by Molly O'Hare
As much as Ben wanted to speak he couldn’t. He was still trying to piece together what was going on, so his mouth just opened and closed.
“I feel like I sound crazy,” Holly continued. “But now that I said it out loud I can’t stop thinking about it. The Universe works in all those weird ways and stuff. What if all this happened just so we could meet Jimmy?” Her eyes pleaded with him, as her words registered to his ears. “See, I am crazy. I don’t even know what I’m talking about.” Holly placed her head in her hands defeated. “Who thinks like this? And why can’t I get his face out of my mind? I don’t know what it is, but I have this overwhelming feeling about him being with us.”
Holly moved her gaze to Ben. That’s when he saw the tears in her eyes. He felt the same, he just didn’t know it was possible for Holly to feel it too.
“Ben, I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
“Nothing.” Ben grabbed onto Holly’s hand squeezing it. “Nothing is wrong with you.” He looked into her eyes. “I can’t explain it either, but I feel the same thing. I haven’t stopped thinking about it. I don’t know where it came from, it just appeared.”
“Can we back up here a moment?” Henry asked drawing Ben’s attention back to him. “Who is Jimmy?”
Where do we even begin?
“Remember I was telling you about the break-in and the information the detective gave us?” Holly answered.
“Yes, the boy who hurt Twitch.”
Ben gave Holly’s hand another squeeze before he spoke, “There was another boy there.”
Henry’s face scrunched like he was trying to figure out a problem.
“Will, the detective,” Ben continued. “Showed us the surveillance video from that night. Outside of the clinic there was another child, however this one just stood there.”
“I- I,” Holly blurted. “I can’t stop thinking about him.”
Ben darted his eyes to Holly. Her panicked face as she worried her bottom lip, had him in awe. He couldn’t quite believe that somehow, they were thinking the same thing. If that wasn’t the universe at work then what was? He turned back to Henry. “The detective told us the little boy’s name was Jimmy. Right now, he currently resides in the foster care system after both of his parents were killed in a car accident.”
Henry tilted his head to the side as he stared at them.
“Dad, if you saw the look on his face, you’d understand. There was so much pain, worry, and on top of all that. He was scared.”
“And you know all of this, how?”
“Will,” Ben stated. “The detective assigned to the case also happens to be a friend of mine. He was probably giving us a little more information than we deserved, but he was telling us why they hadn’t moved along with the case.”
Ben shot his attention back to Holly. This did sound insane when he said it out loud.
Right now, they should be focusing their full attention on the baby they were about to bring into this world. That’s what they should be doing. That’s what any expecting parent would be doing. He knew that.
But then…
“Now hold on here,” Henry remarked. “Let me see if I’ve got this straight. A few days ago, you were introduced to a troubled young boy who helped an older boy break into your veterinarian clinic to seek revenge, right?”
“Uhh, yeah.”
“Somehow through all this chaos, you both had the same overwhelming feeling about this other youngster. Even with Holly now having a baby. Mind you, a baby you all just found out about.”
“Well, when you put it that way…” Holly slumped into her chair.
“I wasn’t finished, young lady.” Henry gave her a pointed looked before turning his attention to Ben. “Now, I can’t quite say what is going on in either of your minds. Honestly, I gave up trying to figure Holly out years ago.”
“Hey!”
“But, like I’ve told you in the past, Ben. You don’t question yourself or your instincts. You never know what tomorrow will bring. Son, do you remember the conversation we had on the porch the night I met you, about Holly?”
“What conversation? Why am I only hearing about this now?” Holly sat straighter in her seat glaring at her father and Ben.
Ben ignored Holly, as the words Henry had said ran through his mind. “Take that leap and follow your impulse.”
“That’s right. You said you knew the moment you met Holly she was the one for you. I felt the same way about Helen. People said we were crazy getting married so soon after meeting. People said I was making the biggest mistake in my life. But they were wrong. Even though the years I had with her were cut short, they were the best years of my life.” He looked Ben in the eyes. “Sometimes the world works in strange ways. How else could you explain the chance meeting you had here with my little girl?”
“Yeah, still kinda angry about the hit to the face,” Holly chimed in causing Henry to chuckle.
“And yet, without that you wouldn’t be here right now at my kitchen table talking about a poor child that’s lost everything.”
Ben sat back trying to digest the words Henry said. He was right, look at how he met Holly. That was a once in a lifetime chance encounter. Ben was just lucky enough that everything aligned correctly and over a year later here he was, with Holly as his wife, who also happened to be carrying his child.
“Maybe my brain is all wonky since finding out about Peanut and I somehow made Ben’s brain wonky too.” Holly started to worry her hands in defeat.
“No, wait.” Ben grabbed Holly’s attention. More than ever before Henry’s words registered with him. “Let’s talk this out. We are having a baby, right?”
“Yes.” Holly cocked her brow. “That’s been established. Did you see how much food I just ate.”
Ben sent her a warning growl.
“You can’t get all growly at me when I state a fact, mister.”
Give me strength. Ben took a deep breath ignoring her. “We’re both excited about having this baby, right?”
