The Tenth Justice - Brad Meltzer [79]
“Maybe we should call it a night.” Ben looked at his watch. “It’s close to midnight.”
“That’s a good idea,” Ben’s mother said, stacking the photo albums in a neat pile. “What do you two have planned for tomorrow?”
“I think we’re going to spend the day in the city. Lisa’s never been to Boston. And we’re supposed to go over to Nathan’s house for dinner.”
“That’s right,” his mother said, getting up from her seat by the kitchen table. “Joan told me that. Just make sure we see you for at least a few hours.”
“We will, Mom. Don’t worry.”
“Nice to meet you both,” Lisa said as she and Ben left the kitchen.
Neither Ben nor Lisa said a word until they reached the second floor. “I’m sorry about bringing up your brother,” Lisa finally said as they entered the guest room.
“It’s okay,” Ben said warmly. “It’s been a while, so we can handle it.”
“It must’ve been a painful loss.”
Sitting on the white Formica desk in the corner of the room, Ben explained, “It was really terrible. He was diagnosed with childhood diabetes when he was ten. And that just led to complications when the leukemia came. He was a medical mess.”
“How old were you when he died?”
“Fourteen,” Ben said, propping his feet up on the chair below the desk. “It was the worst time in my life. I couldn’t sleep for months—I had to start speaking to one of my dad’s friends who was a family psychologist. My mother was a wreck. In fact, if it wasn’t for my father, we’d probably all be in the nuthouse at this point. He really kept it together then.”
“Your parents are great,” Lisa said, sitting on the bed.
“They definitely are,” Ben admitted.
“I’m just surprised you turned out as well as you did,” Lisa added. “I mean, lassoing Earth’s favorite satellite—that can make you a little nuts.”
“Ho-ho. You’re a riot.”
Lisa kicked off her sneakers. “So tell me what happened with you and Eric on the plane. He didn’t say a word the whole way here.”
“Nothing. I told him off. I don’t want to have to deal with his crap anymore.”
“Good,” Lisa said. “I was worried you were going to actually forgive him over time.”
“No way,” Ben said. “I love my friends. I’d do anything for any of them. I’d do anything for you. But life is too short to waste your time on assholes.”
“I don’t even think it’s about being an asshole. I think his actions were a violation of your trust. As far as I’m concerned, that’s the single worst thing you can do to a friend.”
“Listen, you don’t have to tell me. Between Rick and Eric, trust has been the Problem Virtue of the Year.”
At noon the next day, Ben came down to the kitchen, where he saw Lisa and his mother talking. “Well, well, look who finally decided to join us,” Ben’s mother said as she cut vegetables for the following night’s Thanksgiving dinner. Not fooled by Ben’s recent shower and his close shave, she could see the still-tired look in her son’s eyes. “What time were you two up until last night?”
“Probably around four,” Lisa said.
Ben’s mother dropped her knife on the cutting board and stared.
“Mom, calm yourself,” Ben said, rolling his eyes. “We were just talking. Is that okay?”
“It’s none of my business,” his mother said. “I didn’t say a word.”
“You didn’t need to.” Turning to Lisa, he said, “How are you so awake?”
“I can’t sleep late,” Lisa explained. “I’ve been up since seven.”
In mid-yawn, Ben stretched toward the ceiling. “You’re crazy. Sleeping is the source of life.”
Suddenly, the telephone rang. “Hello?” Ben’s mother said, turning away from her vegetable slicing. Pausing for a moment, she responded, “Yes, he’s right here. Hold on one second.” She turned to Ben. “It’s for you. It’s someone named Rick.”
The color drained from Ben’s face. Surprised at her son’s reaction, Ben’s mother handed him the phone. Ben stretched the phone cord so that he was almost standing in the other room. “Hello?”
“Hey, Ben,” Rick said. “How’s everything at home?”
Pulling the cord even farther, Ben moved into the dining room. “What do you want?”
“Nothing,” Rick said. “I just wanted to make sure everything was okay there.