First Class Stamp (15 page)

“Perfect!” he grinned.

“Alan, have a seat and I’ll see Maria out.” Ben walked to
the door with her and whispered softly. “He is one of the most decent men I
know. I would not send you to the wolves,” he smiled. “I’ll come by after work
and get Luca. Text me when I should bring him home.”

“Ten o’clock,” she said firmly. “It will be a good thing to
have a time limit.”

“Okay,” he chuckled. “Ten it is.”

As Maria walked down the hall, she turned and yelled back.
“Ben! I forgot to give you this.” She pulled a folded up piece of paper from
her pocket. “Luca drew it for you and forgot to give it to you on Saturday
night. He wanted me to give it to you today.”

Ben met her half way and took the paper from her and
unfolded it. “Is this us?”

Maria nodded. “Yep the three of us.”

“He really is a talented boy. You should think about getting
him into some art classes.”

Maria agreed and hurried down the hall and out past the
reception desk. She didn’t notice the woman standing there holding a plate of
what smelled like cinnamon rolls.

With Alex off to school, Gloria getting stronger every day
and Aldo happily sitting behind the counter of the store, Sophia found herself
with a couple of hours to kill. Still feeling deliriously happy after spending
time with Ben over the weekend, she pulled flour and yeast from the cupboard
and began a batch of cinnamon rolls…with raisins. Ben had devoured the plate
she’d brought him so it seemed like a good thing to make. Mixing and rising and
rolling and cutting and two and a half hours later she was slathering the thick
cream cheese frosting over the warm rolls fresh from the oven. They smelled
divine and once the pan cooled enough to handle, she would hand-deliver them to
Ben.

In truth, she’d been frantically trying to come up with a
reason to see him again. When they’d parted the evening before, he’d kissed her
tenderly on the cheek and gone home. She desperately wanted more but it was not
to be. She didn’t want to sit around waiting for him to call. She hated the way
some of her friends pined for men to call or text or email. No…she could make
the next move…and she would.

She changed from her flour-dusted pajamas into clean jeans
and a white button-up shirt that she left open at the neck, showing just a
little skin. She slipped on a lightweight pale blue cardigan and some Keds and
took the now
warm
pan and headed downstairs. She kissed her dad on the
cheek and hurried through the front door and out into the glorious sun for the
four block walk.

Sophia hadn’t been gone for more than a few minutes when
Gloria gingerly descended the stairs and joined her husband in the store. Even
though she wasn’t ready to be lifting heavy boxes, she missed being with Aldo
and so they sat together at the counter, helping the customers as they came in
and out. They didn’t notice the elderly woman enter the store and march
straight to them until she placed her leather handbag on the glass counter and
smiled.

“Hello. You must be Aldo and Gloria. It’s lovely to meet
you.” She extended her hand which Aldo hesitantly took and tilted his head.

“And you are?”

“Oh my,” she chuckled. “I’m Maureen Lathem…Ben’s mother.”

“Hello!” beamed Gloria as she stood and took Maureen’s hand
in her own. “It is lovely to meet you.”

Aldo looked confused but didn’t have time to comment as the
delivery driver from the beer company entered the store and needed his
attention. He excused himself leaving the two women to talk.

“I met Sophia yesterday and I have to say I thought her to
be a lovely girl, simply lovely,” Maureen gushed.

“Oh thank you,” Gloria graciously replied. “Your Ben is just
a wonderful young man too.”

“He is, isn’t he?” Maureen smiled. “So how do we get these
kids together?”

*****

Arriving unannounced wasn’t the smartest idea but she
assumed if Ben was available he’d see her. There were three women that sat
behind desks in the executive office reception area, the middle one taking her
name and then informing her that Ben was currently in a meeting. That’s when
Sophia heard the conversation down the hall.

“Ben! I forgot to give you this.” It was a woman’s voice
with an accent.

Spanish maybe? Or Italian?
No…not Italian.

“Luca drew it for you and forgot to give it to you on
Saturday night. He wanted me to give it to you today.”

Saturday night? He said he had a previous engagement.
With her?

“Is this us?” That was Ben’s voice.

“Yep the three of us.”

The three of them?

“He really is a talented boy. You should think about getting
him into some art classes.”

Then a gorgeous looking woman breezed past her and out of
the office. Sophia didn’t know what to do.
Do I continue to stand here or
should I leave? Who was that woman and who is Luca?
In the end, she
remained where she stood.

*****

With their business completed, Alan stood and shook Ben’s
hand. Ben walked him to the door and down the short hall.

