Ben & Matilda- Infinite Promise

by Tania De Melo

“Oh yeah, of course.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Yeah.”

  Awkward!

  She offers me a smile and turns to leave.

  “Ati?” I call out. She turns to me. “It was nice seeing you?”

  “It was nice seeing you too, Ben.” Her response is soft and simple, but yet the words hit hard. Then she turns and leaves. Leaves me there once again with only the memory of her existence.

  I’m so screwed!

  Chapter Three

  -Matilda-

  One, two, three...the hours keep on passing by, and still, I am yet to catch even five minutes of sleep. I look over to the alarm clock sitting on the nightstand, and it keeps blinking at me as a reminder, that in a short couple of hours, the house will come alive again with the sounds of my nephews about to start their day, and I still can’t get past the encounter late last night.

  They were all right there. All the questions I have been dying to ask. Are you seeing anyone? Did you ever think about me? Do you still love me? Ugh, I’m pathetic. Why can’t I just get over him already? He didn’t want me then, why would I even entertain the idea that he may have an interest in me now. It’s sad, really. But then as I sit here trying to erase the memory of him from my mind, the little devil on my shoulder keeps pestering away talking about the vision my eyes took in downstairs in that kitchen. My God, he’s beautiful, a ruggedly handsome, kind of beautiful. The years have been very kind to him. He’s older, but with his age, came a more pronounced jawline, a few more laugh lines and a fuller frame with even more definition then I remember; oh, and I definitely remember. We would spend hours just lying in his bed, and I would playfully trace every inch of his frame, keeping a record of it in my mind.

  When I jumped on the intruders back last night, and I wrapped my legs around his slim, taut waist, I didn’t miss the surge of intense heat that rushed through me. I had passed it off as adrenaline. But when I saw him standing there, the incandescent light shining on his face, I knew it was my body's reaction to the familiarity of having him so close.

  I sit up in bed, giving in to the fact that I won’t be getting any sleep tonight. I reach over and turn on the side lamp, grab my phone, and thumb over my icons, hitting the photos app. There are many, but only the one, that even over the years, is the single picture that I transfer from phone to phone. The one of Ben and I. I don’t know why I kept it accessible, but it seemed to become as routine as transferring over my contacts...I just did it.

  There’s a shuffle just outside my door, then comes a light tap.

  “Come in.”

  The door opens, and Gwen is standing there in a robe, hair piled on top of her head, and holding Isaac in her arms. “Hey, you’re up early.”

  “Actually, I haven’t slept,” I reply with a groan.

  Gwen sets a squirming Isaac to his feet. He runs to the bed, quickly finding his way under the covers and nestling right up to me. She follows and takes a seat on the edge of the bed.

  “You not sleeping wouldn’t have anything to do with last night’s altercation, would it?”

  I shake my head, bringing my hands up to cover my face. “Oh my God, Gwen. The first time I see Ben in years, and I act like a crazed woman.” I tilt my head up to look at my sister. “I jumped on his back and started driving my fist into his head. He must think I’m a lunatic. I’m so embarrassed.”

  “Ti-ti, cazy!”

  I look down to my nephew. “Yes, Isaac, Auntie Ati is Crazy. But in my defense, I really did think he was a burglar.”

  Gwen laughs. “I would have loved to have seen the look on both your faces.”

  “Oh, let me assure you...they were priceless.”

  Gwen pins me with a quizzical look. “So, did you two get a chance to chat after?”

  “Yeah, for a whole five minutes, then it’s like neither of us could think of anything to say, and it just got weird.” Well, I could have carried on a conversation, but there was no way I was setting myself up for complete rejection. I learned my lesson the first time.

  Gwen taps the top of my foot. “Well, it’s probably for the best. You’re both really busy and about to get even busier. Distractions right now wouldn’t do either of you any favors.”

  I just offer a side-smile. It’s pointless to say anything to that. No matter what age I am, or how accomplished I’ve become, Gwen will forever play the part of the overprotective sister. It’s caused more than a few arguments between us, especially when I was a teenager. However, over the years, I've come to appreciate that there is still someone looking out for me.

