Rum & Ginger (24 page)

Ben realized he’d been holding Reginald’s beer through the entire exchange. “Here’s that beer, Reginald.” Ben held the bottle out.

“Thank you, Benjamin.” He tapped Ben with a knuckle and said, “If you ever want to trade in that embarrassing piece of Jap crap out there for a real vehicle, give me a call. We’ll give you a real good deal, won’t we, Derek?”

“Sure, Dad.”

“Why are you still holding that goddamned cooler, boy?”

Derek rolled his eyes but didn’t answer his father.

“Here,” Reginald said before draining his beer. “Give it to me. I’ll sit it out by the grill. I’m goin’ out to play with the kids anyway.” Reginald handed Ben the empty bottle and grabbed the cooler from Derek. He nodded to them and joined the children in the backyard. Two seconds later Ginny ran back in.

“Grampy wants a beer, Rosa. Por favor.” Ginny shot the maid a big smile. Rosa retrieved one, opened it, and handed it to her. “Gracias!” Without another word she dashed back outside.

“Wow.” Ben blew out a breath.

“I told you my dad would be okay with you.”

“Yeah. Although ‘mellowed with age’ might be a bit of an exaggeration.” Ben returned to his egg shelling. “Except where those kids are concerned.”

“Right? I wish he would have been like that when I was a kid.” Derek took the empty bottle and dropped it in the recycling bin Ben had bought and put in the kitchen. Ben’s phone vibrated and he looked over at it, then at his hands covered in egg shells. “You want me to check that?” Derek asked.

“Could you?”

Derek nodded and swept the phone off the table. “Brodie and his parents are on their way.”

“My parents will probably be here real soon then too,” Ben stated.

“I guess I better go fire up the grill so it’ll be ready when everybody gets here,” Derek said, getting a beer from the fridge. “You want one?”

“Sure. Lena and her mom will be late. I can almost guarantee it,” Ben said and took a sip from the bottle Derek sat in front of him.

“I figured that too, so I told them to be here an hour early.” Derek winked.

Ben laughed. “Well played, clerk,” he said in his best impersonation of Alec Baldwin or Leonardo Leonardo, depending how accurate one wanted to be.

“I must tend to my meat,” Derek said and waggled his eyebrows.

“Very mature,” Ben muttered as Derek joined his father and children in the backyard. “This is going to be an interesting day,” Ben said.

“Sí, Mister Ben. Muy interesting.”

A
S
PREDICTED
, Ben’s parents arrived next, his mother bearing not one but two of her famous peanut butter chocolate pies. Reginald greeted Marie and Gordon Silver warmly. They had purchased at least three cars from Derek’s father. Ben’s mother and father were ecstatic to have small children to entertain, and the children seemed equally happy with Gordon and Marie.

Brodie and his parents pulled up in the Impala not long after, and both Derek and his father ran out to inspect the car. Reginald was, surprisingly, not just a fan of the vehicle but the show,
Supernatural,
as well. Ben joined them in the driveway as Derek made introductions. Brodie beamed as Ben walked over. “Ben. This is my mom and dad, Elaine and Curtis,” Brodie said, indicating his parents.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Felix,” Ben said, greeting them each in turn.

“Actually,” Brodie’s father stated. “It’s Dr. and Dr. Felix. Or I suppose the Doctors Felix, you could say.”

“What my dear husband is trying so ineffectually to articulate is that you can call us Elaine and Curtis, Ben.” She patted Curtis on the shoulder.

He looked at her as though he just realized she was there. “Oh. Yes, yes, quite. That’s exactly what I meant.” Ben had once told Brodie he imagined his parents as Glinda and Albus Dumbledore, and he was pleased to find his mental picture wasn’t far off. Curtis wasn’t quite as old as Dumbledore, and Elaine was just slightly older than Glinda. They both dressed in what Ben might describe as stylishly bohemian. Rich hippies.

Brodie leaned over close and whispered to Ben, “This is going to be one bizarre day.”

“Yeah,” Ben agreed. “How about you come out back and meet my parents now? And Derek’s kids. They’re pretty awesome.”

“Sure,” Brodie said and followed Ben through the house. “Does Derek know he’s rushing things a little? Hey, Rosa.” Brodie tipped the maid a wave as they passed.

“Yeah. I brought it to his attention. He was shocked. I don’t think he realized what he was doing. He felt really bad.”

“His dad’s a character. He reminds me of a buff Christopher Walken.”

Ben burst into laughter. “Oh my God. That’s exactly him. Wow. Good call, Brodie.”

