First Class Stamp (10 page)

Matt seemed to be considering his comments so Ben continued.
“We bought that property at a fraction of what it was worth. It was a smart
business move and for many years we’ve leased ninety percent of the office
space and made a profit. This offer from Latin World Corporation is more than
you paid for the building to begin with, so I can’t see how it’s a bad idea.”

Rubbing his forehead with his right hand, Matt nodded.
“You’re right. Accept the offer and take care of it. Let me know when you need
me to sign.”

“Really?” Ben was surprised at Matt’s ready agreement.

“Yeah. Everything you’ve said is on the money. And if you
think we should sell, I accept your decision.” He turned to leave the office.
“I’ll see you downstairs in five.”

Ben watched his brother leave. He’d never had Matt defer to
his opinion so quickly before. Usually, Ben had to discuss…debate…argue to get
his brothers to try to see things his way. He wandered out of his office, down
the hall to the stairs and ran down one flight to the lower floor where four
hundred employees were waiting to hear him encourage and train them. What he
really desired to do was empower them and leave them excited about the company
and their position in it. And that was exactly what he was going to do!

He entered the room that was filled to capacity with
employees from all over the globe and shook a couple of hands on his way to
join Matt and Ryan who were talking at the front of the room.

“Where’s Mark?” Ben asked looking around.

“Coming,” Matt replied. “Something about Shelby and a car
that won’t start and Katy in a panic because school starts today.” Katy was
Mark’s wife and Shelby was Katy’s surrogate little sister, a girl Katy had met
in Portland as a frightened and battered teenager who now attended Boston
College and was beginning her senior year.

Ben nodded and walked to the table that stood at the front
of the room. It had six empty chairs and a small podium and a cordless mic for
the speaker. Pouring himself a drink, he looked up to see Maria standing
directly in front of him.

“Hello Ben,” she smiled.

“Hi Maria,” he replied, genuinely happy to see her. He’d
forgotten how beautiful she was with her big dark eyes and long dark hair that
was now cut into a sleek shoulder-length style. She looked fantastic in her
body-hugging red dress and his physical desire for her that he’d buried so
deeply all those years ago was fighting to surface. He had to take a second to
remind himself that under no circumstances could he let that interfere with his
job, or with hers. “How was the trip here? Are you all settled in the
apartment? How about Luca? Did he go to school today?”

She chuckled. “Fine, yes, fine and yes.”

Ben laughed. “Okay. We should have lunch and catch up. Would
you like to meet me upstairs during the break?”

“That would be great,” she nodded. “I will come to your
office then?”

“Sure thing. I’ll have some of the food delivered so we
won’t have to stand in line for the buffet.”

Maria said goodbye and returned to her seat and Matt came
and stood next to him. “Ready?” he asked.

“You bet,” Ben replied. “Let’s get this party started.”

Gloria was getting stronger every day. She was back to
helping out Aldo in the store for a few minutes here and there and shooed
Sophia out of the kitchen when she tried to make dinner for her. With Alex back
in school and her mother not needing constant nursing, Sophia found herself
with some time to herself. Instead of doing something frivolous, she deep
cleaned the carpets and washed all the windows. Finishing a bottle of Windex,
she ran down to the store and grabbed one off the shelf.

“So how was your date last week?” Aldo asked her as she appeared
from the end of the aisle.

“What date?” Sophia frowned. “I haven’t had a date
in…in…well Alex is twelve, so thirteen years!”

“On Friday with Mr. Lathem.”

“Oh, that!” she frowned. “That wasn’t a date! Besides, Alex
came too so it definitely wasn’t a date!”

Sophia ran back upstairs and back to her apartment. She’d
tried to not think about dinner with Ben the previous week. It was all too
strange and a tad unnerving. Basically, her mother had all but asked Ben to
take her to dinner and that was embarrassing enough, but then when they’d been
called a family? Well, that had about done her in. There was no way that there
would ever be anything between her and Ben. They were from completely different
worlds, even though they lived across the street from each other. She didn’t
fit into his world and he definitely didn’t fit into hers and Alex’s life.

Now that her mom was getting her strength back and was
needing less and less of her time, Sophia needed to start thinking about what
to do with her time. She needed to get back to school, although the fall
semester had already started so January would be the soonest she could start,
and she still needed to decide what she wanted to be when she grew up. An
ironic thought seeing as though they had recently celebrated her thirty-second
birthday.

But somehow her mind kept drifting to Ben. Her mom was
right. He was gorgeous…and kind…and an all-around good guy. He would make
someone very happy, but it wouldn’t be her. They were too different. Still, she
could
just
think
about him in the shower like her mom said.

