Chapter 5
Clinton International Airport
Little Rock, Arkansas
They knew Ben had dated several girls over the last five years, but nothing seemed serious.
Something significant must have happened to change that.
Neither one had felt right asking Ben too many questions.
He was a great kid with a strong head on his shoulders.
Both knew he would share what was happening between him and Ella when he was ready.
Ben was finishing his master's degree in Political Science.
The plan was for him to finish in the spring, return home, and start law school at the University of Arkansas Little Rock in the fall.
What impact, if any, this Ella person might have on that plan was a primary unspoken concern for both Bennett and Poppy.
Both knew that if he fell in love with a girl in California, it might mean he would stay there and never return to Arkansas.
Neither one was ready even to contemplate such a scenario. They had both missed him so much.
Ben and Ella had spent the last five days skiing in Colorado.
They met up with some of Ben's college friends who had moved to Denver after graduation.
The biggest clue that something had changed besides bringing her home for the holiday was when Ben told Bennett that they would be staying in their own condo for privacy in Denver.
The need for privacy was a red flag. In the past, all of his friends had all bunked in together.
The last few days, Poppy had been in a real snit trying to decide if she should make up the guest room for Ella or just assume the girl would be sleeping in Ben's room.
While Poppy considered herself hip and cool, something about allowing her son to sleep in the same bed as his "friend" with his younger sisters down the hall had convinced her she probably wasn't. After all, Lizzy and Lola were only seven and six.
Bennett had convinced her that she was overreacting and to go with the flow by letting the kids choose their accommodations.
In the end, that was what she had done. The guest room was made up, but if they decided to be together, she would do her best to let it go.
They arrived at the airport with just a few minutes to spare.
Even though she had promised to discuss the run for governor more in the morning, Poppy was glad that Bennett had yet to bring it up.
Every time he looked at her, Poppy could tell he wanted to.
She could literally see the words dancing on the front of his tongue, just dying to rush out.
So far, Bennett had managed to restrain himself from pushing her for an answer, and she had worked to pretend they would never have to discuss the whole awful business again.
As they walked toward baggage claim, Poppy knew what she had to do.
Grabbing Bennett's arm, she whispered, "I have thought about what you asked last night.
I have decided to go along with whatever Taylor and Ben say.
But please promise me you won't bring it up until after dinner tonight. If they are good with it, so am I."
The smile that broke out over Bennett's face told her everything she needed to know.
Grabbing her and pulling her in for a deep kiss of gratitude, Bennett used his lips to let Poppy know how much her answer meant to him.
The kiss also told her that Bennett wanted this badly.
He wanted to be governor. God help her; she prayed that her son or Taylor would have the strength to tell Bennett no because there was no way she could.
Bennett hugged his wife, saying, "With that settled, let's go get Ben and find out the deal with him and this mystery woman. Remember, go easy on the questions. We don't want to scare her off."
Giving him a look, Poppy said, "I make no promises."
Ben and Ella were already at the luggage carousel when the family caught up to them.
The first thing that struck Bennett and Poppy was how young Ella was.
Like barely legal young. Her age gave them pause, and they exchanged a concerned look but said nothing.
Instead, they engulfed Ben in a family hug and made so much noise, shrieking and laughing, that the other passengers all turned to see what the commotion was.
Ella stood off to the side and said nothing until Ben extricated himself, walked over, and, putting an arm around her shoulders, said, "Mom, Dad, meet Ella. "
Immediately, Poppy swooped in, gave Ella a hug, and said, "I am Poppy. It is so nice to meet you. Welcome to Arkansas."
Right behind her, Bennett gave Ella an abbreviated pat-hug and echoed his wife's sentiments. "Yes, welcome. I am Bennett, Ben's old man. We are happy to have you."
Lizzy and Lola then swarmed Ella and gave her side hugs while commenting on how beautiful she was and how gorgeous her long dark hair was, which fell like a curtain of black silk.
While the women began to get acquainted, Bennett and Ben moved to the luggage carousel to collect their belongings.
Bennett had expected them to have a ton of luggage since they would have their snow equipment and suitcases.
However, Ben had arranged to ship their snow gear home before leaving Denver.
All they had were their individual bags.
They quickly located their suitcases, loaded the car, and headed home.
The car ride home was a noisy affair, with Lizzy and Lola asking questions a mile a minute.
Bennett repeatedly asked them to calm down and give Ella and Ben a break, but both young people just laughed and took it all in stride, claiming it was fine.
They realized the girls were excited to see the big brother they both adored.
They also seemed to have fallen entirely under Ella's spell as well.
Bennett had no trouble seeing what his son saw in the beautiful young woman.
She was gorgeous. But talking with her, Bennett realized she was also intelligent, witty, and confident in her own skin, especially for one so young.
At the first opportunity, he planned to find out just how young she actually was.
It took a lot of moxie to spend a holiday with people you barely knew.
A bonus of the girls' non-stop questioning, it kept Poppy from having to ask a bunch of intrusive questions.
The girls were basically asking what Poppy wanted to know anyway, but it came off much better from them.
Poppy seemed to understand this, and so she sat back and just listened.
So far, they had gleaned that Ella's family owned a diner in Napa and that she had worked there since graduating high school.
No mention of college or training had yet been mentioned.
Bennett could tell that Poppy was dying to ask what year she had graduated from high school but was managing to hold it back.
Lola finally asked the right question and got the answer they were all wondering about.
She said for the tenth time, "You are so pretty.
" And then she added, "You remind me of Savannah, our babysitter, but I think she is older than you.
" As a younger sister by fourteen months, age was a big deal for Lola.
She had spent her whole life trying to catch up to her big sister.
Without missing a beat, she added, "She is in junior high school.
Is junior high school what you go to next after high school? "
Everyone in the car laughed, and when Lola did not understand why, Poppy said, "Sweetie, junior high comes before high school, not after."
"Oh," replied Lola. "Well, you still look younger than her. She is fourteen. Just how old are you?"
Bennett immediately jumped in and said, "Lola, it is not nice to ask a lady her age."
To which Lola responds, "Hum, Ella's not a lady. She is Ben’s friend."
Ella and everyone laughed at Lola's words and said," It's fine. I don't mind answering." Looking right at Lola, Ella said, "I am nineteen. I graduated from high school at sixteen in 2020.”
"Sixteen!" replied Lizzy. "You must be a genius. Do you go to college like Ben? He's a genius, too."
"No, he is not," interjected Ben before adding, "but you are right, Ella actually is. I think that is enough questions, Little Turds," which brought the non-stop interrogation of Ella to a halt. Little Turds was Ben's nickname for the two little sisters he never knew he wanted until he got them.
As he listened, Bennett could see Poppy's mind spinning. Thank goodness no one else could read her face the way he could, or the merry mood in the car might not have been so cheery.
One Hour Later
Searcy, Arkansas
November 23, 2023
The minute they returned to town, they headed to the Chit, Chat, and Chew Cafe.
On the drive from Little Rock, Ella had asked if they could have breakfast there as Ben had mentioned it often.
She had heard so much about it she was dying to try it.
The C4, as it was known, was open on Thanksgiving morning until noon for breakfast and pick-up orders for those who preferred a catered homemade Thanksgiving dinner.
It was the best place in town for a big, country breakfast. As usual, the food was excellent, and the service was superior.
Poppy was dying to ask Ella how the C4 compared to her parent's diner back home.
Any time anyone tried to ask her a question, Ben would smoothly change the subject.
Poppy was beginning to worry he was hiding something.
She had no idea what, but experience had taught her that secrets in this family always ended badly. She hoped she was wrong.