“Again, yes.”
When it came to Holly, things were never simple. With a quick roll of his eyes, Ben focused all his attention on his wife. “Holly, without even knowing it, we both had this feeling about Jimmy. Something resonated in us when he looked into the camera.”
“Well, yeah.”
“That has to mean something. You’re not crazy. I’m not crazy. And there is one thing I know for sure. Your dad’s right, we never know what tomorrow will bring.”
“What about Peanut?” Holly placed her hand on her stomach.
“What about Peanut?” Ben countered. “We can’t deny there is enough love in both of us to give. From day one nothing has ever been normal for us, Grace. Why would we expect this to be any different? What’s the harm in figuring out if we would even be suitable for Jimmy?
The idea of fostering him with the potential of adoption later on, sounded better and better to Ben as the moments ticked on.
I refuse to live my life with regrets. I wouldn’t when it came to Holly and I won’t now.
Holly slumped back into her chair before placing both of her hands onto her stomach in a dramatic show. “Great, now I’ve got heartburn again.”
“That might have to do with what you stuffed into your mouth.” Henry laughed nodding his head to her plate which still housed the last piece of her donut.
Ben bit back his laugh at Holly’s glare.
“No,” Holly countered. “I’m blaming it on Peanut. This little thing in here is gonna drive me bonkers.”
“Why do you keep calling it peanut?” Henry asked.
“That’s ‘cause Holly can’t stop eating peanut butter glazed donuts, so we figured peanut was fitting.”
Henry laughed. “That sounds like logic to me.”
“Can we stop making fun of me?” Holly pushed out her bottom lip.
“But what would we do with our time, then?” Henry’s eyes sparkled as he riled his daughter.
Henry always knew how to
lighten the mood.
“Your dad does have a point.” Ben sent Holly a wink causing her to growl.
“Whatever.” Holly popped the last piece of donut into her mouth.
“Like I said before, you’re gonna need to get used to this, son. If Holly is anything like her mother was when she was pregnant with her, you’ve got a whirlwind ahead of you.”
Ben’s face brightened as he beamed at his wife. “I’m looking forward to it.”
“I’m not going to forget this.” Holly glared at them.
After a small chuckle, the room fell into silence as everyone contemplated their discussion. Ben looked back at Holly who was once again worrying her bottom lip.
If anyone could do this, it would be them. He knew that in his heart. And just because they were even thinking about looking into the next steps with Jimmy, didn’t mean they would love peanut any less. On the contrary, they both had so much love to give. He planned on having as many children as she’d let him have. He knew this was meant for them.
“What do we do now?” Holly asked breaking the silence.
“If you want my opinion,” Henry started. “I’m going to suggest taking the next few days to really think about this. I don’t know much about this process, but I do believe there is a great deal — from fostering to social workers and everything in between. You two are going through a lot of life changes at this exact moment and you want to make the right choices for your growing family.”
“You’re right,” Ben agreed.
“Raising a child is one of the most rewarding things anyone can do. I didn’t know what real love was until Holly was born.” He looked at both of them. “I would have given anything to have had more children.”
Ben sat back staring at Henry as he continued. “Mine or through adoption.”
Chapter Sixteen
It had been a total of two weeks since the evening at Henry’s house and during that time Holly’s feelings about Jimmy had only grown stronger. After that night, Ben and Holly had a serious conversation. One that lasted two days about what they were thinking. There were many back-and-forths, but in the end, they always ended on one conclusion.
They would regret it if they didn’t at least try.
The next day Ben called Will.
At first, Will thought they were absolutely insane, but after explaining everything, he soon gave in and got in touch with Jimmy’s social worker on their behalf.
Ben had worked tirelessly with his lawyers on the next steps they needed to take.
Holly was still blown away at the fact, if you had money to throw at it, anything could be done. Anyone that said differently was dead wrong.
Not that Ben ever used his money to his advantage, on the contrary, most of the time he gave his share from Richman Industries to local charities around the city, plus, Holly lost track of the number of dog parks around the city that were donated in Ben’s name.
And as it turned out, if you had the funds, you could have all the paperwork sent up the chain of command in no time.
That lead us all to this exact moment.
This was going to be their first time meeting Jimmy.
After much deliberation, they decided on going to the dog park. The exact one where Holly and Ben met.
Seemed kind of fitting, if you asked them.
As Ben and Holly sat on the park bench waiting for Jimmy and his social worker to arrive, Holly pulled out the ultrasound photo she carried in her purse from her recent doctor’s visit. As she looked down at their peanut, her heart did this flippy thing.
This was her child.
Her and Ben’s child.
She didn’t know it was possible to love someone before you meet them, but here she was. She was madly in love with Peanut.
Ben put his arm around her shoulders bringing her closer to him. “I still can’t believe we are having a baby,” he whispered.
“Me too.” She kept looking at the photo. “No matter what happens here today, this is our little peanut.”
Ben kissed the top of her forehead. “You’re right, no matter what happens this is our little one.” They both looked at the photo in silence.
