When I’m With You by Sandi Lynn

Chapter 13

Ben

Sitting across from Paisley, having coffee, was nice. She was becoming a friend. Did I want a friend? Did I even need another friend? No. But Paisley was different. She understood.

“Do you run every day?” she asked.

“Yes. I do run every day. It’s important that I keep in shape for my job.”

“I used to run every morning. In fact, I used to run the same path you do.”

“Really? Maybe we saw each other once in passing. You don’t run anymore?”

“No. Not since my husband passed away. It’s too hard since that day.”

My heart broke in half for her. “I’m sorry.”

“Thanks,” she said as she looked around.

My thought was that she didn’t want me to see the tears in her eyes.

“It’s still hard, you know,” she said.

“I know it is. It’s very hard and it’s difficult to get through the day when all you want to do is climb into bed and never get out.”

She looked straight into my eyes when I said that and gave me a small smile. “Exactly.”

“I don’t mean to be forward, but how old was your husband?”

“He was twenty-seven.”

“And he had a heart attack?”

“Yeah. A massive heart attack.”

I couldn’t stop shaking my head. “My wife, Amy, was twenty-eight when she passed away from cancer.”

“I’m sorry, Ben. What kind of cancer did she have?”

“Cervical. She was diagnosed a year before and went through chemo, but it just wasn’t enough.”

“I’m so sorry. I just don’t get life sometimes. One minute you meet the person you were meant to spend the rest of your life with and the next they’re ripped from you like it’s nothing.”

“I know. It’s incredibly sad.”

We both sat there for a few moments in silence until there was a knock on the window and Paisley hid her face.

“Great. Just great.”

The girl who knocked on the window walked inside and over to our table.

“Hey, Paisley. What’s going on?” She smiled.

Paisley looked up at her and the guy she was with. “Piper. What are you doing here?”

This girl named Piper looked at me and held out her hand. “Hi, I’m Piper, Paisley’s sister, and this is my fiancé, Liam.”

“Ah, it’s very nice to meet you. I’m Ben.”

Piper looked at Paisley and then back at me. “Ben, as in support group Ben?”

“Yeah. That Ben.” I chuckled.

* * *

Paisley

I was mortified that my sister saw me. Why? Because now she’d go and spread the gossip to the rest of the family and they’d ask a million questions and make a big deal out of it.

“I thought you weren’t going back to that support group?” Piper asked.

“I changed my mind,” I said as I gave her a fake smile.

“Oh.”

“Why don’t you sit down and join us?” Ben asked.

“No. They can’t. I’m sure they just popped in to grab a coffee to go because you have wedding things to do. Right?” I spoke as I shot her a look.

“You’re right as always, little sister. As much as we’d love to, Ben, we have to get going. It was nice to meet you. Paisley, I will be calling you.”

“I’m sure you will.” I smiled.

They left Starbucks and I looked at Ben.

“You seemed really upset when you saw your sister.”

“I can guarantee that she is standing outside doing a three-way call with Keaton and Charlotte and that us having coffee has just turned into a huge deal.”

“Ah. I totally understand that. My family is the same way.”

“My family can’t keep secrets. No matter how much they promise not to tell, they always do.”

“I heard you mention a wedding. They’re getting married?” he asked.

“Yeah. They just got engaged.”

“So did my brother, Finn.”

“I have one better. Charlotte announced that she’s pregnant the same day as Piper announced her engagement.”

“Ouch. Double whammy isn’t good. How do you feel about that? Wait…don’t answer. I bet you’re happy for them on the surface, but deep down, you’re distraught and hurting because it’s hard to sit back and watch other people be happy when you’re miserable because your happiness was snatched away from you.”

Wow. The tears filled my eyes as I sat there and listened to his truth. I had to look away and out the window before I made a fool of myself.

“It’s okay, Paisley,” he said as he reached across the table and placed his hand on my arm. I feel the same way, and nobody would or could ever understand unless they experienced what we did.”

His touch. The feel of his hand on my skin. It felt good to feel a man’s touch again and it scared me. I didn’t pull my arm away because he meant well, and I didn’t want to hurt his feelings. It was a gesture. A simple way of saying that everything was okay.

“You’re right,” were the words I could muster up.

Suddenly, my phone beeped with a text message from Keaton.

“Whatcha doing tonight, sis?”

Then one from Charlotte came through.

“Hey, just checking in to see if you’re doing okay. What are you up to?”

And one last message from my mother.

“Hi honey. Wanted to see how your week went. What are you up to right now?”

I shook my head and rolled my eyes. “See, I told you,” I said as I held up my phone and showed him the text messages.

“You weren’t kidding.” He chuckled.

“Oh no. I don’t kid around when it comes to my family.” I laughed.

“Do you mind?” he asked as he took my phone from my hand. “I’m going to put my phone number into your contacts in case you ever want to talk about anything.”

I smiled at him as he handed me back my phone. When I took it from his hand, our fingers brushed lightly, and a wave of hysteria swept over my body.

“What else do you do besides being a fireman and running every day?” I asked.

“I build furniture.”

“Real furniture?” I asked.

“Yes. Real furniture.” He chuckled.

“That’s great. You have to be really talented and have a lot of patience to do something like that.”

“It keeps me busy.”

I looked at the clock on my phone. It was eleven o’clock. “Wow. I can’t believe it’s eleven already,” I said.

“Is it really? I guess time flies when you’re having fun.” He smiled.

We both got up from our seats and walked down the street back to our cars. As I unlocked my car door, Ben opened it for me.

“Thank you.” I grinned.

“You’re welcome. Thanks for having coffee with me tonight.”

“You’re welcome. It was nice.”

“It was. Be careful driving home and I’ll see you around sometime.”

“You too. Thanks again, Ben.”

“Bye, Paisley.”

I got into my car and he shut the door. As I pulled away, I looked in the rear-view mirror and he gave a small wave. I smiled all the way home.