. “How was your day?” he asked once he released her.
“Really good! I’m really enjoying the course and I just got my grades which are top of my class!” she said proudly.
“That’s great! Congratulations!” Ben exclaimed.
Ashley reached up and slipped her fingers into the hair above Ben’s forehead as she gave it an evaluating look. Ben looked at her curiously.
“Yup, it looks like it’s time for another haircut,” she said definitively with just the hint of a smile… and a healthy blush spreading across her cheeks.
“Oh? Oh!” The lights came on behind his eyes and that little smile blossomed into a dazzler. “Uh, are you available tomorrow evening?”
“Tomorrow would be fine. 9PM?” she asked, trying to get her blush to calm down.
“Could we make it 10PM as I’m supposed to go furniture shopping that night with the girls?” he replied
“That works for me,” she said with a smile.
“DADA!”
Christopher barreled into his legs so Ben scooped him up as Lisa returned.
“Hi Ashley! I’ll go get Joshua for you,” the redhead said taking in the heat on the woman’s face with a curious look. She slipped away to go get the child.
“We’ll see you tonight?” Ben asked.
“Mmmm, yes! I’ll be over shortly with the girls,” Ashly replied with a distracted smile.
“See you soon,” Ben said with a nod and walked home with Christopher who was chattering away to him about the games they played.
When they stepped inside the scent of the take out dinner Lucy had brought home came to his nose. There were some spicy dishes in there.
Jackets and boots off Ben carried Christopher into the kitchen where the gang had gathered.
“MAMA!” Christopher squealed and Ben handed him off to his smiling mom. She kissed his face and hugged him as he went through his description of the games all over again for her. She listened attentively with a proud smile on her face.
Karen and Penny got their hugs then went back to setting out all the food on the table which was now covered with a festive tablecloth with colorful paper plates, and plastic cups and cutlery. They’d found the soft drinks and these were on the table as well as bowls of ice cubes.
Lucy slipped up to him and squeezed him tight. He kissed her tenderly and she sighed in his arms.
“Thanks for picking dinner up! This is really nice!” he said.
“Karen and Penny were instrumental in choosing the dishes as they are far more familiar with them,” she replied.
He smiled at his daughters and they grinned back at him.
The doorbell rang so Ben went to answer it.
“Beth! John and Jane! Welcome! Come on in.”
He took their coats and they left their boots in the tray. Ben gave Beth a big, warm bear hug and shook John’s hand. Jane slipped in to get a hug from Ben as she grinned ear to ear.
The doorbell rang once more and Ben let Catherine in with Miriam and Daniel. More coats and boots and more hugs and handshakes. Catherine tilted her head up for a kiss so Ben gave her one.
Ben saw Daniel had a duffle bag with him. “The TV is in the living room if you want to connect the game console to it.” He saw John’s face light up. “I believe dinner is served so you guys can play after we eat, ok?” All the kids nodded.
The doorbell rang again and Ashley came in with her kids. John’s eyes lit up again when Madison smiled at him. Daniel began to roll his eyes until Savannah’s smile derailed his thoughts.
The entrance was getting really full so Ben gestured for people to make their way to the dining room.
The kids migrated to the living room end of the table and Ben started to move in that direction until Catherine hooked his arm and dragged him to the other end. Ashley grinned as her kids giggled at Ben’s antics.
Catherine sat Ben at the head of the table with Tina on his right and Christopher in a high chair between them. Then Cat guided Lucy into the chair directly to his left. Lucy looked at her in surprise as Catherine sat down on her other side. Lucy hadn’t expected to be given the seat next to Ben and smiled gratefully.
Karen took the chair next to Cat and Penny sat next to her sister. She smiled at John on her left as the boy sat next to her and introduced himself.
Madison quickly took the seat next to John and ‘accidentally’ bumped him to draw his attention back from Penny.
Savannah would have rolled her eyes at her sister’s obvious if successful methods but she was busy making eyes at Daniel across from her. His blush was glowing brightly and Miriam delighted in this but secretly. She turned to Jane sitting to her left. Beth was on her other side, enjoying Joshua’s giggles at her funny expressions. The infant was sitting between Beth and his mother Ashley in the clamp on high chair.
