golden girl (b.t.c.)

chapter ninety-one

     ben rolled over and reached out, then frowned as his arms met nothing but cold sheets. "ellie?" he mumbled. she was already up, putting on her shoes.

"what're you doing?"

"i-i just have to go somewhere before i drop you off."

"where?" he sat up. she sat down next to him and ran her fingers through his hair. "it's, um, it's the anniversary of-of my dad..."

"oh." he looked down. "i'm sorry."

"i'm just going to the cemetery for a little. i'll be back soon." she stood up.

"wait." ben said quickly. "uh, can i maybe come with you?"

"if you really want to." she said. he got out of bed and pulled a shirt on, then grabbed his sneakers.

"pull in here." eliana pointed to a small dirt road.

she grabbed the bunch of flowers they had picked up on the way and got out of the car. ben followed a few steps behind her as she walked a little ways through the cemetery to a small grave labeled "james theodore dempsey, february 17, 1970-july 15, 2000"
right next to it was another name: "kerry elise dempsey, december 29, 1968-"

eliana bent down and replaced the dead flowers with her new ones. she ran her thumb over the words engraved onto the headstone, and sighed. then, she sank down into the grass and picked at the petals of the roses.

"hi, dad." she said softly. "it's been a while, hasn't it?"

she paused, as if waiting for him to reply.

"you've been gone for sixteen years now. almost my whole life. a lot's changed, i guess. you won't believe it, but i made the olympic team for rio. i finally did it." she sniffled, then smiled at the rose she was methodically picking apart in her hands.

"i told you about ben a while ago. he's here this time." she continued. "i really, really wish you could meet him. you'd love him. he's sweet, he's funny, he's a dancer. he likes the same music as you. i love him a lot, and i think you would too."

she looked over her shoulder to ben, who was standing a little way back, watching.

"i have to take him to the airport soon. he lives in new york city. anyway, i'm leaving for the ranch on sunday, and then heading to rio from there."

she let go of the rose petal and let it flutter to the ground.

"i know you'll be watching." she said quietly. "i love you. i miss you."

eliana took a shaky breath, then stood up and started back towards the car.

"you coming?" she asked ben.

"you go on, i'll be there in a minute."

he watched her make her way back to the car, then looked down at the headstone.

"hey." he said quietly. "this isn't exactly how i imagined meeting my girlfriend's dad, but, uh..." he let out a sigh. "hi. i'm ben. i don't-i don't know if ellie told you anything about me, or how we met, but, um, like she said, i'm a dancer. i mostly do broadway and national tour stuff."

he shook his head. "that's not important, though."

ben sighed, and crouched down to ground. "i am ridiculously, hopelessly, head-over-heels in love with your daughter. i have been for-for as long as i've known her." he laughed. "she is...i can't even begin to describe her."

ben looked back to the car. the window was a little foggy, but he could see eliana's silhouette clearly. the cute curve of her nose, and her head leaning up against the window.

"i'm going to marry her." he said. "obviously not right now. we're way too young." he laughed. "but in a few years. a few years." he sighed. "until then."

ben got up and walked the short distance back to the car, then slid into the driver's seat. "thanks for letting me come."

"yeah." eliana said.

"have you always talked to him?"

"no." she shook her head. "when i started to forget. that was when i was twelve, i think. i held on to everything i could for eight years, and then it just started to slip away. i guess i thought that talking to him would help me remember."

"but it didn't."

"not really. now it's just a habit, i guess. i can tell him everything. i came here a lot when you were gone last year."

he nodded quietly, unsure of what to say.

"it's stupid, i know." eliana sighed. "i know he's not actually listening, but..." she trailed off, and ben grabbed her hand.

"hey. it's not stupid. i get it." he shook his head. "i mean, i don't get it, but i-"

"i know what you mean." she said. "thank you for coming with me."

"of course." he kissed the back of her hand.

ben set his suitcase down and pulled eliana closer to him. "you know i love you, right?"

she smiled to herself. "i do. you tell me every single day."

"good." he said. "and you know how proud of you i am?"

"yeah." eliana nodded.

ben pulled away and cupped her face in his hands. "i mean it, sweetheart. i'm so, so proud of you."

"i know, ben." she giggled, and he sighed before kissing her softly.

"i don't know if i'll be able to see you before you compete."

she shook her head. "probably not."

"so, good luck, not that you need it, and remember to wave to me, oh, and-"

"ben." she laughed. "you're rambling."

"i was just going to tell you to remember that you're perfect."

"you need to stop saying that. we both know it's not true."

he circled his arms around her waist and grinned. "i don't know, i'm pretty convinced."

eliana rolled her eyes and shoved his shoulder away. "get out of here, you dork."

he pouted. "oh, come on."

"seriously, you need to get through security." she pointed to the growing line.

"do i at least get one more kiss?" ben puckered his lips dramatically, and she kissed him lightly.

"i love you, ben."

"i love you, sweetheart." he pulled her in for another hug, then grabbed his bags and headed to the security line. she waited until he was completely out of sight, then left for the gym.