Chapter Four
Ginger
I got back to work and somehow managed to get myself through the rest of the day. I was silent, though, and a few of my clients remarked on it because usually, I was the chatter mouth that had everybody speaking up. Now that I was keeping quiet, my daughter spoke up instead. Everyone loved her, as usual, and I couldn’t help looking over at her now and then.
By the time our last client for the day had left, I was exhausted, but more emotionally than physically. I sat down and watched Mom help Fern pack her things up.
“Are you going to go see him?” she asked, glancing at me.
I grimaced, not sure what I should do. I’d wanted to see Ben, and he’d finally come to me. I was still angry, but it had been good to see him.
“I don’t know,” I said honestly. “On the one hand, I want to. On the other hand, I want him to suffer just a little bit like I have.”
She tutted at me. “That isn’t like you, Ginger.”
I snorted. “Maybe not before, but he deserves it, Mom. You saw him! After months of ignoring me, and all he could do was say ‘hello?’”
“I saw an awkward and lost young man, looking unsure of how to go forward. You didn’t give him an opening, either. If you want to clear up the misunderstanding between the two of you, it can't just be one of you making an effort, you know.”
“I’ve made an effort, though,” I complained.
She shook her head. “You went to the hotel, but did you go inside?”
I folded my arms across my chest, grumbling to myself. He was the one that was supposed to make the first step, anyway, because it had been him who’d left when I needed him the most. The bastard should consider himself lucky that I was even giving him any chances at all!
But… does he know that?
“All right,” I admitted. “Maybe it was wrong of me. If I’m going to give him a chance to make everything right, I could at least tell him it exists.”
“There you go,” Mom encouraged. “Why don’t you go see him now? I’ll take Fern home.”
“Thanks, Mom,” I said, jumping up. Now that I’d made up my mind, I was itching to go.
The hotel wasn’t too far away, maybe twenty minutes on foot, but it was dark out. Mom and I had separate cars, anyway, so I got in mine and drove to the hotel. I was there in a matter of minutes, and I walked inside, glancing around. I hadn't been in since Ben left, and the place had changed a lot.
“Hey, Ginger.”
I looked up to see Ben’s sister, Scarlett, waving at me from where she sat behind the reception desk.
“Hi, Scarlett,” I murmured, walking closer. She and I weren’t exactly close, but for all the help she’d given me while her brother was away, I could at least consider her a friend.
“You’re here for my brother,” she guessed. “He’s in the hotel bar with Dan. That way.”
She pointed the way for me, though it wasn’t really necessary. I smiled at her, then went in the direction she’d pointed. They were where she’d said, seated at the bar drinking beer. I walked closer, and Ben was acting like he was already drunk.
Then, I heard their conversation. They were talking about women.
“My sister is easy to understand,” Ben was saying.
“No,” Dan said, shaking his head. “She’s easy to understand to you because she’s your sister. She’s my fiancée, though, so I get to see sides of her that you wouldn’t.”
“Ugh, don’t tell me that. But I guess you’re right, all women are hard to understand, even my sister.” He stopped for another drink. “I need to do something, though. I just don’t know what because… I don’t understand her anymore. So I don’t know how to make her not mad at me.”
“You know,” I said, cutting in, and they both turned to look at me with shocked expressions. “I don’t understand men, either. They think everything is so damn easy. They come and go whenever they please, and expect everything to be the same. But guess what? Life moves on when you’re gone. Did you ever maybe think that, Ben?”
I scowled at him, and he just blinked at me. I’d come hoping for a real conversation. I would shout at him all the ways he’d been a complete fucking jerk to me before we got to the serious talk. But there he was, intoxicated. Talking to him like this wouldn’t be worth the trip, and it only angered me more.
Why the fuck did I bother to come here?
I turned my back to leave. I wanted to tell him to try looking for me when he got sober, but my lips were pressed flat together, and the words wouldn’t come out.
“Ginger, wait!”
I ignored his voice when he called out to me until I heard a loud thump hit the floor and seats being pushed roughly. I turned around, my eyes widening in surprise to see Ben lying face down on the floor. Did he trip?
“Ben, are you okay?” I asked, instinctively turning back to check on him.
He was laying there, too still, and I caught his shoulder and tried to roll him over, so his face wasn’t pressed to the floor. He was heavy, though, and I wasn’t having much luck until a waiter showed up to help me. I glanced at Dan, who was still seated at the bar, but he had his head down on his arms, and I wondered if he’d fallen asleep.
“Can you help me take him upstairs?” I asked the waiter. “And you can let Scarlett know about Dan; she’ll come pick him up.”
“Sure. Here, get on his other side.”
He caught one of Ben’s arm and pulled him up, while I took the other arms. Then we both threw the arm we had a hold on across our shoulders, and we started the slow trip to his room. Scarlett saw us on the way to the elevator and let out an annoyed sound.
“Thank you for this,” she yelled at us. “Is Dan still in there?”
“He’s asleep at the bar,” I called back.
“All right. I’ll take care of him. His room is on the fourth floor.”
“I know where it is,” the waiter said.
It made me wonder just how many times Ben had done this.
We made it to his room, and the waiter helped me carry him all the way to his bed. Once we had Ben down, he gave me the keycard he’d taken from Ben’s pocket and left us alone.
I stood there for a moment, looking down at Ben. I’d only had a glance before, so I took the chance to stare for as long as I wanted. He hadn't changed much, though I wasn’t sure if it was just my imagination that his face looked a little haggard.
After a few moments, though, I decided I needed to head home. I didn’t realize I’d sat down on the bed next to him, and I stood up to leave. Only, he caught my wrist, and I turned to him in surprise. His eyes were just barely open and focused on me.
“Don’t go,” he said, his voice quiet. “Please, Ginger.”
“You need to sleep,” I pointed out. “And I need to be getting home.”
I tugged, but he wouldn’t release my wrist.
He shook his head. “Then stay until I wake up. Please.”
Maybe it was the please, but I let out a sigh and nodded. “Fine. But, I’ll be staying on the couch. So let me go.”
It took a minute, but his eyes slid closed and his hold on my wrist released. I watched him a while longer, then made my way over to his couch. I called Mom to let her know that I might be a while, and to make arrangements for Fern. As I hung up the phone, I wondered if I could even fall asleep with him only some feet away. A nap would do me good.