Ben London
Ministry of Magic
Auror-in-Training
benjanita
Posts: 324
|
Post by Ben London on Jul 2, 2008 22:58:26 GMT -5
Ben couldn't help but smile when she brushed his hair back and commented on his eyes. For some reason, she loved his eyes. Ben didn't think they were that great, but apparently Beni enjoyed them. He let his eyes find hers again and he spoke softly. "I hope it's a beautiful little girl," Ben told her truthfully, "Just like you." He grinned at her again, placing a soft kiss on her cheek as the waiter returned to see if they needed anything else. He snaked his arm around her shoulder, pulling his wife close to him and her sent filled his nose. Ben sighed contently but then raised an eyebrow again.
"You..k-ketchup?" Ben asked, confused beyond belief, "Is that...supposed to go on these?"
|
|
|
Post by Benita Hendrix-London on Jul 2, 2008 23:16:08 GMT -5
The waiter had summoned the ketchup, and she took it immediately and squirted it on her sandwich. She started midway through it to look at him and laughed. "Uh... no.... but I just really want some ketchup right now." From the glob that was on top of her exposed turkey breast, she took a dollop on her finger and licked it. "We're going to have a very interesting grocery list from now on..." However, if her family had anything to say about it, it would be different, alright... but waaay healthier. She could imagine Sherylyn getting her tons of herbs to take a different times of the day everyday, and Ana hassling her about other things.
|
|
Ben London
Ministry of Magic
Auror-in-Training
benjanita
Posts: 324
|
Post by Ben London on Jul 6, 2008 18:17:39 GMT -5
"Yes, an interesting one," Ben repeated, picking up his own sandwich to take a bite, "And a healthy one. Lots of fruits and vegetables. And make sure you drink lots of water too, because that's good for you as well." He took a bit of his sandwich, forgetting how hungry he had been. Ben's appetite had been taken away for a couple minutes while he'd been trying to digest what his wife was telling him. But now he couldn't be happier and his hunger had come charging back full force.
"Mmm," Ben mumbled, remembering something else to tell her, "And no caffeine. It's not gonna be good for either of you. Maybe some green tea or something because at least that's a little better. But make sure you're not drinking too much of it. And less work. Beni, I'm serious. In a few months, I don't want you on your feet all day in the salon and those fumes and stuff? Not good." The more Ben talked, the more things he remembered that she needed to know. He was so excited about this that he couldn't make himself stop talking, but he knew Beni would put a stop to it soon.
|
|
|
Post by Benita Hendrix-London on Jul 6, 2008 19:50:30 GMT -5
She began to visibly slump as he listed the things she had to eat. He had a point, but now she was feeling stunned at the things she would have to give up. "Oh, Benny-Boy, you're killing me..." Beni took a gulp of her hot chocolate and then looked at him again as she quickly switched to her iced tea.
"Ooooah not my cafe!!" Beni shut her eyes tight as he kept ticking off the list of no-noes in the coming months. It was true, she would have to take a maternity leave, and then who knows what... "Right, yes, I knooow! No luscious coffees, maternity leaves, ooooh boy... I feel like you're going to put me in a bubble soon enough!"
|
|
Ben London
Ministry of Magic
Auror-in-Training
benjanita
Posts: 324
|
Post by Ben London on Jul 6, 2008 21:08:26 GMT -5
"If that's what it's going to take to keep you," Ben began, kissing her softly and leaning in to talk to her stomach, "And you safe, then I may very well put you in one." The Auror- and father-to-be looked up at his wife and smiled again, placing another soft kiss on her lips when she moved her drink. He took another bite of his sandwich, more than half of it gone now. Ben had a tendency to be a little overboard and overprotective, and now it was only going to get worse. He knew he wasn't going to be around a lot because training certainly kept him busy, but there wouldn't be a day when Beni and the baby weren't on his mind. He would always be worried until he had them both safely in his arms again.
