42. Blind Surprises
Gia steppedfrom the car and walked around the front to the passenger side, opening the door and climbing in. She pulled the seatbelt across her lap and glanced over at Ben, who still looked concerned but was clearly trying to maintain a sense of composure.
“I just have to send a quick text,” he said. “Things sort of have been… sped up. The timing and whatnot—but we should be fine. Our dinner plans just became our lunch plans, is all.” Ben pulled out his phone and typed several lines of a message into a text, hit send, then put the car in reverse, not waiting for a response.
“Where are we going?” Gia asked, still a little shaky from the emotional afternoon.
“You’ll see. It’s someplace you know very, very well.”
Gia glanced at Ben, too tired to hide her confusion. “We’ve already been to the botanical garden. I don’t get out much anymore… where else could?—”
“You’ll see,” Ben interrupted. “But, unfortunately for you, not right now.” A slight smile formed on his lips as he handed Gia a blindfold. “Put it on—and don’t peek. We can’t have you ruining the surprise!”
“Ben, is this really necessary? It’s been a long day, and it’s not even 2 PM.”
“Yes, it is. And you’ll go along with it because I put a lot of effort into this date—even if it’ll be a little different than I’d originally planned.”
Gia scoffed and slid the blindfold over her head until it covered her eyes completely.
“Can you see anything?” Ben asked.
“Nope. Not a thing,” Gia reported. Ben glanced over and stuck up his middle finger at Gia, knowing she’d call him out on it if she could see. Nothing. Silence.
“Perfect. You’ve passed the test,” he said.
“Why? What’d you do?”
“Oh, nothing. Don’t worry about it,” Ben teased as he followed the roads out of the downtown area and toward the calmer, suburban areas. “Sit back and relax. It’s not far.”
“What isn’t far?”
“Oh, nothing.”
Gia sighed. “Okay, okay. I get it. You’re not going to tell me. Can you at least put some music on? I can’t see the radio.” Ben nodded and fiddled with the radio dials, momentarily forgetting how to work Gia”s car”s less technologically advanced controls.
“This is good. I like this song,” Gia said, and Ben returned his hand to the steering wheel. Normally, Gia would have questioned why Ben hadn’t taken her hand and held it as he had on the way home from the botanical gardens the other day, but it had been a tough morning. Neither she nor Ben knew how to behave under the circumstances. She hadn’t even decided whether she could believe his story about Jen, but at the same time, she felt he’d earned the chance to prove himself and his intentions.”
After several minutes of silence, with the exception of the radio, the car drew to a stop.
“Don’t move,” Ben ordered. “I have to see something… you’re still being watched!”
“Don’t be creepy!” Gia said, chuckling slightly.
“I’m not. You’re just under surveillance while I make sure everything is ready. Isn’t that right?”
“That’s right!” Matt’s unexpected voice chimed in. “Mask stays on!”
“Matt? What are you doing here? I mean, wherever we are? Where are we?”
“I’m just the help,” Matt said with a shrug. “You’ll have to present your questions to the management. And he just walked away… but don’t worry, it’ll all be clear soon enough!”
Ben
“Carla, it’s perfect. Thank you.” Ben stood in Gia’s backyard, surrounded by her breathtaking garden. Before them, a table was laid out, beautifully set with a sage green tablecloth, crystal glasses, and floral dishes, and in the center rested a vase of fresh-cut flowers and herbs from the garden, lending an intoxicating aroma to the dining area.
A TV screen was placed several feet from the table area and beautifully decorated with garlands made from various natural materials, allowing it to fit better with the serene surroundings.
“You’re welcome! What the hell happened at the restaurant? Do you know how hard it was to pull all this together so many hours sooner than I’d planned?!”
“I know. I’m sorry. It was—well, Jen,” Ben said, rolling his eyes. “I told you she wouldn’t leave me alone, but she crossed the line this time by involving Gia directly. Anyway, I’ll worry about that problem later. I think it’s time to rescue Gia from her blindfold!”
“Oh my God, she actually let you make her wear it?” Carla cackled.
“I think she was tired from the sequence of events earlier—and the crying. So much crying. She really didn’t even give me a hard time about it.”
“She’s either in love with you, or Jen did a number on her.”
“Let’s hope for the former…” Ben said. “Is the food here? And the video is ready?”
“All set. Ready to go. Get her in here, then we”ll make the magic happen,” Carla said, grinning at Ben, who was taking a deep breath to prepare.
“You know, I’ve given hundreds of presentations to some of the wealthiest, most powerful men and women on the planet—and somehow, this feels scarier.”
“It’s cause you love her.” Carla placed a hand on Ben’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, Benji. Matty and I are rooting for ya!”
“Thanks. I couldn’t have done this without you guys, especially with today”s unexpected sequence of events. On that note, let’s go get our little gardener!”
“Our dirty hoe,” Carla added.
“Watch it. That’s my future girlfriend you’re talking about… I hope, anyway,” Ben said, placing his hand against the table to steady himself as he prepared to get Gia from the car.
“You’ve combined her three favorite things—her children, her garden, and fresh food- into the perfect date and a gift she’ll be reminded of daily! Not to mention a dream vacation, career opportunity as a partner at Charmed and the potential for financial security. If she says no, I’ll date you!” Carla joked.
“Yeah, that’ll go over great with Matt.”
“Eh, he’ll get over it,” Carla said, dismissively waving her hand. “Okay, enough joking. Go get your girl!”