Hidden Burdens (working title)

Chapter Two

Claudia didn't answer right away until he gently coaxed it out of her. "They call me a whore, among other things," she admitted, pausing for a moment but continued. "Because they think I wear too much makeup, I guess."

It all slowly sunk in and started connecting inside of his mind. "That why you take your time in the morning for us?"

She didn't respond right away, but eventually nodded her head.

Ben looked from the girls over to Claudia. "How come you never told us? We might be able to do something about it."

She shrugged. "I'm used to it. Wouldn't be the first time someone's called me something like that."

"You shouldn't have to get used to something like that," he noted in sympathy. "I'm not a fan of make-up myself and prefer seeing Kayla without it." Ben fidgeted with a half drank water bottle he had previously left in one of the cup holders. "But I do know it's a girl thing I will probably never understand and shouldn't be judged on regardless how much she wears."

Her head flinched at that. "Wow."

He looked over at her to ask, "What?"

"Never heard that from a guy before." She finally turned to look at him, too.

Ben shrugged. "We're rare, but us nice guys are out there, too." He gave her a sincere, kind smile. "We really are here for ya."

Claudia looked away again, elsewhere.

Ben turned back to the water bottle, picking at the ridged sides on the bottle cap with his fingernail. He let the truck grow silent except for the radio still on the station Mary chose. His mind almost got lost in thought when he found himself asking, "You got any big tests today?"

"No, not till Friday," she answered, and looked back at him. "Why?"

He looked up again. "Wanna go see a movie?"

Her head flinched once more, as if surprised. "What?"

Ben shrugged. "Sometimes we need an extra day off to get away from all the stress and unwind with some fun." It was something he sometimes did with the kids if they were having a rough day, whether with school or if a court hearing didn't go like they wanted. Once, a kid's dad didn't show up to the visit like he had promised. So, Ben took him to Peter Piper Pizza for lunch and played games for a couple of hours. It had made the kid's day, despite the broken promise.

Claudia gave him a disbelieving stare.

"Or we could do something else," he offered. It was usually the kid's favorite activity, anyway.

"Um, a movie's fine," she said, still not buying it.

Ben leaned back to his door and pulled away from the sidewalk, checking to make sure traffic was clear.

"What about school?" She asked.

He shrugged. "I can call and let them know you're having a sick day."

She looked at him, impressed. "I didn't think you lie, Mr. Goody Two-Shoes."

Ben came to a stop behind a car before pulling onto the main street once it was his turn. "It's technically not lying if you need a mental health day."

Claudia turned away to stare out her window. After a minute, she murmured something Ben couldn't catch. "Thanks," she repeated a little louder that time.

"You're welcome," he said with a smile. "If you ever feel overwhelmed during the week and need a day, just let us know. Okay?"

She looked at him. "Okay." The look on her face told him nobody had probably done this for her before. Or something like this, anyway.