Chapter Twenty-Seven
Ben
Up until that afternoon, the most awkward thing Ben had ever participated in was a fisting competition. He was only a spectator for that event, but watching six guys try to get their hands all the way up their partners’ asses while a room full of drunk, high, horny guys cheered them on had felt painfully weird to Ben. Maybe because he was the designated driver that night. Maybe a few shots and a hit off whatever they were passing around would’ve helped.
Either way, nothing would ever compare—he hoped—to sitting on the floor with Tina draped between his legs while he rubbed her shoulders and panted through pretend contractions with her. Jesus. And being asked very loudly if he was the grandfather-to-be? Yeah, that was fantastic. Not to mention the horrific video the instructor made them watch. Gavin did this every week with his sister? Ben had a new respect for both of them. Hell, he had a new respect for every woman who ever bothered to bring more than one kid into the world. The first one, hey, she might not know what she’s in for. But the second? How did the human race survive? How was it that all babies weren’t grown in glass jars in a lab somewhere by now?
When the class ended, Ben unfolded himself from the floor and helped Tina up. She went to talk to the instructor, and Ben found Gavin in the doorway, beaming at him. He turned his phone around so Ben could see the screen. “This is probably my most favorite picture ever.”
Ben leaned in for a closer look. Yup. Ben and Tina together, working through her practice delivery. In truth, it was a pretty cute snapshot, but still. “If I find that online, I’m going to have to choke you.”
“Too late.” Gavin laughed and danced away when Ben tried to get his phone from him. “I even hashtagged it with ‘world’s best uncle’ and ‘world’s best boyfriend.’”
“You know that just makes it sound like I’m her boyfriend and her uncle, right?”
Gavin crinkled his nose. “Ew.” He tapped on his phone for a few seconds, but Ben knew better than to hope he was taking the picture down. No, he was probably just editing the tags. Oh well.
“Hey, where’s Mom?”
“I dropped her off at the house. She said she wanted to wash the travel flop sweat off.”
Ben nodded in understanding, but he didn’t comment. Knowing his mother, she’d probably showered, unpacked, and started making dinner.
When Tina came back from chatting, she put her arm around Ben’s waist and hugged him tight. “Thanks for coming with me today.”
Gavin smirked at him but didn’t say anything as Ben kissed the top of her head and said, “Just as long as I don’t have to be in the room for the real deal.”
Tina laughed and pulled back. “You didn’t have fun?” Ben could tell she was teasing.
“No, it was great. Especially that part where they talked about massaging your bits to help the baby come out,” Ben said flatly, trying not to cringe. “I’m sure that wouldn’t be creepy or weird at all.” He didn’t even want to be in the same city if that was happening.
“Yeah, no.” Tina laughed again, but she blushed furiously as if she’d managed to block that part out until Ben reminded her.
Gavin simply shook his head and said, “Let’s get home before Nora starts redecorating.”
Yeah, Gavin knew his mom pretty well.
The ride home was short and relatively quiet. Tina had pulled up some Mozart—because she read somewhere it was good for the baby—on the phone they’d gotten her for her birthday. She’d turned eighteen a few weeks earlier. It didn’t matter that she was technically an adult, or that she was the same age Gavin was when they’d gotten together. Ben still looked at her as kid. He wagered Gavin did too.
Ben had wanted to pull Gavin aside as soon as he saw him, ask about his errands earlier, but there didn’t seem to be a good time for it. He still had an uneasy feeling about whatever was going on with Gavin that morning, but he seemed fine now, so maybe it was nothing, right?
When they got back to the house, they found Nora in the kitchen. Ben watched her pull a lasagna out of the oven. Her dark hair, streaked with gray, fell into her face in soft ringlets when she stood up and set the pan on the counter. “Hey, Mom.” He went to her and wrapped his arms around her plump waist. Nora stood a good eight inches shorter than him, so it was easy to wrap himself around her and lift her up in a tight hug. “I’ve missed ya.”
“Then you should come see me more often.” He could hear the tease under the reprimand, but he made a mental note anyway. Twice a year wasn’t often enough. She was getting older. Stuff happens. Time is short. He could hear it all in her one little sentence, whether she’d intended it or not.
Ben shoved the thought to the side, thinking he’d never let her go if he went down that road. “Yeah I should. We will. Promise.” He kissed the side of her face and loosened his grip, pulling back to see her better. “You look good. Happy.”
Nora ran her hand over Ben’s face, and he felt like a little boy suddenly. She scratched her short nails softly against his scruffy almost-beard. “You look tired. You need to sleep more.”
Less than a minute in the same room with her and she was already trying to take care of him. Christ, he’d missed her. “Been busy with the move and all.”
She made a disapproving sound, but she kissed his cheek again. “I hope you’re hungry. Gavin made enough to feed an army.”
“I am, yeah.”
“Half of that is for his lunches.” Gavin stepped up behind them, Tina at his side.
Ben didn’t exactly disappear, but the shift in his mother’s attention was almost palpable. Good thing he liked Gavin or he’d want to shove him out of the room again.
Gavin wasn’t the one she was interested in, though. “This must be Tina?” Nora pulled away from Ben and went to Tina, her arms open for a hug.
The expressions that flitted over Tina’s face ran a wide gamut as she let Nora pull her in. First was surprise, then vague awkwardness, then, suddenly, something that looked a lot like relief. After a stiff few seconds, Tina relaxed against Nora and rested her head on Nora’s shoulder. “It’s good to finally meet you, Mrs. Cartwright.”
“Call me Nora,” she whispered against Tina’s blonde hair before pulling back to see Tina’s face. “Mrs. Cartwright was my mother-in-law who didn’t like me very much.”
That was news. “Grandma didn’t like you?”
Nora had pulled back from Tina, but she still rested a hand on Tina’s belly. “Not at first. She thought I was too young for your father.” Her raised eyebrow had a hidden dumbass written in it for Ben. “And, you know how mothers are. No one is ever good enough for their children.”
Gavin shot her a knowing glance, looking like an imp with his hair falling over his forehead.
Nora let go of Tina altogether and reached for Gavin, bumping her knuckle under his chin. “Almost never.” She shrugged off the ancient history and smiled again. “She got over it. We even managed to be friends after a while.”
Nora went back to getting dinner ready. She glanced over her shoulder. “Tina, dear, there’s a bag on the back of that chair there. I brought you a little something.”
“Oh, you didn’t have—”
“Get the bag, dear.” Nora didn’t roll her eyes at Tina’s objection, but Ben could tell it was a near thing. Arguing with his mother had never been a good idea.
Tina sat down at the kitchen table and pulled a small quilt from the bag. It had a soft eyelet lace trim with sea-green satin woven through the tiny holes. Each square of the quilt was knotted with the same satin ribbon. On one corner, there were four tiny fish, hand stitched with green thread. Three for Ann’s children and, apparently, one for Tina’s. Ben recognized his mother’s work even from several feet away. Each of Anna’s kids had one just like it. Ben had one too, actually.
To the rest of the world, Nora and Tina were nothing to each other, not even in-laws. But Ben understood Nora’s message, lovingly stitched into that quilt. You’re part of our family now, and that’s all you’ll ever need.
Lucky kid.