Finishing off the last bit of his sandwich, Ben turned his hunger toward what was left of the chips Beni had devoured. He munched on them happily, just watching Beni as she ate. Even if Ben wanted to, he wouldn't have been able to keep the grin off his face. "When are we going to tell the families?" he asked her, not wanting to dampen the mood, but needing to know if he was going to have to ask for a day off.
|
|
|
Post by Benita Hendrix-London on Jul 6, 2008 21:29:28 GMT -5
"I probably wouldn't have it either way," Beni said with a smile as she took care of the sandwich and started to almost gulp down the soup. Her apetite would certainly start to compete with Ben's, as she just couldn't stop thinking about food, especially food with beef.
She had begun to go through the menu again in search of dessert when he brought up the "f" word. "Hmmm... how about we tell my parents, and you tell your parents alone while I wait at the floo station? You can choose when to tell them. Tomorrow or.... in seven months?" She had been kidding about delaying when it came to telling his family, but she wasn't sure how they would think about it. Would they be excited to know a new granddaughter/son and niece/nephew? Or would they would they feel uncomfortable about it, knowing that they would most likely have another magical being in their family tree?
Having a squib would probably make them happy, Beni thought to herself bitterly, but she didn't like worrying about that. She definitely wanted her child to possess magic, and gladly go to Hogwarts and enjoy the traditions that Beni once enjoyed. Her heart sped at it all, but Ben wouldn't have ever known, since she had her nose firmly in the dessert menu. "Hmm... I can't choose between the cheesecake and the cherry pie."
|
|
Ben London
Ministry of Magic
Auror-in-Training
benjanita
Posts: 324
|
Post by Ben London on Jul 6, 2008 21:37:01 GMT -5
Ben frowned at her when she suggested they tell them in seven months. He also frowned at the idea of him telling his family without her there. Beni was going to be present whether she liked it or not; he'd drag her there if he had to. But in an instant, she had the menu up in front of her face again. Ben wasn't having any of that. Reaching his hand up, Ben slowly pushed the menu down so he could see her face and she could see his unamused expression.
"Benita," Ben told her seriously as if he were chastising a young child, "We're telling both our families straight away. And we're telling them together."
|
|
|
Post by Benita Hendrix-London on Jul 6, 2008 21:59:27 GMT -5
"Oh Benjamin," Beni said with the same tone, if not more emphasized, "Don't get your knickers in a twist-- I'll be there! But I'll be casting protective spells over myself in case they decide to play cricket on my body," she muttered the last bit, but she had yet again tried to involve herself in the menu. However, before she could look at the picture of the cheesecake again, she peered over to ask him a simple question.
"Tell me-- how do you reckon your parents will feel about this? We're barely 21 and already starting a family...." She could already imagine her own two mothers, who were two career women who only needed to focus on one child. She was definitely straying the path from which her mothers had hoped she would follow. She didn't want to hear it from them, but she had to get it over with.
|
|
Ben London
Ministry of Magic
Auror-in-Training
benjanita
Posts: 324
|
Post by Ben London on Jul 6, 2008 22:34:19 GMT -5
"Don't you take that tone with me, young lady," Ben retorted, but a hint of playfulness in his voice as he spoke. He shot a glance at her, rolling his eyes and chuckling softly top himself. Ben took another sip of his drink and put a couple chips in his hand to eat as he waited for Beni to order her dessert but she had to pause her search and talk again.
Raising an eyebrow, Ben just kind of looked at her. Had she not seen his family before? "Have you noticed how many siblings I have?" Ben asked her, a note of sarcasm in his voice, "Older siblings? You think my parents didn't start early? They have no right to get upset about this. Everything will be fine, love. I promise."
|
|
|
Post by Benita Hendrix-London on Jul 6, 2008 22:41:34 GMT -5
"I'll keep you to that promise, then," Beni knew he was right with that, but she knew there might have been that other factor-- the wizarding factor-- that didn't make her so confident about their news to them.
The waiter had come along just then and she had finally decided on cheesecake. She was glad that wasn't a stress-filled decision because she knew they would have a lot more on their metaphorical plate soon. She rearranged her clean utensils nervously and then looked at Ben straight in the eye. "Ana and Shery aren't going to be exactly thrilled, you know."
|
|
Ben London
Ministry of Magic
Auror-in-Training
benjanita
Posts: 324
|
Post by Ben London on Jul 6, 2008 22:52:42 GMT -5
Ben had been grinning at Beni while she ordered and then moved her utensils around. But that smile had disappeared quite quickly at her following comment. They wouldn't be? Ben had thought those two would be even more excited than he and Beni were. It never occurred to him that it was going to be a problem.
