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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2014 13:43:21 GMT -5
Take care of all your memories For you cannot relive them There was a slight chill in the air for September, marking the coming of winter. Michigan winters were nothing to laugh at, they were deadly and sometimes scary, but today it was nothing that a light denim jacket couldn’t fix. Lisa had come straight from work, well, after changing clothes first. Her black jeans were shoved into mid-calf high boots, a v-neck blue tank top coming down over the waist of her jeans. Covering her arms, Lisa had pulled on the jacket, heading out to the baseball field. Ben had been very clear about not wanting Lisa to show up in yoga pants and a tank top anymore, more signs that he was getting older. They were a close family, but Ben was no longer a baby and Lisa found herself reminded of that fact more and more as each day passed. In addition, she also found herself making new rules it seemed like everyday. Girls, that was current battle in the Braeden household. It was common for Ben and his friends to come home from baseball, run upstairs and slam the door behind them, but now Lisa found herself having to scan each face that ran through her hallways, enforcing a strict door policy when it came to girls. That is, the door must always be open and the understanding that if the house suddenly got too quiet, Lisa was going to pop into the doorway and check on them.
More importantly than all the changes, Lisa was happy to see some things stay the same. Returning to a life of normalcy where Ben did go out with friends and played baseball, things you expected out of a teenager. Even the mood swings gave Lisa secret joy. Immediately after the car accident, Ben had been the perfect son, literally. As time went on, they returned to having their mild disagreements and he returned to being the perfect son for Ben, with his own attitude and personality. Which also meant he would probably be unhappy to find his mom at baseball practice, but Lisa had canceled her class to be here. They needed to talk about something, and Lisa couldn’t put it off any longer. There was a week-long yoga conference coming up and Lisa had a feeling that it would open doors for her business, benefiting both her and Ben, though she couldn’t exactly take him out of school for a week. She planned to ask the parents of one of Ben’s friends if he could stay with them for the week, but that was only if Ben agreed to it. Though he was still the child, Lisa valued his happiness and they had never been apart for a whole week before. One of the things that Lisa loved about his father not being around, Lisa didn’t have to give Ben up every other week, she got to be his mother full time.
“Way to go Ben!” Practically straining her vocal chords, Lisa jumped to her feet and cheered Ben when it was his turn to bat. Possibly too optimistic before he even swung the bat, Lisa didn’t care. She had watched his games, he was good, she had no doubt that he would hit the ball well over the heads of the other players. There were a few parents sprinkled along the metal bleachers, but not many showed up for a practice. A couple of them were there to volunteer, hand out water and snacks, though Lisa always packed Ben a ‘baseball bag’, complete with his gear and two litres of water, along with snacks, usually in the form of fruit. She doted on Ben, but he was all she had.
As the practice wrapped up and Lisa watched many of the other boys walk around, gathering up stray balls or gear and packing it away, Lisa headed down the bleachers, to the coach. He was a bit older than her, some grey showing around the temples, but he was a good man and he worked well with Ben. He also wasn’t unattractive, but Lisa tried not to go there, he was Ben’s coach. “Dan, Ben looked great today, you’re a good coach for him.” Anything that took Ben’s attention away from trying to be the ‘man of the house’ and leave the hard responsibilities to Lisa was worth it for her, even if there were times that new shoes and gear ate a little too far into the budget. She never told Ben those things, finding ways to make it work, but that was what the conference was for, to help with all that. Lisa didn’t even notice how she smiled and thanked Dan, touching his arm lightly when he complimented her on her parenting of Ben.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 23, 2014 2:39:56 GMT -5
It doesn't make a difference if we make it or not
We have each other and that's a lot “Catch you later Ben!” a girl called out as the teenage Braeden ran down the steps of the local high school.
It was a beautiful day, school had let out, and it was time for baseball practice. He barely paused long enough to wave goodbye and carry on. This was what he had been waiting for since he got up that morning. It wasn’t an official practice – no uniforms were required – but the coach didn’t find lateness acceptable and Ben didn’t want to be one of the suckers doing laps around the school instead of practicing the sport he loved so much. As he approached the field, he could just picture sitting there in the stand in her favorite outfit of a tank top paired with yoga pants and jumping up to cheer him on during his games. That was how it was ever got into baseball. Though he was thankful that now she wore different clothes. It wasn’t that she was embarrassing that way, but all the guys started to talk about hot she was and he couldn’t stand it. If he was honest, it was almost as bad as watching her dates when she finally brought them home to meet him try to stuff their tongue down his mom’s throat. Ew. But that was only one victory he won. He still couldn’t believe she was being unreasonable about girls in the house. They already covered the birds and the bees and Ben struggled to think of why she would think something would happen if the door wasn’t open or if they were too quiet.
Yeah, he was a guy and he liked girls. Sometimes he even kissed them. But if he was going to do something he shouldn’t… why would he do that kind of thing when she was there (or would be, could be) and very ready to embarrass him? That’s even beside the point as far as he was concerned. Either she trusted him or she didn’t. And sometimes he wasn’t sure what his mom was thinking about that.
