Read Online 30 First Dates by Stacey Wiedower - Free Book Online Page B

that Erin was worried about. She felt a surge of protectiveness, wishing they were alone so she could pull him closer and comfort him in some way. She leaned toward him over the table. "Really, Hon, he'll be fine," she said. "He's going home tomorrow. The hospital wouldn't release him if they thought there was any reason to keep him there. He's a lawyer, for Pete's sake."
    Ben scooted back loudly on the tile floor. She'd met him after work at the Starbucks around the corner from her school. He seemed agitated on top of being depressed. He ran a hand through his hair, pushing Erin's favorite curl through his fingers. She watched it spring back into place.
    "They're splitting up, I think. I think Mom's leaving him."
    "What?" Erin said with genuine shock. "Because of the DUI?"
    Ben shrugged. "I don't think so. I think it's more than that. My dad's been acting weird lately, taking a lot of business trips, and he never traveled a lot with work before. I know he's been unhappy at work for, well, always. I think he's always hated his job. And I think he's probably been screwing around." He leaned forward again, putting both elbows on the small round table. "Mom hasn't told me or Brian that, but I'm ninety-nine percent sure that's what's going on."
    Erin reached up and tugged the blond ringlet, again fighting the urge to reach across the table and squeeze him to her. It was troublesome to see Ben upset—she didn't like it. He was the rock. She was the mess.
    "Ah, honey, I'm really sorry. I thought Mike and Jessie were an institution. That really is shocking to me." She paused. "Maybe it isn't true? Maybe they're just in different places in their lives. That happens, you know. People grow apart."
    He shrugged. "Doesn't really matter. I'm an adult—Brian's an adult. Shit happens."
    She frowned. She could tell he was shutting down, the way men did when feelings floated too close to the surface. Shit happens. Pound the chest, Tarzan-style. Move on.
    She had to tread carefully.
    "It's okay to be upset about it, Ben. Even as adults, we rely on our parents—even though we know they're not infallible. We know they make mistakes and have regrets and want more than they can have the same way we do. But still, they're our parents, you know? Our foundation."
    He smirked. "So this is like a crack in the foundation?"
    He was sounding more like her Ben. She felt her kinked-up insides smooth out a little. He was as thick a layer in her foundation as Joanne and Bob, her own parents.
    "Exactly. And they have to fix it. And that fix might mean time apart. Or splitting up. But the important thing is, your dad's going to be okay, and your mom will be, too. This might be the best thing for her."
    He smiled, but it still didn't touch his eyes.
    "What else is wrong?" she said.
    He stared at her for several seconds without speaking, and then he smiled again. His eyes were warmer this time.
    "Funny we can still do that."
    "Do what?"
    "Read each other's minds."
    She leaned back in her chair, studying his face. "So there is something else." It wasn't a question. Ben had been acting weird lately, too.
    He looked down at the varnished tabletop and ran one finger back and forth along the edge of the white plastic lid on his paper cup.
    Erin watched him, waiting.
    "The whole thing has just pointed out to me how I don't have anything together," he said, looking up. "My folks are splitting up after thirty-three years of marriage. I'm almost thirty, and I just got out of school. I just got my first professional job, and I haven't even made it through the probation period yet. I don't even have vacation time . I have no wife, no children, no mortgage, a shitload of student loans, and no investments to speak of. Hell, my dad's upset about not making partner at the firm he's worked for since he was twenty-five. I've built nothing. I have nothing. When he was my age, he had a wife, a house, and two kids. I still have a goddamn roommate." He growled the last words. His