Page 127 of Something Like Forever
Ben laughed. He had onlymet Bernard a handful of times, but he walked away from eachencounter reminded that life was pretty damn awesome, no matterwhat it threw at you.
* * * * *
Ben awoke early the nextmorning with the nagging sensation that he had already woken upthat day. To use the restroom? Still unsure, he took in hissurroundings. Currently he was on an inflatable mattress in a homeoffice. At least, the mattress had been inflated when he went tobed. Now it was mostly flat. The office hadn’t begun as one either.Once upon a time this had been Jace’s childhood bedroom. Ben hadinsisted on sleeping there, the notion romantic. This allowedNathaniel to take the guest room, which seemed fair, since therewas so much more of him. Nathaniel’s grandparents lived in town,and he could have stayed with them, but Ben understood why hedeclined to. Being at Jace’s old house was one step closer toVictor and his final resting spot. If the weather was clear today,as the app on his phone had promised, they could finally go there.With their flight leaving in the afternoon, this was their lastopportunity.
Ben stood, his back achingfrom sleeping rough, and was struck by the same sense of déjà vu.He had already gotten up. No, he had sprung from bed, because Jacehad walked into the room, which had looked nothing like it did now.The bed had been on the far wall, a dresser directly across fromit. As for Jace, his hair was long like in those old photos. Benblinked, laughed, and shook his head. A dream. He wished he couldremember more of it, because it must have been a niceone.
You never would have letme get away with that.
He heard the words inJace’s voice but struggled to remember when he might have saidthem.
A promise is apromise.
Again, when had Jace eversaid that to him? The mind was a funny thing, and so were dreams.Ben took a shower, got dressed, and went downstairs for breakfast.By the time he had finished eating, he could barely remember thedream at all. He had seen Jace somewhere. That was all he couldrecall, aside from those two snippets of conversation, whichcontinued to nag him.
“Whatare your plans today?” Serena asked as Ben helped her clear thetable after breakfast. Her hands were shaky, and there was talk ofher and Bob moving to Houston to be closer to Michelle and herfamily. Eventually. Jace’s parents were still doing okay. Bob was alittle rough around the edges and kept falling asleep in his oldrecliner, but he still had the same ornery personality. Serenaseemed plenty capable of taking care of themboth.
“I thought I’d showNathaniel around the neighborhood,” Ben said.
“Thereisn’t much to see.”
“No, but there’s the lake.And the woods.”
Serena nodded herunderstanding. She might not know everything that he did, but sheremembered a time when Victor had camped there.
“Thank you foreverything,” Ben said. “For letting me come here and bringcompany.”
“You’re our son,” Serenasaid, matter-of-factly. “You are always welcome here.”
He smiled his gratitude,eyes lingering for a moment, because he sometimes caught glimpsesof Jace in her and Bob. Ben wondered what Jace would have lookedlike when older. More like his mother probably, elegant in age,since Jace shared the most traits with her.
Nathaniel took longer inthe mornings. He had been too bleary to talk much during breakfastand needed a lot of time to get ready. This worked to theiradvantage. The sun was higher, the rain of the past few daysburning off in the summer heat. They walked down to the laketogether, Ben pausing there and trying to remember the stories Jacehad told him.
“Jace taught Victor how toswim here,” he said. Then he thought about it. “Or fish? I thinkthat’s right. Or maybe they were supposed to be fishing and wentfor a swim instead.” He shrugged apologetically, Nathaniel takingit in stride. Ben led them next into the woods. “I hope I can findthe right place.”
“If you can’t, it’s fine,”Nathaniel said, but his voice had an edge ofdesperation.
Ben was determined not tofail him. If he could have drawn Nathaniel a map, or simply toldhim where to look, he would have. Forcing them to travel togetherwould have been ridiculous if that were possible. This was onlyBen’s third time looking for the spot, and a gap of years separatedeach visit. At the very least, he could make sure Nathanielunderstood the reason they were here.
“Asyou’ve heard, Victor spent a lot of time living off the grid. I’mnot sure there was even a term for it back then. He was in thesewoods when he and Jace hit it off. A lot of their relationship tookplace here. The first kiss, for sure. Other things too. It was animportant spot for them both. After they broke up and just beforeJace left for college, Victor was here every night. I guess thatwas unusual. He liked to move around.”
“Soundslike Jace broke up with him,” Nathaniel said. “Otherwise, hewouldn’t have stuck around.”
“That’sright. I know Jace was touched by the gesture, but he still didn’tfeel like they could be together.”
“Myfather had some unusual ideas about relationships,” Nathanielgrumbled. “If he put Jace through the same things he did my mom,then I’m not surprised.”
“It’sprobably worth remembering how young they all were. You can’texpect teenagers to know how to maintain a healthy relationship.”He thought of Tim. Then he smirked and thought of himself.“Although some people are naturals. I was pretty awesome. Othersneed to break a few hearts before they figure out how notto.”
“I wasthe same as you,” Nathaniel said. “Ready to get married at agefifteen. Still, those heartbreakers get in deep, don’tthey?”
“Yes,” Ben said. “Theycertainly do.”
His foot kicked something.They were on the edge of a clearing, which meant it might be theright spot. Ben squatted, brushed away dry leaves, and saw brokentree branches clustered together. He shifted them until he foundtwo still joined by frazzled twine. Then he stood.
“This is theplace.”
Nathaniel looked around,eyes wide. “Here?”