  “So, what do you have planned for today?” Gwen asks.

  I look back down to Isaac, who is now fighting to keep his eyes open. “I was actually going to see if I could steel Sammy and Isaac from you for the morning. I’m heading over to Grace’s, and I thought the boys would like a visit with their cousins.”

  There’s an instant shimmer in Gwen’s eyes. “You’re not pulling my leg, are you?”

  Laughing, I take my focus off my nephew and turn to Gwen. “No, why?”

  Gwen jumps from the bed. “Because Thomas, Ethan, and Cal have school. I’m going to have the morning to myself. Do you have any idea how long it’s been since that has happened?”

  “Well, whatever will you do with your time?” I ask, trying to remain serious as I take in my sister about to burst with excitement.

  Her brows pinch together. “I wonder if Liam can take a few hours off?”

  “Uh, Gwen, alone time with Liam is what got you to the point where you have no ‘me time.”

  She waves me off. “I’m already pregnant.” She lets out a soft shriek, then turns to the door. “I have to tell Liam I think he needs a sick day.”

  Gwen hurries out of the room without another word. I lean down to Isaac, who has fallen asleep, leaving a soft kiss on this temple. “I guess auntie duty starts now.”

  When I turn to get out of bed, I hear a soft rustle at the door, followed by crunching. I look up to see Sammy standing there with a bag of crackers in one hand and the other feeding his mouth.

  “Hey, buddy.”

  He walks into the room and stands by my bed. Not wanting to relinquish his hold on the goodies, he grunts for me to lift him up.

  “Okay, but just so you know, it takes a special kind of man for me to let him eat crackers in my bed.” I let out a chuckle as he stares at me blankly. “Oh, come now, that was funny.”

  As I haul him up, Liam passes by my room, then steps back into my doorway. “I hear I owe you thanks.”

  “So, Gwen convinced you to take the morning off?”

  Liam nods with a wide grin. “Already called my assistant and had her clear my schedule.”

  “Well, I’m glad I could help you out.”

  “You did. It’s not often we get alone time these days. Actually, it’s almost never.” Liam glances over to the bed. “Samuel, I’m guessing mommy didn’t give you those crackers.” The little boys’ eyes open wide, fully aware the jig is up, but that doesn’t stop him from trying to hide the contraband under the comforter. “Yeah, I didn’t think so. Come on, little man, I’ll get you some real breakfast.”

  Sammy crawls from beneath the comforter, but not before securing his stash out of sight. I let out a chuckle when Liam walks over, uncovering the crackers, and Sammy just throws his arms up in defeat.

  Liam lifts him into his arms, giving him a tight hug, then he looks to me. “You okay with Isaac?” I give him a nod, and the two of them walk back into the hallway.

  I cover Isaac up with the blanket, then walk over to my little makeshift desk that Liam set up for me. Opening my laptop, I check my emails, scanning through all the unread. Gone are the days of my inbox being filled with assignment schedules and class discussion groups. Now, I stare at a mere five emails, four of which had I taken the time to filter my spam, wouldn’t even be there. I guess I should welcome the calm because once I start at the hospital, the storm will begin. I open my one email and see that i
t’s a message from the chief of staff at Gary Hospital. As I read through, I see my first day is this coming Monday, starting with an orientation of all the new residents, then we will meet our attendings. I was looking into who I may have as a mentor, but there has been a change in staff, and the new attending for Obstetrics and Gynecology hasn’t been updated. Closing my laptop, I head to my dresser and grab a change of clothes for the day. I guess I should make the most of the free time that I will have over the next few days because come Monday, I won’t have any.

  ***

  “These four boys play so well together,” I mention as I observe my nephews sitting on the carpet in the living room of Ewan and Grace’s home.

  Grace enters from the kitchen with two mugs in hand, passing me one before taking a seat on the opposite side of the couch. “Yeah, they do. It helps that they’re so close in age.”

