Chapter 19
Saturday morning as Amy finished breakfast, she received a text from Paige.
Please don’t leave Ben alone today.
Amy frowned as she reread the text. Paige, like everybody else, was worried about Ben.
Amy stopped by the repair shop yesterday to make a payment on her car repair, hoping to discern how Ben was doing. But he wasn’t there. Scott informed her Ben hadn’t been in since Wednesday. Had Kallie calling him ‘Daddy’, and their subsequent discussion, upset him? Or was the knowledge that his wife and daughter had been gone a whole year too much for him to bear?
Spotting his truck in the back-parking lot, she’d knocked multiple times on his apartment door but got no answer.
She responded to Paige’s text:What am I supposed to do?
Just be there for him.
He hasn’t come out of his apartment for days. I doubt he’d let me in.
Make him let you in. Get a key if you need to.
I don’t think I can do that. You should ask Robert or Jake.
No, he’d tell them to take a hike, but he wouldn’t say that to you.
I wouldn’t be so sure.
I don’t want him to be alone and I can’t be there. Please, promise me you’ll try.
Amy chewed on her bottom lip. She wasn’t sure she could do this. Talking with Ben about his wife and daughter always made her uneasy. She never knew what to say, or her words always came out wrong. What could she possibly do or say to make today more bearable for him?
She’d never lost someone close to her, and she didn’t know anyone who had except for Lucy, one of the waitresses at the restaurant. She’d sat with her during a slow time and listened to the waitress talk about her dad. Before they returned to work, Lucy hugged her and thanked her for listening, saying it helped to talk about her dad and remember the good things.
Surely, Ben’s family had provided plenty of opportunities for him to talk over the past year. Had he taken any of them? If he hadn’t talked to them, how could she expect him to talk to her?
Amy became so lost in her own thoughts she forgot Paige waited for a response.
Amy? Are you there?
I don’t know if I can do what you’re asking.
Please, I need you to do this. Tell him I put you up to it. That he needs to exercise his muscle.
???
He’ll know what I mean.
Amy let out a long sigh.
Okay, I’ll try, but I doubt he’ll even talk to me.
Thank you! You can do it! Be yourself!
That’s what worried her. She wasn’t good at these things. Certain she would end up stammering and stumbling over herself, she figured she’d better swallow her pride now.
Amy went to find Hope. She showed her the texts from Paige, and Hope, deciding it was worth a try, offered to watch Kallie for the day. Amy thanked her, feeling like she should add that it would probably only be for a few minutes since she wasn’t likely to get anywhere with Ben.
She headed to the shower, wracking her brain for what she would say. What was she willing to do if he refused to talk to her? A knot formed in her stomach as she dressed and made the short drive to the repair shop.
It took a full five minutes to summon the courage to climb out of her car and approach the garage. A quick glance inside confirmed what she already knew. Ben wasn’t there. She forced herself to climb the stairs to his apartment, the knot in her stomach expanding. She gripped the key Hope had given her so hard it dug into her palm.