Tina tapped her crutch against the table as tapping a plastic fork against a plastic cup didn’t make much noise. Once she had everyone’s attention she turned her face to Ben expectantly.
“Oh! Uh, thank you all for joining us tonight for this informal get together. I understand I was informed of all the details this morning but I’m ashamed to say that until Tina reminded me this afternoon I had no idea this was happening. I’m grateful it did. A special thanks to Lucy for picking up the order and to Karen and Penny who selected the dishes. I can’t wait to try it out.” He reached out and took Tina’s and Lucy’s hands. They in turn reached out for the hands next to them. The chain continued down both sides of the table until Daniel and Savannah had to reach across the table to grasp hands. Ashley and her daughters dipped their heads in prayer while most of the others just smiled and waited.
Moments later Ashley lifted her head and gave Ben a dazzling smile in thanks and he nodded to her.
Then began the frenzy of opening the take out containers. Heavenly scents wafted over the table and Ben had to be repeatedly advised to avoid several dishes that he thought smelled amazing but were too spicy for him. He snuck a tiny piece from Tina’s plate and paid for it with a burning tongue. His behavior set off giggles from the kids once more. Karen and Penny were the official menu experts and guided people to the dishes that best matched their tastes.
For the most part everyone found something they liked and only on two occasions was there a vehement rejection of a dish; once from Daniel and once from John. Much laughter ensued from that end of the table.
Ashley watched her daughters with a glowing heart. They were so much happier these days. School was good for them and now that they were allowed to participate in after school activities, they were blossoming into their full potential.
She turned to smile at Ben as she knew he was largely responsible for making their happiness possible. Ben spotted her smiling and returned it. She looked away thinking of the following night. It couldn’t come soon enough.
They laughed and talked as they tried as many of the dishes as they could before they were all too full to have another bite. When dinner was finished Ben sent the kids to the living room to play while he and Lucy resealed the packages that still contained enough food for leftovers and put them into the fridge. Penny and Karen cleared the table.
Christopher played with this toys while Ashley held Joshua in her arms as the child slipped into sleep.
The doorbell rang and Ben answered it. He let Hannah in and gave her a warm hug after taking her coat.
“We were just making some tea. Would you like a cup?” he offered.
She smiled in delight. “Yes please.”
He guided her through the living room and she was happy to see them playing a game together.
Hannah said her hellos to everyone as Lucy brought out the tea service.
Conversation turned to the progress of the renovations and Ben smiled at his girls.
“According to Dominic move in date is…” he smiled at Karen and Penny’s intense anticipation as he delayed his response. Tina swatted his arm gently for being such a tease. “A week from Saturday!”
Karen and Penny squealed with happiness which made the others at the table laugh and the kids from the living room look over curiously.
“Tomorrow night when you get home from school we are going out for dinner with our new arrival Rain Palomo then we’re going furniture shopping! Tina has been putting together a spreadsheet for everything the house will need. You two should speak with her to review the list so you can tell her of anything you think you’ll need.
Karen suddenly realized that having their own place meant less reliance on Tina and Ben. She frowned as she looked over at Ben.
He caught the look. “We’re just a few doors away. You can reach us by phone or drop by any time.”
Penny gave her sister a hug and Karen felt better.
“You’re also going to have Rain living there and you two will really like her. She’s a smart young woman,” Ben said to ease Karen’s anxiety.
“Ben, Dr. Granger has a line on a position for Ms. Palomo. There is a medical clinic downtown that has an opening for a councillor. Her training in psychology would be a huge bonus. If it works out she could move to a full time position as a psychologist. If she could go in for an interview on Friday they are holding the position open,” Hannah said.
“That’s awesome! I’ll let her know! Thank you very much and thank Dr. Granger for me as well!”
“You can thank her yourself when you see her this Friday morning. Tina let me know you’d be available this week so I booked it.” Hannah held his eyes with hers and he nodded with a smile. Her expression softened into a smile of her own and she shared a nod with Tina.
Ben looked over at Tina who looked at him through her bangs. He knew she was just looking out for him so he gave her a smile as well and saw her relax.
He looked at Catherine. “Are Miriam and Daniel staying at your place?”