Such was the life of a fifteen year old son of a single mother, though there was a time where not everything was as normal as it currently was. Life with the car accident had been the closest thing to hell the small family had gone through. His mom almost died. Then even when she wasn’t just clinging to life anymore she still had to recover, unable to do many things that she was ordinarily more than capable of doing. It’s one thing to know that the most important person in his life wasn’t invincible. It was another to see for himself that she wasn’t. Through the scary time a temporary balance was struck, Ben had tried his best to be there for her and he understood when she couldn’t do the same. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to, but that her injured body wouldn’t let her and that took time to heal. She had taken care of him his whole life. The least he could do was be the best son he could be until she was feeling better. But if anyone kept that in mind, it would’ve been no secret why Ben was a pretty good batter. It took mental focus and determination to swing the bat at precisely the right time to hit the ball and emotion to put the force behind it necessary to drive the baseball away from everybody on the field. He had plenty of both, which was why he was one of the last players to step into the batter’s box.
With his helmet on his head and his hoodie zipped up over his t-shirt, he stood to the side of the home plate in position. Then his mom’s voice ripped through the air as unmistakable. Just seeing the back of him, one would have thought he completely ignored. What was she even doing there? This was practice, not a game, and she normally didn’t go to the practices because she had her classes. Facing the pitcher, he rolled eyes and readjusted his grip on the bat. Ben’s eyes narrowed and the pitcher let the baseball fly. Like his mom predicted, it was a decent hit for him. Before he knew it, practice was over. Like the rest of the boys he turned around and gathered up what he was supposed. After he went to the dugout and pulled out his sports bag that always had his gear and the snack stuff his mom provided for him. By the time came out, his bag was slung over his shoulder and was drinking his water. The only problem was when he looked to the stands his mother wasn’t.
So where did she go from there? There was the field trip to Chicago that offered extra credit he needed to talk to his mom about anyway. The boosters club was paying for it so all he really needed was the permission slip signed if it was okay with her for him to go away for a couple days. It was only two and a half hours away, only helping his report card. If something came up like that there was always a point of discussing what may or may not be going on. Though before he searched for her he should stopped drinking his water. When Ben saw that his mom was basically cozying up to the Coach Dan… water spewed from him and he had to use his arm to wipe the excess liquid off his mouth and chin. “Mom, what are you doing here?” he asked her loudly as he approached, glancing from side to side in embarrassment. There wasn’t too many parents that came to the practices to begin with and the fact Coach Dan seemed to like his mom touching his arm. Ben liked him enough, but no. His mom was off-limits even to him and Ben continued to speak to his mother, ignoring the coach except in occasional looks. “Can we go now?”
Tag: Lisa/Mom <3 || Words: 1007 || Notes: Sorry for the novel >.< But excited! Created by Loki of Proboards Support
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Post by Deleted on Jan 23, 2014 18:08:42 GMT -5
Take care of all your memories For you cannot relive them Opening her mouth to say something to Dan, Lisa was distracted by water flying through her peripheral vision. Turning her head, chocolate eyes fell on Ben as Lisa's eyebrows came together in a shocked and slightly disappointing look. "Benjamin!" It wasn't often that she used his full name, but she did when it came to manners. Even on a baseball field, he knew better than to be spitting, especially when he could have spit on someone else, including herself. "I'm sorry Dan, I have to go." A phrase that Lisa found herself constantly repeating, to everyone. She was always running from one place to the next with a schedule so packed, she didn't even know how she functioned at times.
Walking over to Ben, Lisa couldn't help but reach around him, manicured fingers grasping the tag of his hoodie and tucking it inside. "We need to talk about the next couple of weeks. How about some food?" Gesturing across the field to the snack bar that was often open during practice, Lisa had become used to lunches made of nachos, hot dogs and soda. Standing beside Ben, Lisa wrapped her arm around his shoulders and squeezed him into a small hug, not the big bear-hugs she used to bombard him with when he was younger. Her other hand clutched the strap of her purse that was wrapped around her shoulder.
Letting go of Ben, Lisa waved goodbye to the coach as she started walking away from the field. "What do you want?" Leaning against the counter of the snack bar, Lisa pulled her purse off her shoulder and set it on the counter, digging through it as she looked for her wallet. Finally fishing her wallet from her purse, Lisa pushed the hair that fell into her face out of way as she waited for Ben to order. She had packed him food for the practice of course, but she had learned that a boy's appetite was generally always very healthy, especially after being active. "I'd like a pretzel and a coke please." Pulling the bills out, Lisa handed them to the girl behind the counter, dropping the change in the tip jar next to the register.
Grabbing her food, Lisa took it to a picnic table as she sat down. Broaching the subject of leaving for a week was not easy, not for her. She didn't want to leave, the thought of not even being in the same state as Ben for an entire week was scary for her. Though looking at him, Lisa wanted to give him so much more than what she could give him now, to do that, Lisa needed to make her business much more successful. More importantly, she wanted at least a second studio and some actual staff that could give her the time off to be around for Ben more. There were only so many years left before Ben went off to college and started his own life, a time that Lisa was dreading everyday.
