each side of the fence
By:
Ella ( [email protected] )
Chapter Three
Ben
was obsessed with toy cars. He made Brian play with him for ages in the lounge,
zooming them around the carpet and in amongst the furniture.
Most people had said that when Callie had left, life would’ve been difficult
coping with a smile baby. But to tell you the truth, Brian hadn’t actually
found it too bad – not having Callie around seemed to be easier anyway. Her
and Brian had only been seventeen when they’d first met – totally besotted
with each other. But then, a few years later when Callie and fallen pregnant
with Ben, everything had begun to go wrong. All those endless nights she’d
spent out partying with her friends to avoid being at home with her newborn
baby. She’d said it was “boring” and reminded her too much of her old life
at home with her mum and dad. Eventually she’d just upped and gone without a
word, leaving Ben behind. He and Brian hadn’t seen her since and probably
wouldn’t now. But gradually Brian had begun picking up the pieces and gluing
them together again. Life was ok.
“C’mon little guy, it’s going to get dark soon. I guess we should be
getting ya to bed,” said Brian, as he began to pick up the toys from the floor.
“Are you going to help me put the toys away?”
After some consideration, Ben nodded and began helping his daddy throw all the
toys and cars back into the box. In the grand scheme of things, it didn’t take
all that long.
“Ok, all done!” said Brian, putting the box into the corner. “Let’s get
you into your pyjamas.” He took hold of his son’s hand, leading him upstairs
to get changed into his night clothes. Ben wasn’t that difficult a child to
look after – placid, kind and fairly obedient, although sometimes a little
mischievous. But all kids were like that.
In no time at all Ben had fallen asleep. Brian was left alone in the quiet
house, half enjoying the peace and half not. He wandered slowly to the lounge,
pausing momentarily by the front window and looking out at the street …