Here for You Ch. 01-02

"I'm sorry for hear that. Is he okay?" she asked, feeling concerned.

"Yeah, thank God his fever broke," Ben said. "He is more concerned about not able to have ice cream for his birthday."

Elle laughed. "Oh, right. He's turning six next month, right?"

"Yes. Karen and I have agreed that he'll be celebrating it at my place." He exhaled with a smile. "It seems like only yesterday I held him in my arms. Now I can barely carry him."

"And he's growing up to be a fine young man. You guys did a great job raising him," she said.

"Thanks. Karen and I, we try to do our best."

They made small talk throughout break and Elle was relieved that Ben seemed to have forgotten the events from the other night. That or he was very good at pretending nothing had happened. Either way, she was just glad to let that go.

***

After his break, Ben returned to the office and to his seat behind the old mahogany table that had once belonged to his grandfather. Tom Garrett had started out as a dishwasher at the various restaurants in town before switching to become a kitchen helper at a breakfast diner. Soon the owner, who was also the chef, gave Tom a chance and let him help to prepare breakfast for the customers. Turned out Tom was quite a cook and came up with a few recipes which quickly became the crowd favorite. The owner, who was never married and childless decided to hand over the business to Tom before he retired. In return, Tom retained the name Becky's Diner and worked hard to keep the business booming.

Ben had grown up in Becky's Diner. He remembered coming in straight from school every day and did his homework in this office and Tom would sneak him treats if he finished his homework on time. As he grew older, his grandfather began to let him help around the diner. He first learned how to cook when he was ten and by eighteen, Ben had mastered all the dishes that were available on the menu.

Tom had had reservations about Ben working in the diner. He had wanted Ben to do other things, to explore the world around him. He had wanted to give Ben choices, something he never had the privilege of having while he was growing up. But Ben had known then that managing Becky's Diner was something that he wanted to do.

When it was time for Ben to go to college, he had chosen to take double majors in Business and Accounting, further cementing his tie to the diner.

After Ben graduated, he returned to work at Becky's Diner but he never stopped learning. By then, Tom had all but left the diner in his grandson's hands, trusting him to make the right decisions when it comes to the business.

Ben took baking classes and could make pastries and pies, which added variety to the menu. He didn't attempt to expand the business, though. He kept it as a stand-alone breakfast diner, which had its' own appeal compared to other commercialized restaurants.

Ben leaned back against the seat, his work momentarily forgotten as his thoughts went to the day his grandfather had called him into this very office to discuss with him the diner's future. Tom was adamant to give Ben the choice to walk away should he chose to; it was one of the things Ben appreciated his grandfather for. But once again Ben said that he wanted to work in the diner permanently. Tom then told Ben that he was going to leave the diner to him and asked Ben to bring him to the attorney's office so that he could finalize his will.

Tom Garrett died from a heart attack just one month after their meeting in this office.

Ben released a breath as a wave of sadness engulfed him whenever he thought of his grandfather. One of Ben's biggest regret was that he had never told his grandfather how much he loved him. Tom had certainly never expressed it with words, though he had made it up more than enough through his actions. Ben promised himself he would never ever let anyone who was important to him not to know how much he loved them. So when River was born, one of the first words Ben had said to him was a whispered 'I love you' and he made it a point to tell his son every day.

Of course he had thought those three little big words would be enough for Karen. Yes, he had been in love with her. He hadn't been planning on settling down because he had been busy managing the diner and had just started a joint venture with his college friends on the Chameleon. But he had proposed to her after they found out she was pregnant with River.

After the excitement of their engagement died down, Ben resumed his work at the diner and the nightclub while Karen continued working as a banker. When River was born later that year, they both agreed for Karen to quit her job and become a full-time mother.

They fell into a routine where Ben would bring in the money and Karen would focus her time and energy on raising the baby and running the household. Slowly but surely they were consumed in their respective roles and hardly spent time in each other's company that even their conversations became stilted if it ever deviated from River, the house or Ben's work. They were hardly intimate anymore. It was as if they were strangers again.

Ben felt sorry that he had never paid close attention to Karen during the times when she had needed him the most; he had thought giving his fiancée a stable life with zero financial worries would be enough to keep her happy. He realized that he had grown comfortable in their relationship and forgotten that Karen used to be independent and had a successful career before she met him. She had given it all up for their family while he still had his jobs to keep him busy.

Being unable to give his son the normal family life that he deserved was a regret that troubled Ben constantly but he also realized that he and Karen had become better parents for River as well. Ben hoped that by maintaining an amiable relationship with Karen, it would be enough to let River know that he was loved because Ben knew things wouldn't be able to return to the way it was before with him and Karen.