"What do you mean?" he asked her, his brow creasing with concern, "Why wouldn't they be?" Ben was extremely fond of his new mothers-in-law and he really wanted them to think he was good enough for their daughter. But if this was going to be an issue, he didn't want things to get ugly with them. They'd been great and accepting before, why would that change with this?
|
|
|
Post by Benita Hendrix-London on Jul 7, 2008 13:23:25 GMT -5
The cheesecake came as soon as she could breathe another syllable. She dug her fork into the tip of the dessert and put it in her mouth, allowing for a bit of a pause to come between them before she answered him. "Look at my family, Ben. It's not traditional at all, and there's a reason for that. The two of them feel like starting a family early is like getting a headstart on having the woman barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen. They really wanted me to be more inspired to focus on my career than anything, and I just so happened to stray from that path."
She knew everything that they wanted to tell her but were afraid to. Sherylyn, her biological mother, had given birth to Beni when she was 22, but she had managed to escape the typical family household thanks to Analisa, who was just about five years older than Shery, and more forward with her career. Shery had never bothered to really expand her herbal shop, while Ana was a prestigious architect. They both had different levels of ambition, and they had hoped that Beni would feel the same-- which she did, but she tended to have a more idealistic view of love than anything. It was an analytical mess, and Beni had spend her nights surveying it all.
|
|
Ben London
Ministry of Magic
Auror-in-Training
benjanita
Posts: 324
|
Post by Ben London on Jul 7, 2008 13:43:50 GMT -5
Ben sighed heavily as he listened to Beni speak. He didn't want to look her in the eye. He didn't want her to know the idea rolling around in his head, but he knew he'd end up saying it anyways. She'd never go for it, he knew that, but Ben was still going o throw it out there. It wouldn't be the end of the world, really. He was willing to make this sacrifice if he had to. If it was going to help Beni and make her family happy, he'd do it. It wasn't like his own family was so interested in his aspirations.
"Then I'll stop training," he said finally, turning to look at his wife and get out what he wanted to say before she cut him off, "Beni, this has been your dream forever. I want you to pursue this, I want you to be a career woman and make your family proud. I'll stop training and get a different job so I can be home more. It's not the end of the world."
|
|
|
Post by Benita Hendrix-London on Jul 7, 2008 14:02:30 GMT -5
For a second, she thought her cheesecake went sour. But instead, she realized it her taste going awry and wrought with guilt when she heard what he said. Was he kidding her? She didn't like it one bit. While she had her own ambitions to pursue, she never liked to limit someone else's potential.
"Oh my Merlin-- you can't!-- WHAT?" Somehow it gave her more energy than usual to thrust down her fork, making an audible clink. She didn't know why she insisted on a restaurant, when the couple obviously tended to have volatile conversations when it came to important matters.
"No! Just... no! Are you crazy? I don't want you to stop doing something you wanted to do. Look, we'll both have sacrifices to make, but I refuse for you to give that up!" Her face went red. She felt like he was doing himself an injustice.
|
|
Ben London
Ministry of Magic
Auror-in-Training
benjanita
Posts: 324
|
Post by Ben London on Jul 7, 2008 15:16:18 GMT -5
"Hey," Ben said calmly, trying to talk Beni through the little freak out he had induced, "Beni, listen to me. I'll take some time off if I need to, but training is always going to be there if I ever wanna go back. But who knows what's going to happen with yours. I want you to do this, I want you to follow your dream." He glanced around at everyone who was now staring at them because of Beni's outburst. He had a strange urge to just tell everyone she was pregnant and crazy, but he held it in. Instead, he just smirked at his idea.
Ben's hand stroked Beni's cheek again softly as another sigh escaped his lips.He let his eyes find hers, locking on in that way that meant he was serious and she needed to pay attention. "I love you, Beni," he told her softly but sternly, "And I'll do whatever I have to if it's in the best interest for you and the baby."
|
|