  Grace and Ewan have two sons. Murdoch, who just turned four and Phineas, two. Also, lovingly known as Doc and Phin. They were named after characters from Ewan’s favorite eighties TV show and one of his comic books.

  We sit there for a moment longer, taking them in as they play, then Grace turns to me. “Okay, I want the gossip. All of it. California, work, love.”

  “Well, California was great, but I’m happy to be back home. I’m going to miss all the friends I made there, but that’s what we have face chat for. Work, I start on Monday, so I will fill you on that more after my first shift. As for my love life, well, that is non-existent. Nada, Zilch.”

  “Really? That’s the one part I was looking forward to hearing about,” Grace groans.

  I give her a dismissive shrug. “Sorry, babe.”

  “What about Ben? I heard about your little rendezvous last night,” she mentions with a brow wiggle.

  I let out a laugh. “I wouldn’t call it a rendezvous, more like an alleged burglary gone wrong. And how did you even hear about it? It just happened.”

  Grace leans over, grabbing her phone off the coffee table, shaking it in her hand. “Group chat. Gwen filled us in this morning.”

  “Of course,” I reply with an eye roll, then look back to Grace. “Hey, why wasn’t I on that group chat?”

  She lounged casually into the couch. “It was about you, so that would have been kind of weird.”

  I shake my head in disapproval. “Is nothing kept behind closed doors in this family?”

  “Nope,” Grace replies. “When Ewan and I were trying for Doc, Ginny would send me reminders that I should be ovulating, and Gwen would send me links to sites about how Ewan could increase his sperm count.”

  I almost spit out the coffee I had taken a sip of. “Seriously?”

  “Oh, yeah. I won’t even get into what Maia was contributing...it still makes me uncomfortable just thinking about it.”

  I let out a roar of laughter that caught the attention of the boys on the carpet in front of me. I look to them with tears still in my eyes and am reminded just how much this family has grown. Ten of them. Ten boys added to the family over these years. Each one of them with their own special place.

  “You have that look, Ati.”

  I turn to Grace. “What look?”

  “You know...that look. The one where you start to imagine yourself with one of your own.”

  I let out a sigh. “I don’t know about that. I mean, I definitely want a child, maybe even two. But my schedule in the foreseeable future is already full. That and there’s also the little issue that it takes two to procreate.”

  “Pfft, please. It’s the twenty-first century. You’re a strong, independent woman, just go to one of those stud farms,” Grace replies, smiling mischievously.

  I let out a laugh. “Are you talking about a sperm bank?”

  “Yeah, why not. I mean, unless you have a male friend that would be willing to donate more naturally.”

  “Oh my God, Grace, No. I’m not against women taking it into their own hands, but it’s not for me. If I have a baby, I want someone to be there by my side, helping me raise him or her.”

  Grace shrugs. “Well, at least you know the option’s there. Hey, and I know the perfect donor.”

  “I’m afraid to ask.”

  “Brock. He’s not looking for anything permanent. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised the way that man spreads his seed if he already doesn’t have a bunch of kids out there,” Grace says.

  My eyes open wide. “Oh, hell, no. I love him, like that annoying friend that you just have to keep around because they are just so entertaining, but let’s keep in mind, it was only a few years ago that I actually forgave him for the whole Thea situation.”

  “Yeah, it took the men in the family about the same. But all kidding aside, he is single.”

  “That’s a big, no.”

  Grace laughs. “Okay, it was just a thought. Have you spoken to him at all?”

  I nod. “Yeah, we email all the time, and the odd phone conversation when we are able to catch one another at the same time. He was a huge help when I was going through med school. We also grabbed lunch a couple times when he had a conference near me. He seems to be doing well in Florida, and he just nailed down the position as chief of staff for cardiology.”

  “Yeah, I heard that too,” Grace adds.

  “Is he coming to see Thea and Bane’s baby when they get back?” I ask.

  Grace nods as she takes a sip of her coffee. “Yeah, he’s actually meeting them in Georgia a couple nights before, then flying in with them. He was a godsend when they were looking to adopt. He put them in contact with all the right agencies that the hospital deals with, and Bane contacted one of his old law school buddies to look after the legal. It all went smoothly thankfully. Now they're just waiting for the final paperwork to go through, then they can bring the baby home.”