Tearing off a piece of the soft pretzel, Lisa dipped it into the nacho cheese it came with before taking a bite. "The next week things will get a bit busier at the studio, I'm teaching a lot of extra classes. I'll be home a bit later in the afternoon but that doesn't change the rules. No friends over if I'm not home. There's a week long conference in San Francisco that I think will be very beneficial and will help me with the business side of work. I need the extra classes to pay for it, but I wanted to talk to you first. I can't take you out of school for a whole week, you'd be behind in your school work and you'd miss a week of practices. I was thinking of calling Austin's parents and asking them if you can stay with them for the week."
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Post by Deleted on Jan 24, 2014 3:03:10 GMT -5
It doesn't make a difference if we make it or not
We have each other and that's a lot Oops. Well that was one way to his mother’s attention, though it didn’t make her reaction any easier to handle. It wasn’t the look on her face that made Ben look sheepish for a second, but her use of the full first name that he never used himself. “Sorry.” The word came blurted out automatically, not sounding as sincere as he could have. It hadn’t been on purpose, but it did get him what he wanted so he guessed he couldn’t really complain much or feel too guilty about it. He waited and watched she said goodbye to the coach, taking the time to throw the remnants of his water bottle into the trash can. But he wasn’t worried about his coach’s reaction. He’d more than make up for it in the next game.
But if he thought the slight embarrassment was over, Ben couldn’t be more wrong. The tag of his hoodie being up really wasn’t that big of a deal, yet it didn’t seem like anything good could come from starting with ‘we need to talk’. Food sounded good though, the teenager nodding in reply with a weak smile. “Sounds good. Thanks, Mom.” After practice, he was always hungry anyway unless he was starting to come down with something. Sure, he always had plenty of snacks. That much was made sure of, however he was in that stage of growth where he might as well have been a bottomless pit. That didn’t stop him from resisting her hug a couple seconds before caving in to the warmth her hug always provided, hugging her back with one arm and his head leaning against hers. Her arms was the one place he always felt safe and like he was a little kid again, not that he would dream of ever admitting that out loud.
When he was finally released from his mother’s display of affection, Ben let go of the breath he didn’t know he had been holding as he walked with her. “A hot dog with the works and Mountain Dew. Please?” His stomach let out a rumble of what sounded like agreement. It was a good thing that the snack bar wasn’t that far away and that they didn’t have to go somewhere else to get something to eat. While his mom got out the money and placed her own order, Ben looked around. Off in the distance some of the cheerleaders were practicing a couple routines they were planning on trying out at the next football game. One of the girls was thrown up into the air and performed a pretty sweet stunt. “Nice,” he whispered appreciatively. That wasn’t something he got to see every day.
Distracted, he didn’t notice that his mom had started to move away with her food or that his was done until the kind lady behind the counter had the sense to tap his shoulder. Rewarding the woman with a grateful look, he grabbed his food and hurried after the only parent he had ever known. Concern clouded his brown eyes. Although he knew they didn’t have as much money as some of the other families with or without her mentioning it, they had always been fine off. But it wasn’t like her to skip a class to watch him practice or to talk to him if it wasn’t important to her. Maybe it was just old fears surfacing, bur he knew that the subject wasn’t about what happened a few minutes before. Was something wrong? Did something happen at work? Swinging his legs over one of the picnic table’s benches, he sat down across from his mom. She would begin when she was ready so he took a hefty bite out of his hot dog.
Chew, chew, big gulping swallow. Out of all the things he had expected, a trip to a conference in San Francisco being announced wasn’t one of the possibilities that ran through his mind. “Oh.” That was all Ben could manage to get out before he took another bite. He didn’t mind having the house to himself a bit longer than usual for a week because she had to work but… San Francisco? That was all the way in California. His friend Austin was cool and all, the mother and son just never been separated like that before. Ever. What if he needed her? What if she needed him? How would that work exactly? Wait. It’d be fine. It had to be… right? She was going to be gone during the week of the Chicago field trip. “I wouldn’t need to stay at Austin’s for the entire week. I have something I need to talk to you about too.”
Tag: Lisa/Mom <3 || Words: 0782 || Notes: Created by Loki of Proboards Support
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Post by Deleted on Jan 24, 2014 20:57:24 GMT -5
Take care of all your memories For you cannot relive them Ben's anticipation for the conversation to come was obvious, at least, to Lisa it was. She had spent fifteen years of her life watching the boy grow up, who now stood taller than her. It was an odd feeling that Lisa was still getting used to, looking up at her 'baby' boy, though she couldn't be surprised. His father was taller than her, but Lisa would never mention that to Ben. There had been a time when Ben was hardly out of diapers that he had asked about his father, on bring your father to school day and when he saw his friends with two parents. Once he understood he didn't have a father around, he had never asked again, and Lisa was thankful about it. The topic horrified her to no end. Either he would end up hurt, or would hate Lisa when he learned that she never even tried to find and tell his father that she was pregnant. Other than the height, Ben didn't resemble the biker from Lisa's past. Maybe it was the poor life choices of the biker, but Ben was tall and athletic, handsome. The biker was tall, but overweight and decent-enough in looks, not handsome though.