*****

After arriving back at their apartment, Luca told his mother
all about his first day at school, starting with what his teacher wore and who
he sat next to, to how many brick steps there were from the gate to the front
door of the school. Maria was relieved and happy that his first day had been a
good experience. She didn’t need to worry about him not wanting to go back in
the morning.

“So did you get my uniforms yet?” he asked as she set the
table for dinner.

“No,” she sighed. “Today was full of meetings and then I had
to come straight to get you. I’ll try to take care of it tomorrow at lunch.”

“That’s okay,” said Luca happily. “Father Todd was really
nice and said that he knew it would take a little while for us to get settled.
And he asked if we would see him at mass on Sunday.”

“Yes he will,” she smiled. “I had lunch with Ben today.”

“You did?”

“He said that you should call him and tell him when you want
to go and see the Yankees game.”

“Can I call him now, mama?”

“Well,” she teased, “Supper is almost ready…but I suppose…”

“Oh wow!” he exclaimed. “I’m going to a Yankees game!”

Maria couldn’t help but share his excitement as she pulled
her new cell phone from her purse and pulled up Ben’s private cell number.
“Here you go,” she said as she handed the phone to her son.

After a few minutes of conversation, it was decided that
this Friday Ben would take him to the game, logistics to be worked out later
with his mom. As Luca chatted all through dinner about the Yankees, Maria
realized it was going to be a very long time before Friday arrived.

*****

Matt, Mark, Ryan and Ben sat in Matt’s office and discussed
the events of the day and the schedule for the following day. The next two days
of the conference would be full of team building and leadership and management
training by a training firm they’d hired. It left the men to focus on the
day-to-day operations of the company.

As the conversation switched between personal and
professional and back again, Ben listened to the three of them talk about their
wives with such love and respect. He knew all three women well and knew they
deserved such praise and admiration. It was a concept he had not ever
considered for himself, that of being so committed to one woman that he’d
legally bind himself to her. Marriage was not for the faint of heart and so
many went into it lightly and then later had broken hearts. Sophia and Alex
came to mind. Young and probably completely naïve and unable to distinguish
between a crush and love, Sophia had apparently married the jerk of the year
and then produced a completely innocent child to suffer through her mistake…a
lifelong mistake.

He didn’t mean to be harsh but that was the reality. Alex
was sentenced to a life with an idiot for a father, and though they might be
divorced, Sophia was still suffering from her error in judgment, too. No,
marriage was not for the faint of heart. Yet here sat three brilliant men, with
college degrees, professional lives that most men could only dream of achieving,
and all three were happily married,
and
giving
all
the credit to
their wives for the content and comfortable lives they led. Ben’s life was
comfortable and he was content.

“Are you telling me,” he said after Ryan had just informed
them that Courtney was pregnant with their fourth child in six years Ben was
horrified to hear, “that you don’t think you could be happy and content if you
were still single?”

“Are you happy and content?” Mark asked him.

“Don’t deflect!” Ben replied. “Answer the question.”

“Okay,” Mark smiled. “I will! Let me start by saying that I
know exactly where you are in your life. You work hard and are dedicated and
focused on your career. But I had something that you don’t have and that’s a
life outside of the office.”

“I have a life,” snarled Ben.

“Doing what?” Matt asked.

“What do you mean
doing what
?”

“When you aren’t at work, let’s clarify that with at the
office, what do you do?”

“I do lots of things,” said Ben.

“Name three,” Ryan added.

Ben was beginning to regret his question. “We aren’t talking
about me right now. I asked you a question and nobody’s answered it yet.”

“Fine!” laughed Matt. “I’ll answer your question and then
you answer mine. Deal?”

Ben nodded.

“You know I was never going to get married again after the
two fiascos I had. I don’t even call them marriages anymore…not now that I know
what a marriage
really
is! But anyway, I was happy and content, as you
put it. I was! Really! I loved my job…but that’s all I did…I worked and it was
great. And then I met Janie and…well…there’s no other way to say it but she was
the part of me that was missing. She was…she
is
my heart and my soul. I
go to sleep each night wanting her face to be last thing I see before I close
my eyes and the first thing I see in the morning. There is no more beautiful
sound in the world than her laugh. When I see something funny on TV I look for
her so I can tell her about it. When I’m troubled about something I share it
with her and I see in her eyes that she understands me and will support and
sustain me no matter what. And when I look into the faces of my children I see
her in them…everything that is good in them comes from her.”

