Twenty-Eight Ben
twenty-eight
Ben
Boyfriends.
He and Arya were boyfriends.
Ben’s chest felt like a pipe organ, like if he opened his mouth, “Ode to Joy” would come blaring out like some terrible cliché.
Boyfriends.
They’d spent the night together curled up in Ben’s bed, Simon nestled at their feet.
Arya had almost passed out after a quick dinner of chicken congee.
It was one of the few dishes Ben was actually good at cooking.
You could make it in large batches for meal prep, and it was super affordable, which he’d needed when he first moved away from home.
They’d showed up to kickball together the next day, hand in hand.
Nothing was different. Except everything was different.
Arya had headed home after kickball, while Ben had gotten ready for a show. And all he could do was count the minutes until they’d see each other again.
After the show—they were doing Holst’s The Planets, one of Ben’s favorites—Ben had returned home to a house that suddenly felt way emptier than it had yesterday, even though Simon was there waiting to greet him.
He took her out for a night run, since they both needed to burn off some energy. The neighborhood was quiet, save for the drone of cicadas.
Ben took a quick shower and stretched out on the couch to call home.
“Ben!” His dad’s rich voice took him by surprise. He’d called his mom, but then his parents were always using each other’s phones.
“Hey, Dad! How’re you doing?”
“Good, good. Weather’s been perfect here. Nice and cool at night. I don’t like to jinx it, but your mother keeps saying this is how 2007 went.”
That was one of the best years Napa ever had. Phoenix Mountain’s 2007 Cabernet had earned a hundred points from multiple reviewers. His parents still had a few bottles hidden away as library wines, and they pulled one out every so often to see how it was developing.
So far it was still evolving, still exquisite, still magical.
“That’s awesome.”
“How’re things with you?”
Ben stretched his free arm over his head. From the hardwood floor—where she lay still panting a bit from her run—Simon copied him, throwing in a yawn for good measure.
“Ooh, big stretch,” Ben said automatically.
“Is Simon there?” his dad asked immediately. Sean Liu loved dogs. “Can you put her on?”
Ben chuckled. “I’ll put you on speaker.”
He rested the phone on his chest.
“Hi, Simon, this is your granddad! Are you behaving? Is Ben treating you well?”
Simon shook herself and padded over to the couch to investigate the source of the noise. She huffed and then trotted off to the bathroom, no doubt to curl around the toilet, which she liked to do when she was too hot.
“She says hi,” Ben said.
“Good. Oh, your mother wants to say hi.”
“Hi, Benny!” His mom’s voice joined his dad’s. “How’s things?”
“Good, Mom. Getting ready for bed, but I missed your voice.”
“We miss you, too. Alex and Nathan send their love.”
“Give them mine,” Ben said. “I heard this vintage is shaping up well?”
“It is, it is, but what about you? How’s Arya?”
“He’s good.” Ben’s throat tightened. He wanted to tell his parents it was real now, but that would mean admitting that it hadn’t been real before, that it had all been a lie. Obviously he couldn’t do that.
“He spent the night last night,” Ben said.
His parents probably assumed that was more or less normal, but it was a big deal to Ben. Some small bit of honesty, he supposed.
“Things are getting serious,” Judy said. Her voice turned wistful. “I always thought you’d get back together with Justin.”
“Mom,” Ben warned. Angry trombones blared in his chest.
“What? I’m just saying. I had lunch with his mom the other day.”
Ben was glad his parents hated video calls, so they couldn’t see him pull off his glasses and pinch the bridge of his nose.
“She sends her love.”
“Send mine back,” Ben said automatically. Justin’s mom was lovely, and she and Judy had become fast friends when Ben and Justin started dating.
“And she misses Justin. Do you see him often?”
“Once or twice a week. He’s on the kickball team with me.”
“Oh! That’s nice.”
Ben sighed.
“Mom, you get I’m with Arya, right?”
“I know, but—”
“No buts, Mom. Why do you keep acting like this is just… just a temporary thing? We’re not getting back together.”
“Ben…” his dad said, but Ben kept going.
“It’s like you took his side when we broke up. You’re supposed to be on my side.”
Ben knew he sounded petulant, but he couldn’t help it.
“You’re supposed to be happy for my new relationship. Not wishing I’d go back to my old one.”
His mom went quiet for a long moment. His dad muttered something, probably covering the phone, because Ben couldn’t make it out.
“I’m sorry, Benny,” his mom finally said. “You’re right. I want you to be happy. Arya makes you happy, doesn’t he?”
“He does,” Ben said. “He’s thoughtful. And really funny. And he loves Simon.”
He’s got magic hands and an even more magical mouth, Ben thought. He couldn’t tell his parents that.
He’s got a great dick.
He’s fine with me being a side.
He knows about the hanky code.
“He makes me laugh,” Ben finally said aloud.
“That’s the most important thing,” Judy said. “Your father and I make each other laugh every day. That’s the only reason we’re still married.”
“Hey! That’s not the only reason,” Sean said. Ben couldn’t see him, but he had a horrible feeling his dad was making a lascivious face. He shuddered.
“So when are you bringing him to visit? We can’t wait to meet him,” Judy said.
“You’ve met him, remember?”
“Yeah, but not as your boyfriend,” Sean pointed out. “Try to come out soon, okay?”
“I’ll try. But even when the season ends, I’ve still got lots to do for the ball. And I don’t know if Arya can get time off work right now.” Not while his boss-slash-mentor was imploding.
“All right,” his mom said with a sigh. “Maybe we’ll come see you sometime.”
“I’d like that,” Ben said. “I really like it here.”
“Good,” his dad said. “All we want is for you to be happy. You know that, right?”
“I know,” Ben said. “I know.”