Oh great. He should have taken Lisa through the front door instead of acting all sneaky with the back. Of course Mom and Gene would be in the kitchen. Ben should of thought of that. But that woman he and Lisa eavesdropped on at school, what was she still doing here?
“Ben, what are you doing home early,” Mom asked.
“Um….” She was going to kill him when she found out he’d skipped the last couple of classes.
She gave him a sharp-eyed look, like she already knew everything he was up to, then waved him off. “Never mind. I have something to tell you. Gene is going to be living with us from now on.”
“Yeah.” Ben nodded. He knew Gene would be staying because of what he’d overheard at school. Then he thought some more about what Mom said, and realized, “forever?!”
“Yes,” Mom assured him. “He’s part of the family now.”
“Oh Wow!” Ben hopped over to the table where Gene was sitting, threw his arms wide, realized what he was about to do and stopped himself, then got stuck trying to figure out what to do next so he wouldn’t look like a dork. Gene saved him, sticking up a hand for a high-five.
They slapped with a resounding smack.
“Way to go! This is going to be great!” Ben said.
“That’s wonderful,” Lisa said, coming up beside him and beaming all happy like.
Gene looked embarrassed, which Ben totally understood.
“So. He’s in my room, right?”
“I suppose he will have to be,” Mom said slow and thoughtful, like she wasn’t so sure about it.
“So where’s his stuff?”
Mom and the lady from school looked at each other kind of surprised. Ben got the feeling they hadn’t thought about it.
“He’s got to have his stuff.”
“We’ll buy…” the lady started to say.
Gene looked like a dog about to get hit again. Ben knew how he felt.
“Some things you can’t buy,” Lisa said, taking the words right out of Ben’s mouth. Ben nodded agreement and Gene looked hopeful. The lady cleared her throat. She had that little frown grown ups get when you put them on the spot.
“I’ll do my best to get them for him. Under no condition is Gene to return to his father’s house.” She gave Gene a stern look.
“No, Ma’am.” Gene nodded, looking all serious.
“In the meanwhile, let me introduce myself. I’m Gene’s case worker. You can call me Kathy.” She held out a hand to shake. Ben reluctantly took it. When they were done shaking, she didn’t let go. She gestured to the chair next to her with her free hand. “Before I go, I’d like to discuss this story your wrote.”
“I wrote?” Ben’s voice squeaked.
“Yes, I believe so. It’s about Gene, his father, and Mrs. D.”
Oh Gawd! Ben fell into the chair with a thump. Someone besides Principal Greear, Gene, and Lisa knew about the story. Ben glanced at Mom. There was an expression on her face he’d never seen before. Part worry, part curiosity, part hurt, and a little bit of something he couldn’t put his finger on. It wasn’t the way he wanted her to look at him. Ever.
He swallowed hard, squared his shoulders, and said, “Yes, I wrote the story.”
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