They walked into the backyard, and Ginny zipped directly for Ben. He scooped her up.

“Hey, Uncle Ben.”

“Hey, Ginny. This is Brodie.”

“Hi, Ginny,” Brodie said with a little wave.

“Are you a rock star?” Ginny asked.

“I’m in a band,” Brodie answered honestly.

“Cool,” Mikey chimed in as he joined them.

“This is Mikey,” Ben introduced.

“Can you teach me to play guitar?” Mikey asked, his eyes as big as saucers.

“Maybe,” Brodie answered nervously. “I didn’t bring my guitar today, though.”

“Wow,” Mikey exclaimed as he dashed off. Ginny wiggled out of Ben’s arms and took off after her brother. When they were elsewhere occupied, Ben and Brodie walked over to where Ben’s parents sat.

“Mom, Dad, this is my boyfriend,” Ben said and spared a look at Brodie. “Brodie Felix. Brodie, these are my parents, Marie and Gordon. And if I know
them
, they’ll insist you don’t call them Mr. and Mrs.”

Ben’s parents rose to greet Brodie and to both their surprise, after Gordon shook his hand, Marie embraced her son’s new boyfriend. “Pleased to meet you, Brodie.” She followed up the hug with a peck on the cheek. “Unless I’m very much mistaken, Brodie, you aren’t very comfortable around children.”

“Is it that obvious?” he asked. Ben’s mother and father fell into easy conversation with Brodie while Ben retrieved drinks for all of them.

Soon enough, Derek returned with his father and Brodie’s parents. Brodie introduced them to Ben’s parents while Derek started grilling steaks, chicken, hot dogs, and hamburgers. It seemed Reginald spared no expense. Derek came by it naturally. Rosa joined them, sitting at the table with Ben’s and Brodie’s parents. The conversation turned to politics too soon, and it was obvious that Reginald’s stances were slightly different than Ben’s or Brodie’s parents. Ben wasn’t too surprised.

He was also thankful when the conversation was interrupted by excited whooping. Lena and her mother, Gloria, rounded the corner of the house with their contributions to the evening’s meal. Both women held a half gallon of vodka: Lena had Grey Goose, and Gloria had Smirnoff. They went through all the introductions a second time, and just like every time Ben had seen Lena’s mom since he’d returned from college, she gave his butt a pinch. Lena fixed herself and her mother drinks while Gloria showed particular interest in Reginald. Ben and Brodie accepted Lena’s offer of high-octane vodka cocktails.

Derek called a five-minute warning on the steaks, and Rosa, Marie, and Ben began bringing the other dishes out to a picnic table Derek had set up for the meal. Reginald helped the little kids get their food like an unconventional mother hen. Gloria demanded music, so Lena went into the living room and switched on Derek’s state-of-the-art stereo system, switching the speakers from indoors to outdoors. Music began to pipe out of speakers disguised as rocks and logs throughout the yard.

Ben couldn’t help but smile as he walked over to Derek and the grill. An honest, open grin was plastered across Derek’s face. Behind him, all their families talked and laughed as though they’d been best friends for years. Someone cleared their throat and the conversation paused. Everyone looked to the edge of the yard, where Ben was shocked to see Chance standing alone, looking very apprehensive and nervous. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and waved self-consciously. “Um. Hey. I… uh… I got your invitation.”

“Hey Luck—, I mean, Chance!” Derek called. “Come on in. There’s plenty for everybody.” He motioned with his metal tongs, and Chance nodded. He approached the little party area. Ben and Lena met him first.

“Hey, Chance.” Lena gave him a one-armed hug.

“Hey there, Lena. It’s good to see you.”

“I wasn’t sure you’d show,” Ben said. “Especially when you didn’t text back.”

“I wasn’t sure if I would either until the last minute,” Chance admitted. “But, I don’t know. I just thought—” He shrugged instead of finishing.

“Whatever. It doesn’t matter,” Ben told him. “You’re here now. What did you bring?”

“Oh.” Chance lifted the bag he held like he just remembered he had it. “Rum and ginger ale. That’s your favorite, isn’t it? Captain and ginger ale?”

“Yeah. Yeah, it is. Come say hi to my parents, and I’ll introduce you to everybody’s family.” Ben put an arm around him and guided him to the other guests. Ben noticed Brodie hanging back purposefully. Ben’s mother stood and walked over to meet them before they reached the others. She embraced Chance as she had Brodie.

“Hello, Chance,” she said.

He hugged her back. “Hi, Mrs. Silver.”

“None of that, Chance. You call me Marie.”

