The celebratory dinner definitely wasn't as celebratory as Larry had planned, at least at the table he was on. In fact, the atmosphere was fairly frosty. Wren was nursing a burnt tongue by shoving ice cubes on to his tongue. Hen had left the venue altogether after the waiter had accidentally thrown beef chilli on to her dress; to be fair to her, she had asked to switch outfits with Hillary, but Hillary had refused. Ben was just waiting to deliver his speech so he could get home, and Pepe el was cold because the air conditioning was on and he'd left his blazer jacket in his van. Larry didn't know what to do.
"So Ben," Hillary said, trying to ease the awkwardness. "How is the business doing? I've heard that it's all going very well and you're a CEO now! That's wonderful news!"
"I've been a CEO for six months now," Ben deadpanned. "And if you knew that the business was doing well, why did you ask how it was doing? We're literally sitting in a restaurant celebrating how well the business is doing. I can't even."
"Can't even what, sweetheart?" Hillary asked, sweetly.
Ben didn't know the answer but he'd heard other people using the phrase before so thought he should use it too. Ben thought it was good to be up to date with the teenage lingo these days so he and his business could appeal to the younger market when he went to advertise his products to them. But clearly Hillary didn't know that, Ben thought cynically. It was probably why she had never appealed to the younger market, like the guy she'd always tried to impress at the hospital.
Ben did not answer Hillary.
"And who's your friend there?" Hillary asked, pointing to Pepe el. "You never introduced... oh, is he... is he the man in the van - the one that helped you flee all those years ago?"
Ben did not answer, but Pepe el did.
"Yeah, maam, that was me," Pepe el said happily. "Me and Ben man have been friends for years. We're tight like bros, right Ben man?"
Ben did not grace even Pepe el with an answer, as he was still angry with the traitor. Ben regretted not doing something to Pepe el's food as ignoring the other man clearly hadn't worked out as planned. Ben also took the time to wonder why Pepe el referred to him as Ben man. Was he turning Ben into a superhero, like Ben-man the Great? Or was he reminding everyone that Ben was a man? Ben decided the latter was much more likely, and that Pepe el was being very offensive to all of humanity. What if people didn't like to assume genders or categorise others based on genders? Ben knew some people didn't like to be referred to by such terms as she or he, as they felt it was right for them to be seen as a candle, or a dolphin-stapler-pin or an it and so on. Was Pepe el seriously not being sensitive about such issues? Did he not realise that people took labelling very seriously? Ben was disgusted both at Pepe el and himself - for having put up with the abuse to society for so long.
"Never call me Ben man again," was Ben's stony answer to Pepe el's question.
Hillary didn't know what was wrong with Ben but she knew that Ben was offended. His eyebrows were drawn in just like they had been whenever had had gotten offended as a child. She had tried her very best to make conversation with her son all of over dinner but had failed miserably, and when she'd tried to broach the subject of the company's achievements and Ben's obvious financial success, Ben had put her down. But she knew that if she could side with Ben on this one matter and make it known to him that she was looking out for him, he would perhaps reconcile with her and bring her out of the less luxurious life she was leading. Ben was Hillary's ticket to money and happiness.
"Pepe el, is it?" Hillary asked, her tone laced with warning. "I think Ben is right, and you've offended him by calling him what you have. It's very offensive in our culture. I don't know about yours. I only know that the Mexican way of life is slightly... shall we say, interesting? I know many people who don't particularly agree with it where I live."
YOU ARE READING
Junk Mail
HumorBen Hughes, a 22 year-old failure, has never known success. He's heard of it and he's dreamt of it, but it seems to have always slipped through his fingers. Taunted by his mother, and judged by the world, Ben decides to take matters into his own han...
