Page 57 of Second Chance Wedding
Why had she agreed to come to Thanksgiving at her parents’ house?
“Benji, tell us about school. How are your grades?” Maureen asked.
“I’ve got Bs and Cs.”
“Mom, um, Ben has asked to be called…Ben. Not Benji,” Ana said, softening the correction with a smile.
“Well,Ben, why are you getting Cs?” the judge asked, joining the conversation. “Would you like for me to hire a tutor for you?”
“No,” Ana said quickly after Ben shot her an anxiety-filled look. “Bs and Cs are perfectly fine grades, Dad.”
“They are, but if he’s struggling with something unnecessarily, a tutor just makes sense,” her father said. “I’d be happy to look into getting a tutor to help you get ready for college.”
“Dad, no thank you. If or when Ben needs a tutor, I’ll take care of it.” It was a kind offer but one she wouldn’t accept. Her pride wouldn’t let her.
“What if I don’t want to go to college?” Ben asked, breaking the ongoing silence that had followed her denial.
Oh, no. Ben! Do not do this now, not here,Ana ranted silently. “That is a topic for another day,” she said firmly. “Mom, have you picked your dress for Quinley’s wedding?”
Ana prayed her mother would remember her words at the bridal shower and help stop the volcano about to erupt.
“What do you mean, you don’t want to go to college?” the judge asked, a frown deepening the lines on his face.
“I have,” her mother said. “I found a lovely rose-gold skirt set. I thought it would go well with her colors.”
“Just that I don’t want to. Not everybody goes to college now, especially with student loan debt so high and salaries not making up for it,” Ben said.
“Why would you need a loan? If your mother needs money??—”
“Idon’t,” Ana stated with a pointed glare at her father. That was a subject that would not be reopened if she had anything to say about it. Her parents had eventually come around after her pregnancy announcement and offered everything from funding an abortion to quietly setting up an adoption. When that hadn’t worked, they’d switched tactics and offered to pay her living expenses—so long as she lived under their roof and gave the raising of Ben over to them. There was always a catch where money was concerned, and that catch equated to them controlling every aspect of her life. She’d rejected it then, and she rejected it now.
To her mother, she said, “Your dress sounds perfect. Did you know Ben is going to be one of the ushers?”
“I didn’t, but I’m not surprised given Quinley’s fondness,” Maureen said, going along with Ana’s obvious desire to keep things civil. “You’ll make a very handsome usher, Ben.”
“College is afoundation,” her father continued with stubborn persistence. “A much-needed stepping stone in building a man’s career and preparing him for the workforce.”
“What about the military?” Ben asked. “Maybe I want to do that instead.”
Ana’s fork slipped from her hand and clattered to her plate.
Where hadthatcome from?
“The military?” Her father glanced from Ben to Ana to Maureen, exchanging an indecipherable look with Ana’s mother before his gaze speared Ben once again.
The judge looked as shocked as Ana felt, but she was not about to get into Ben’s reasons for the mention now. “Um, Mom,” Ana said, trying to divert the brewing storm, “what did you think of Rhys’s mother? She seemed nice, didn’t she?”
“Oh, she did,” Maureen said with more enthusiasm than the question warranted. “I think she and Quinley will??—”
“If that’s the case, Ben, at least tell me you’re smart enough to go in as an officer,” her father said. “That means going to college first. Or a good military school. I have a good friend who??—”
“Dad,stop. I am not shipping my son off to military school. As to the rest— That’s a discussion for us to have at another time. Can we please talk about something else?” Ana asked as she stared at the potatoes near her plate and fought off the memories of fights and disagreements that spiraled through her head at the discussion.
How many times had she fought with them about Cole? How many hours had she spent defending her decision to marry him right out of high school only to realize they’d been right all along?
Her fathermightbe correct in his thinking regarding the how of Ben’s entry into the military should that happen down the line, but right now, all she could do was fight the riptide of overwhelming fears of loss and upset, like the past repeated itself and mocked her.
“But you’d be okay with me going into the military, right, Mom? If I want to, I mean?” Ben asked.
