Page 95 of The Fool
“This isn’t my story to tell,” Ben states with conviction, “and I won’t betray Bea’s confidence. I’ve kept it thus far, I refuse to talk about her behind her back.”
“Don’t be so childish,” his father snaps, “this is serious!”
“Oh, is it now? Well, fuck me, I thought it was just a casual conversation about what the hell’s been going on with your child for the last decade. How could I, the man who’s been looking after her for all these years, possibly understand how serious this all is.”
“Well, I’ll be damned, you’ve been hiding huge secrets from us, and your mad with me?!”
“Mad? Yeah, I’m pretty fucked off, Dad. I’ve been taking care of that girl for years, too afraid to let myself move on in case I missed the signs all over again. Because that’s what happened, Dad, we all missed the fact that she was dying on the inside.”
“You should have talked to us, Ben,” his mother says more softly, though it only seems to rile him up even more.
“You mean like you calling her to force her into talking to her sister who’s been sleeping with the dude who knocked her up and cheated on her? Or perhaps guilt her into attending their wedding with all the bitches who bullied her in attendance? I wonder if they shared makeup tips or talked about the good ol’ days.”
“We didn’t know what had happened, all we knew is what you all told us,” Mr Summers argues, now sounding less angry and more contrite.
“Perhaps, but you still accepted a guy who had slept with both of your daughters into the family, even when Bea made it quite clear she was against it. Perhaps you should have dug a little deeper into why that was.”
“We didn’t know, Ben!” Mrs Summer snaps.
“Whatever, point is, this isn’t my story, my fight, or my fault, so back the hell off. I’m here for Bea, no one else, like I’ve always been. Ask Leah, my ex, if you don’t believe me.”
“You and Leah broke up?” his mother gasps.
“She dumped me because I refused to move out with her,” he admits sadly. “Can’t blame her.”
“Ben, if you had just talked to us –"
“That’s it, I’m done,” he huffs, getting to his feet and marching away before they can question him anymore on it. We all sit back in awkward silence, leaving him to stew on his own. After his epic bombshell, it’s the least we can do for him.
“Excuse me, but are you waiting for Miss Beatrice Summers?” A young nurse comes out of the double doors to greet us. The poor guy looks tired but still manages to put on a soft smile when we all turn and nod. “She’s settled into her room upstairs and if you want to, you can come and see her. Two at a time, maximum, I’m afraid.”
He walks to the nurse’s station, presumably giving us time to decide who’s going to go up first.
“Nathaniel,” her father barely whispers, “I know she’s your fiancée, which is something else we didn’t know about, but would you mind if her mother and I go and see her first?”
“Actually, she’s not my fiancée,” I clarify. I can’t let him sit there thinking Bea has kept something else monumental from him. “I’m a traditional guy; I wouldn’t dream of asking her without your permission first.”
“My permission?” he says with a soft laugh, but the merriment doesn’t reach his eyes. “It would seem I don’t deserve to call myself her father right now.”
Before I can attempt to reassure him with words I don’t have, the nurse rescues me by coming back to ask who is going up to the ICU first.
“Her parents,” I reply before anyone can say anything. Even though I am ready to kill in order to see her, I have to let them have this one. They both silently thank me as they get up to follow the nurse.
As soon as they’ve left, almost to the very second, Ben strolls back into the waiting area with a couple of cups of coffee from one of the chain stores from up the road. My face must give away how desperate I’ve been for something wet and full of caffeine because he laughs as he sits down, then offers some packets of sugar. The first mouthful hits me with the perfect hit to fool my senses into believing I’m not as exhausted as I feel. From the gasp of appreciation that leaves Ben’s lips, it’s fair to say he must be feeling the same way.
“She’ll pull through, you know; she’s done so before, she’ll do it again,” Ben says with determination, though all I can manage is a nod, which is more for his benefit than mine. I’m not ready to face the possibility of her not being fine; I just don’t want to talk about it.
“You and Leah really broken up?” I ask to change the subject.
“We did, yeah,” he says with a sad sigh, “can’t blame her.”
“I’m sorry,” I tell him. “Not that I don’t think Bea could totally take care of herself, but I asked her to move in with me. Would that not change things?”
“Really?” He looks surprised, but in a good way.
“I never believed Cameron when he told me you instantly know when you’ve found ‘the one’. Always told him to keep his cheesy crap to himself, but now I’ll have to concede that he was right. I’m ready for it with Bea, all of it.”
“Well, then, if you’re being sincere, you have my blessing,” he says, sounding like the father figure he’s been to her. “But in answer to your question, I don’t think it would change things with Leah.”