Once he was downstairs again, his mother switched off her usual decorating TV program and hustled him into the kitchen.

“Chili,” she announced as she began pulling ingredients from the cabinets. “This is one of the easiest things to cook.”

Ben helped her to reach some of the items on the higher shelves. His mother was so short that she actually made him feel tall. He had inherited his small build from her, as well as the blond hair. Really, he didn’t resemble his father very much. “What did you eat last night at your friend’s house?” she asked casually as she turned the oven on.

“I tried making spaghetti, but it didn’t turn out so well.”

“So you cooked for his whole family?” His mother turned her lie-detecting gaze on him.

“No, they were out of town.” There was no point in lying. He never managed to get away with it. His mom saw through it every time.

“You didn’t mention that when you called last night,” she said. “You were supposed to be out with Allison but ended up at some guy’s house. Someone we’ve never met.”

Ben shrugged, knowing that the less he said the better.

“Did you actually know this guy, or did you meet him at a bar?” she pressed.

Ben laughed, feeling relieved at finally understanding the source of her worries.

“I wasn’t at a bar, Mom. I don’t even have a fake ID. I met Tim at school a few weeks ago.”

His mom didn’t respond. Instead she showed him the proper way to cut an onion, probably while rethinking her strategy.

“I just want you to be safe,” she said as she slid the diced onion off the cutting board and into a frying pan sizzling with ground beef. “If you need something, like condoms or lube, you just have to ask.”

Ben fought to hold back his laughter. His mother was imagining all sorts of illicit sex, when the most that had happened last night was a few board games. He was pretty sure that a condom wasn’t required to play Scrabble or Life.

“He’s not my boyfriend, mom. He’s straight.”

She set down the can she was trying to open with a loud thunk. “Then why are you cooking for him? And how come you haven’t been home all week? What exactly do you two do together?”

Now she was back to suspecting drugs. She would be twice as shocked to learn that he had in reality been doing many of the same chores that he had tackled today.

“I just really like him, that’s all.”

“Oh, Benjamin,” she said sorrowfully. “You need to find someone who can return your feelings. You’re just going to end up getting hurt.”

“That’s what everyone keeps telling me,” he responded tersely.

“You haven’t met any other gay boys at your school?”

He shook his head.

“None? Maybe we should get you a fake ID. We could go to the bar together.”

“Sure!” Ben laughed. “You can help me pick someone out.”

“I would, too! I just don’t think that’s the best place to meet someone. Have you thought about personal ads?”

“C’mon, Mom. Stop worrying about it. I’m sure I’ll meet someone. I just hope it happens before I’m thirty.”

“It will. It’s just a matter of time before someone realizes how special my baby is.”

Ben smiled as they continued making chili together. The recipe was easy. All he had to do was throw a bunch of stuff in a pot and let it cook. Even he couldn’t mess this one up.

“You should have been honest though,” his mother said, almost as an afterthought. “All that stuff about being out with Allison!”

Ben remained silent, wondering suddenly how she figured out that he hadn’t gone to the movies at all.

“She’s going to be in trouble with her father too, you know,” she continued in chastising tones. “He sounded furious when he called last night.”

“What? Allison’s dad called?”

“Late last night. After you called and said you’d be sleeping over. He asked if I knew where you two were, and, well …”

Ben didn’t need her to finish. The sinking feeling in his stomach told him all he needed to know.

__________

Chapter 7

Lunchtime couldn’t come quick enough on Monday. Despite calling Allison at least three dozen times Sunday evening, Ben had been unable to reach her. The phone only rang and rang, not even the answering machine picking up. Unless she had entered into a six-hour conversation with Ronnie, which seemed unlikely, her phone had probably been taken away, or maybe her private line had been canceled.

Ben’s apprehension increased as she failed to appear at their usual place in the cafeteria. Usually she was there waiting for him, since her third period class was much closer. Finally, ten minutes into the lunch break, she arrived looking haggard and stressed.

Ben stood and embraced her, clutching her as he let loose a string of clumsy apologies.

“What are you talking about?” she demanded once he had pulled away.

Ben confessed his guilt in being a key factor in her getting caught.

Allison waited until he was finished and waved a hand dismissively. “I would have gotten in trouble anyway,” she said as she sat down. “My dad was waiting for us in the driveway.”

“No!”

“Yes! He’s completely psycho. I even had Ronnie drop me off further down the street, but not far enough I guess.”

Ben slid his Twinkie over to her as a gesture of peace, even though it was clear she wasn’t angry with him. “So your dad spotted you getting out of Ronnie’s car?”

“Yeah. He was sitting in the middle of the driveway in a fold-out chair, drinking his whisky like it was going out of style. He sat there waiting for me for who knows how long.”

“So what did he do?”

“Well, luckily I saw him running down the road in time to tell Ronnie to take off. He managed to get out of there before my dad caught up with him, but he did throw his whisky bottle at his car. Hit it, too.”

Ben sat in a stunned silence, taking in this news. Allison’s dad had always been a bit loony, but he seemed to be getting worse every year.

“Did it jack up Ronnie’s car?”

“No. I just saw him a second ago and he said it was fine. It’s the first that I’ve talked to him since it happened. Dad smashed the hell out of my phone in the process of grounding me.”

“So…” Ben hesitated, not wanting to ask if she and Ronnie were still dating. It wouldn’t be the first time her dad managed to scare away one of her boyfriends.

“I don’t know what he thinks of it all,” Allison sighed miserably. “He seemed okay. Concerned more than anything. He’s in my last class, so I’ll have a better chance to talk to him about it then.”

Because Ben skipped sixth period to take care of Tim, he didn’t have a chance to catch up with her after school. He didn’t hear anything else about it until the next day. Allison didn’t show up at lunch at all, conjuring the worst case scenarios into his mind. As psychotic as her dad might be, so far he had never laid a hand on Allison. Sometimes Ben thought it was only a matter of time before he did. With less than two years left before college, he hoped that she would be free before anything like that ever happened.

To his great relief, Allison was waiting for him outside fourth period choir. His reprieve didn’t last long when he saw how panicked she appeared.

“You have to help me,” she said, grabbing both his arms.

Ben’s mouth went dry. “What happened?” he rasped, feeling certain that his worst fears had come true.

“Ronnie is coming over.” Her eyes searched his, questioning if he understood the full implications. “Tonight!”

“Wait, you invited him over? Why would you do that?”

“No, I didn’t invite him! Are you insane? He invited himself!”

Ben pondered this for a moment before understanding what was going on. “He’s doomed.” He couldn’t help but laugh as he said it. Ronnie’s intention was obviously to introduce himself to Mr. Cross and possibly get Allison ungrounded. The gesture was noble, if not suicidal.