Page 2 of Something Like Forever
“It’s more than that,” Bensaid. “You told me how important it is that William can be wherehe’s needed. To do what?”
“To save lives,” Jasonsaid with a glum sniff. Then he looked hopeful. “Paramedics savelives too. He just doesn’t get to swim while doing so.”
Ben resisted a smile. “Youalso explained how few rescue swimmers there are. Not everyone cando what William was trained to.”
“No,” Jason saidgrudgingly.
“And what about hisdaughter?” Daisy had been an unexpected surprise, but Jason hadreacted with patience and love. “You want her to have both parentsnear. Oregon will make that possible.”
“Yeah,” Jason said, wipinghis eyes on the back of his wrist. His voice wavered. “What aboutme? When do I get to have my family close again?”
“We’ll be with you,” Bensaid, feeling emotional himself. “That’s one of the best thingsabout family. Nothing can break that bond, no matter how big thedistance between us, or how much time goes by. Ipromise.”
Jason bit his bottom lip,perhaps to stop it trembling, and shook his head as if Ben couldn’tpossibly understand. He was right. Ben didn’t know what it was liketo grow up without parents. Jason had seen his family crumble andfall apart, so of course he questioned Ben’s claim. He needed to dothis though. Jason needed to live for himself and risk thehappiness he had in the hope of gaining even more. Ben had learnedthat lesson and benefited from it. Jason should too.
The only problem was thatBen didn’t actually want him to go. “Maybe you should give this atry,” he said, pulling out his phone again.
Jason moved closer to see,seeming eager for a distraction. “What were you writingabout?”
“All of it.” Ben sat andpatted the sand next to him so Jason would do the same. Then heunlocked the phone and handed it over. “I started shortly after Timand I got back together. I wanted to make sure I was doing theright thing, so I wrote out my thoughts. That meant delving intoour past, and then what happened when we were apart—”
“You’re writing an entirebook on your phone?”
“No!” Ben laughed.“Normally it’s my laptop, but I’m not writing a book. Am I? I don’tknow what I’m doing exactly, but it helps me gain perspective. Whenyou get all the facts down along with your feelings, it’s easier totake a step back and see the whole picture. That might help youtoo. At the very least, it’s cheaper than therapy.”
Jason nodded. “I’ll try,but again, this raises the question of why you feel like you needtherapy on your honeymoon.”
“Oh.” He looked to thewater where Tim spread his arms wide and flopped backwards. Williamreacted with surprising speed, grabbing Tim and pulling him towardthe shore. Only a demonstration of rescue swimmer techniques andnot a real emergency. William got along great with Tim, which wascrucial because he would probably become their son-in-law. Thankgoodness. Not only because Ben liked him, but because William wasjust as physical as Tim. Ben could never keep up with all thejogging and weightlifting and Tim’s need to wear himself out everyday. Only in the bedroom were they evenly matched. The thought madehim smile. Ben was happy. Truly so! He had a new husband, a cozyhome, and a growing family. Strange, then, that he still longed formore. “I’ve got a lot of years ahead of me,” he said, trying toenunciate the yearning inside. “Four decades. Maybe more. What am Isupposed to do with all that time?”
“The same thing you’redoing now,” Jason replied.
He didn’t sound certain,which showed that he was growing up. Jason was right to doubt thestatus quo. Ten years ago, Ben’s life had been completelydifferent. And yet, it had been strangely similar. Ben had justgotten married then and was looking toward the future with brighthopes and unshakable optimism. Maybe he had done some growing uptoo, because Ben no longer assumed that everything would work outokay. Whatever the future held, he would have to be on his guardand strive to ensure things went the way he wanted. But first hehad to figure out exactly what that was. Starting now. His heart’sdesire was for Jason to stay, but it was the job of any good parentto know when to push a baby bird from the nest. Only then would hisson learn to fly.
* * * * *
“Honeymoon! I freakinglove my honeymooooon!”
Tim sang this as hestrutted into the bedroom. His shorts were somewhere else in thesuite (tossed carelessly on the floor, no doubt) and his tank topwas being pulled over his head seductively. That was the intent, atleast. He tripped over the clothes Ben had abandoned on the carpet(okay, so he shouldn’t judge), but Tim managed to recover beforefalling. The shirt came off the rest of the way, mussing the blackhair, and making his doofy expression all that much more endearing.Of course it didn’t hurt that Tim was left wearing only a pair ofmaroon boxer briefs.
Ben watched all of thiswhile sitting up in bed, sheets bundled around his waist and anopen book in his lap. He did his best not to lookimpressed.
“Fun fact,” Tim said,hands gripping the ornate footboard of the bed. “Nookie isguaranteed every night of a honeymoon.”
“Oh really?” Bed said,making sure he didn’t sound convinced.
“Yup! Matter of fact, it’sthe law.”
“It’s definitelynot.”
“Maybe not back in theUnited States,” Tim said, “but here in Mexico, it’s different.Seriously.”
Ben crossed his arms overhis chest. “You’re full of it.”
“I’m not!”
“What’s this lawcalled?”
“Es puro cuento,” Tim said without hesitation.