“Thanks for helping out tonight,” Alan said, a gleam in his
eye.

“No problem!” Ben slapped him on the back. “Glad to do it.”

As they entered the lobby, Ben was surprised to see Sophia.
With a genuine smile plastered across his face he hurried across the thick
carpet and kissed her on the cheek. He thought he sensed her flinch.

“We had some leftovers this morning from breakfast and I
remembered you like them so…here.” She shoved the pan into his empty hands and
turned to leave.

“Sophia, wait!” Ben pleaded. “Come in to office and stay for
a bit.” He turned to Emily and said, “I have some time, right?”

“I can’t. I have to get back to mom. I can’t be gone for
very long.” She was still walking to the door.

Ben handed Alan the pan of cinnamon rolls and darted across
the room as she walked down the hallway to the elevators.

“Well, can I see you later then? I was going to call you
today.”

Sophia knew she shouldn’t feel this overwhelming desire to
punch that woman she’d just seen but she did. And now she couldn’t even look up
at Ben. “I’m sure you’re very busy,” she managed to mutter as the shiny doors
opened in front of her. “Enjoy the rolls,” and she stepped inside and the doors
closed behind her, leaving Ben to wonder what was going on.

When Sophia returned to the store, she took the back
entrance to avoid her parents. She changed back into her pajamas and began to
make gnocchi. Cooking would be an excellent way to keep her mind of Ben. And
eating would also keep her mind off him. What to do with the other ten hours of
the day she had no idea.

*****

That evening Alex sat in the window seat of the living room
complaining that he was bored. According to him, he didn’t have any homework
and Sophia had dinner ready before six so they’d eaten already too. She
couldn’t take the whining for another two hours.

“Read a book!” she said, exasperation in her voice.

“There’s Ben!” Alex noted, looking down to the street.
“Who’s that?”

“Who’s who?” she replied absent-mindedly.

“He has a boy with him.”

Sophia left the dishes in the sink and walked to stand
behind Alex. Sure enough there was a boy with him, probably not much younger than
Alex. “Don’t know,” she muttered and hurried back to the kitchen.

Later that night, after Alex was sound asleep and she was in
her bed tossing and turning, she wondered who in fact that boy was. And who the
woman was earlier in his office. She had no claim on Ben. In fact, she’d told
him she wasn’t looking for anything serious. But, was he dating someone else? Was
it serious? Was she nothing more than a convenience? Why did it bother her so
much? She knew the answer to that question but wasn’t ready to admit it, even
to herself.

After avoiding Ben for almost a week, the questions still
bounced through her head all day long…and all night long. It made for a very
unrestful sleep each night and each morning she found herself to be a little
bit more irritable than the day before. On Friday night when Willis called to
cancel his weekend with Alex…again!...Sophia had had enough and stormed down to
the store and straight to the chocolate aisle.

Gloria watched her daughter with curiosity. She’d noted her
mood deteriorating quickly throughout the week and when she’d called Maureen to
ask if there was anything new on Ben’s end, the women had hatched a plan to put
the two in the same place at the same time. Gloria was certain it was now time
to put operation “Last Man Standing” on green, or go, status. The name had been
Maureen’s idea, as she’d said Ben was her last unmarried child and she wanted
to see that remedied…quickly. Ben was now closer to forty than thirty and
Maureen had said that he was completely clueless as to what he really wanted.
She knew better and would do anything to help him come to the realization that
mothers
always
knew best. Gloria knew that with
two
mothers
working together for the common good, neither of their children stood a
fighting chance.

With an armload of Cadbury’s and Lindt chocolates, Sophia
stomped back out of the store and up the stairs to shut herself in her
apartment with her comfort food. Gloria called Maureen.

Ben Lathem was a man who was used to getting what he wanted.
Not by force but by the art of negotiation. He’d learnt from his brother, Matt,
and had learned well. But in the situation he suddenly found himself in, his
skill was not coming into play, because in order to negotiate, he had to have a
conversation and he hadn’t seen Sophia since she’d left his office five days
ago.

He’d stopped by the store and returned her empty pan and he’d
called her, but to no avail. After what he thought was a fabulous weekend,
she’d all but blown him off. And it baffled him to the point of almost insanity.
He replayed their date over and over again, always ending in arousal as he
remembered their love making. He recalled every moment from their picnic in the
park with his family and could find nothing amiss. He’d called Lindsey to see
how their lunch had gone and all she could say was how wonderfully well they
got on and had planned on seeing each other again soon. When his mother had
called to ask him if he’d like to invite his “new friends” to Sunday dinner,
he’d sighed and said he wasn’t sure they
were
friends anymore. Maureen
laughed and said it sounded like middle school. Ben, however, didn’t find the
situation amusing…not at all!

