WHO: Cao Fitzgerald and Ben Adler WHAT: Airing Frustrations and Asking Questions WHEN: Tuesday evening, May 28, 2019 WHERE: Cao and Ben's kitchen RATING: Low
Benny hadn't told anyone about his sit down with Zophie Brightstar. He didn't really hold it against her––much––she was doing her job and he could at least appreciate that the Preserve was her legacy as well. She grew up here. She was one of them. The fact that he was either a saboteur or quite terrible at his job sat less well with him.
But it simply didn't make sense to him. Losing one or two requests here or there was normal, but not to the degree they accused.
Taking his aggression out on the weeds that dare to show to show themselves in his vegetable garden, Benny plucked the ripest tomatoes from his pots and dusted the dirt off his knees. "Cucumbers and peppers are planted. Strawberries potted. And I have tomatoes!" He called through the house as he dumped the fresh produce into the sink for a quick wash.
“Tomatoes? That sounds perfect. Are there any green ones? I am kind of craving fried green tomatoes.” Cao came into the kitchen, adding some more hair pins to the bun on top of her head trying to get the strays back under control. She leaned in the doorway and watched him curiously, “Thank you love - I am the luckiest ever.”
Coming over to him she wrapped her arms around him and pressed a kissed him softly on the lips, “How many did you pot for the strawberries? You know how much I love them.”
Something was bugging her boyfriend. He was her best friend and had been for ages. Cao could read Ben - and right now there was something bugging him. But he would talk when he was ready. Or when she got tired of waiting and pestered him into caving in. She looked up at him and grinned, “And there are enough cucumbers for pickles right? Because you love me?”
"Three pots. One more than last year and no, I won't be putting them in one of the beds because you know they're going to take over." Ben tugged her closer and rested his chin on top of her head, just enjoying the feeling of his best friend in his arms. "And I picked the green ones, they looked like they were just about to turn so they should be perfect?"
Benny knew how to grow produce, but Cao knew how to make it taste good when cooked (or even just prepared). "And we will have plenty of cucumbers. And probably zucchini. Can you make pickles out of zucchini?" Because if you even looked at at the squash sideways it would grow abundantly. That probably needed to be investigated.
And was this something that they should be talking about? Probably not. But it was easy and Benny always valued how easy things were with Cao. Not always perfect, but comfortable like his favorite tee shirt and gardening gloves.
She let him hold her and rested her chin on the firm warmth of his chest. He was her best friend and his whole vibe was off center and just felt wrong, “I can actually. And I can make them into spiralized noodles. Zoodles if you will. Maybe we will have meatless Mondays for awhile once they start coming in.”
Cao was comfortable. There was something to be said for being comfortable. Ben was her best friend and the one guy that she could honestly say that she could see the future with. But at the same time - she’s been waiting forever for Ben to think the same thing with her. Or at least give any indication that he was of a mind to upgrade what they had into something - more. It wasn't like she wanted him to want something he didn’t want.
But comfortable, she didn’t want it to be so comfortable where she was just a habit and a routine and the train of thought had her biting her lower lip, “What would you like for dinner tonight love?”
"Fried green tomatoes sounded great." Since she had mentioned them, Benny could feel his stomach rumbling. There weren't many things he missed and craved after his time in the South, but Fried Green Tomatoes and Nashville Hot Chicken ranked right up there. Though he wasn't a huge fan of Sweet Tea, he had discovered fresh squeezed lemonade and Georgia Peach Pie.
His stomach definitely made a loud growling sound there and Benny had to laugh. "Sometimes I think you're a mind reader. How did you know I was thinking about food?"
“Because you are Ben Adler and I think you love me for the food at times almost as much as you love me for me.” She kissed him softly, “I will make some hot chicken for you too hmm. How does that sound? A meal of good memories - okay for tonight?”
Cao let herself go and just be there in the moment with Ben. She would worry about the future another time. She really just...she was madly in love with the thick headed dork and he loved her cooking and … She swatted her hand against his bicep, “Or we can do something meatless tonight if you would prefer?”
He thought about it and nodded in agreement. At least two Adlers were well-known for their adoration of food. He was just lucky enough to live with someone who cooked like Cao did: with her whole heart and soul. "Why don't we wait until Monday for meatless. Easier to remember. Plus, I could use some good memories."
Ben didn't really want to involve Cao in the shit that was happening at the Reserve. He liked leaving work at work, despite loving his profession. He counted himself lucky that his hobby could so very easily transfer to a career. But to be accused of potentially defrauding the Reserve just struck him as so foreign that he would have never thought of the concept if someone hadn't suggested it to him first. "You've heard about the BACO investigators up at the Reserve right? They finally made their way to the Greenhouses."
“You mean the investigation that everyone seems on edge about and no one wants to talk about?” She wrapped her arms around Ben and looked up at him, “Your Greenhouses are amazing and wonderful. You are amazing.” Her voice trailed off as she studied him curiously and then frowned.
“Who am I killing? What did they say to you? I will ban them from the fucking diner love….”
"They said a lot." Ben hedged a bit, running a hand through his hair. On one hand, he knew Zophie Brightstar was just doing her job. On the other, he couldn't help but take it personally. Snowcap––and by extension the Reserve––was home. He would never do anything to endanger it. "Pointed out a lot of errors in paperwork, which we all know isn't my forte. There a lot of questions and I didn't have all the answers."
