HEAR ME TOO!

PART SEVENTEEN

For what seemed like a long time, Ben held Isabel in his arms and let her cry. He didn't know what exactly happened but he had a feeling it was related to Ken. Worried her knees might give out from standing, he carried her into the house and headed for her bedroom. Setting her gently on her bed, he sat and waited for her to stop crying. After a long time, she finally stopped crying and spoke.
"I'm s-s-sorry."
Pulling a handkerchief from his pocket, he handed it to her. She took it and cleaned up her face.
"What are you sorry for? You've done nothing to me."
"I think I ruined your shirt with all that crying."
"Really Isabel? It's just a shirt please. That's not what's important right now," Ben said, a part of him frustrated that she was thinking about his shirt.
Pulling her knees up, she rested her chin on them and looked at him. Her face was swollen and her eyes red from crying. Ben suddenly felt like something heavy was placed on his chest.
"Who or what made you cry? You sounded fine when we spoke on the phone."
"I ran into Ken today," she said, her gaze shifting to her feet. Ben didn't say anything and just waited for her to continue.
"He said he was sorry for what he did and asked me to give him another chance. Can you believe his guts?!"
Still, Ben kept quiet. He had a feeling she just wanted to rant and he was going to let her finish before making any comment.
"After all he put me through, he has the audacity to show up in front of me to ask for a second chance! That bastard! That horrible, horrible man! I hate him so much!" she said loudly and then reaching for the pillow beside her, she threw it to the wall. With a soft thud, it hit the wall and fell to the floor. Ben looked at her for a few minutes and then asked the first question that came to his mind.
"What was your reply?"
"Of course I told him I wasn't interested and that he should never come to find me again. Although I should have just told him to go fuck himself."
"Isabel, you've spent a year away from him and yet, your wound is still fresh. I think you need to talk to him and get some closure. That way, you won't cry like this anymore," Ben said gently.
"Hold on. Are you saying I should give him a chance?"
"No, I'm saying you should give yourself a chance to heal properly. Talk to him, and end things finally. I think you're this way because you both never actually broke up."
"Is it really important to do that? I honestly don't want to see him."
"I'm not saying you should do it immediately. You can take as long as you need to get ready and when you are, talk to him. End things the way you should have a year ago."
"I just-"
She broke into tears again and Ben moved closer and hugged her, letting her get all her emotions out. After a while, she stopped crying and then gave a short laugh.
"Man! I must look really horrible right now. Can't believe I cried in front of you."
"Isn't that what friends are for? And you don't look THAT horrible," Ben said.
Laughing, she threw another pillow at him.
"Ouch!" He said and then gave her a warm smile.
"Go and freshen up while I get your food ready okay? I think a shower will make you feel much better,"Ben said, standing up.
"I totally forgot about the food! What did you get?"
"You asked me to surprise you and that's exactly what I want to do. So take a shower, come to the dining and you'll see what it is."
"Okay."
She watched him make his way to the door.
"Ben," she called and he turned to face her.
"Yes? Do you need anything?" He asked.
"No. I just want to say thank you for today. Thank you for being here."
"You're welcome Isabel," he said and then walked out of the room.
*****
Ben walked out of Isabel's house later that evening and made his way to his car. After she had eaten the roasted yam and garnished palm oil he had bought her, he had suggested they watch something to take her mind off things. She had slept off on his shoulder while the movie was going on, just as he expected. After all the stress she had been through, it was only natural for her to sleep. Carrying her to her room for the second time that day, Ben tucked her in and not wanting to leave her alone, he waited in the sitting room for Winnie to get home before leaving.
When Winnie got home, he had explained everything that happened and she thanked him for taking care of Isabel.
At the moment, he wanted nothing more than to go home, take a hot bath and just rest. He definitely wasn't going to get any work done tonight but it didn't matter because he didn't have much to do anyway.
When he drove into his compound, he found his mum sitting in front of the house. When she saw him, her face lit up and she stood up.
"Mum, what are you doing here?"
"I came to see my son of course," Viv replied.
"Oh I know that. Why are you outside? You should have gone inside to wait, you have the keys," Ben said.
"You know I don't like intruding. I was going to go in if you didn't come home soon," Viv replied then gave him a hug.
"You're not an intruder mum, you know you're always welcome here," Ben replied, hugging her back. Ben unlocked the door and they went inside.
"I've missed you. You haven't come to visit in weeks so I was worried," Viv said, heading to the dining room to unpack the bag she brought with her.
"Sorry mum, I've been busy with work," he replied.
"And a new lady friend as I heard," she said, a sly smile on her face as she looked back at him.
"I am going to kill Uche," Ben muttered but it was loud enough for his mother to hear it.
"Don't blame him. I wanted to know what was going on in my son's life, so I threatened him."
"With what?" Ben asked in wonder.
"I can't tell you that son. Now, tell me about this new friend of yours."
"She's just a friend mum, I met her in Malibu a year ago. She's a doctor and she's really nice."
"She sounds like a nice girl. Do you like her?"
"I like her as a friend. Now please, can we change the subject?"
"Alright. I brought you some food, even with all your father's protests. Go wash your hands so you can eat. You look like you could use some food."
"Oh thanks mum, that's really nice of you. Can I eat it later though? I'm really tired."
"Oh sure. But it's your favorite though, Ukwa(breadfruit)," she said and started packing up the food to put in the refrigerator.
"Wait! Are you serious? I haven't had Ukwa in a long time. I'll eat it now, don't pack it," Ben said, rushing to the sink near the dining to wash his hands.
"I thought you said you were too tired to eat?" Viv said, laughing.
"I changed my mind, I can't pass up a chance to eat Ukwa," Ben replied excitedly.
"I also brought extra so you can warm it up anytime you feel like. Your father was pouting while I was packing it. You know it's his favorite food too."
"You're a blessing mother, what would I do without you?"
"I'm sure you know that the answer to that question is nothing,"Viv said, putting some of the food in a plate and setting it in front of Ben. Heading to the dispenser, she poured him a glass of cold water and kept it beside his plate of food.
"Thank you Mum, I love you."
"I love you too," Viv replied.
Leaning back, she watched him eat, a smile of satisfaction on her face.