recognize / b.simmons

epilogue

ben nervously wipes his hands on his pants as he scans the restaurant for ken. today, he's meeting with him to get his blessing for marrying amari. if ken wasn't indifferent towards ben, ben wouldn't be waiting here for him bur because he is, he feels it's necessary.

hes known he'd wanted to marry amari for awhile—before she got pregnant. their relationship has moved fast, yes, but they're meant for each other. ben feels something indescribable for her, and seeing her raise their children has proven his feelings. she's the one.

after a few minutes, ken walks into the restaurant and takes off his sunglasses. he spots ben and makes his way over to their table.

ben stands and extends his hand, and this time ken accepts it and then takes his seat. already off to a good start.

"how's the season?" ken asks. it's the middle of the season and the sixers were doing pretty well. if they kept it up, they'd make the playoffs again.

"good. playoffs are definitely in our future," ben chuckles. ken nods thoughtfully and picks up a menu.

"how are the twins?"

ben smiles, missing them already. "they're getting so big—i didn't expect it. and ky looks like amari more and more everyday. they're sleeping more, so that's good," ken nods again, a small smile on his face. his grandchildren were the highlight of his life.

taking a drink of water, ben opens up his menu and his eyes scan the menu. he settles on a steak and then sets his menu down. ken continues to read it over, and ben glances around the restaurant awkwardly.

finally, the waiter comes by the two men order their meals. ben and ken make awkward eye contact as they pass their waiter their menus, and ben quickly looks away and drinks his water.

"so, you and amari ok?" ken asks, folding his hands on top of the table.

"yeah—great actually. that's what i invited you here to talk about, actually," ben says, cracking his fingers. ken leans back in his chair and nods his head, urging ben to go on. "um, ive been wanting to do it for awhile, and the time feels right now. so, i want to ask for your blessing to marry amari." he says. ken looks at him, a blank expression on his face. ben licks his lips anxiously and cracks his knuckles against his leg.

ken strokes his beard, watching ben get more and more anxious the longer he takes to answer. "you want my blessing?"

"yes sir."

ken nods, a small smirk forming on his face. he takes a breath and leans forward. "ben, i don't care if you marry amari. you two are good together. you can marry as long as you don't pull some dumbass shit like last time," he states.

unable to his his excitement, ben nods vigorously and thanks amaris father. step 1: complete.

-

"i know, baby. daddy will be here soon," amari says to kyra as she bounces her in her arms. kyra fusses, and cranes her neck to look for her dad. ben is obviously kyras favorite and he can calm her down just by holding. it's the opposite with amari.

amari grabs the bottle and shakes it before cradling kyra in her arms and putting the bottle in her mouth. amari smiles down at her daughter as she feeds her, and takes a seat in the chair next to adrians crib. he sleeps peacefully even though his sister fusses.

it took awhile, but they finally stopped being hungry at the same time and stopped crying when the other cries. and they sleep through the night more, so both ben and amari get more sleep now.

kyra finishes her bottle and amari sets it down on the changing table. kyra looks up at her and stretches her tiny arm out to reach for amaris hoops, but she doesn't quite reach it. "dont pull on mommy's earring," amari coos, kissing kyra forehead. she smiles a baby smile and it melts amaris heart.