Mathematicians and Scientists (Saanvi×Ben)

Chapter 5: The Perks of Work

Ben

I walk out if Saanvi's office and answer my phone. Michaela sounds flustered, and I tell her that I need a place to stay. She tells me to come over, and I pull up at her house about 20 minutes later.

When she opens the door, I notice she has a strange look on her face.

"You okay?" I ask her.

"Not really, you?"

"No...Grace and I are getting a divorce so I was wondering if I could crash here for a bit. And, I seriously don't need to talk. I went and talked to Saanvi since you weren't answering.  What's up with you?"

"Ben.." she starts, "I'm so sorry," she says with a look of sympathy before adding, "  but I never thought Grace was right for you anyways...But Saanvi....."

She gives me that sister look and I can't help but smile and roll my eyes.

"You're ridiculous.  Now is not the time." I say with a small and an annoyed shake of the head. "Now what's going on with you. I sense some stalling."

"Well...I did the actual stupidest thing. I don't know what I was thinking. Lourdes was my best friend a month ago. She was the only one who understood what I was going through. The whole time I was gone she left me nice messages...."

"Michaela, what happened? "

"Jared came over, told me he loved me, and kissed me. I got caught up in the moment and slept with him. It was absolutely stupid, and I feel horrible. I told him he should leave about an hour ago, and I don't know what to do now. "

"Oh...wow Michaela. Well you did the right thing by telling him to leave. That's tough." I state with some shock.

 I take a moment and realize just how much this plane thing has messed up our lives. 

" I hope you guys can work it out without Lourdes getting hurt, " I tell her. 

"Yeah, me too. You should get some sleep. It sound like you've had a tough day."

I agree and head to bed. I can't believe Grace wants a divorce. It's still hard to process. I lay down to go to sleep, and the weight of everything hits me. I breakdown now that I'm alone and cry myself to sleep.

***

When I wake up in the morning, I find Michael in the kitchen making breakfast. 

" Since when do you cook?" I say, trying not to wrinkle my nose at the thought. 

"Uh! Rude! My cooking is fine. "

"We'll see." I say as she places some eggs on my plate. I take a bite and they're not half bad.

"So...?" She questions after I take the first bite. 

"Pretty good." I say.

"Ha!" She remarks with a haughty look. "So, what are you're plans for today? You're welcome to use the apartment as long as you like."

"I need to find a job and then get my own place.  Grace said we'd work out custody of the kids and so I want a place for them to call home when they're with me. "

"Well, there's no rush given that I have a 2 room apartment and one person living here. It's nice to have the company. " 

She looks over at the clock.

 "I better get to work. Have a good day.  "

She walks out and I decide to clean up a bit. If I'm going to live here rent free, I should help out. Just as I finish drying the last dish, my phone rings. I look at the caller ID. It's Grace.

"Hello." I answer.

"Hey, I wanted to let you know that I got a court date for the divorce. It's in a few days. Be at the court at 8:00, and dress nice."

"Will do."

"Is that Dad?" I hear Cal ask.

"Yes, sweet heart."

"I want to talk to him!" He exclaims.

"Hey dad, I miss you a ton..."

We talk for about 15 minutes before Grace decides it's enough. I then realize just how pushy Grace is going to be with the custody situation. I need to get a job and my own apparent before the court date. They can't think I'm some unstable 828er.

***

I scroll through job after job for hours. None of them seem right until I come across a math oriented job at a research facility. It seems that they are looking for someone who has gone through higher level math courses and taken computer courses to help create online models for their research.  As if I wasn't qualified enough, the office job I had last month to try and figure our the SP project gives me extra experience. 

I apply online and after about an hour they reply asking me to come in for an interview.  They send the address and I put it in Google Maps.

I am almost there when I realize this is the area of town where Saanvi works. And, it's not until, I get there that I realize it's the same place she works. I find it ironic and go in for my interview. It'll be nice to have a friend nearby.

The interview flies by. The lady that interviews me has a great sense of humor and we laugh a ton. I manage to sneak in a few nerdy jokes which she finds hilarious.

"Well Ben, you are certainly qualified. I think you'll be a great addition to this facility. Welcome to the team."

"Thank you so much!" I exclaim. "I hope to prove that you won't be disappointed. "

I walk out and decide to stop by Saanvi's office and tell her the good news while I'm here.

She opens the door and invites me in.

"How are you doing? " She asks with concern.

"Better. I've had some time to think and process. Time is really going to be the best solution...but I do have some good news. I got a job!"

"That's great. I'm sure it'll help you keep your mind off things . Doing what?"

" Creating online models for scientific research.  "

"You got a job here!? That's awesome."

"Yep. I'll be here to bug you every single day. There's just no getting rid of me," I say with a laugh.

She laughs too. I stay and talk to her for about 10 minutes before I excuse myself to go look for an apartment.  I should be able to get a small loan for it. 

As I walk to the car,  all I can think about is the kids. I'd miss them awfully bad if I didn't get at least half custody. The kids are my main focus, and I will do whatever it takes to be with them.