Hidden Burdens

Deep Wounds

(Working Title and May Change)

Ben pulled up to his parents' house, parking halfway in front of the driveway.

He turned the truck off, saying a quick prayer while his hand was holding onto the key. With one long deep breath, Ben stepped out. Instead of heading through the RV gate, he headed for the front door first, passing by that big, old tree, slowing down to take in the leaves blowing in the summer breeze. Ben had waited until the next morning before Kayla had to leave to take Kimmy to her brother's birthday party and to give his dad some time.

Ben walked right in, announcing himself as he shut the door behind him.

Dinah poked her head around the wall of the kitchen, surprised to see him there. "My, what brings our only son, who rarely visits nowadays, here this morning?" She linked her hand with her wrist around Ben's waist.

Ben wrapped his arms around his mom, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "I came by to talk to Dad, but I also wanted to see how you were doing."

"Uh-huh, it figures you came because of a specific reason." Dinah shook her head, giving her son a guilt trip. Or was trying to, anyway.

"Mom," he warned while struggling to keep his frustration down.

Dinah stepped back to lean a hand on the edge of the counter, placing the other hand on her hip. "I know, I know." She sighed, now fidgeting with pushing down the pull top of the liquid dish soap. She looked at him to tell Ben, "I'm just glad I've seen you at all this month."

Ben offered to take his mom out for lunch to catch up if she wanted to and took out his phone to pull up his calendar. They settled on Sunday after church when Kayla would be home. Once that was all set, he asked if his dad was out in his workshop.

"He ran an errand for me," his mom answered. "He should be back any minute now. He left a while ago."

"No problem, I can wait," Ben said with a shrug.

"What did you need him for this time, may I ask?"

"He hung up on the girls yesterday, and I wanted to talk to him, what that was about. Did he mention anything about it to you?"

Dinah returned to washing the dishes from that morning. "No, he's been his quiet self, your father sometimes gets. I can't imagine him doing something rude like that. Are you sure the call just didn't get dropped?"

"Kayla called back, thinking the same thing, but Dad didn't answer that time."

The look on his mom's face was that of genuine confusion. "What was it she said?"

Ben explained the reasoning behind the call, stating that Kayla had just wanted to check for Kimmy's sake, and proudly showed his mom the wallet in the process. "I told her I would find some kind of use for it since I had a wallet that could hold all of my cards. Like a backup wallet when I only need cash or something."

Dinah dried her hands on a dish towel after letting the water drain out of the sink. "You know, Benny, it's okay to tell a child the truth. You already have a wallet and can't use that one."

He shrugged. "That is the truth, Mom. Yes, I have a more convenient wallet, but I want to somehow show Kimmy how much I love and appreciate what she took the time to make for me every once in a while. In the meantime, I have it proudly displayed on my dresser."

His mom just shook her head towards the floor. "Whatever you say, Benjamin."

Thankfully, the garage door down one of the two hallways opened and slammed shut. Herb appeared around the same wall, heading behind Dinah to place a plastic bag on the counter before reaching over to kiss her on the lips.