From Fake to Forever by Jennifer Shirk Page A

adventurous and escaped—Missy suggested having the class draw pictures of Herbie to hang up. Sandra watched with open amazement as Ben took the papers from Missy, handing them out to the children himself.
    Boy, he must have felt bad about squashing Herbie, because it seemed like he was really trying to make up for it by taking a more active part in the class.
    She supposed it could have been worse. He could have squashed Toots the hamster instead. That would have been a real mess, not to mention a major health hazard.
    Sandra was about to go back to her office—thinking all was as well as could possibly be—until she saw Hannah slide out of her seat and follow Ben as he made his way around the tables.
    “Um, ’cuse me,” her daughter said, trying to get his attention. “I have something to tell you.”
    Ben paused and looked down. “Oh, no. Nice try. I’m not falling for that again, kid. That’s what got me into trouble in the first place.” With more force than necessary, he tossed a pack of crayons on a desk and moved on to the next student.
    “Why didn’t you like the bug?” she asked him.
    Sandra quickly covered a laugh with her hand when she saw Ben pale at the question.
    “Huh?” he said. “It…it wasn’t that. I liked the bug. I told you, I just thought it looked like something else.”
    Sandra rolled her eyes. Yeah, he thought it looked like a big bug.
    She knew Hannah had it in her to bombard him with more questions, so she took mercy on his poor, childless celebrity soul. “Hannah, honey, why don’t you sit and draw your picture now? You’re such a good artist. I can’t wait to see it.”
    Hannah’s face lit up. “Oh, okay, Mommy,” she said as she jumped back into her seat. “I sure am a good artist.”
    When Ben finished handing out the last of the papers, he walked over to her with grateful eyes. “Thanks for the rescue.”
    She couldn’t help but smile. “You’re welcome.”
    Missy sidled her way over to the back of the class and joined them. “I am so sorry,” she whispered, looking first to Ben then to Sandra. “Everything happened so fast. I was just so shocked when the… incident happened. I didn’t know what to do.”
    Ben folded his arms. “You don’t need to tell me that, sister. I figured it out on my own pretty darn fast. Thanks a lot for leaving me hanging.”
    “Don’t you blame her,” Sandra interrupted, pointing a finger in his chest. “It’s your fault that—” She looked to see if the children were listening and lowered her voice to make sure they couldn’t. “You got yourself into this situation with those quick reflexes of yours.”
    “If that was an intruder instead of a spider,” he whispered heatedly, “you’d be thanking me for those reflexes, and you know it.”
    Sandra threw her hands in the air. “Let’s not go through this again. It’s over, okay?”
    Ben murmured something but still looked to be in a funk—almost like a kicked little boy. In return, Sandra felt a sudden empathetic tug to her heart. She didn’t know why. However, she did always have a hard time resisting the sulkiness of a child. Apparently, that sympathy now extended to man-children as well.
    She licked her lips, hesitating to extend the olive branch. Since Ben had corrected the situation, she supposed they could try to put their differences aside and become friendly. Just not too friendly.
    “You did a nice job with the eulogy,” she told him. There. Her job was done. Olive branch extended.
    His brow rose slightly. “You think so?”
    She gave him a noncommittal shrug.
    “Oh, yes,” Missy blurted. “It was so sweet. Just wonderful. I almost started to miss Herbie myself by the end.”
    Ben looked confused. “Almost?”
    Missy wrinkled her nose. “Well, that thing was pretty gross looking.” She slapped her hand over her mouth and looked to Sandra, full of apology.
    “It’s bug month,” Sandra said with a frown. “Do I have to remind you of that, too?