I Get A Kick Out of You

Chapter 12

"Now, Ethan, there's something you need to know before we get to the diner," Cassie gently explained. She was driving slowly for the purpose of getting this conversation done before getting to the diner. She would have told him this morning, but her and Joel were in a fight about she was taking him out of school today "to impress Cumberbatch".

Obviously, that wasn't the reason. However, he saw it that way and it got her upset. They fought until she ended it by just walking out the door. He never liked it when she took Ethan out of school for a day of fun. It seemed to irk him even more to know that it was with Ben. She told him that this was her idea, not Ben's, but that didn't make a difference.

"Cillian's parents, Ben and Eleanor, they're...well, they're separating. They're, uh, getting a divorce." She peaked into the rearview mirror to see his reaction. His little mind was taking this all in. She continued, "So, he's probably going to be a little sad today. Ben thought it would be a good idea for you to come along because he knows Cillian can use a friend right now. Don't feel pressured or obligated to say anything to him. I just thought you should know."

She could see him still wrapping his head around this. As a matter of fact, he didn't say anything for the rest of the ride. Cassie asked him if he had questions, but he merely shook his head. She was slightly worried about what he was going to say to Cillian once they got there, but then she remembered...it's Ethan. He's so mature for his age and he always knows what to say.

When they got to the diner and walked in, Cassie could see Ben and Cillian sitting and talking in a booth. Poor Cillian looked miserable. It seemed as if he hadn't gotten any sleep and that he'd been crying. Actually, it was obvious that has been the case.

As Cassie and Ethan got closer to the booth, Ben spotted them and gave a smile. Cillian was surprised to see them—Ben obviously kept it a secret—but he quickly went back to being sad. "Hey, guys," Cassie softly greeted. Cillian didn't say anything, which was understandable, but Ben had him get up so he could get himself out of the booth.

"Thank you for coming," he said, bringing Cassie in for a hug. She hugged him tightly back, then told him, "Of course. Anything for you two." She rubbed his back, then pulled away in time to see Ethan approach Cillian.

He didn't say anything, but did something that surprised both Ben and Cassie. He hugged Cillian. Cillian didn't do anything at first, he actually seemed at a loss of what to do, but eventually wrapped his arms around Ethan. It wasn't much of an effort, but the longer Ethan held on, the tighter Cillian's arms got.

Eventually, Cillian started crying and it only made Ethan hug him tighter. In the background, Cassie had her hand over her heart and tears of joy running down her cheeks. Ben was trying to suppress his own tears.

The boys eventually broke apart from the hug and sat on the same side of the booth together. Ben and Cassie fit themselves into the other side. "How are you doing, sweetie?" Cassie gently asked Cillian. All she got was a small shrug. She gave Ben a sympathetic look.

A few minutes later, the waitress came over to take their orders. Cillian insisted he wasn't hungry, but Ben pleaded him to order something regardless. Thankfully, he ordered a stack of blueberry pancakes.

He and Ethan got to talking about some new video games. Cillian didn't talk too much about it, but it was enough to get Ben to smile. "How did Ethan react to the news?" He quietly asked Cassie. She shrugged, then told him, "I don't know, actually. He didn't say anything. I think he was just trying to process what he could do to make Cillian feel better."

Ben looked at the two boys, then said, "I think he did a fine job with that. I hope he doesn't feel pressured in any way." Cassie smiled when her boy did some lame magic trick she taught him when he was five, making Cillian let out a giggle.