A block later and the adrenaline that had powered his confidence faded. Ben leaned against a tree, his hands and legs shaking. Had he really just said all that to Allison’s father? Had he made things worse or better? The man had been crying when he left! What if he killed himself or something? Ben second-guessed his actions all way home, sometimes feeling proud of himself, other times feeling like he should run back and apologize. But then, what difference would it make? In the end, all was said and done.

* * * * *

Allison wasn’t in school the next day, which was worrying. She had returned home yesterday, giving Ben a short call in the evening to say that she was all right, and that her father was upset but not at her. Ben thought everything was going to be okay, but now a number of terrifying scenarios were playing out in his mind. What if Mr. Cross had left the state with her? Even worse, maybe he had killed her before taking his own life.

As soon as he was home, Ben called but there was no answer. He kept trying every half hour until, a little past nine, Allison finally picked up the phone.

“Are you all right?” Ben stammered.

“Yeah.” There was a hesitation. “Great, actually. What did you say to my dad?”

“Why?”

“Well, he’s like a different person. He apologized to me all day yesterday, and today he took off work so we could have a father/daughter day.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” Allison laughed. “I’m even allowed to see you again!”

Ben wanted to cry in relief. “Did he say why?”

“Something about how protective you are of me, but he didn’t seem to want to talk about it. What did you say?”

Ben considered telling her everything, but ultimately decided to give her an edited version. He didn’t want her to think that her father’s actions were the result of blackmail. Ben didn’t want to believe that either. He liked to think that he had appealed to Mr. Cross’s heart and that everything would be fine from now on. That didn’t sound very realistic though. Ben would never be able to let his guard down again.

__________

Chapter 12

A sea of green and red wrapping paper threatened to consume the living room as Ben and his sister tore into present after present, tossing paper and ribbons carelessly away to better see what Santa had brought them. Karen squealed over some designer purse, while Ben admired his new pocket watch.

The watch was silver with erratic maroon lines carved tastefully into its surface. He pressed the button on top and the watch face swung open to reveal the time, which was already correctly set at 6:34 a.m. This was their tardiest Christmas yet! Usually Ben and his sister would wake their parents and be under the tree by five.

“You can use that watch to get home at a decent time,” his mother teased.

Ben smiled and thanked her before digging around for another present with his name on it. Not that he was lacking anything. He had gotten his PlayStation, even more games, new clothes, gift certificates, a couple of books, and a wallet. There was still more to be opened, though. His mother always went overboard when it came to Christmas.

Weeks of shopping and preparation was over in half an hour. Mr. Bentley went back to bed the second he was granted permission, and Karen scooped up her booty in her arms, taking it back to her room like a rat returning to its lair. Ben played the part of the good son and stayed to help his mom clean up the mess.

“We should probably start recycling,” Ben suggested as he surveyed the enormous amount of now-useless paper.

His mother didn’t hear him. Her lips were pursed and her forehead wrinkled in thought. “Think how much nicer it will be at home,” she said. “There’s plenty of food and we won’t get in your way.”

Ben didn’t need her to explain what she was talking about, since it had been the only topic between the two of them for the better part of a week. Tim’s parents were in the Pompanos for the holidays, leaving their son to fend for himself. Ben didn’t know how they could do that, but he was told this wasn’t the first Christmas they were absent for.

“You know why I want to go over there,” Ben said patiently. “It’s going to be romantic.”

“But I still don’t see why he can’t eat Christmas dinner with us,” his mom countered. “You two can go back to his place in the evening and have your time.”

Ben smiled and shook his head. How could he truthfully tell her that being around family was one of the biggest mood killers? As much as he loved them, it was hard to maintain an amorous state of mind when Grandpa was telling stories of his mall Santa days or while defending Tim from Karen’s constant teasing. Ben’s mom might be respectful and give them their space, but the others were oblivious to such social graces.

“It’s just one Christmas,” Ben reassured her. “It’s not going to become a tradition.”

“There’s only one Christmas left before you move to who knows where,” his mom pointed out. “And what about your grandparents? They won’t get to see you at all!”

There was no winning with her, so in the end Ben promised to stay for Christmas dinner, which wasn’t so hard considering it took place in the early afternoon. As it turned out, he was glad he stayed. Aside from being there to receive even more presents from his relatives, he also was provided with enough leftovers to keep him and Tim fed for a week. In fact, it was too much to carry when Tim’s present was added to the equation, and Ben had to accept a ride from his dad just to make it there.

Tim was in a solemn mood when he arrived, which was no surprise considering the situation. Ben stowed away the food before kicking the house into gear. He put Christmas music on the stereo and sang to it while walking around the house and turning on all the decorative lights. He added his present to the multitude under the soulless, department store tree.

Not that the tree wasn’t attractive, but like all store-front trees, it lacked a certain personal touch. There weren’t any homemade ornaments and it was actually standing up straight. Who‘d ever heard of a straight Christmas tree? All the lights were the same color too, and as much as he liked blue, they lacked the multicolored gaudiness that was expected this time of year.

The holiday cheer that Ben was spreading like mad finally infected Tim, who regained his usual smile. He slow danced with Ben to the mellow parts of Bing Crosby’s song, Happy Holiday, and laughed as Ben did a jig to the up-tempo segment in the middle. A plate of leftovers, which Tim devoured ravenously, further soothed his spirits. Watching him chow down on ham and mashed potatoes faster than even Wilford could manage was oddly endearing.

“You ready for some presents?” Ben asked once he had finished.

“Oh, yeah!” Tim answered enthusiastically.

They adjourned to the living room where they started pulling out package after package. All of them were for Tim, which was quite shocking. Ben had assumed that they were for the whole family. Obviously the Wymans were trying to compensate for leaving their son alone.

“The haul was huge like this last time, too,” Tim explained as he unwrapped a new stereo. “At least it shows they feel guilty.”

The better part of an hour passed before all of his gifts were opened, leaving only two presents under the tree: the one from Ben and another small box wrapped in snowflake themed wrapping paper. Tim handed this to Ben somewhat shyly.

“You shouldn’t have,” Ben lied, accepting the present with curiosity. As he unwrapped it, a wonderful scent reached his nose. He knew it was designer cologne before he could read the label.

“I almost bought that for myself,” Tim explained. “The smell drives me wild, but you can never really smell it once you spray it on yourself. It’s kind of cool having a boyfriend that way. Now I can smell it all the time.”