Chapter 26
Benjamin stuck his face into the flowers he’d set in the middle of the table, pulling in a deep breath of the lightly sweet hibiscus blossoms, then stepped back and surveyed them with a critical eye. He suddenly wished his mama were here, both so she could advise him on the flowers and so she could see him all grown up and married.
He snorted to himself as he hurried back to the stove to flip the omelet crackling there. Being married might make him feel all grown up. But wishing for his mama sure didn’t.
Still, he would have liked her to know that he was a husband now. Not that last night had gone how he’d ever imagined his wedding night would go. Standing out there on the deck in the dark, he had yearned to kiss Summer properly, something more substantial than the light brush of their lips at the courthouse—although, truth be told, even that had set his heart on fire.
But she wasn’t ready. She’d made that much clear with her hasty escape. Benjamin had tried to watch a movie by himself, but eventually he’d given up and decided to go to bed. In the hallway, he’d stood staring at her closed bedroom door for a full five minutes, wondering if they’d ever share a bedroom. And then he’d turned and gone into TJ’s room, reminding himself that they had all the time in the world for their relationship to grow—after all, they’d just vowed to stay together as long as they both lived.
Benjamin flipped the omelet onto a plate and added salt to the hash browns, trying to banish the question that had autoplayed through his sleepless brain last night: Do you think we made a mistake? It had been Summer’s question, and yet, in his head, he heard it not only in her voice but in Dad’s and his siblings’ and even his own.
He didn’t think they’d made a mistake. But he had a feeling he might be the only one.
“Boy oh boy! It sure smells good in here!” Max bounded into the kitchen, his enthusiasm pulling Benjamin out of his worries.
“Thanks, Maxerooni. Happy first day of school.”
The boy had already dressed himself in a pair of shorts and a misbuttoned plaid shirt. “You’re looking sharp.” Benjamin brought the eggs and hash browns to the table, where he’d already set out cut fruit and orange juice. Then he knelt in front of Max. “Here. Let’s tweak this a little.” He redid the buttons, then ruffled the boy’s hair and stood, startling to find Summer in the room. He couldn’t exactly identify the expression on her face—surprise, or maybe hope—but he liked it.
“Good morning.” He smiled at her and pulled out a seat at the table. “Breakfast is served.”
“Oh boy!” Max climbed into the chair Benjamin held.
Benjamin looked at Summer, shrugged, and then pulled out another chair for her, rejoicing in the sprinkle of her slight laugh.
“You didn’t have to do all of this,” she murmured as she sat.
“Of course I did. Max needs a good breakfast for his first day of school. Hibiscuses are still your favorite flowers, right?”
Summer nodded, and this time he was certain of the look in her eyes: delight. “Where did you even find them this early in the morning?”
“There’s a hibiscus bush in my backyard.” It was one of the things that had drawn him to the house. “You’re going to love it.”
He dished out food for everyone, then sat across from Summer and Max and folded his hands. They did the same, and a whoosh of nerves suddenly coursed through Benjamin. He’d prayed with both of them plenty of times, but somehow this felt different. He’d never prayed as the head of an actual family before.
“Dear Jesus,” he began, “we want to thank you for this new day, for Max’s new school year, and for our new marriage.” He had to stop for a second as the enormity of the word hit him. “Please bless us in the ways that you know are best. Help us to trust in you—” He faltered as he suddenly wondered if marrying Summer had shown a lack of trust, but then pushed aside the thought. “And help us to give you glory in all things. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”
Max’s exuberant “Amen” almost drowned out Summer’s quiet one, but Benjamin had lifted his head in time to see her lips move with the word.
“Can I have some orange juice?” Max’s eager question tugged Benjamin’s eyes from Summer just as the boy pushed onto his knees and reached for the juice pitcher.
“Careful, Max—” But before Benjamin could finish his sentence, Max lost his grip on the pitcher. It hit the table with a crash and a great cascade of juice.
Both Summer and Benjamin shoved their chairs back from the table as juice poured onto their laps, but Max seemed to be frozen in place, juice soaking into his shirt.
Benjamin raced for the paper towels and tossed a handful to Summer, who had scooped Max away from the table. She started to blot at the boy while Benjamin attempted to rescue the food, but both the omelets and the hash browns were soaked in orange juice.
“Maybe ask for help next time, okay, Maxerooni?” Benjamin said as he tossed the ruined breakfast.
A loud wail made him spin back toward the table.
“I didn’t mean to,” Max cried, burying his head in Summer’s shoulder.
“I know, sweetie.” Summer rubbed her hand over Max’s back, sending Benjamin a reproachful look.
He gazed back helplessly. He hadn’t been trying to upset the boy. Just to remind him to ask for help.
“It’s okay, Max,” he tried again. “Let’s all go change out of our wet clothes, and then we should have time to eat some cereal before we go.”
“I don’t want to change.” Max’s voice was muffled by Summer’s shoulder. “Daddy bought me this shirt for the first day of school.”
Oh man. Benjamin swiped at his own wet clothes. If Max’s were half as wet as his, there was no way he could wear them to school.
He raised his eyebrows toward Summer, but she responded with an uncertain shrug.
“Okay, well . . .” Benjamin searched his mind, but he’d never been a parent before, and he had no idea what to do.
If TJ was here, he would have a simple solution. Benjamin had seen that man head off many a meltdown when it came to Max. But TJ wasn’t here. It was up to Benjamin and Summer to figure out what to do.
“What if you wore one of your dad’s shirts?” he asked, patting himself on the back for the flash of insight.
“Really?” Max lifted his tear-streaked face.
“They would all be way too big.” Summer’s tone said that Benjamin had only made the problem worse. “He’d trip over them.”
“What about that Batman one that shrank in the wash?” Though TJ had been disappointed, he’d gotten a good laugh out of it and said he planned to give it to Max one day. “Does he still have that one?” He kept himself from correcting his use of the present tense.
“Maybe,” Summer said slowly. “I haven’t had a chance to go through his clothes yet.”
“We’ll go look for it. You go get changed, and we’ll meet you out here in a few minutes.” He held out his hand to Max, who took it with a little sniffle. “I’m sorry, Benji.”
Benjamin squatted in front of the boy, planting his hands on Max’s shoulders, the same way Dad had always done with him. “It was an accident, Max. And I forgive you. You don’t need to worry about it anymore, okay?”
Max nodded solemnly, and Benjamin pulled him into a quick hug, closing his eyes at the feel of the small, trusting arms around his neck.
It only took a few minutes to find the shrunken t-shirt in TJ’s closet. Though it hung to Max’s knees, at least it had brought a smile back to the boy’s face. Benjamin sent him back to the kitchen, where he could hear Summer pulling out bowls and cereal. He quickly changed out of his own orange juice-soaked clothes, shaking his head at himself—his first day as a husband and father was off to a rocky start. But at least it could only go up from here.