Chapter 7
Benjamin James and the Horrible, Terrible, Awful, No Good, Very Bad Surprise…
Ben
“What are you doing, little man?” I ask Henry, who is standing at the front door with his forehead pressed against the glass.
I came home earlier than normal from the job site so I could get some invoices sent out.
Henry was already back from school and about to eat a teetering stack of chocolate chip cookies, which I quickly swapped out for an apple and some peanut butter.
(Don’t worry, he still managed to get in two cookies.
I’m not a monster.) As soon as I got home, Dominic left for some mystery errand and Henry’s been standing at the door ever since.
“I’m looking out the window.”
I grin to myself about how literal five-year-olds can be. “I can see that, but why?”
“I’m waiting for Uncle Dom’s big surprise.” He turns to look at me, using his forefinger to raise his glasses up on his nose a bit. “Do you think it’s a puppy?” The thought causes his face to morph into the world’s most excited grin. “I’d just die if it was a puppy!”
He gets the ‘I’d just die’ phrase from Dom, and it’s a huge hit with adults everywhere we go.
“No, it’s definitely not a puppy,” I answer firmly. Best to nip that thought in the bud before he gets too attached to an imaginary pet.
“How do you know?”
I shut my laptop and stand up. “Because a puppy is a huge, life-changing thing, and Uncle Dom and I always make decisions about huge, life-changing things together.”
“Because you’re brothers?” he asks. Henry is always trying to figure out what it would be like to have a sibling.
Opening the fridge, I scrounge around for something to cook for dinner. “No, most siblings don’t make big decisions together. But Dom and I do because we live together and he’s helping me raise you.”
He makes a harrumph sound. “So, you’re sure? Definitely no puppy?”
“No pet of any kind,” I tell him, thinking about how Dom is planning to abandon us next year for the Big Island.
“But he said his surprise was alive.”
“Alive, hey? Maybe it’s a plant,” I answer, sniffing a container of leftover bolognese sauce in the fridge. Smells good. Looks good. Spaghetti with meat sauce it is.
“No, he said she can walk and stuff.”
I straighten up and narrow my eyes, my conversation with Dom last night coming back to me.
“Oh! He’s back!!!” Henry shouts. “It’s a lady! The surprise is a lady!”
Shit. He was serious about the wife. I drop the plastic container of meat sauce on the island, and it lands with a thud at the exact same time my heart drops down to my toes.
“She’s really pretty too!” Henry runs outside to greet them, leaving the front door wide open. “Hi! I’m Henry John James! I’m five-years-old, and this is my house!”
I stand frozen in the kitchen, straining my ears to listen to the woman’s reply. “I’m Vivian Katherine Whitlock. I’m twenty-eight-years-old, and this is a very nice house!”
“I was hoping you were a puppy, but then my dad said no pets, so I suppose you’ll do.”
The sound of a warm laugh makes its way up the front steps and into the house, and I get the strangest sensation through my entire body.
It’s like a nostalgic feeling, which is bananas since she’s a total stranger.
And … here she is. Henry was right. She is really pretty.
She’s on the taller side, and she has a beautiful smile that is aimed directly at my son (who is already holding her hand, which is freaking me out a little).
She’s got that effortlessly casual-but-sophisticated thing going on with her sunglasses resting on top of her silky blonde hair and a flowy light blue sundress that comes down past her knees.
She reminds me of a model on a day off. When she looks up, her eyes meet mine and her smile fades a little.
She offers me a small wave. “Hi, I’m Vivian. ”
“Hey, Vivian, I’m Ben,” I say, doing my best to sound calm, even though I feel anything but. “I’m Henry’s mum. Dad. I’m Henry’s dad.” Oh, way to go. Real cool, Ben. Real cool.
Dom, who is standing in the doorway holding a giant suitcase, gives me a ‘you okay, bro?’ look. “Ben, this is Vivian. You remember me mentioning her last night?”
I give him a hard stare. “Yup, I do, but come on…”
“Come on what?” he asks.
“You’re taking this a little too far, don’t you think?”
“I’m not taking anything too far. This isn’t a game.”
“Of course it is.”
“What makes you think that?” he asks.
“Well, first of all, she’s not exactly your type.” I glance at Vivian, who looks a little uncomfortable.
Dominic wraps his arm around her shoulder. “She’s exactly right for what we’re doing, and I was dead serious.” He pulls her closer and says, “Future wife.”
Henry’s mouth drops and he stares up at the pair. “Wait? You got a wife for my dad?”