Sitting across from Ben, Lisa's legs were tucked back under the bench of the picnic table, crossed at the ankles. She always had a feminine way about her, even in over-sized shirts and tragically untamed hair, Lisa was lady-like without even trying. However, the pretzel and nacho cheese didn't help, but Lisa didn't mention such things to her yoga clients. Those big eyes of Ben's were rather persuasive when he was hungry and salads were not on the snack bar list. Lisa had even taken a liking to the 'game' food. "I hope you were talking about their skills." The moment Ben had been handed to Lisa, wrapped in a blanket, his skin still pink and blotchy, Lisa had sprouted eyes in the back of her head and hearing that a dog would be jealous of, mostly when it came to curse words. Lisa could hear those all the way downstairs sometimes. Times like this, Lisa was glad that Ben had taken up baseball rather than football, the last thing he needed were cheerleaders at every game. His teenage hormones had kicked in, and were way too powerful for Lisa's liking. He was growing up and Lisa just hated it.
Even now, looking at the boy who was still only fifteen, Lisa was almost certain she could see the shadow of facial hair beginning to sprout. Nothing overly noticeable, but something that would become noticeable shortly. They'd already had 'the talk', which was painfully awkward for both of them with no male figure in Ben's life, making Lisa wish she was closer to her sister and brother-in-law. He was growing up and she was helpless to stop it. Had he been seventeen, it would have even been appropriate for Lisa to leave him by himself for her week-long conference, and that was only two years away.
The way Ben answered Lisa, it made her heart drop into the pit of her stomach. He wasn't happy about the situation, she could hear it in his voice, in the single word he used. Ben was always more open with her than that, they often talked through life decisions the older he got, like the last time they moved. Ben had a say in everything because his happiness was everything to Lisa. Grabbing a napkin from a stack she had taken from the snack bar, Lisa used it to wipe the pads of her fingers clean before she reached across the table, lightly touching Ben's arm. "I don't have to go if you don't want me to. The business is doing well without any changes, it will continue to do well if I stay here. A week is a really long time and if you aren't comfortable with it, I won't make you stay with someone else." Lisa's voice was soft as she spoke, squeezing his arm lightly before pulling her hand back to tear off another piece of the pretzel and eat it.
Listening to Ben, Lisa immediately raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Oh? Did you find another place to live?" What exactly did Ben have in mind to not stay with Austin all week? Ben was smart, sometimes too smart for his own good, like when he concocted his plots to keep Lisa single. She couldn't blame him for not wanting a new parental figure in his life at this age, though some of his ways of going about breaking up Lisa's relationships were just evil in their own way. Acting out until the man decided it was too much to deal with. Lisa would never date someone Ben didn't like, but she knew her son and it wasn't like him to outright try and make Lisa unhappy by telling her to leave a perfectly nice guy. "I thought cleaning your room was a fair price for rent, has someone made you a better offer?"
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2014 22:28:31 GMT -5
It doesn't make a difference if we make it or not
We have each other and that's a lot Having it been just the two of them for so long, it wasn’t hard for Ben to read his mom a bit. If he knew what to look for, he could find out what kind of response she wanted or what to expect. Sometimes it was easy, other times it wasn’t. It was kind of like when he was really little and asked about the man that was his father. Before school he never really noticed that most others had two parents. Most of the time when he went out to the park play the other kids only had one person watching them. It wasn’t until it seemed like everyone he knew was a making a big deal about their dads going to school for them that it even occurred to him that his situation wasn’t exactly normal. Right away he had asked his mom about the guy and he would never be able to forget the look on her face, promising himself that he wouldn’t ever bring it up again. It wasn’t that she wasn’t a good enough mom, pulling double parent duty. Not everyone had a mommy and daddy, but it was explained he was lucky because that meant more love for him. As grew older, his curiosity about the man never waned, but he figured from overhearing his mom’s friends that no father was better than one that didn’t want him.
That was actually the fun part on the days where his mother hung out with him at the ball park. He hadn’t been able to deny the fact that his mom was indeed a girl and a lady since he was seven, but it was hilarious to watching her eat ‘game food’ such as pretzels with nacho cheese. It was one of those things that never failed to put a smile on Ben’s face. The ball park concession stand didn’t understand the meaning of ‘rabbit kibble’. Not that he would dream of confessing that to his mom’s health nut clients that she seemed to enjoy the food almost as much as he did. Blasphemy of any kind was apparently taken very seriously. “Yeah, ‘course.” Ben shook his head as if his mother didn’t have anything to worry about. Technically it wasn’t a lie, the fact that the girls also happened to be hot was merely left out of the statement. But he kinda guessed she wanted to know as much about those kinds of thoughts as much as he wanted to know what she thought about guys she might be into. They just didn’t need that conversation. Not while he was still healing from ‘the talk’ she had given him not nearly long enough ago.
