After the Thanksgiving weekend, Ben went back to his barracks room. She missed him being near her every waking moment. Somehow they’d managed to stay out of the bedroom, but Saryah would be the first to say she wouldn’t have any regrets if they had decided to cross that line. He’d shown her that not all men were jerks.
Most importantly, they’d been there for one another. She learned more about him in those few days than a person usually found out in several months. They knew everything about one another, and yet, he stayed around.
There were days, and even a whole week, when they didn’t see each other. He made up for that time in texts, calls, and even emails. Her favorite was video chat.
She glanced at the calendar on her desk.
“Christmas already?” The calendar proved it was only nine days away. Her cast would come off in a few days, and she’d get to “enjoy” wearing a space boot on her foot for two weeks after. She only used crutches at work or when going a longer-than-normal distance. At home, she was able to hobble around without them.
Her phone rang, and she smiled when she glanced at the caller I.D.
“Hey sis! What’s up?”
“You got a minute to talk?” The joy in Sonya’s voice was hard to miss.
“Sure, Sonya. I’m on my lunch break.”
“I was wondering what you were doing the weekend of March 14th?”
Saryah smiled. “I hope I’m going to your wedding! Or, wedding shower?”
“You are, actually, going to both! I really need my Maid of Honor to be there for a couple of days to a week before hand, if you have the vacation days?”
“I don’t have them now because of my run-in with that truck, but I will by then. I’m so excited for you! Where are you getting married? St. Paul’s in Paxton?”
“No, silly! We’re going to be recording our first album. So, we’re getting married near where we’ll be staying: Pigeon Forge!”
“WHAT? I’ve heard it’s breathtaking! That’s great! What do you need me to do?”
“I guess I’ll send a list. We only have a couple of months to finalize everything. You may want to get a dress in navy blue or plum. Either one is good with me. Since you’ll be walking with Ben,” Saryah’s heart skipped a beat when her sister said that, “either color will complement his dress blues.” At Sonya’s words, Saryah thought her heart had stopped completely. “You okay? It sounds like you stopped breathing! I bet I know what’s going on. Someone’s in looove!”
“I am not! We’re closer than before, sure, and we don’t fight anymore, but love? No! I don’t think so!”
“Come on, Sare. You know as well as I do that you two have been really, REALLY, close since Thanksgiving. There’s no way you can say you don’t have any romantic feelings for him. It was written all over the both of ya when y’all came out of your room that night. We know y’all were smoochin’ in there. It’s obvious you’re attracted to each other. Just admit it!”
“Look, Sonya, there’s a difference between love and attraction. I’d have to be blind, deaf, and dumb to not be attracted to Ben. He’s gorgeous! But Love? Not there yet. Could it be someday? I hope so!”
“See? I knew it. It’s in your voice…”
Trying not to be rude, Saryah cut her off. “Enough, Sonya. Look, we’ll talk about Ben later. I’m super jazzed about your date being set, and I love you! Thanks for calling me. But, now I have to go back to work!”
“Okay sissy! I love you too! Buh-byyyeee!”
“Buh-byyyeeee!”
# # # # #
Ben trudged through the work day, looking forward to lunch with Saryah at her office. He walked into her break room while she was on the phone. With her back turned, she didn’t notice him until she ended the phone call.
“Oh! Hi, Ben. How’s work going today?”
He had a “canary that ate the cat” smile on his face.
“What has you smiling so big?” She asked as she watched him close the door.
“You think I’m gorgeous, huh?” He said with a laugh in his voice.
Turning a deep red, she sheepishly returned the grin. “You heard that, did you?”
“Yeah. Who was grillin’ you about us? And, the rest, I heard that too, but I’m with you: It’s way too soon to call it love. Lust? Yup, that it could be!” He wiggled his eyebrows and pulled her into a hug. “I hope that’s okay.”
“You, Sergeant Campbell, are too much!” She whispered, suddenly catching a look in his eye that she hadn’t seen when he walked in.
“Hmm. Well, hopefully I’m not much too much, or dinner tonight might be difficult! Wanna go get a steak? See a movie? Make out on the couch?”
“Any and all of those options sound good, but first, I have to make it through this work day.”
“Fair enough: I’ll be here when I’m released for the day. I’ll wait until you’re ready to go!” He wanted so much to kiss her until she had that dazed, lovey-dovey look in her eye, but he knew this room was normally high traffic and he didn’t want to jeopardize her job any more than it already had been. “Until then!” He settled for a kiss on the forehead.
“Bye, handsome!” She giggled.
“Don’t you mean ‘gorgeous’?” He teased back.
She raised one eyebrow, gathered her lunch that had been left mostly untouched, and went back to her office.
# # # # #
“This phone is possessed; I swear it!” Every single time she hung up, someone else would call or send a text. She turned it off during sessions, checking in between clients.
She was okay with that arrangement until her mom called and left a message.
“Hey baby girl. Call me. I have some news I don’t want to leave on your voice mail. I love you most! Bye!”