  “And they haven’t let it slip or told anyone what the gender is?” I ask, still amazed that they have had the baby in their care for a little over two weeks, and no one knows if it’s a boy or girl.

  “Nope, they want it to be a surprise. But I’m sure Thea is bursting at the seams to tell us.”

  “I know I wouldn’t be able to keep it a secret for that long.” I look down at my watch and see that it’s just a little after twelve. “What do you say about taking these boys down to Jenny’s for some lunch. It’s a beautiful day out, and they’d probably love the walk.”

  Grace looks to her phone. “Wow, the time flew by. Yes, let’s do that. If you have time, we can stop at the park for a while before you head home.”

  “Sounds good.” I turn to the little ones. “Okay, boys, time to clean up. We’re going to get lunch.”

  Sammy jumps to his feet and starts piling the toys back in the box, then grabs his jacket and heads to wait at the door.

  “That kid is definitely food driven,” I mention.

  Grace laughs. “I know. Gwen was telling me that she moved all the healthy snacks to the lower cupboards. But when he finished eating those, he pulled up a chair and scaled the cabinets.”

  I’m in tears of laughter at the thought of Sammy pulling up the stool and climbing. That must have been where he got the crackers from this morning. If I were Gwen and Liam, I would start putting away for when he’s older, because he is going to eat them broke.

  ***

  When the boys and I get back to the house, the other three are already back from school, and Gwen is in the kitchen preparing dinner.

  “Wow, you all must have had an exciting day,” she says, walking to her boys to give them a hug and kiss.

  I put Isaac on the floor and drop the diaper bag from my shoulders. “I have no idea how you do this every day, and with five of them. You’re either superwoman or all sorts of crazy.”

  “I think it’s an even balance of both,” Gwen replies as she walks by, patting me on the shoulder. “Did you have a good time?”

  “It was nice to catch up with Grace, and the boys loved having Sammy and Isaac over. I can’t believe how big Doc and Phin are getting.”

&n
bsp; Gwen smiles. “I know. Aren’t those two just the sweetest. I swear they’re the perfect mix of Ewan and Grace. Kind and so polite, with all the rough and tough of an Adair boy.”

  “So true.”

  Gwen settles all five boys with a snack around the table, then gets back to dinner prep. “So, did Grace mention if she’s heard any more news about number eleven?”

  I look to my sister, confused. “Number eleven?”

  “Yep. That’s what we’re calling the new baby since they refuse to tell us anything about our new little addition.”

  I let out a chuckle. “Does Thea know you’ve given her baby a number?”

  “Oh yeah, she knows, she’s on the group chat,” Gwen replies.

  “Okay, you all need to add me to this group chat. I’m feeling left out. Oh, and speaking of which, thank you for filling everyone in on my moment of humiliation.”

  Gwen waves me off. “Oh, no problem. Anytime.”

  “I was kidding, Gwen.”

  “Oh, I know.” She chuckles, then offers me a sweet smile. “It’s all good, they all found it quite amusing.”

  Great!

  I grab a piece of fruit off Sammy’s plate and pop it in my mouth. He lets out a growl.

  “Exactly, now you know how I feel, buddy.”

  Chapter Four

  -Ben-

  It’s been two days since my run-in with Ati. Two days in which my brothers have been razzing me on our group chat about almost getting taken out by a girl.

  “Maybe you should have Thea show you some self-defense moves. That way, next time, you’ll have a better time fighting off a woman when you’re trying to commit a B&E.”

  I let out a groan as I read the message from Ewan. “You’re an ass. I wasn’t going to try and fight her off.”

  “You just don’t want to get that pretty face of yours all scratched up in a catfight. Rarr...LOL,” Kai says.

  Idiot!

  “Thea got all his man-genes, and he got Thea’s feminine side,” Liam sends.

  “Boys, leave your brother alone. He’s the sensitive one, remember,” my father adds.