They went through the usual motions. His mother made them say grace, which he always mouthed to make her happy even though he didn’t believe in it. Once that was over and everyone was served, Dad went into his usual rants about what had happened at work that day. Being manager of the local cable company didn’t sound very intriguing, but his father managed to bring home at least a few crazy customer stories every day.
There was a lull in conversation as the meal neared its end and they all became tired and full. The mood was meditative until Ben’s sister decided to break the silence.
“Janny swears she saw you driving around in a Mitsubishi yesterday.”
“A what?” Ben asked, buying for time.
Karen rolled her eyes. “A black sports car. She was next to you at a stoplight and got a good look at you.”
Maybe he should have denied it, but Ben didn’t see what he had to hide. He had earned his driver’s license last year, and it wasn’t criminal to drive around in someone else’s car.
“Yup, that was me,” he said. He didn’t elaborate, enjoying being enigmatic about it.
“Whose car were you driving?” his mom asked.
“Who cares,” his dad interrupted. “I’m just happy he’s actually using his license. We should break out the champagne!”
“The car belongs to a friend of mine,” Ben answered his mom while smiling at his dad.
“Do we know this friend?” his mom asked. “Is it this Tim person?”
“Tim who?” his sister prodded.
“None of your business,” Ben shot at her. “Yeah, it’s him,” he said to his mother. It felt good to keep Karen out of the loop. That his mom already knew and that his sister didn’t irritated Karen and made Ben even happier. As it turned out, he had chosen a bad time to push her.
“I’m surprised you admit it,” Karen said, a wicked gleam in her eye. “When Janny saw you school wasn’t over yet.”
“What are you saying?” his mother asked, while keeping her eyes on him.
“It was still sixth period,” Karen explained joyfully. “Janny has work leave so she leaves after fifth period. Apparently Ben does, too.”
“Is this true?” his father inquired.
Ben didn’t need to answer. His mother saw it all on his face. Denying anything would only make it worse.
“How long has this been going on?” she demanded. “Have you and this friend of yours been skipping school every day? What’s going on between you two?”
“Well, that’s not hard to guess,” Karen interjected.
“Be quiet,” his mother hissed at her before turning her attention back to Ben. “What’s gotten into you lately? First you lie to us about where you are and who you’re with, and now you’re skipping school? I don’t know who this Tim person is, but it’s clear that he isn’t good for you.”
“That’s not true!” Ben protested, feeling betrayed. She knew how much Tim meant to him. He’d told her, and now she was using it against him.
“You may not think it’s true,” she insisted, “but believe me it is. Anyone who asks you to lie and encourages you to skip school--” She shook her head, overcome with emotion. “Adam.”
“You’re grounded,” his father said on cue. “Starting now.”
“Grounded from what?” Ben asked incredulously.
His father looked to his mother for help. “The computer?” he suggested.
“For Christ’s sake, Adam!” She glowered at her husband before redirecting her wrath to her son. “You are grounded to the house. You aren’t going out with anyone until further notice. And I’ll be calling your school to make sure you are there the whole day, too!”
“That’s not fair!” Ben managed to shout as emotion constricted his throat. “I fucking hate you!” he croaked to his sister before he ran upstairs to his room.
Things only became worse once he had slammed the door. Left alone, he had time to realize the implications of this punishment. The last few days alone with Tim, the romantic meal and whatever memories they would have made, were all gone, forever stolen away from him by his stupid sister and his treacherous mom.
* * * * *
Groggy and miserable, Ben pulled himself out of bed at eleven in the morning and stumbled into the shower. He had stayed up late, wrestling with the anger lurching inside and listening to music that amplified these emotions.
Before all of this he called Tim to let him know that he wouldn’t be showing up after dinner or even this weekend. Tim, while sympathetic that he had gotten in trouble, didn’t sound as devastated as Ben had hoped.
Once he was dressed, he stomped downstairs for some cereal. Ben was scowling at the selection when he heard the jangle of car keys. He turned to see his mother with her purse over her shoulder.
“Wanna go with me to the store?” she asked in pleasant tones as if nothing had happened.
“No, thanks,” Ben answered carefully. Maybe she realized how she had overreacted and would unground him.
“You sure?” she prompted. “It’s your only chance to get out of the house today.”
He turned his back to her, anger swelling up inside of him.
“Well,” his mother sighed, “your sister and father will be back any minute.”
Ben maintained his bitter silence until he heard the garage door raise and lower again. He counted to twenty before he dared move to the front windows to check that her car was gone.
“Dad? Karen?” he yelled, just to be sure that he was alone.
Only Wilford responded to his calls, panting happily as he trotted up to him.
“You look like you need to go potty,” Ben suggested. “Don’t you, boy? Don’t you?”
Wilford barked and leapt in anticipation.
Ben smiled at his little victory. There was no choice but to take the poor dog out for a walk. Clearly it was an emergency. He threw on his shoes and gave himself a once-over in the mirror before leashing Wilford and escaping from the house. He ran the first block, just in case either of his parents was on the verge of returning. Once that obstacle was out of the way, he was home free.
He felt a wild sense of liberation as he approached Tim’s house. So what if he got into trouble? They could ground him all they wanted. Right now he was somewhere his parents didn’t know about, somewhere safe. He would have his weekend with Tim and they couldn’t do anything about it.
Ben entered the house without ringing the doorbell. He realized he might catch Tim in a compromising situation by doing so, but the idea of finding him jerking off only encouraged him to make his way stealthily down the hall. It was a good thing that he did, too, otherwise he might not have heard the girlish giggle before he entered the den.
A seductive murmur responded to the giggle as Ben tiptoed the last few steps to peek around the doorway, Wilford padding along behind him. Tim was on the couch with his leg up on the coffee table. A girl was bent over the cast, writing something on it with a pen. Her back was to him, but Ben didn’t need her to turn around to know that it was Krista Norman. Tim wiggled his foot, and she chastised him and giggled again. He grinned back at her in satisfaction.
Ben decided to make a silent retreat, but before he could do so, Wilford opened his mouth and starting panting loudly. Tim spotted Ben. Krista began turning to see what the noise was but Ben retreated down the hall before she could see him.
“Wait here,” he heard Tim say to her.
“Is someone here?” Krista’s voice sounded panicked, as if she was already being menaced by a gang of burglars.
“It’s just my neighbor,” Tim reassured her. “He promised to bring something by. Wait here.”