That was it? Nothing to give a hint of what she wanted? When Saryah analyzed her voice, she thought it sounded stressed. She sat there listening to it over and over. She finally snapped out of the semi-daze and looked at her list of clients. Finally, this was the last one of the day. She breathed a deep sigh of relief, put on her professional social worker face, and called them in.
# #
The last family, and all the baggage that came with them, had just left her office when a familiar clink sounded in the hallway. “Ben.” She’d become used to the sound of the prosthetic, to the point she didn’t even realize he had it on.
“Hey! You ready?” He appeared in her doorway like a movie star would in the movies. She was disarmed for a moment.
“Not quite. I have some notes to type. Have a seat. It may be about half an hour.”
“Saryah, what’s wrong?” Ben never was one to waste time.
“I don’t know. Mom left a cryptic message on my voicemail, and she sounds worried. I don’t know what to think.”
“You should call her back after you’re finished with your notes. I can wait. It’s Friday and I don’t have any plans until 0530 Monday, except maybe to kiss you into oblivion.” Ben smiled that dreamy, drop-dead-gorgeous smile and shrugged one shoulder. “Hey, while you type, I’m gonna go down the hall for a drink. Want anything?”
“Sure. A regular Coke sounds good to me! Thank you.” He walked out, waving a hand behind him as if he’d said, “don’t worry about it.”
Her notes were not coming along for the distraction of her mom’s call. She wrapped up the ones she worked on, and dialed her mom’s number.
“Hey, Momma, what’s up? Is everything okay?”
Maura heaved a deep sigh before talking. “Sweetie. The doctor’s worried about my progress. He wants to do more tests. We may have to do chemo after all. It really isn’t a big deal yet, but I didn’t want you hearing it from anyone but me.”
A sob stuck in Saryah’s throat. “Did you talk to Sonya already?”
“Yes, she knows. I don’t want you to worry, okay?”
“That’s a little hard for me to do, Mah!” Saryah said with her voice louder than she wanted. Ben rushed in, two drinks in his hand and a worried look on his face.
“It’s really okay! We’ve had this discussion. And, I want you to be happy. I’m coming down for Christmas, and we’ll talk about what he says then, okay?”
“Okay, Mah! I’ve gotta … go. Ben’s here to pick me up. I love you most.”
“I love you more. Don’t worry. I’ll see ya soon, baby!”
She hit the end button on her phone, dropped the phone on the desk, and cradled her face in her hands. “God, please don’t take my mom. I need her. She needs us. She needs to hold our babies, and go to their graduations.” The tears poured out before she could stop them. This wasn’t something a 55 year old should have to deal with, much less her 20-something daughters. They didn’t deserve this. She especially didn’t deserve this. She’d always lived a good and clean life, trusting in her Savior.
A hand rubbing circles on her back made Saryah jump. She wasn’t in the mood for company this instant, but she’d take the impromptu massage he offered. Ben continued until her sobs slowed, and eventually stopped. He laughed when she hiccoughed from crying. The sound of the can opening was followed by a soda can in her face.
“Here. This will take care of those.” Ben smiled, not asking or intruding.
“Thanks. I’m done here. Are you ready?”
“Yup. Are you still up for steak, or does take out sound better?”
“Look, Ben. I don’t think I’m great company tonight. You’d be less miserable sitting in your barracks room alone than with me while I sulk, cry, call my sister, cry with her over the phone, go to bed and cry until the sun comes up.” She allowed him to put his arms around her, though she remained stiff and unrelenting.
“Saryah. Look at me, honey.” That was a first. He’d not used any sort of endearment so personally. She lifted her gaze to match his. What she saw there was nothing less than sincere concern and care. “I don’t care if you cry the whole night. I wanna hold you while you do. You have every reason to cry. Don’t shut me out.”
“I’m not trying to shut you out. I just think you’ll be unhappy hanging out with me tonight.”
“Nope. I’m kidnapping you for the weekend. We’ll go by your place for your things, and then we’re heading to an undisclosed destination where you won’t be able to use your cell phone or sit around. But, before that, we’re going to get steak. Sound good?”
“Do I have a choice?” She said, as the smile crept up her features but didn’t quite reach her eyes.
“No, not really.” He chuckled as he pulled her closer.
“What about your chain of command?”
“They’re already in the know. Besides, as long as I stay within a certain mileage, they can’t really say much.”
She acquiesced with a nod. “Okay. How much do I need to bring?” They began walking towards the cars.
“A couple pairs of jeans, sweaters, normal stuff. And one LBD!”
“A little black dress or a long one?” She laughed at his reference from the conversation before their first date that never took place.
“HMM! Which one is sexier?” His laugh permeated the empty parking lot.
“Oh, I gotcha. Okay, I’ll surprise you!” He pulled her close when they reached her car, giving her a quick kiss.
“I’m following you home, and then we’ll take my car.”
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’d planned this already, despite the call from my mom.”
“I’ll never tell.” His smile held a certain mystery to it, and playful mischief as well.
“I’ll see you at my place, then.” He grabbed her for another kiss before she sat in her car.