Page 30 of Mistletoe Dreams
Hannah had a bunch of ideas that Ben thought were amazing, and he was impressed with how she had come to the table, not fighting to get as much money as she could for the medical side but trying to figure out how they could combine the two in a way that made sense for both of them. She was a real team player, and several times during the meeting, he found himself wondering if that was the kind of attitude she would bring to a marriage. It had been missing in his first marriage.
And he couldn't lay all the fault at his ex's feet. He had certainly had more of a competitive spirit than a "let's get along and see if we can help each other out" kind of thing. Because they were playing for the same team.
He was tempted to ask her if he could see her home, but he knew she had driven herself, and that seemed silly. Still, he was a little concerned about making sure she got there okay and almost asked if she would text him when she arrived safely, since he knew her place was outside of town. Still, he had no right to ask her to do that much, so they parted ways, and he walked home to his mother's house down the street.
"My goodness, that was a long meeting," his mother greeted him as he walked in the door. The place smelled like baking bread with just a little bit of cinnamon and sugar mixed in.
His mom was not perfect. She had a tendency to be a little bit pushy about getting her way, but she had a good heart. And while he knew she had been embroiled in a bit of a scandal having to do with donations the church had been accepting a few years ago, that wasn't who she truly was. And he ought to know, since he'd grown up with her. But after his dad had died, she'd been in a difficult situation, and him moving in and paying rent had eased her financial burden, and it had given him a place to land, keeping his son away from the bad influences that he'd begun hanging around with back in the city where they used to live.
"It took longer than I thought, but I think we have everything pretty well hammered out. We'll both need some help, but not for committee purposes, which surprised me."
"You mean you'll need help on actual festival day?" his mom said as she poured some water in a glass and handed it to him.
He hung his hat and coat up and accepted the glass with thanks.
"Festival day and the day leading up to it, since we need help setting up our booth and table and putting together a first aid kit and different security cameras. But I think we have everything mapped out. I wasn't expecting to get so much accomplished today."
"That Hannah, she always was a real go-getter."
"So you remember her from years ago when she used to stay here in the summer?"
"I sure do. Her gram was beloved by everyone, and while she waskind of quiet and never really seemed to spend a whole lot of time with friends in town, she was with her grandmother a good bit and was intelligent and well-liked by the adults in our group, if I remember correctly."
"Yeah. I remember her as very studious, and I suppose she was alone a good bit, but to be honest, I don't recall anyone ever going out of their way to invite her to do anything with us. We all went to school together during the year, and she was kind of an outsider."
"That's true. I do think she had more friends at the church she attended, which at the time, we were going to a different church. That helps if you see people in some kind of social situation where you get to know them."
Ben knew his mom was right.
"Where's Mason?" he asked, glancing around and not seeing him in the living room or sitting at the dining room table.
"He finished up his homework and then said he wanted to get to bed early because he didn't want to miss the bus again, since the school counselor, Kate, told him that in order for him to be able to do his work-study program at the medical center, he couldn't afford to be late to school anymore or he would jeopardize it."
Wow. Ben had to admit being rather surprised. It was only ten o'clock, and his son went to bed voluntarily?
Again, he had Hannah to thank for that. Sometimes he wondered if parenting wasn't more stumbling into the right people at the right time who took an interest in their child rather than any particular skill on the parent's part. At least that's how parenting seemed to end up for him. If he hadn't bumbled into Hannah, he would still be fighting with his son over pretty much everything.
"He did say that tomorrow you two were planning on going back down to the river and continuing to clear brush. He seemed to really like that."
"I did too. It was fun to spend time with him." He thought about his schedule. "I'm doing the early shift tomorrow, so we candefinitely plan on it."
"If you'd like, I can make sure we have either a quick supper, or I can pack something up for the two of you to take and eat while you're doing it. It's up to you. I am home tomorrow with no committee obligations."
Ben smiled at his mom. Having people in the house seemed to have brought her back to life. He hadn't realized that she was getting a little bit depressed after his dad died, and maybe the house was just too big and lonely for her. She'd mentioned more than once how much she appreciated having them there.
"If we catch Mason in the morning, we can ask him his preference, but I think we can grab a quick supper and head out after that. Maybe early, right after he gets home from the medical center?"
"Yes. I can make sure it's on the table so that you guys can get out of here in good time." She paused for a moment and then she said, "I know you're an adult, and you might think I'm prying, but I am your mom."
Ben froze in the process of rinsing the glass out and putting it in the sink.
"You're not prying. You can ask whatever you want," he said. He really wasn't trying to hide anything that he knew of anyway.
"Well, Judy Hefner called me just a bit ago and said that she saw you and Hannah chatting on the porch. I know that Hannah is a really nice girl and everything, but she's a doctor. I think she might be a little bit out of our reach."
Wow. His mom was saying that Hannah was too good for him. Her own son.
He supposed her comment should have shocked him, but it really didn't. She had made comments like that all through his childhood and lifetime actually. Maybe he didn't think that she meant that there was anything wrong with him. She was just very aware of feeling less than around people who seemed to have accomplished a lot.
