BOMAW Vol. 10-12 (71 page)

"Thank you very much." Benjamin returned.

"You gonna be my daddy now Ben'amin?" He asked curiously.

Crystal and Ben froze a moment. She held her tongue, waiting to see what he would say before she intervened on that one.

"You already have a daddy, remember? Victor is your daddy." He answered.

"Then what are you gonna be?"

"Your very best friend. Like I'm your mother's very best friend. Would that be okay?"

"Yeah, you can be my best friend, I like to have a best friend."

"Well that's me, that's who I am, and your daddy will always be Victor. Do you miss your daddy?" Ben asked curious.

"Emmm, no." Isaac answered after a moment of thought.

"Not even a little Isaac?" Crystal asked, a bit hurt and disturbed at hearing that.

"We'ah see'im when we go home right?"

"Yeah, you will."

Isaac scrunched up his face, "He not fun like Mundo and Ben is, he just m'daddy, no fun."

"Daddy's can't always be fun you know." Ben added.

"I know tha-a-at - because my dad's not!" And he took off obviously not interested in talking about it any further. Darren looked at them and then where he brother took off and left off behind him.

Crystal stood stunned; hurt. Hurt because she didn't want her children feeling that way about their father. She had loved Victor, loved him a great deal and to see that his own sons did not worry over his absence disturbed her. She grew quiet all of a sudden. Ben could feel it, and refusing to be shut out, he spoke up. "When they get back, they'll be happy to see him again."

"Why don't they miss him Ben, they should miss him."

"It's because they have Mundo, me, Shawn, you, your mother, Angela - their lives are filled with plenty to do right now. That's all it is."

"Do you think, that I've done this? Oh I couldn't stand it to do anything to hurt him. Even though I know I did things to him that did hurt him, it wasn't intentional." She fretted over it. Ben stood, removing the cape, turning to face her, "Oh course you didn't do that, once you get back home, and they see him again, they'll be fine."

"I just, I just can't stand the thought of hurting him, of bringing him that kind of pain. I mean, I know what it feels like to hurt - I never wanna be responsible for causing anyone, the kind of pain I've gone through, I just can't."

Ben stood, feeling completely helpless, scared. He had the most horrible feeling, that he was falling in love with her, and she - was still in love with her husband. Because standing and seeing how torn up she was about him, he wished with all his might, that she felt that way about him. "Look, in another week, we'll be back -..."

"And I'll be divorced." She interrupted sadly.

Again, he felt a weird ache in his chest, brought on by what he was about to say, but as a friend, he had no choice, he had to say it. "You could always back out of it."

"That's the thing, I don't want to back out. You think I want to spend my time, my life, loving someone who doesn't love me? He wants to be free. I won't hold any man that doesn't want to be held by me. No way. I just don't want, his boys not to love him - because he really does love them, he does."

"Crystal you know what, you came here, to get away. To breathe. To think. To see and feel and know a new world for you and your future. Next week, will be here soon enough, and you'll be right back into it all once again, with him, and them. Come on, cheer up, we're going to a ball. And - we're going to have, the time of our life, right?"

Crystal smiled.

"Right."

*

Georgiana was carefully, closely inspecting herself once more. This would be her first outing since her multiple surgeries. Still a bit tender, it was not enough to keep her in this night. The bruises were finally almost invisible, one would have to look close to see them and her very expensive make up would take care of that. Her hair was freshly done, newly cut, a head of cascading ultra glistening locks, it looked stunning and she couldn't help but touch it, imagining Shawn before her, looking at the new her style and color, his hands in her hair. She smiled. All day, she'd been pampering away at her luxury spa. The head to toe treatment getting everything on her body done to perfection. Her feet, her nails, everything had to be just so. It was only a few hours away now before the ball. All had been laid out for her, the only down side ... she would be attending with him. He was tapping at her door now and then entered.

"Well now, bride of Frankenstein, all your zippers healed?" Oscar T. asked sarcastically.

"What do you - want?" She asked dry, and droll.

"Just checking, to see if you're actually wanting to attend this thing?"

"Aaah, were you hoping you'd get to go - all by - yourself?"

"Me, hope? My life lost all hope the day I pursued you."

"And all - my - money!" She spat nastily.

"Darlin', that's because it takes,
all - your - money
- to stomach being with you. Otherwise, who would bother?"

"Fuck you!"

"Stop begging."

"GET OUT OF MY ROOM!"

"Careful, all that hard work - you're gonna wrinkle or, you're gonna rip." Oscar T. shivered in distaste, as if he might choke and gag any moment. "One thing before I go, please if you will, be a bit discreet at the ball, if you should be so lucky as to find someone willing to fuck you, make sure you do so out of sight." Closing her door, he heard the crash of something against it.

Walking away he shook his head, "Oh how I hate your guts."

"You made your bed." Bea murmured walking alongside him to his room.

"If you've come only to antagonize, go away."

She did.

He stopped, looked to where she had just been beside him. Waited a moment, and then carried on to his room to get ready for the ball.

