This much is true

Ben thought he slept through Christmas. Oh, he was there for it, with both parents and Caden too. He ended up at a matinee with his Dad and Caden.

Honestly, he couldn't stop smiling about it. There was so much Ben was thankful for. Even Mae couldn't put a damper on things.

But his bones ached now. Sleep was really catching up to him. He'd helped Taylor move Sara's things to his place. Now he wanted to chill in front of the TV, and of course, there was Caden cuddled up with him, eating left over Christmas candy and cookies. as if they could both make a steady diet of it.

"You, better brush your teeth, when your done." He was sure he needed to get up and do something, but they were both settled on watching the Andy Griffith show.

"I know. You better brush your teeth too." He poked Ben in the chest.

"All right. I will, if you will." Ben felt it was just the two of them. He knew this with Mae was only temporary. She needed him, to help her get through Christmas. She'd wake up from this situation with him. Have a tantrum and he'd be back in Caden's room.

He turned off the TV. The time was close to bed time. They brushed their teeth, rinsed and got ready for bed. After all, Ben would sleep in his sweats and socked feet.

Caden read to him. Although, it was very much just Caden's story about Chubby bear. Some of it was from memory, but Caden liked to put his own spin on the story.

There was no need to bother Mae, who was on her iPad, watching her own shows, in her room.

Finally, he and Caden snuggled with the dim night light on, and they were fast asleep.

"What are you doing in here!" It wasn't quite a whisper from Mae.

"What?" Ben didn't know how long he'd been asleep, but he could tell Mae was annoyed with him.

"You, have off tomorrow. I thought you might stay up tonight..you know." He yawned.

"I waited and waited, and you never came out." She informed him.

Now Ben was fully awake. She was wearing his favorite Domo Tee.

"Huh." As usual, he never knew what to expect. She pulled him out of bed.

"Well, I can't sleep without you, you know." She told him on the way to her bedroom. It was her room, as far as he was concerned.

"So..I'm just suppose to come in here, no matter what?" He winced.

"Yeah." She looked at him as if there was not a romantic thing about it.

Ben smiled. It was true, she was probably the most unromantic person in the world. Still, he wanted to be with her. He wanted a chance for her to know true romance did exist.