Chapter Forty-Six

Climbing into the car to go back to the hotel, Stephanie was sandwiched between Richie and David.  And the question she had been anticipating and dreading all night finally came.

“So Stephanie” David started, “tell me, who are this Mark and Ben you keep mentioning?”

Richie felt her stiffen against him slightly.  He whispered in her ear, “breathe sweetheart, take it slow.”  He knew it would be difficult for her to talk about them, but the question was out there so she needed to answer it.  He couldn’t and wouldn’t do it for her.

“Mark was my husband.  Ben was our son.”  She spoke quietly and quickly, not offering any details.

David immediately jumped to the wrong conclusion and his gaze shot to his friend’s over Stephanie’s head.  “You’re dating a married woman?  What the hell is wrong with you man?”

Stephanie laid a hand on David’s arm.  “They’re dead David.  They’ve been gone for two years now.”

David’s eyes widened in surprise and he looked over at Richie once more.  “I take back the angry outburst and reserve the right to use it at a later time.”  No sense wasting a good irate outburst.  He was sure to have ample opportunity to use it.  He turned his attention back to the woman on his left.  “I’m sorry, honey.  I didn’t realize.  The big galoot over there hasn’t told us anything about you.  We didn’t even know there was a ‘you’ until tonight.”

Jon cleared his throat and interjected himself into the conversation.  “I knew.  I met her last month.”

David looked from Jon to Rich.  “I knew I should have come to California for that stupid party.”  He looked down at Stephanie, “I miss all the fun.”

Stephanie shook her head at the absurdity of it all.  “Right” she said drawing the word out to about three syllables.  “I don’t believe that for a second.”

Richie leaned in close, “and you shouldn’t.  He’s the biggest liar of the bunch.”

David feigned indignation, “hey, while I may resemble that remark, you’re no Iggy Innocent yourself.  You’ve told your fair share of whoppers over the years my friend.”  

Richie shook his head, “yeah, well, at least I learned when to stop. You, you’re like the damned energizer bunny.  You just keep going and going and going.”

Jon took pity on her being stuck between the two in the band that just didn’t know when to give it a rest.  He patted the seat next to him.  “You wanna come sit over here with us?”

Grateful for the gesture, Stephanie slipped from between David and Riche to sit between Tico and Jon.  “Thanks.”

Tico patted her knee.  “They can be overwhelming to say the least.”

“So I see.”

Jon turned toward her, “since the squabble sisters over there can’t seem to shut up, do you have any pictures of this hot car you drive?”

Stephanie smiled, at ease for the first time that night.  “Sure.”  She dug her phone out and scrolled to her pictures.  “Here.”  She handed him the phone and waited for the reaction.

His low whistle told her he was impressed.  “She’s a beaut.  And you and Mark restored her yourselves?”

She nodded.  “Well, except for putting the engine in.  We had to have a mechanic do that.  We didn’t have the tools for that kind of job.”

He nodded in understanding.  He finished going through the car pictures and was about to hand her back her phone when another picture caught his eye.  “Is this Mark and Ben?”  He touched the screen with his finger and the picture increased in size.  It was a picture of a man and a boy.  The man was sitting on a staircase, the boy behind him leaning over his shoulder.  Both wore happy smiles for the camera.

Stephanie took the phone and stared down at the picture.  “Yes, that’s them.”  It was one of her favorite pictures of them.  She had snapped it herself one day after walking in the door from work.   Mark had beaten her home by a few minutes and he had sat down on the stairs to take his boots off and Ben had come down the stairs and hugged him from behind.  It was one of those moments that she just happened on at exactly the right time.

Lifting her head she looked around.  David and Richie had gone quiet and Tico and Jon wore expectant expressions.  But what they were waiting for-and she knew damn well what they were waiting for- she wasn’t sure she could or even wanted to give them.  She could say that Mark and Ben were dead without breaking down, but talking about the details of who they were and what they meant to her, it was still too hard.  She didn’t want to feel the pain and aching sadness tonight. 

Sensing her discomfort, Richie reached across the space between them and took her hand.  She didn’t have to tell them anything more than what she already had.  He knew the story and it wasn’t anyone else’s business but theirs.  If she wanted to share more, he’d hold her hand be her rock while she did.  But he could also give her an out.  Which he did.

“So sweetheart, you never did tell me, where are your seats for tomorrow and Monday?”

She glanced from their hands to his face, finding only sympathy and understanding there.  He was such a good man.  She gave him a quiet smile of relief and thanks.  “Actually, I’ll be looking at all your asses tomorrow night.  The only tickets left were either up in the rafters or behind the stage.”

Richie made a mental note to look to the back of the stage more than he usually did.  “What about Monday?” 

Her smile grew to a grin and she wiggled in her seat.  She was still in excited disbelief about the ticket she had for Monday night.  “I’ll be in the front row.  First time since 1989.”

Jon groaned. “You remember all the embarrassing shit, don’t you?”

Stephanie laughed, “if you mean the cousin it hair and the lovely spandex you favored, then yeah, I do.”

“Stephanie, honey” David spoke up.  “Why didn’t you just ask Rich here for tickets?  He could have gotten you a better seat for tomorrow night, anyway.”

She turned her witchy green eyes on him.  “I can afford to pay for my own tickets, thank you very much.  Besides,” she turned her eyes back to Richie.  “I wanted to surprise him with my visit.  It wouldn’t have been much of a surprise if I had asked, now would it?”  She never would have in any case.  She had her own money and she would never take advantage of Richie like that.  If there hadn’t been any tickets available, she would have kept checking their schedule until she found a show that had seats left. 

David shook his head and the car stopped in front of the hotel before he could say anything more.