*

Ben was dressed and ready to go, he stood outside on the patio visiting with King Louie and the adults of the house. Everyone was giving him the oooh's and aaah's saying how handsome he was. Shawn had his camera by his side, had been taking pictures all evening of King Louie, Mama JoJo, posing with Sylvia, the boys, Mundo, Crystal and Ben. Now that he was dressed, looking like a Hollywood dream escort, more pictures had to be taken. He took one with Shawn and Sylvia, and then another with Mundo and Shawn. The mood was light and cheerful as all waited to see Crystal.

"Let me go and check on this girl, see if she needs any more help. I've been up and down them stairs I don't know how many times today." Sylvia announced standing, smiling between Mama JoJo and King Louie, really enjoying her evening, meeting him, getting to hear stories from both of them about Shawn and Jesse.

"Hey, after this, I want you to chill for the rest of the evening, hear me?" Shawn warned, worried that she may be doing too much.

"I am just fine Mr. McPherson." She sassed him.

"Never mind that, what did I say?"

Sylvia leaned back, threw her hands on her hips, "Don't let your company see you get told off, ain't you something, what did you say?" She turned rolling her eyes, leaving a laughing audience.

King Louie was cracking up, "You knew better! Didn't you?!"

"Can't blame me for trying." Shawn laughed with him.

"Well you atleas' gotta try - if you don' try - how you gone know?" King Louie went on.

"Exactly, and believe me, I know - but you gotta try it out again every now and again to see if maybe, this time - you get away with it."

Mama JoJo laughed shaking her head, "Lawd ya'll somethin' else, I can see now how it's gone be living with you two."

Upstairs, Sylvia checked on the boys, they were fast asleep already. She then went into the room to check on her daughter.

"How you doing in here, you ready yet?"

Crystal turned around, "How do I look?"

Sylvia's hands went to her face, the sight of her stunning daughter blowing her away. "Look at my baby. Look at you - you make me so proud, so so proud."

"Don't start mama, don't get sentimental on me, I don't wanna mess up my make-up - I have it just right, any tears would blow it." She grinned. Turning, offering her back, "Can you do up the zipper the last bit of the way, and close the hook for me mama."

Sylvia stepped up doing it, and fixing the draped gossamer silk shawl.

"Your hair looks so nice, perfect all the way around."

"Good, I want to look as perfect and beautiful as I can. I wanna, feel - like, all in my life, in my world - is - well - as it should be." She turned back saying.

"We've come a long way, haven't we baby - we been through some stuff, you and I, your brother too."

"Yep, and we still going strong. Remember what we used to say, when we were scared, out there, going through it, and it was just you, me and Mundo, on our way wherever."

Sylvia smiled, nodding, "The three Musketeers, all for one, one for all." She remembered and ended up fighting back tears with the memory of it.

"Mama don't!"

"I'm sorry, but looking back then, I didn't know what I was gonna do sometimes. Where we were gonna go, I just - I don't know how we made it."

"Well we did. And I just want you to know, that through all the bad times, and the ugly times, I could face anything, long as I had my mama."

Sylvia covered her face and started crying.

"See mama, you gone make us late, now I'm gone have to make him wait and fix my eyes again."

Sylvia swiped at her eyes, she couldn't speak. She nodded instead, turned and left the room. She went to the bottom of the stairs, sat down and took a moment to get herself together. To just breathe, to say thanks, "Lord God in heaven, you have blessed me, you have blessed me. I thank you, I thank you." She murmured softly, taking another breath or two, she stood, went into the downstairs bathroom, checking her eyes. She splashed her face with cold water, dried it - determined to look normal she headed back outside.

"She's just about ready." She informed them.

They would be taking the limo for the evening.

No sooner had Sylvia taken her seat, when Crystal carefully slid the glass patio door back and stepped out for all to see her, everyone turned to look at her.

"Well, I'm ready for the ball - what'a'yah think?"

"La-a-a-awdy, lawdy lawdy - get that babies picture, I sho' want one of them to sho'off." Mama JoJo instructed Shawn.

He stood gazing at her with all the pride of a father blown away. Lost for words, he lifted his camera and snapped her there before the doors. Ben stood back as everyone gave her double the attention they gave him, and for good reason - she was amazing. And he asked, for God to help him, because, he was in love.

He knew it.

It was there, landing in the pit of his stomach like a boulder dropped in on him from above. He felt nauseated with the sensation, because what he also knew, was that she was not in love with him. Everyone was taking pictures with her. He hadn't said a word; in fact, he was frozen in place, staring at her. Hadn't moved a muscle since she showed herself. He was feeling a bit awkward, embarrassed, because he had a feeling, they knew, his face was burning. He caught sight of Shawn staring at him, Mundo, staring at him. Sylvia, staring at him. He knew he had to move. Shawn gave him a reason to.

"Ben, your turn, together you two for a few pictures, I wanna snap pictures of you going all the way out to the front gates."

Ben moved then, smiled and did what he was told, albeit wooden. Wooden and lost, because he'd never been in love before. Of all persons to fall for, it would be a married woman in love with her husband.

He smiled for the camera.

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