The sincerity and love in his voice startled Ben. He’s never
heard his brother speak with such raw emotion and even though he desperately
wanted to make fun of him and his sappy words, he couldn’t. He couldn’t ruin
the moment with a joke. He couldn’t make light of Matt’s earnest declaration of
love.

Matt cleared his throat, obviously trying to get his
emotions in check. “I think I’m going to call Janie and tell her I’m headed
home in a bit,” he said as he stood and left the room.

“Everything that he just said?” Ryan said. “That goes the
same for me. Just insert Courtney’s name and I couldn’t have said it better
myself. And I am actually going to go home to my wife,” he chuckled. “See you
guys tomorrow.”

Ben and Mark said goodbye and sat for a moment in silence
before it was Mark’s turn.

“The reason you’re asking these questions is because
something, or someone, has made you question your lifestyle. There are a lot of
men out there who are very happy to be single and will remain so, but you’re a
Lathem, and with the exception of Andrew,” he chuckled, “we belong with a woman
who will love us as deeply as we love them.”

Ben started to argue but Mark cut him off quickly. “You will
not understand my words, or Matt’s, until you meet that person who fills the
void that you didn’t know existed. You will not understand until you go to bed
at night and your body literally aches to be with her. You will not understand
until you hold her in her arms and she feels like your second skin and you
can’t imagine
ever
being with anyone else.”

“And that’s how you knew?”

“That’s how I knew. I would have sat in your very position
right up until Katy walked into my life and turned it upside down. And I
wouldn’t have had it any other way. If you have a question if she’s the one,
like you did with Jill, then she’s not the one.”

“I haven’t met anyone.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah…I’m sure.”

“Then why are you asking?”

Ben didn’t have an answer. He hadn’t met anyone…had he?

Ben left the office early on Friday so he could get ready to
take Luca to the Yankees game. As he walked home he reviewed the events of the
week. The conference had gone well and today they’d all had the day to go
sightseeing, or play, or sleep, or pack for their flight home. Ben had stayed
in the office negotiating the sale of Crystal Towers to Vicente Rivera and
Latin World Corporation. It was an all-cash deal and the transfer of ownership
would take place early next month. Ben had also graciously declined the offer
of a partnership and told Vicente that he was happy and content where he was.
And then he’d told his secretary he was leaving for the day and would see her
on Monday.

He hesitated outside Aldo’s Market. Did he need anything?
Was there a reason to go inside? He swung the door open anyway and headed for
Gloria perched on a stool behind the counter.

“Hello Mr. Lathem,” she smiled. “It’s early for you to be in
here. Sneaking out of work are we?”

“No sneaking about it!” he grinned. “I’m the boss so I
decided to leave.”

“You work too hard. I have seen it in your face.”

Ben smiled at the kind woman. Then he twisted, looking
around the store.

“She’s not here,” Gloria said.

“Who?” Ben asked feigning innocence.

“Sophia has gone to a concert at Alex’ school. It’s the
first band performance of the year. She’ll be back later.”

“Oh. What instrument does Alex play?”

“He’s learning the saxophone, but he’s terrible,” she shook
her head as she spoke. “I am not aware of any musical talent on our side of the
family or the Grossman side.”

“I had to learn the tuba in middle school,” Ben frowned. “I
was terrible…but only because I didn’t practice. I was too lazy to haul the
monstrous thing home from school, so I sucked big time.”

Gloria chuckled. “You and Alex sound a lot alike. Maybe you
could take Sophia to dinner again sometime. She had a very nice time with you.”

“Sure!” he replied. “I had a nice time too.”

“That would be nice,” she smiled. “So…did you come to buy
something or just see Sophia?”

“I...I didn’t…no…just…a book of stamps please.”

“You go through a lot of stamps.”

“I write a lot of letters.”

“Hmmm,” Gloria smirked. “You must.”

Ben paid her and took the stamps and left quickly,
humiliated at his pathetic self.
It makes no sense,
he scolded himself
as he crossed at the green light.
I’m content and happy! I am!!

*****

If it was possible, Luca was even more in awe of the
baseball game than Alex had been on his first time. He was a quiet and shy boy
and Ben wondered if it was because of his culture or because of the bullying
he’d endured in Brazil. Either way, Ben tried to bring him out of his shell as
they cheered on the Yankees, even though they lost, and as they ate hot-dogs and
nachos. When Luca couldn’t decide which jersey he wanted, Ben helped him by
picking his favorite player, #46, Andy Pettitte. Luca was excited about the
selection and wore the jersey home as they rode in the taxi to the apartment
where he was staying with his mother.