“Do you think we’re doing a disservice to the baby?” Holly asked. What if bringing Jimmy into their family wasn’t right? What if Peanut resented it? Holly knew she had enough love inside of her to love both, but it was insane to be pregnant and also look into fostering another child.
“We’ve gone over this, Grace.” He pulled her closer into his arms. “Don’t second guess yourself now. Remember, we are going to take this one step at a time.”
“You’re right.” She sighed leaning into his body.
“First things first. We meet Jimmy and see where it goes from there.”
Holly looked at the ultrasound photo once more.
I love you, Peanut. I promise no matter what happens today, that doesn’t change. She bit her bottom lip. I’ll do everything I can to make you proud and make the best possible choices I can.
“They’re here,” Ben announced distracting Holly from her thoughts. She looked up to see Jimmy and his social worker making their way towards them.
This was it.
Ben held onto Waffles and Ripley at his side tightly, as they both stood.
Holly stared at the little brown-haired boy, with the pale skin and expressive eyes, as he came closer to them. She couldn’t help that her heart started to flutter.
“Good afternoon,” Jimmy’s social worker remarked. “I’m Carol, it’s nice to finally meet you in person.”
“Likewise.” Holly reached out her hand to shake Carol’s. “I’m Holly.”
“And I’m Ben,” Ben shook her hand as well, before dropping to his knee in front of Jimmy making them eye level. “Hey, there little guy. I’m Ben.”
Jimmy stepped back hiding behind Carol.
“Would you like to meet our dogs?” Ben looked to Carol who nodded.
“This is Ripley,” he introduced her, before bringing Waffles to his side. “And this loaf of bread is Lord Waffles.”
Jimmy laughed and emerged from behind Carol. “That’s a weird name.”
“I agree.” Ben smiled at him. “He thinks he’s the ruler of the world, it’s why we call him Lord.”
“What about waffles?”
“I love waffles.” Holly rubbed her hand on her stomach. “Yum.”
“Really?” Jimmy’s face brightened. “Me too!”
“I make some amazing waffles,” Ben added.
“You do?” Jimmy’s eyes widened as he looked at Ben. “My mom used to make really good waffles.”
“I bet they were delicious.” The left side of Ben’s mouth turned up as he looked at the child as Jimmy moved his attention to Holly. “Do you make waffles?”
“You don’t want her waffles, kiddo.” Ben looked at Holly with a smirk. “Unless you want burnt, tasteless, rock hard waffles that is.”
Jimmy giggled causing Holly’s heart to flip again.
“Hey, I did just fine before you.” Holly turned her attention to Ben as she glared at him.
“Yes, throwing pre-made waffles in the microwave is the only way to eat them.”
“Eww.” Jimmy scrunched his nose.
“I agree, kid.”
Jimmy looked at Ben and scrutinized the way he was on his left knee. To Holly’s surprise, Jimmy then mimicked him. “Can I pet them?” Jimmy asked, checking once again to make sure he looked just like Ben did.
My heart.
“Of course, you can.” Ben didn’t have to encourage the dogs to go to Jimmy at all. The moment Waffles heard the word ‘pet’ he was rolling onto his back demanding scratches.
“He’s funny.”
“You ain’t seen nothing yet.” Ben looked Jimmy in the eyes. “Would you be okay if I remove their leashes? Then you can run around and play in the park with them.”
“Really?” Jimmy’s face glowed with childlike excitement.
“Absolutely, squirt.” Ben unho
oked their collars. In an instant Ripley took off into the field. Then Waffles flipped onto his feet and nudged Jimmy at his ankles trying to get him to run after Ripley. Jimmy must have understood. Without even a second thought, all three of them were all running around in circles.
Ben stood beside Holly after placing the leashes in his back pocket.
For a few moments everyone watched the sight before them. Holly’s heart once again did that thing.
A huge smile appeared on Holly’s face as the picture morphed in front of her. However, this time, it had little Peanut playing along with them too.
“I have to say, this is extremely unconventional,” Carol remarked drawing Ben’s attention away from Jimmy and the dogs playing.
“We’ve never been conventional.”
“If it weren’t for Detective Bower’s insistence on this meeting, I wouldn’t have allowed it.” Carol turned to Ben. “He swore on his career you two were meant for this.”
Ben didn’t know what to say. He was glad Will stuck his neck out for them, he’d never be able to repay him.
“We appreciate you taking a chance on us,” Holly said saving him from answering.
“Jimmy was afraid to come here today.”
“Why?”
“He thought you wanted to punish him since he was there during the break-in.”
“We would never,” Holly answered appalled.
“Nonetheless, I reassured him you two only wanted to meet him. He only agreed after I told him we were meeting at a dog park.”
Thank god we chose this place.
“I’ve looked into both of your backgrounds, Mr. and Mrs. Richman. I have to say, I was looking for something that would stop this meeting,” she was honest. “I don’t believe in someone swooping in. These are very young children, impressionable children. Children that sometimes have had their world as they know it ripped from them in an instant. However, there was nothing concerning on either one of you. On the contrary, you both have done so much for the community. I couldn’t help but wonder. Especially, you Doctor Richman.”