By Saturday morning he had no idea what he could’ve done
differently. On a positive note, however, Maria had gone to dinner with Alan
again and he could see that they were clearly smitten with each other. At least
somebody
was happy.

Ben entered the gym at MEL Holdings and started on the
treadmill, as usual. He warmed his muscles with a slow jog and then gradually
upped his pace until he was running a seven minute mile. His feet pounded in
rhythm with his heart and his mp3 player blasted Nirvana into his ears trying
to drown out the thoughts of Sophia. It wasn’t really working. After an hour he
slowed the machine to a slow jog once again and then stopped and sat on the end
of the belt and wiped his face with the towel that he’d slung over the hand
rails.

With his face buried in his towel, he tried, for the
umpteenth time, to recollect any signs of her unhappiness or dissatisfaction
with him. He came up with nothing. Heading for the showers he decided that she
must not be interested…a thought that didn’t sit well, especially now that he
realized he was in love with her.

*****

Maureen sat at her vanity in the bathroom and stared at the
counter as Peter shaved. Mass began in just a little while and at the rate she
was going, Maureen wasn’t going to make it. Peter finally gave in and asked her
what was wrong.

“Ben and Sophia are no longer seeing each other and Gloria
and I don’t understand why. They’re perfect for each other!”

“You and Gloria?” he asked, turning to look at his wife
still in her robe. “When have you talked to Gloria?”

“Oh I stopped by their store on Monday and we’ve had several
telephone conversations since.”

“You just popped on over all the way down there?”

“Well, yes. I mean, I took a cab.”

“For the sole purpose of meeting Sophia’s parents?”

Maureen didn’t answer.

“Stay out of it,” Peter warned. But he knew she wouldn’t and
somehow the thought made him smile.

*****

All the family was there taking up two pews in St. Luke’s.
Ben sat next to David and Lindsey and fidgeted all the way through the service.
Maureen kept looking down the row at her son and questioned whether or not
she’d done the right thing by inviting all of the Mannings over for Sunday
dinner. She hadn’t told Ben and was curious how Gloria was going to get Sophia
to come.

Luckily, Gloria was as devious as her new counterpart when
it came to her daughter. She had seen the sparkle in her eyes when she’d been
involved with Ben, even if it was for only a few days. And she’d been witness
to her pouting for almost a week now and knew it was because she hadn’t seen
him. Gloria had complete faith that Ben hadn’t screwed up. She was sure it was
just some silly misunderstanding and if she and Maureen could facilitate
getting them into the same room then the two women were sure it could all be
smoothed over and Maureen could have her last son happily married off and
Gloria would snag the ideal son-in-law, not to mention a wonderful step-dad for
Alex.

The plan was perfect. Aldo had started giving more shifts to
his two part-time employees and he’d decided to no longer work on Sundays,
giving Gloria the opening she needed to tell the family that they’d all been
invited to spend the afternoon with some new friends, without dropping any
names. As expected, Sophia and Alex grumbled. Even Aldo wasn’t overly excited
about the idea but didn’t express anything but support for his wife. He was
thrilled she was wanting to venture out more.

“You were specifically invited,” Gloria chastised her
daughter. “You will come and be gracious about it.”

So at straight-up noon, they hailed a cab and all rode to
the Upper East Side to the Lathem’s.

*****

Janie stood at the dining table in her mother-in-law’s home
with her hands on her hips and a confused expression on her face. Matt came and
stood behind her, slipping his arms around her waist and pulling her backwards
until her full length was flush with his body. He nuzzled her neck and unconsciously,
Janie tilted her head allowing him access to all her husband desired.

“Why are there extra places set?” she asked.

Matt didn’t look up, just continued to kiss and nip and suck
on her silky skin. When she asked again, he breathed into her neck, “I don’t
know. How long do we have to stay?”

Janie chuckled and twisted in his arms so that she was
facing him. She smiled at him and looked over his shoulder into the family room
where Ella and Christopher were on the floor with their cousins Isabelle and
Gregory and lots of adult supervision.

“Dinner is in fifteen minutes,” Janie winked. “Guest
bathroom on the third floor?”

Matt didn’t answer but grabbed her hand and yanked her
towards the stairs. They didn’t see Ben watch them leave.

