What They Left Behind

Ben didn’t feel any different now that he was married, nor did he live differently. He still had his apartment and she had hers. The only thing that changed dramatically about their relationship was that every other night they slept together. Ben wasn’t sure about Val’s feelings for him. Sometimes it seemed she was falling in love with him, but other times it felt like she only wanted him for sex and working at the restaurant. He wasn’t certain about his own feelings either, but he had to admit she was a nice package and he was fond of her.

  The success of the restaurant seemed to skyrocket once they were married. Many well-known people from the city stopped by frequently. They racked up about a dozen reviews in newspapers and magazines, all of them excellent.

  They had just installed a bar about a week ago. Ben was sitting at the end of it, drinking a beer and eating his lunch. He saw her out of the corner of his eye and had to look at her straight on. She was wearing a tan overcoat with suede boots. He didn’t think it was possible but she looked more beautiful than ever. She was with her parents and Johnny was nowhere in sight. She was in the process of taking off her coat and hanging it up when she noticed him. He quickly looked away and continued eating his lunch. When he glanced back a few seconds later, she was gone.

  When he returned to the kitchen, he knew one of the orders might be for her, so he took care not to make any mistakes. He was in the middle of throwing some freshly chopped asparagus into a steamer when someone tapped him on the shoulder.

  “Hey, can’t you see I’m busy here?” he said tersely, assuming it was one of the employees.

  “Sorry, but I couldn’t find any other way to talk to you,” Charlene said.

  Ben instantly stiffened.

  “What is there to talk about? Your father told me that I’m not good enough for you. You went off and married Johnny. Now you’re living the proper upper middle class life. What else is there to say?”

  “Is there a place where we can talk alone?” Charlene asked. “I really need to speak to you.”

  “Okay,” Ben said. “I’ll have one of the other guys take over this and we’ll go into the office.”

  Ben led her into the office, which was down a narrow hallway off the kitchen. He locked the door behind them.

  “What do you want to talk to me about?” he asked, not looking at her.

  “Well…I was worried about you. It seemed like you disappeared off the face of the earth. I wanted to talk to you sooner but I was afraid because my parents said you were mad at me and you didn’t want anything to do with me anymore.”

  “They’re rotten people,” Ben replied. “They ruined my life.”

  “They ruined my life too,” Charlene said. “I know they had my best interest at heart, but…it wasn’t what I wanted.”

  They didn’t say anything to each other for a long while.

  “I missed you,” Charlene said.

  Ben looked up at her. “I missed you too.”

  “I have to get going,” Charlene replied. “I told them I went to the ladies’ room and I don’t want them to get suspicious.”

  “All right,” Ben said. He unlocked the door and opened it.

  She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

  “I’ll try to come back alone,” she said. “I’ve got something I have to show you.”

  “Okay,” Ben replied, not having any idea what it was. “I’m here practically every day, so you can’t miss me.”

  Chapter 35: October 11