No matter what he thought of other girls, he knew his mom was the prettiest in that five year old way he secretly never outgrew and the best. If he really wanted her to, she would stay with him. While she wasn’t always at his practices, ultimately he knew he was put above her job and even her own happiness if came to that. That was why she was there instead of waiting until they were both home to talk and having it so that Ben couldn’t run off to his room, pretending she didn’t say a word. Furthermore he was basically being told that at fifteen he was going to be babysat by one of his teammates’ parents while she was gone. But looking at her, his mouth gaping open… did he really have the right to ask her not to go? How long was she expected to put everything she wanted on hold for him? Ever since before he could remember he came first in her life, never really taking much time away from him if she could.
No, he wasn’t happy about the situation. But he’d live. Setting his hot dog back in the small tray it came, Ben closed eyes and clenched his jaw. His heart and head were in a silent war. What if something happened to her? What if she never came back? Not that she would intentionally abandoned him for being difficult – Braedens stuck together or at least they did – but because of something like death. As much as he wanted to believe he was over the car accident he wasn’t and just the thought of her leaving… He might as well have been an eleven year old kid instead of a man of fifteen. Then his mom’s Ben-feel-sy radar must have gone off, Ben feeling her gentle reassuring touch on his arm. “Nah. I think you should go,” he found himself saying as he opened his eyes and reached across the table to squeeze the hand that wasn’t full of pretzel. For a moment, the ‘perfect’ son was back. The one that almost didn’t seem to be him. “Mom, you deserve it. When have you gone anywhere like that – ever? Go. Have fun, enjoy the sun, don’t pick up another douche. I’ll be fine, I promise.”
And just like that Ben’s arm retreated, starting to move in conjunction with his other arm as he began. “Not unless you count sharing a hotel with a couple guys and a very strict chaperone for a couple days.” He started off slowly, knowing what the automatic answer would be if he just went straight to the point of Chicago. Before she said no, he wanted her to at least consider the idea of shooting it down and having her head filled with images of gun shots and mobsters. “It’s a school field trip and I kinda need the extra points in history.” He gave a slightly nervous half-smile. It wasn’t easy admitting that he didn’t do so well on the first history test of the year. She was his mom, naturally she wanted him to do well and he hated the idea of letting her down. Rolling eyes again, he sighed. “Sorry, Mom, you’re still stuck with the deal. Are you planning on replacing me that soon?” The last sentence was a clear joke, but the first was true. Technically he didn’t have another place to live, his father completely out of the picture.
Tag: Lisa/Mom <3 || Words: 1028 || Notes: Created by Loki of Proboards Support
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Post by Deleted on Jan 27, 2014 1:38:26 GMT -5
Take care of all your memories For you cannot relive them There was something about being a single parent, especially in a town like Battle Creek, that brought parent and child closer together. Even before Ben was born and given life, he had become the most important thing in Lisa's life, all of her energy devoted to giving him the best life she could. Knowing she could never give him some of the things that two-income households could give their children, Lisa had tried her best to put away here or there for those times when Ben wanted something and it wasn't for a special occasion. She never wanted him to feel different from the other kids. When he showed signs of realizing he was from a different household from the kids at school, Lisa had blurted out that he just got to receive all her love, rather than splitting it between Ben and a husband.
Since those days when Ben was just a small child, they had formed an inseparable bond. He was a boy and there were always the times when he didn't want his mom hanging around, or he was embarrassed to be seen walking around the mall with her, but that was regular behavior for any child. From talking to her clients and the friends she had made over the years, Lisa had learned just how different other families were. Lisa wasn't surprised, she had never been super close to her own parents either, and they only alienated Lisa more when the news of her pregnancy came about. With Ben, it was different. Ben had never lied to her, never to her face if she had confronted him. They had discussed very heavy things, in the manner of a conversation rather than Lisa talking at Ben, telling him how things were going to be. That was what set their family apart. It wasn't that Lisa loved Ben more than any other parent would love their child, but to keep a close family, they both needed to be able to give their say.
"Uh huh." Brown eyes narrowed slightly as Lisa looked at her son. He had agreed that he had been talking about the skill involved in the move that the cheerleaders had performed, though Lisa didn't fully believe it. Ben knew better than to make an inappropriate comment about girls around Lisa, she had raised him better than that, but she wasn't foolish or naive. Lisa had once had her 'wild side' before Ben, a side that she had successfully been able to skirt around and not bring up to Ben.