As Maria opened the door, Luca began chattering non-stop
about all the amazing things he’d seen at the game. He didn’t even notice that
his mother was barely paying any attention to him.

“Would you like to come in?” she asked Ben.

He shook his head. “It’s late and I’m gonna go. I’m glad he
had a good time.”

“Thank you for taking him. He has talked about this for many
years.”

“My pleasure,” Ben smiled and turned away.

Riding the elevator to the lobby was infuriating. It seemed
to stop on practically every floor with people getting on and off, on and off.
But it gave him several minutes of thinking about Maria. Physically, she was exactly
what he looked for in a sexual partner, yet, he had no interest and his mind
was wrestling as to why. Was it the fact that they’d known each for so long as
employer and employee?
That must be it,
he told himself. Or was it
because she had a son and that just made things
way
too complicated? He
didn’t know and he realized, as he hailed a cab, that it didn’t really matter
because he was happy and content. And he would keep telling himself he was
until deep down he really believed it.

There was some construction a few blocks from his apartment
building and traffic was at a standstill so he paid the driver, tipped him well
and jumped out to walk the rest of the way home. Fall was his favorite season
of the year. There was a freshness to the air that revitalized him somehow…he
couldn’t explain it. He knew that the weather would eventually turn ugly but it
didn’t matter. He loved the crispness in the air.

Crossing the street to his building, he heard the yelling
before he saw the argument.

“You had him for two hours!
Two hours
! But instead of
keeping him for the weekend you’ve decided you’re bored already so you bring
him home without any thought whatsoever about how that makes him feel!” Sophia
screamed at her ex.

“I told you I have to work tomorrow. We have a client that
is expecting a new and revised campaign on Monday and…”

“I don’t give a damn about your client. I am concerned with
our son. You know maybe I should just tell him what an ass wipe you really
are.”

“Don’t you dare poison my son against me,” Willis spat
through gritted teeth and raised his arm as if he was going to strike her.

“You are a fucking moron, you know that?” Ben said as he
grabbed Willis’ arm and bent it backwards ‘til he cried out in pain and fell to
the ground in a crumpled heap.

“I should call the cops and charge you with assault,” Willis
winced, rubbing his shoulder.

“Yeah, let’s do that and see what they have to say, shall
we?”

Aldo ran out of the glass door. “Did he hit you?” he asked
his daughter.

“No dad, he didn’t get a chance.”

“I saw him raise his arm and…” Aldo said.

“Let’s go inside,” Ben ushered Sophia and her father through
the door into the safety of the store. “Get lost,” he yelled to Willis over his
shoulder, “before I
really
hurt you.”

“Oh, Ben,” Sophia said, the trembling beginning in earnest.
“Thank you. I thought he was going to hit me again.”

“Again?” exclaimed Aldo. “He’s hit you before? Why didn’t
you tell me?”

“It was a long time ago, dad.”

“When did dad hit you?” Alex asked from the back door.

Sophia almost burst into tears at the sound of her son’s
voice. Ben looked at her and she shook her head. She wasn’t in an emotional
state to deal with Alex. Ben understood completely.

“Alex,” he said and swung to see the scared look on his
face. “Your mom and grandpa need to talk for a bit so why don’t you come over
to my apartment and we’ll play the newest Halo game I haven’t even unwrapped
yet?”

Sophia attempted a smile but her eyes were full of gratitude
as Alex walked slowly towards her.

“Mom?” he said. “Are you okay?”

It took every ounce of strength she had to straighten her
spine and put on a happy face for her son. “Sure I am, sweetheart. Why don’t
you go play with Ben? Grab some Ben & Jerry’s to take too.”

Alex looked at his mother for several seconds and Ben wondered
if he was going to refuse his offer. Then, he walked to the cooler and pulled
out two cartons of Cherry Garcia and returned to Ben. “Okay, but I warn you,
I’m really good.”

“Well, I’ll warn you, that I’m really not,” Ben smiled.

“Thank you Ben,” nodded Aldo.

“I’ll bring him back in a couple of hours?”

Sophia nodded and watched the two of them leave together.

*****

“He only hit me once.”

“
Once
is one time too many,” Aldo sighed.

“I was ashamed so I didn’t tell you.”

“He’s the one that should be ashamed!”

“Don’t tell mom, please?”

“No,” Aldo shook his head, “it would break her heart. So
when was it?”

“When I told him I was pregnant.”

“Oh God,” he almost cried.

“But then he apologized and said he’d never do it again.”

“And you believed him.”

“Well, yes. But then tonight…” her voice trailed off without
finishing her thought.

“We will just thank God that Ben was there.”

