Hidden Burdens (working title)

Chapter Forty-Five

Along with Mary's visit with Ivan, Ben had been praying and hoping the past week, Thanksgiving would go well with little to no problems. His mom still tried to discourage them from bringing any of the kids and pestered him when they were gonna give her "real grandkids," but Ben did his best to stand his ground with his mother and asked her not to make those kinds of comments around Kimmy.

With only one kid, they took Ben's truck to his cousin's house, parked across the street where the community mailboxes were, and headed to the front door. Kayla pushed the doorbell since Ben was carrying the stuffing dish. His family wasn't formal, not even for holiday gatherings, so none of them were dressed up. Though it had gotten chilly enough to wear jeans and a sweatshirt, Kimmy still wanted to wear basketball shorts. Kayla had taken the kids shopping last weekend for the coming winter season. Being a desert, Phoenix and its surrounding areas never got snow. A person had to go up north to Flagstaff for that kind of weather. It at least got cold enough for jackets and long pants. The weather did not seem to bother Kimmy, though.

Shortly after the doorbell was pushed, Oliver opened the door. "Hey, you made it." The tall, husky-built guy stepped to the side to let them inside, hugging both Ben and Kayla. They also introduced Kimmy.

"Welcome, Kimmy. Our casa is su casa." He chuckled.

Kimmy stared up at him, her hands shoved in the pocket of her sweatshirt Kayla had pointed out would be perfect for the humor most of Ben's family had while also fitting Kimmy's favorite pastime, video games. On the front, it said, "I paused my game to be here," with a generic game controller. Ben did not think it would help with his mom, but when Oliver noticed what her sweatshirt said, he chuckled some more and complimented the sweatshirt in a teasing way.

"You like games, huh?" Oliver asked afterward.

There was a pause before Kimmy nodded her head.

Oliver gave them a quick tour of their house, showing where the guest room was first, right next to the front door, along with the bedroom he and Ariel used as a rec room.

The older kids were in the rec room playing pool. When they noticed Ben, they stopped what they were doing and dashed over to tackle him, all trying to hug him at once. He had to quickly pass the stuffing dish to Kayla before it got knocked out of his hands.

"Hey, guys," Ben said, just as excited, having not seen them since the birthday party. He pointed Kimmy out to them to suggest they help make her feel welcome. "She has a hard time talking, so don't force her if she doesn't. Cool?"

The kids promised and invited Kimmy to play pool with them. The second to oldest, Victoria, who preferred to be called Tori, for short, asked if she played before and offered to teach Kimmy. Tori was a year younger than she was, so Ben hoped Tori could help Kimmy out of her shell since they hadn't heard anything about Lucy.

Kayla pointed out where they would be if Kimmy needed them before leaving the kids alone.

The other adults were all spread out in the living area, kitchen, and patio. It wasn't as much as the party. Thanksgiving was just the family. Ben went over to hug his grandmother, a sweet old lady who didn't remember much. She lived with his oldest cousin and her family despite his mother wanting his grandmother to come live with her and his father. She was also oblivious to why Ben and his mom rarely spoke to one another and innocently asked about it.

Ben kneeled on the floor beside the recliner where his grandmother sat to look up at her. "I've just been busy, Grandma. That's all."

"You can't be too busy for family," she reminded him. "You should make time."

He forced a small laugh. "I know, Grandma." Ben rose to his feet, halting long enough to kiss his grandmother on her white-haired covered head.

She patted him on her cheek. "You were always a good boy, Benny. Don't change."