Dropping the 'bombshell' to Ben, his jaw dropped in shock and Lisa felt even worse than before. If it had been anything else, Lisa would have passed on the subject and never would have brought it up. Or she would have looked around for a more appropriate time, when Ben could come with her and not miss so much at home. That wasn't an option in this case, though now Lisa was wishing that she had just decided to pass on this whole convention idea. She could have made due with the studio for the next couple years until Ben went off to college. Lisa didn't need to be highly successful just yet, but she wanted the benefits that came with it. The staff to give her the time away to see more baseball practices, or to give Ben some of his dream 'toys' that she knew he wanted, but he was too good to ask for. It wasn't just Lisa that made sacrifices to raise Ben on her own, he had been forced to sacrifice things that he never knew about that he wouldn't have had to sacrifice if Lisa had been financially stable when she got pregnant.
He said she could go, said she should go, but that didn't erase the image of his face when he first heard the news. "I know that face, I don't want to put you in a position where you'll be unhappy." She couldn't blame him, not only having Lisa go away but having to stay with someone else's family for a week? A night was one thing, but to live with someone for a week was another matter entirely. Being the wonderful son he had always been, Ben seemed to insist that she go, and Lisa couldn't help but smile and chuckle slightly at his words. "I have no intention of going to California to find a man when the love of my life is waiting for me here. Tell you what, if this convention goes the way that I think it will, we'll go somewhere for your school break. Your choice."
The way he reached out and touched her, Ben really was the best son she could have ever asked for. Like any child, he knew just what pressed Lisa's buttons, but he was also always there for her when she needed it. She tried to hide the really bad things from him, but they seemed to seep through at times, especially with the car accident. "I like the chaperone idea, not sure about the other guys." Whatever Ben was grasping at, he was taking it slow, which usually meant he knew that Lisa wouldn't like the idea. Anything that was simple, Ben could just blurt it out, but this was anything but simple. "A school trip that needs a hotel room? Where is this trip going?" Though he mentioned that he needed the points in history, Lisa would check in on that grade later. It was hard enough leaving the state with Ben at a friend's house, but if he was going somewhere else? Lisa couldn't imagine how she could go all the way to California now, not knowing just where Ben was or what was going on. Smiling again at Ben's joke, Lisa shrugged slightly. "I did get an offer from someone who picks up their socks. How do you manage to get one sock at the top of the stairs and another at the bottom? I'll never figure that out."
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Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2014 20:37:12 GMT -5
It doesn't make a difference if we make it or not
We have each other and that's a lot Sometimes it was difficult not to feel different in a small town, mostly when it seemed like everyone knew practically everybody else’s business. It wasn’t so much the fact that there was a difference in Ben’s relationship with his mother that could be a pain in the ass sometimes – it was being asked to explain it. To Ben, it was simple. With no dad around, his mom had to pull double duty and it was harder to ask her for unnecessary things at times because he was well aware that she was doing the best she could already. It wasn’t anything she did that made him feel weird, but how even some of the adults didn’t seem to understand. Didn’t want to try to understand. Besides it was kinda his fault, more often than not, that he didn’t have some kind of permanent male figure in his life with what he pulled with his mom’s boyfriends. He was anything but sorry about that though. His mom was great and awesome and who cared if he didn’t have a lot of the same stuff guys his own age he did? Oh, yeah. He did sometimes, not that he would say so. He was much too loyal to his mom to say it out loud to her or around other adults.
Another thing that made the bond between mother and son seemingly strange to others was the lack of extended family though the teenager figured that was all the more reason because his mom knew the importance of being there for each other. As much as Ben didn’t always want his mom hanging around him, there weren’t really any grandparents, aunts, uncles, or cousins that they kept in regular contact with. Sure they fought like any other parent and child did sometimes, but there was none of the “I hate you” and for the most part everything was out on the table so there was denying exactly where they stood with the other. Ben had a voice and, when he wanted it heard, his mom made sure it was within reason (no back talking, etc.). That freedom made it easier to let her have her say. His mom was also always reminding him if he ever needed to talk she would be there, leaving the lines of communication open and allowing Ben to feel more like he could go to her about things that were going on in his life.
“Yeah huh,” Ben said, nodding his head and trying to use his chocolate eyes to look more innocent. He knew he wasn’t fooling her. She wasn’t nearly as naïve as some of his teachers chose to be. He was a teenager and with that came certain things he knew better than to voice. One of the things he had been taught was that women needed to be treated with respect and any inappropriate comment he made needed to be said when she was at least five miles away, unable to hear him or any conversations that tended to follow the comment. It was for his health. Was it his fault girls happened to be hot? ‘Course not, but that didn’t mean his mother wanted it thrown in her face. He wasn’t eight years old when any interest in women happened to be considered cute anymore. Though, he had suspected that she was talking more from her experience with guys rather than her ability to see right through him when she really wanted to most of the time.