He nodded as she released him, and Ben began the introductions. He could tell by the expression on his mother’s face that she had more to say, but she held off as the party resumed, dishing up food before sitting down to eat. Brodie walked up to Chance and offered his hand. “I hope me bein’ here isn’t out of line,” Brodie said.

“No. Not at all,” Chance answered, shaking Brodie’s hand. “I hope, um, likewise.”

“No worries. Drink?” Brodie asked.

“Sure.” Chance nodded with a hint of a smile.

There was much laughter in Derek’s backyard that evening and more love than the house had seen in quite some time. Ben was happy to see Chance ease out of his shell as the night progressed. Lena and her mother took turns dancing with every man at the party, though Gloria coaxed Reginald onto the grass more than once. Mother and daughter had both long ago kicked off their shoes.

As the night wore on, Mikey and Ginny were carried off to bed, but not until after everyone had chocolate peanut butter pie and ice cream. They had seven different flavors to choose from, thanks to Brodie’s parents. Mikey and Ginny tried a little of each so when they finally did crash, they crashed hard.

Just before sunset Derek lit a fire in the pit in the backyard, and the adults pulled chairs around it in a circle, discussing all manner of subjects. While Derek, Reginald, and Rosa cleared away the food that needed to be refrigerated, Ben and Brodie talked with their fathers. Ben noticed his mother pull Chance off to speak with him alone. Ben didn’t want to make it too obvious that he kept stealing glances at the pair, wondering what they were discussing.

It wasn’t long after the children went to bed that Reginald and Gloria left at suspiciously the same time. Brodie’s parents were the next to leave, followed by Ben’s. The second generation was left to sit around the fire. Derek, Lena, Chance, and Brodie talked while Ben watched and listened.

They discussed everyone’s impressions of everyone else’s parents. They joked about Lena’s mom and Derek’s dad hooking up. Ben noticed Chance and Brodie talking together, and he also noticed Chance had stopped drinking an hour or so ago. That meant he was planning to leave soon. Lena guided the conversation to Chance’s video game, which Derek was extremely interested in. Eventually they started talking about Ben’s bar, and Ben could see Chance getting anxious. Ben heaved a great yawn. “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m beat,” he announced.

Chance looked relieved. “Yeah, me too, actually. I think it’s time for me to head out.”

“Think I can bum a ride?” Lena asked.

“Sure,” Chance said as he stood. A round of good-byes was exchanged, and Derek was thanked profusely for the amazing party.

“I’m really glad you dropped by, Chance,” Derek said, giving him a hug. To Ben’s surprise, Chance not only allowed it but hugged back.

“I really am too, Derek. Thanks.”

“I’ll walk you guys out,” Ben offered. Lena grabbed a drink for the road. At the car, she wrapped her arms around Ben and kissed him on the cheek.

“Night, Ben-Ben.”

“Night, Lena.” He opened the door for her, and she climbed in. He shut the door as Chance walked to the driver’s side. “I think it’s awesome that you came over tonight, Chance,” Ben said.

“Surprisingly enough, I had a great time,” Chance answered. “I know stuff between us didn’t work out, but you’re really my only friend, Ben.”

“That’s not true, Chance.” Lena’s voice drifted from the car.

“She’s right,” Ben said. “It was Derek’s idea to invite you.”

“Really?” Chance frowned. “Hm. Interesting.”

“I’m willing to give the whole friend thing a shot,” Ben offered.

“Thanks, Ben.” Chance paused. “And I hate to admit it, but Brodie seems like a really cool guy.”

“Thanks, Chance.”

“Well, I really am tired,” Chance stated.

“I know. It’s way past your bedtime,” Ben joked.

Chance chuckled. “Right. Keep in touch.”

“Will do,” Ben assured him. Chance opened the door and was almost in when Ben remembered something. “Hey, Chance.”

“Hm?”

“What did my mom have to say?” Ben asked.

“Oh,” he said and shut the door again. “She told me that she didn’t want me to ever feel like I was alone. And even if I couldn’t talk to my own parents about everything, that I could talk to her anytime. She said she didn’t think anyone should have to go through what I’m going through alone.” Ben could see tears shining in Chance’s eyes. “It was really a pretty nice thing to say.”

“That’s my mom. I told her everything a couple weeks ago. I’m sure she meant everything she told you too.”

“It makes me wish I’d opened up about everything while we were still together. At least to your family.”

“I won’t say I told you so, but I will say you’re taking steps in the right direction. Doesn’t it feel good to be able to just be yourself?” Ben asked.