On the brink of December

Mae could just kick herself, if she could, but that would just be crazy.

Still, she'd let Ben sleep with her on Thanksgiving. They talked practically all night. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know his Dad.

Of course, she wouldn't have known who that Jeremy fellow was until she heard Ben say barely above a breath (at Thanksgiving dinner) "I don't have his eyes." and his mother whispered back, "You, have my eyes."

It just about broke her heart. She had to take Ben's side. She had too.

Of course Caden was all angry the next morning at breakfast... "Watcha doing with my dad!"

She would always be Aunt Mae to him. Always. That made her sink into tears, too.

Mae didn't go anywhere on her Friday off, but sat with them to watch cartoons and make sugar cookies most of the day, because it started freezing rain.

Now her lower back ached. She guessed she really wasn't used to sleeping with anyone. Still, she thought she better check out some sales for Christmas. She had no idea what to get Caden. She thought about getting a care box together for her sister, but she wasn't sure what to get her.

No, she'd found the ugly sweaters. The perfect sweater for Ben. She finally smiled, thinking they should have an ugly sweater party.

"Was Thanksgiving good to you?" Ben wanted to know, when he came around to Taylor's place. He didn't know where to begin. A part of him didn't want Taylor to know about Jeremy, but he was soon telling him the entire history of Jeremy and his mother.

"And he still loves her." Which, he couldn't imagine. "Mostly in letters though. He's a truck driver now. But he's thinking of not going nation wide. Something like that." Jeremy had told  him a lot about truck driving. "I just dunno if I can ever call him Dad." He hated to be this way, about his dad. "Why was it so easy for Caden?"

"Because, he's kid." Taylor shrugged. "Its easier." He popped some popcorn in the microwave. He mentioned seeing his Dad, but that wasn't the Dad he wanted to see. "He and my Mom are calling it quits, after all this time, and he didn't even call to tell me. I guess its all final and everything. He's kind of, put out with me, that I didn't join the military. He said that would straightened me out."

"What was their to straighten out?" Ben wanted to know.

"Oh, I dunno. He thinks the military is the answer for everything." Taylor almost chuckled.

"Was he in the Army, or something?" Ben didn't know.

"Marine." Taylor opened a soda. "He got hurt in bootcamp. But I'm sure if he'd made it, he would have been perfect."

"So what does he do?" Ben wanted to know.

"Not too sure. He's had a variety of jobs over the years. He was even a preacher for a short while, but I think he's in insurance, or was." Taylor didn't say much more.

"So how are you and Sara?" Ben ate at the popcorn, as if a bear had found a honey jar.

"Pretty much, OK..so far." Taylor nodded. Took another sip of root beer.

"So far?" Ben winced, trying not to make too much of a mess in Taylor's kitchen.

"She stayed over one night. Was gonna stay one more, but she had to get some sleep in her bed." Taylor sounded like it wouldn't be a usual weekend thing.

Ben hated to ask just what were they doing in bed.

"Do you snore or something?" Ben asked.

"She's a restless sleeper." He grinned, as if that was enough to say about the situation.