Did a bomb really go off? The more Ben recovered and thought about the subject, the worse he felt about not having the sort of reaction he thought his mom would have wanted. It wasn’t the worst he could’ve had, but this was important to her and his opinion mattered. She wanted to go; he could see it in her brown eyes. And if she didn’t go she would probably regret it even though they would probably be fine with the way things were for the time being. But he couldn’t go, not that hanging out at a yoga convention appealed to him. It meant his mother would be travelling alone. What if she missed something at home? He’d gladly give up the things he wanted if it meant more time with her, minus the embarrassing moments. Life was short and Ben knew he needed her more than anything else in the world. That was one thing the car accident had seared into his brain. Her happiness, however, was a different story. He wasn’t so willing to trade that for getting her to stay and if she didn’t want to stay just maybe she shouldn’t have to. He didn’t ask for much, but she didn’t really either.
It figured, he thought with a shake of his head. They were both kinda worried about the same thing: the other’s happiness. Pride started to kick in though. There was a part of Ben that wanted to prove to her that just because mommy wasn’t there didn’t mean he would crumble. If that didn’t get him more of her trust, he didn’t know what would. Besides, it was for a week. That meant he had more of a chance to do the things he wanted without having to worry immediately that his mom would catch, like eating a bunch of candy and hanging out with his friends longer. She would come back if only to make sure he wasn’t getting into trouble. It wouldn’t be a blast to sleep somewhere other than his bed or to miss having mom there, but there had to be a lost worse things out there. When she mentioned him picking the place to go during school break, he perked up. “We could go anywhere I choose? I’m good with that.”
It was all set then. His mom was going to California, but all that meant was that more focus would be placed on what he had to talk to her about. Ugh. Was there any way for this end well? Ben didn’t know, but he had already started the discussion and definitely had to finish now. Okay, so she liked the idea of the chaperone. That was a start even though it didn’t sound like she liked the idea of sharing a room with other guys. Which was perfectly okay, he wasn’t too keen on that part either. He took a deep breath and decided to answer the question he was given a little backwards. “A museum, about two and half hours away… in Chicago.” Just the mention of the name brought images of the Chicago Cubs and gangsters, mobsters, and pizza to his mind, but he worried about what his mom might think. If he thought of the people that held guns, she was probably more likely to think of the gun firing at him. “But I’d have my lame cellphone on me at all times and I promise not to disable the tracking app just in case you want to check where I am every five minutes,” he added hastily.
Then there was the matter of the socks. “Socks are evil bastards, that’s how.” The words were spoken as if that explained everything.
[/i][/i][/div] Tag: Lisa/Mom <3 || Words: 1203 || Notes: [/div][/div] Created by Loki of Proboards Support
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Post by Deleted on Feb 10, 2014 1:27:06 GMT -5
Take care of all your memories For you cannot relive them The light breeze in the air caused Lisa to shiver slightly beneath the denim jacket. She should be used to this fall weather, but Lisa never really liked the cold. For the about of times that she had packed up herself and Ben, one would have thought that Lisa would have moved somewhere warmer, yet she loved this part of the country. Taking Ben to California or Texas or someplace like that just wasn't the life that Lisa saw for the two of them. A single mother in a small town where everyone knew her and Ben was hard enough, taking Ben to a city where no one even knew their neighbors was way out of the question for the single mother.
Crossing her ankles, Lisa's legs were tucked under the bench seat, a habit that Lisa had picked up over the last few years. Ben had shot up in height almost overnight and the battle for leg room under the table had begun, one of the few battles that Lisa had given up on. At 5'7, Lisa could afford to give up some leg room, it certainly wasn't hurting her any. Tearing the last of her pretzel in half, Lisa dipped it in the cheese as she let the silence fall between them, giving time for Ben to tell her what was on his mind. If he wanted her to stay, she wouldn't bring up the subject again. There would be other conventions, Lisa could wait until Ben was in college and busy with his friends, when Ben was too preoccupied with making his life what he wanted it to be for him to worry about his mother heading to California for a week. Ben was getting older, that time was going to happen, Lisa remembered how much she didn't love hanging around her parents as a teenager. Especially once she started dating.
The silence seemed to drag on forever, but Lisa wasn't about to push Ben to an answer. Backed into a corner, Lisa was sure that Ben would ask her to stay home, or take him with, which just wasn't an option at all. Glancing away from Ben, Lisa smiled and waved to one of the other parents that was walking to his car with his son. The father was a nice man, though Lisa didn't know much about him, other than his name and that he traveled a lot for work, so he wasn't always present at the games or practices. However, Ben seemed to begin coming around at the thought of being able to pick the school break vacation. Her attention turning back to Ben, Lisa raised a finger to try and stop Ben as she swallowed the pretzel she had been chewing. "Your choice, within financial reason. I believe that this conference will make the studios more money, but I don't think we'll have the money to just go anywhere by the next break. So no European or Hawaiian trips just yet. Need to keep it within the continental united states."
Lisa was quite interested in where Ben would pick for a vacation for the two of them, hopefully somewhere she hadn't been. It wasn't hard to do that though, other than Michigan and Illinois, Lisa hadn't been anywhere. Going to California was a first for her and she was both excited and nervous about the change in atmosphere from one state to the other.