Ben, sitting in an arm chair in front of the fire place,
wasn’t watching the football game that was muted on the television. Nor was he
playing with his nieces and nephews as most of the adults were. He was just
sitting, trying to figure out how he’d gone from successful, confident business
man to love-sick, hormonal, disappointed teenage boy in less than a week. It
was humiliating to him that he had allowed a woman to affect him like that. The
more he thought about, the more he stewed, the angrier he got.

There was a commotion in the room, as all the adults got to
their feet, blocking Ben’s view of what was happening and then introductions
were being made and Ben wondered what the hell was going on. He stood and moved
to the right a couple of steps and saw the long silky black hair and his
stomach rolled and his gasp was audible as Sophia turned and her profile came
into view.

Maureen was making the introductions and was baffled as to where
Matt and Janie had gone. Christopher ran to Alex and hugged his leg and all the
adults sighed at the same time. Alex kneeled down and hugged the little boy and
Gloria caught Maureen’s eye and they both nodded and smiled. It was a go!

*****

As Sophia’s heels clicked down the stairs of the Lathem
home, she wanted to turn and run in the opposite direction. How could her
mother have ambushed her like this? And since when did her mother know the
Lathems? But the questions didn’t matter now as she smiled and greeted the
people in front of her. She genuinely liked them all. It was just Ben she
didn’t particularly want to see. But just as that very thought entered her
mind, out of the corner of her eye she could see him standing there…to her
left…not moving. She daren’t look at him so she hugged Lindsey who’d shoved her
way to her and chatted about how the soon-to-be-mom was feeling.

Maureen invited everyone to step into the dining room as
dinner was ready and still Ben hung back. Christopher insisted he sit by Alex,
which nobody objected to and Alex helped him up onto the chair.

“Where is Matt and Janie?” Maureen asked as they were all
seated.

Ben made a noise through his nose and all eyes swung to him.
“Um,” he frowned. “I’m sure they’ll be down in a minute.”

Mark chuckled and Tim stifled his laugh and Maureen looked
confused but before she could question her sons’ reactions Matt and Janie ran
into the dining room and took a seat.

“Are you alright dear?” Maureen asked Janie. “You’re all
flushed.”

Katy laughed and winked at her best friend and Janie turned
redder…if that was possible.

“I’m fine,” Janie mumbled.

“Yes she is,” Matt added.

Peter, understanding exactly what was going on, announced it
was time to say grace, saving Janie from further embarrassment.

Sophia and Ben sat on opposite sides of the table. She was
in deep conversation with Katy who sat on her left, looking away from Ben.
Every now and then, Ben would find himself staring at her; at her silky black
hair, her dark eyes and full pink lips. He couldn’t hear their conversation,
but in his mind he heard her seductive voice and her laugh. Oh how he loved her
laugh. His eyes would travel lower to her shoulders and he wondered if the mark
he’d left on her was still there. It was an immature thing to do but he felt
the need to claim her somehow…as his. He’d always thought of himself as a
champion of the feminist movement. He made sure that women and men were
compensated equally in their company and their executive team was made up of
many women, at times even outnumbering the men.

Yet the most Neanderthal need to claim this woman had surfaced
and he couldn’t release himself from its firm grasp. His father’s words popped
into his head.
My heart literally skipped a beat. My palms got all sweaty
and I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She had the most beautiful eyes I’d ever
seen.
Ben felt his palms. They were clammy. His heart was beating an anthem
in his chest and his eyes were drawn to her…he could no longer look away.
Until
you meet that woman who actually makes your heart stop, you shouldn’t get
married. Wait for her. You deserve that and she deserves that.

“Dammit!”

“What’s wrong Ben?” Maureen asked. All eyes swung to
him…even Sophia’s.

Shit! Did I say that out loud?
“Dad was right,” he
muttered.

“Speak up, Ben,” Maureen scolded. “Nobody can hear you.”

“Dad was right.”

“I was?” Peter exclaimed. “Well I’ll be damned!”

“Language, Peter!” Maureen chided.

“About what, Ben? What was Dad right about?” Matt asked, a
knowing look in his eye.

“Yes, Matt,” Ben smirked. “You were right too.”

Matt chuckled but didn’t say anything more. Gloria and Aldo
were completely confused. But everyone went back to eating…in mostly silence.

As the dessert was devoured, Ben decided to wait no longer.
He stood, asked Gloria if she and Aldo could please take Alex home, to which
they readily agreed, and then he stomped around to the other side of the table
and offered Sophia his hand. Her face expressed surprise and confusion, but she
gave him her hand and stood.

“Thank you mom for a wonderful meal as always.” And with
that he dragged Sophia out of the dining room, through the family room, out of
the door, up the steps and onto the sidewalk.