9. A picture of innocence
A while from the bowling alley Ben stopped; his back arched, his hands resting on his hips he gasped hungrily for breath. Directly behind him Francesca didn’t see Ben’s sudden stoop and crashed into him, the force of the impact sending her bag flying into the floor. The bag had fallen at Ben’s feet, its contents sprawled chaotically over the ground: lip-glosses, makeup items, a compact mirror, a purse and a photo attached to some keys. The photo seemed instantly to catch Ben’s attention as his eyes were drawn to it. It was dated, probably five or six years old and it contained the image of a man and woman proudly looking down at a newborn baby nestled in the crook of its dad’s arms. It seemed such a cosy, heart-warming image, the type of photo Ben could only imagine happening to him in his dreams.
Frantically stuffing her possessions back in her bag Francesca’s hand reached for the photo. His gaze hovering on the picture Ben’s mind was pondering on what he’d seen, the effect it had on him. As she grabbed the snap Ben’s eyes fell on her face, his eyes locked with hers, a direct, inquisitive emotion was portrayed through his eyes, penetrated through Francesca’s vision like a bullet. Ben held the gaze till Francesca turned away. He didn’t know what it was but something had made him feel uneasy, initiated the seeds of doubt in his stomach. It seemed he wasn’t the only one; Francesca stood awkwardly on the spot, her mouth pursed into a fake smile. Shoving the niggling doubt aside Ben smiled warmly, her eyes meeting his smile Francesca let her insecurity fade, transforming her forced smile into a reality that Ben recognised as a Francesca trademark.
“Who was in the photo?” Ben enquired curiously.
“Oh the photo… that was just me, my brother and his baby.” “Oh?” Ben replied.
In his minds eye Ben could see the imprint of the photo; the image of two ecstatically happy people holding a baby, Ben wasn’t stupid that didn’t look like a sibling photo but then what was he to know, he was an only child after all.
“Well you sure have a cosy family life that’s all I can say.” Ben muttered, a hint of sadness in his voice. Francesca looked at Ben, her eyes kind.
“Aw Ben, don’t worry about it I’m sure you’ll have a big family of your own one day.” Ben looked at Francesca his face full of hope.
“Really? You think that?” his voice was high-pitched like a child excitedly questioning their parent.
No one had ever offered Ben that much hope before, the hope of having his fairy tale come true and so he grasped it dearly. His face was expectant, encouraged by her words, but he still needed the guarantee, the motion that would make it completely true. Her voice silenced she slipped her arm into Ben’s. It was a common knowledge that actions spoke louder then words, Ben had said it himself many times, but at this moment her actions told him everything he could ever want to know without even saying a word. As they neared the town Francesca suddenly cleared her throat.
“Hey Ben.” She said. “Yeah what’s up?”
“I think in all the rush you forgot your shoes.” She said.
Glancing down Ben took in the hideous bowling shoes and laughed.
“Guess I’ll have something to add to my collection after all.” He added quietly.
A few days later as he tried to fill in paperwork Ben felt his mind diverging unhelpfully to the issues of his love life. He hadn’t heard from Francesca since their date, she hadn’t even come in for coffee. It pained him to think of her absence as he knew in his heart that it was probably Friday’s disastrous events making her think twice about even contemplating a life with a calamity zone like himself. As negative thoughts threatened to destroy his positive, upbeat mood Ben delved deep into his memories, relishing in the reality of the memory as her words flooded his head once more, those precious words of hope that made his dream of having a family that much easier to grasp.
Why would she offer such hope just to disappear into oblivion? It didn’t make any rational sense to Ben and he realised her absence was probably down to an illness, nothing more, nothing less. His mind at rest Ben found the art of concentration flood his head once more. An hour later Ben’s concentration was knocked once again as a loud noise from the café alerted his attention. Away from the café while he’d filled in necessary paperwork Ben’s staff were left to hold the fort. Aside from being Ben’s loyal binder, Jose, whose occupation involved working as headwaiter at the café, was left to cover Ben’s customer relations whilst he was away.
Today something was clearly rubbing him up the wrong way as his voice strained from shouting had a tone of agitation Ben had never even heard before. Unwilling to walk into a war zone Ben pricked his ears up, anxious to hear the next instalment in the loud argument outside.
“Oi you where do you think you’re going?! What do you want?” José yelled angrily.
As José spoke his voice was drowned by a loud, irate reply that seemed very near indeed. It was almost to close for comfort.
“Ben Dover!” he roared, spying the back room.
The walls seemed to shake as the irate man thundered down the short corridor. Only too willing to obey to the unidentified assailants commands Ben hurriedly jumped under the clothed table, quickly bending down out of sight. Crawling backwards as far as he could his back hit the far table leg, constricting him of space and forcing him to hug his body close, anything to avoid being spotted. Aware a single sound could lead his aggressor to locate his whereabouts Ben held his breath silently willing the man, whoever he was, to leave him alone.