As the conversation shifted to Ben's field trip, Lisa gave him her full attention. A museum was hardly the kind of field trip that Lisa expected Ben to be excited about. There was more to the story, Lisa knew there had to be. Probably something like the cheerleading squad was also going on the field trip, or Ben's friends and he didn't want to be left out. Ben was not a museum junkie, anything but that. "Oh no, not a chance." Chicago. That was it, the bomb dropped and Lisa felt her heart skip a beat. Chicago was dangerous, and beside the danger of the people that lived there, Chicago had just been hit by a wave of natural disasters. Lisa did not want Ben trapped in some sort of freak blizzard like had happened previously. "Chicago is dangerous Ben, it's nothing like Battle Creek or Cicero. I avoided going there as much as I could growing up and for good reason too. There is a lot of crime there, crime for no reason. I do not want you anywhere near that kind of trauma."
words: 720 • tagged: Ben • notes: Sorry it's short!!
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Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2014 17:34:29 GMT -5
It doesn't make a difference if we make it or not
We have each other and that's a lot If the slight chill to the air when the wind blew bothered Ben, the teenager gave no sign of it. Then again, he was used to the autumn temperature of the land and it was good. Maybe he didn't like the fact that it meant the end of baseball season, but it also meant that apple cider would be coming in and that there were other things to do. Things like... well he couldn't think of anything at the moment, but he'd didn't mind being a little cold if it meant he wasn't going to have to bake in the heat like a cookie year-round. Sure, moving to a more busy – warm – area could be kinda sweet, but at least Ben didn't have to worry about his mother and strange men so much. He was pretty content where he was for a fifteen year old kid that liked to be on the move.
On reflex, Ben slouched to relax his legs. Still growing, sometimes the idea of comfortable leg room was a bit of a myth. Already he was a little bit taller than his mom and, if his stomach's ability to become a bottomless pit or how he wolfed down the rest of his hot dog was any indication, it was going to end any time soon. Not looking at his mother, he took a drink of his soda to help the food wash down. Mentally he didn't want to think. There was no way he wanted him mom to go to the other side of the country, at least not without him. Yet, another opportunity would be there if she went. Ben wanted a little more freedom and that was the perfect chance to prove he wasn't a baby anymore. He could behave himself... and just maybe he could go on at least one date if he was lucky. Nobody wanted to have their mothers hovering over for the rest of eternity, but Ben didn't want to push her away either if she didn't really want to go. Having her around most of the time wasn't that bad, honestly, and he knew that not all parents were as great as she was.
It felt weird, a sound not coming out of either of their mouths. For a brief second, a frown flitted across Ben's face. If she said he couldn't go, he couldn't. It wasn't a matter of respect, but rather he had no way of getting there that she couldn't stop or at least wouldn't be more painfully if she found out. If there was anything that he would get him grounded for the rest of his life: it would be hitchhiking to a place neither of them were familiar with, let alone San Francisco. Asking her to stay wasn't an option either. Ugh. However, even he had to admitting the idea of picking the place to vacation was a pretty sweet. The kid was already planning where he wanted to go: some movie set that couldn't be anything but awesome! … Or maybe even a concert. In an area, naturally, that had a cheesy touristy section that his mom would probably love if some bunny health food market was around. “So that means no to Canada?” he teased, giving her an innocent look as he took another sip of his Mountain Dew. Some girl off in the distance waved goodbye as she walked away towards the parking lot and Ben smiled a little, returning the wave.
Ben couldn't be happier at the idea of the vacation for the both of them, thinking it needed to be far enough far away from home that they could do some exploring. Not too far though, that they couldn't go home right away if it was necessary. Plans could change in an instant, bombs could drop at any moment, his mom already proved that much with what came out of her mouth. His jaw moved up and down. So she was allowed to go to a dangerous place for an entire week and he couldn't go to Chicago for a couple days that was all school and not really any play? He didn't really want to go, but this could seriously screw up his grades and the teacher was counting on him to go...
“And San Francisco's perfectly safe?!” Ben blurted out, folding his arms across his chest. It wasn't fair! “It's only two and half hours away and I know I could get someone to pick me up if I needed to.” That was true. If he couldn't get a hold of one his friends' parents, he knew some of his mom's friends' phone numbers that offered to keep an eye on him should she need them to. “We're only getting a hotel room in case the weather goes nuts again and we're not going anywhere near the crime-ridden sections of town. The most traumatized I'm going to get is being held up in a boring museum with some thick-skulled jocks for a few hours. Please? That teacher you like thinks I should go.” What did she think? That just going on the field trip would get him killed him or something? He'd be fine. Just because they hadn't really tested it out before didn't mean he couldn't take care of himself. Okay, yeah. The guy promised to teach a little bit of guitar playing along the way, but Ben wouldn't be asking his mom if he didn't need this even half as much as she wanted to go to some stupid convention away from him.
Tag: Lisa/Mom <3 || Words: 1007 || Notes: Sorry for the novel >.< But excited! Created by Loki of Proboards Support
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