My face flames with embarrassment. I shake my head. “I don’t need a wife,” I tell her, my voice going much deeper than normal for some stupid reason.
“No, no, buddy,” Dom says. “I’m going to marry Vivian.”
Henry scrunches up his little face. “But … you said you don’t like women the same way my dad likes women and if you got married, it would be a two-mans wedding.”
Dom takes his arm off Vivian’s shoulder and crouches down in front of Henry. “Yes, well, that’s true, but sometimes people get married for different reasons, not because they’re in love. Vivian and I have some very good ones.”
Vivian stands awkwardly next to Dom, and even though I don’t know her at all, I know regret when I see it. Henry looks back at me. “I don’t get it, Dad.”
Walking over, I pick him up. “Honestly, buddy, I’m pretty confused myself. Sometimes Uncle Dominic takes a joke a little too far, and I’m wondering if this is one of those times.”
Dom shakes his head. “I’m not joking. Vivian and I are going to get married. With a real minister and bridesmaids and flowers and the whole thing.” He smiles at Henry. “And you can be a ring bearer.”
Henry’s eyes light up. “Really?”
“Absolutely.”
He turns to me, his little face an inch from mine. “What’s a ring bear?”
Dom gently pokes him on his nose with one finger. “A ring bearer is a very important job. You’ll be in charge of carrying our sacred rings into the church on a special pillow.”
Henry’s face lights up. “I’d be very good at that.”
“Yes, you will,” Dom says.
“You absolutely would be great at it, Henry, if it were actually going to happen.” I set him down and fold my arms across my chest. Dominic and I stare at each other, both saying all sorts of things without any words.
“Umm, maybe you two need a few minutes to talk,” Vivian suggests. She looks down at my son. “Henry, what if you show me your backyard?”
He nods enthusiastically and takes her hand again, leading her through the house to the patio doors. “I have the best backyard in the whole world because it’s the ocean. Also because of my clubhouse.”
They disappear outside, leaving Dom and I to face off. “What the hell, Dom?” I ask him at the same time as he says, “Well, that was rude.”
I let out a big breath through my nostrils. “You brought a stranger into my home, not to mention that you’re confusing the shit out of Henry—and me, quite frankly. What are you even doing?”
“I already told you. I’m getting married so I can move to New York.” He walks to the kitchen and looks at the container of sauce. “Yum, spaghetti night?”
“Yes,” I answer, watching as he opens the fridge and pulls out the fixings for a salad. I slide open the patio door so I can listen to what’s happening outside in case Henry needs me.
“We better cook fast because it’s Pirates of the Caribbean night so I need an extra thirty minutes to get into the costume,” he says, as if this is any other normal night. “Oh! I’ll have to ask if Viv has any food allergies. We have so much to learn about each other.”
My brain short-circuits, landing on the only possible explanation.
“Okay, I get it. Very funny. Big prank on Ben. You brought some new actor from the show here and are pretending you’re getting married and leaving us forever.
Good one. I get it. It’s … very avant garde.
Edgy, edgy stuff. See if we can freak Ben the fuck out because life’s not stressful enough. Ha ha! Good one.”
He washes his hands in the kitchen sink, then dries them on a dish towel before answering me. “It’s not a prank. It’s a shot at a dream I never dared to let myself have.”
“What do you mean? You’ve never once talked about Broadway. You’re moving to Benavente, but not for another year.”
“I’ve never mentioned it because I never thought it would happen.
New York and London. Those are the places.
And it just so happens that I found a woman who can get me to one of them.
I know this is a shock for you, Ben, but it’s going to take a few months before I can move anyway, and you two will be fine without me. I promise you.”
I stare at him, overwhelmed with fear and anger and a deep sense of betrayal, even though I have no right to feel that way.
Not after he postponed his entire life to help me raise my son.
And yet, I do feel that way. I’m furious and hurt and it’s all I can do not to say as much.
So I say nothing, and tell myself to calm the hell down.
Dominic watches me for a second, then says, “This is real, Ben. This is happening, and it’s going to be good for all of us.”
“How is this going to be good for Henry? You’re like his second father and you’re going to up and…” I don’t finish the sentence. Instead, I shake my head.
“That’s not fair,” Dom says evenly, even though I can see he’s tearing up.
“I love Henry more than I love myself, and that’s saying something because I’m pretty damned amazing.
” He lets out a little grin, but I don’t return it.
“Henry is going to get to see his uncle go off and live his dreams, which I hope will be inspiring to him.”
“Yeah, well, he probably won’t see it that way. Not for a long time. He’ll just miss you.”