Seconds dragged by agonisingly as Ben’s chest suppressed from the lack of air ached under the strain, Ben could feel his body aching for breath but knew he had to wait till the man had gone. Unknown to Ben the man had fled up the stairs searching Ben’s flat for his prey, finding nothing however he raced back to the backroom knocking over chairs and looking in cupboards in his destructive search of Ben’s belongings. Scratching his forehead the man stared angrily around the room, his eyes exploring and uncovering any possible hideout this Ben could stash himself in. From what he’d heard though he’d have a lot of trouble doing just that, most hiding places, they just weren’t big enough.
His mouth set in a cruel jeer the man spied the one place he hadn’t looked in the first place… under the table…it was so obvious yet it had passed him by. Tiptoeing he edged closer to the edge of the table, his hand outstretched ready to pull the tablecloth from shielding his foe. Underneath the table Ben heard the slight creaking of floorboards under somebody’s weight, saw the pair of ruffled jeans standing like thick posts just inches away. His breath stuck in his throat Ben felt his heart hammering in his chest as a finger reached for the underside of the cloth. As Ben waited to heed his fate the sound of what appeared to be a wounded cat entered his hearing range.
“Now get the hell out of here!” José yelled.
The abandonment and isolation Ben had felt when the man had entered the backroom unobstructed fell away. Jose hadn’t deserted him after all!
Peeking gingerly from under the table Ben saw Jose accompanied by two tall, well-built men.
“Sorry Ben I had to get back up, that man was a loose cannon!! I don’t know who he was but he was really on to you, have you upset anyone lately?” José asked gently.
Ben stared at José his face confused. Recalling over the last couple of weeks Ben couldn’t interpret a single time where he’d upset somebody so much that they felt they had to hound him down in such a rash, angry manner – avenge him for the wrong doings that Ben was unaware he’d even committed.
“I don’t think so…oh hang on a minute there was the bowling alley attendant, he thinks I nicked his bowling ball on purpose…he probably came here to teach me a lesson.” Ben said slowly.
Jose gazed curiously at Ben.
“Well that bowling ball must’ve meant a awful lot to him for him to waste his time tracking you down and then invading this place to hound you out.” Jose muttered.
Ben shrugged.
“Guess he doesn’t have much of a social life hey.”
Jose laughed; it was always in Ben’s character to make a joke out of a hairy situation, even if things were more complicated then they seemed. Smiling gaily Ben knelt down; slowly picking up the pieces of the backroom that were obstructed when the whirlwind of destruction momentarily flew through it.
“Lets just hope your lifetime of crime is over in that case Ben.” Jose muttered softly under his breath.
The next afternoon business was pretty quiet. As Ben polished the surfaces of the counter till they sparkled he was alerted by the rushed entry of a man entering the café. The man who stood around 6ft tall had messy, gelled brown hair, deep blue eyes and a hard sneer on his unfriendly face.
“Are you Ben?” the man roared.
Ben felt something inside him stir. Unaware of why he felt Goosebumps sprouting on his arms, an unavoidable chill whispering along his spine.
“Well?” he repeated.
Ben stood motionless for a second, who was this guy, why did he have such a weird affect on him? Frightened by the affect this man had on him Ben felt his hand silently slip under the counter, his fingers gently gripping the blade of a chopping knife.
“Yes… I’m Ben… who are you.” He said slowly.
The mystery of the unnamed man continued as he slowly nodded his head, his mask of anger slipping slightly.
“I’ve got someone for you to meet. Wait here.”
Curious Ben agreed. As the seconds dragged by Ben’s fear intensified… what was it this man had to show him? He felt the skin on his palm graze as the cuts of the knife dug into it.
Staring straight at the door Ben saw the man enter again followed by Francesca and a child. He felt his knees buckle, and the knife slipped instantly from his palm to the floor. As his eyes clouded over an image of a photo falling at his feet engulfed his mind, the ecstasy of this couple…such joy produced by the birth of a child… their child. A child that was standing a mere ten feet in front of him. A child produced by Francesca and her lover. She had lied to him and he’d been a fool once again.
What she did hurt more then any of the shenanigans caused by the other girls in his past, they’d never lied to him, not in the way she had. How could anyone do that? Deny the existence of their own child and their lover? Angry tears brimmed Ben’s eyes, his face becoming both sorrowful and lost as he stared at the girl he thought he knew. But the truth was he didn’t know her, didn’t know her at all.
“I’m sorry.” Francesca said meekly. “Sorry? Is that all you can say?”
She bit her lip, her eyes avoiding Ben’s. It was the same indecisive expression she’d had the day he’d asked her out.
“I just wanted to see what it was like to be single again for once… I’m sorry Ben I just got so caught up in all the lies I denied my family even existed… I almost started to believe it myself.”
Disgusted Ben shook his head. Those words destroyed him more then her betrayal ever would. The denial of a family, a family he would die to have, what sort of person could even think of doing such a thing?
“I don’t know how you live with yourself Francesca. Most of all I don’t know how you could have done this to me, said those words when you KNEW how badly I wanted a family, what I’d do to have one. GET OUT.”
Without a word she slipped out of the café followed by her child and lover. Bending down to pick up the dropped knife Ben breathed a sigh of irritation.
“Didn’t even spend a penny. Bloody typical.”
The few customers that had witnessed the incident smiled with relief. He hadn’t lost his sense of humour after all.