“Yes…we will.”

*****

“So my dad hit my mom?” Alex asked Ben as they each took a
carton of ice cream and sat on the sofa.

“You need to ask your mom about that. But give her a couple
of days first, ‘k?”

“Why would he do that?” Alex continued.

“Don’t know,” Ben replied. “But a man who strikes a woman is
no man at all but a coward. It isn’t manly to hit something that is smaller and
weaker than you. In fact, I don’t consider it macho to hit anything!”

“He didn’t want me to stay over tonight. He said he had to
work in the morning but I heard him on the phone and he’s going somewhere to
win big for the weekend.”

“I’m sorry,” Ben offered.

“I’m not. It’s no fun at his place. He just hands me the
remote and then goes into his office. I’d prefer to be home with mom and
grandma and grandpa and you.”

“Alex,” Ben sighed.

“I know,” Alex shrugged. “You’re not my new dad or anything.
I just like hanging out with you. But I’ll make sure not to bug you too often.”

“You don’t bug me at all,” Ben smiled and ruffled his hair.

They ate their ice cream in silence, Alex scraping every
last bit from the cardboard container. When they were all finished he said, “Thanks
for stopping dad from hitting her.”

“Of course. I wouldn’t let him touch her.”

“Do you like her?”

“Your mom?” Ben was nervous at the line of questioning.

“Yeah. I mean she’s pretty, right?”

“She is,” Ben agreed.

“What’s a MILF?”

“What?” Ben exclaimed.

“A MILF. There was a guy at school today who said she was a
MILF.”

“Stop saying that.” Ben was totally uncomfortable.

“Is it a bad word?”

“Yeah, kind of.”

“Oh, but what is it?”

“It’s time to take you home,” Ben said.

*****

That night Ben lay in bed unable to sleep and unable to get
Sophia out of his mind. When he’d seen Willis raise his hand his heart lurched
into his throat and the panic and anger that he felt was entirely overwhelming.
He’d never wanted to beat a man to death before but at that moment he
understood rage…unadulterated rage. The feelings were so strong that he
couldn’t turn them off. After tossing and turning for a couple of hours, he
gave up and went through to play Halo.

He sucked at this video game. He was a star when playing Winnie
the Pooh with Ella, but this one was hard and Alex had beaten him badly. In
fact, he was pretty humiliated by his performance. But he decided if he was
going to play with Alex again he’d better learn some things so he could at
least give the kid a run for his money.

Oh damn!
he thought.
Now I’m planning on playing
with the kid again. This is out of control! I’m happy and content!
“I’m
happy and content!” he yelled at the television.

When his doorbell rang at nine o’clock the next morning, he
wasn’t happy or content. He was tired. He’d given up the video game at about
five and was not willing to wake up yet but whoever was on the other side of
the door was persistent. They weren’t leaving.

Opening the door, his eyelids barely parted, he wasn’t ready
to see Sophia in the hallway.

“Hey,” she smiled.

“Hey.”

“I brought you cinnamon rolls.”

“Um, come in.” Ben stepped back and Sophia walked past him
and straight to the kitchen with the warm pan. “You didn’t have to do this,” he
yawned as he followed behind her.

“I wanted to do something,” she shrugged, “as a thank you.”

“No need,” he smiled and noticed she was wearing the same
jeans and t-shirt she’d been wearing the evening before. “Did you sleep?”

“Nah…too worked up I guess. Dad and I had a long talk and
then Alex came home and he said that he wanted to know everything but that
you’d told him to wait a little while. Thank you for that.”

The sad smile that formed on her lips was enough to thaw his
crystalized heart. In a split second he’d gone from happy and content to
desperate and longing.
Damn Matt and Mark!

“You okay?” she asked looking very confused.

“Yeah…I just really love cinnamon rolls,” he said removing
the foil that covered the pan. “Raisins?”

“Um…yeah?” she scrunched her nose up hoping it was the right
answer.

“Good. I like raisins in my cinnamon rolls. I really love
them you know.”

“So you said,” she chuckled. “Well, I’ll get going,” she
said as she gazed straight ahead of her at the chiseled muscular chest in front
of her. Her imagination hadn’t done him justice. “I’m tired too.” She turned to
head for the door.

“Sophia?”

“Yes?” she swung back to him.

“Um…would you like to have dinner with me this evening?”

“I’ll check with Alex and I’m sure we’d both…”

“No!” he snapped. “I mean, not with Alex. Would
you
like to have dinner with
me
?”

“Are you asking me on a
date
?”

“Yeah,” he smiled. “I am.”