And he might have been a bit snippy with Brightstar a time or two, but he tried to answer her the best of his abilities. She was just doing her job, he kept telling himself, trying to feel better about the entire matter. "But," he dropped a kiss to her forehead, "there's no need to ban anyone from the diner. I appreciate the offer, though."
Paperwork. That would be her amazingly talented boyfriend’s downfall. He just did the work. Anything else just got in his way and brushed off till he had no other options. She hadn’t been helping as much lately with organizing his office as she had in the past…
“Well, then this weekend we will spend the time and get you organized. We will see if we can’t find some of the answers for you.” Cao went up for n her toes and nuzzled her nose against his, “Baby, say the word and they are out of there. You are fantastically brilliant at what you do. Anyone who can’t see that is an idiot and I reserve the right to refuse service.”
Benny was never the sort to want to cause trouble. Despite enjoying stirring the cauldron every now and then, he was more of a peacemaker than anything else. "It's more effort than it's worth, really." He slung an arm over her shoulders and tried to steer Cao to an easy and familiar topic: food. "So what can I help you with when it comes to dinner?"
There was no way that he could compete with his girlfriend when it came to the magic of the kitchen, but he could definitely act as her sous chef. Or was it prep chef? He tended to get them confused.
She would let him win this round. But if one person came up and harassed him in her diner - or where she could hear them? Cao had no issue making her feelings about that person - or persons known. The fucking idiots. Ben Adler was amazing - and they had better realize that sooner rather than later.
She shook her head, “I will let you help me prep the peppers and onions. I am thinking of greek chicken skewers for dinner tonight. Maybe over some couscous salad.” Going up on her tiptoes she pressed a kiss to his lips softly, “I love you. I might even let you get a sneak peek at desert for helping me out with the main course.”
"A sneak peek, huh? I might just have to marry you for that." Ben paused, realizing exactly what he just said. Because that's not how he imagined things going. There was going to be flowers. Music. Imported chocolates. A picnic up in the mountains above the reserve. No dogs. Not in the middle of their kitchen, when he still had dirt under his fingernails and it sounded like Dug was currently using one of his work boots as a chew toy in the other room. "I mean. If you will have me."
Cao, used to him joking on occasion about ‘having’ to marry her for some reason or another, rolled her eyes, “Riiight. You ‘have’ to marry me.” She did the air quotes and made her way deeper into their kitchen and chuckled, “Ben, stop fooling around and get the bowl of peppers and onions out of the pantry hmm? I am going to get the chicken out of the marinade.”
She turned to look at him and tilted her head, “Babe? Everything okay?”
"I don't even have your ring." Ben ran a hand through his hair. "I had to take it to a jeweller in Laramie to get it sized. I was going to get that wine you liked and those chocolates from San Francisco. The single-origin ones. There was a whole," he gestured around him to the empty air, "plan."
Ben knew he wasn't exceptionally clever, no he left that to his siblings, but he liked to pride himself on knowing what others around him liked. How to make each and everyone feel special. This… was not a special moment. It was an everyday sort of thing and nothing like what his girlfriend deserved in a proposal. "It wasn't supposed to go like this."
Cao blinked at him and raised a brow, “Babe, I love you. Very much. But I am wondering if you have been in the sun a bit too much? What are you talking about? We are making din-” She stopped and replayed the words he had just said through her head again.
“Wait - my RING?!?”
"Yes." Ben's head bobbed, relieved that at least they were on the same page right now. "Your ring. I bought it at the beginning of the month, but it wasn't to size, so I had to wait." He pulled out his phone and brought up the picture he took when he'd bought the ring to show Cao. "I was going to pick it up on Wednesday and we were going to have a picnic on Sunday." And that was his entire plan on the table.
He closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh. "I didn't want it to come out like this. Not that I'm regretting asking, but I wanted it to be perfect."
Cao was so very confused. She blinked and took a step back, taking his phone from him as she did. Her eyes locked on his screen, “Ben, love of my life, I am going to ask you a quick question just so I know what is going on here.”
She looked up at him and held up the phone, her hand shaking, “Are you asking me to marry you for real? This isn’t a joke or a gag or…”
"No! I mean yes! No." He shook his head and plopped down in a kitchen chair. Unable to quite meet Cao's gaze. "No, this isn't a joke. I would never. Yes, I am asking you to marry me. For real."
Ben took a deep breath and looked up at his girlfriend (fiance, hopefully). Part of him still worried that she might say no. After all, he had a habit of joking with her. But he meant it this time. "Caomihe Fitzpatrick, you are the best thing to happen to me. From when I was an idiot teenage boy to moving cross-country, to having a herd of puppies underfoot. I wake up excited each morning because you're by my side and I never want to see that change."
Caomihe blinked rapidly and she set his phone down on the counter absentmindedly, “Ben Adler, you are just…” She moved in and kissed him softly, “I cannot believe this is happening. I -” Her voice broke softly and she hugged him tightly, “Doing it in the kitchen seems appropriate for us don’t you think?”
She kissed him again and whispered against his lips, “Yes.”