Hidden Burdens (working title)

Chapter Forty-three

Ben and Kayla checked through the kids' candy just to be on the safe side even though there wasn't a reason to and organized them into bags with their names from the non-candy treats. They also let the kids choose one piece of candy for the night before getting ready for bed.

Like the goody-two-shoes he was, Miguel chose to eat the piece of fruit he got. "Fruit is better before bed than candy because it's not loaded with sugar."

Kayla confirmed he was right while his sister teased him for it.

Truthfully, Kimmy still found it annoying whenever Miguel turned into a mini adult. Has this kid ever been in trouble before?

Mary and Miguel talked to their aunt over the phone to tell her all about the fun weekend they had, including Monday, as well, while Kimmy headed upstairs to get ready for bed. While she was flipping through the Pokemon cards, Kayla brought her the phone so Stella could say good night. Thankfully, her mom had calmed down and listened to Kayla share what Kimmy did for Halloween, and about going to the fair since they hadn't been able to yet.

While Kayla filled Stella in, Kimmy continued to flip through the cards, organizing them by elemental type. She listened to her mom and foster mom, of course, and could hear them, but wanted to keep herself busy. It was a surprise Stella hadn't brought up they wouldn't see each other next weekend, though. Kimmy figured her mom would be the most pissed off.

-- & --

October switched into November.

The weather remained warm for a little bit longer. At least it wasn't unbearable and Ben didn't make a fuss any longer about making sure the back door got shut whenever anyone came and went.

Miguel had resumed jumping on the trampoline, having missed it. He started with only jumping up and down, but when his sister went out to jump with him, she encouraged Miguel to show her those cool moves he could do. Even Claudia got in on the fun and jumped with them, letting Miguel tackle her.

The kids talked Ben into joining them, but his time on the trampoline was brief when he bounced high and his knee gave out on him, reminding Ben of his age. Nothing was torn or broken, thankfully. He had to cheer on everyone else from the patio, including Kayla, who was only a year older than he was and could last a lot longer than he could.

Maybe he should start exercising again.

Kimmy had wandered to the back door to see what everyone was up to.

Ben noticed and came over to open the door and encourage her to join the others. She stepped outside with him but didn't head to the trampoline. Since she seemed to be hesitant and Ben couldn't join them either, he offered to toss the football some more, grabbing one from the outdoor toy bin. They hadn't tossed it since that day at the park when Miguel had his playdate.

Kimmy followed him to the grassy area where they spread out.

"Ready?" Ben held the ball like his dad showed him and lightly tossed it so it spiraled through the air Kimmy could easily catch it.

Despite the heads-up, Kimmy seemed startled. She fumbled with the ball, missing it. She quickly scooped it up.

Ben praised her for the effort, though, clapping. He reminded her how to throw the ball. She seemed to put in the effort and tried with all her might. It was about as clumsy as when Ben was learning as a kid.

The two of them kept at it for a while while Miguel and the girls continued jumping on the trampoline. Like the first time, it took a while for Kimmy to become loose and look like she was having fun. Not after she began to get more into it, Miguel ran over, wanting to join them. The three of them tossed the football between them for another few minutes before Ben suggested the kids continue by themselves, needing some water to cool down.