Make It Back to Me

The Olympic break had been a very welcomed vacation for Ben Eager and his small family. While they didn’t leave the city of Chicago, Ben still felt like he, Evelyn, and baby Ben were in another world—one without hockey and plenty of time for them to spend together. The three of them had taken a lot of ‘field trips’ as Evelyn liked to refer to them as. With the weather not as cold as it could have been for February, they had taken advantage and taken their young son out with them, finding that despite his status still as a ‘newborn,’ their baby boy seemed to take in everything around him, with his blue eyes that were identical to his father’s.

But, like all good things, the break was coming to an end, and while he was more than excited to get back into the swing of hockey (hopefully continuing what felt like a dream-like season), he was not excited to go back to being away from his wife and son. Although he didn’t want to miss a moment of time with his son, Ben had promised Evelyn he would take her out on a proper date while Kita and Adam could babysit, which was another promise he didn’t want to break. He knew how much the Kentucky native was looking forward to watching baby Ben with her stupid boyfriend, and Ben didn’t want to disappoint her, either.

Evelyn stepped out of her and Ben’s bedroom, dressed in a knee length red dress, black pumps, and a black, satin jacket. Her hair was curled, her makeup was flawless, and her weight was almost back to where it had been before her pregnancy, thanks for her husband turned personal trainer.

Unfortunately though, they didn’t do as much working out as she had hoped. She found that when they were sweaty and in close premises more kissing than working out seemed to happen.

She stood at the top of the stairs, smiling widely as she saw Ben holding their son, swaying back and forth and humming a tune to lull the infant to sleep. As she moved down the stairs, her heels clicking on the wood, Ben stopped and turned to look at her.

He grinned widely as he looked her up and down, taking a few exaggerated steps backward as she laughed and shook her head. “You knock me backwards, beautiful.”

“You are such a clown,” Evelyn sighed, leaning up to kiss Ben as she took baby Ben from his arms and bent down to strap him into his car seat. When she stood back up, Ben grabbed her waist, pulling her against him.

“You really do you look beautiful, Lyn.”

“Thank you,” she laughed. “You look quite dashing yourself… except for the crooked tie.”

Ben frowned, “fix it.”

After Ben’s tie had been fixed, and they made sure they had everything they needed, including a bag packed for baby Ben with all the things he’d need for a long, few hours at Adam and Kita’s, the couple left their house and headed toward the River North house of their friends.

“Be a good boy for Auntie Kita and Uncle Adam,” Evelyn said to her son as Ben rang the doorbell. He laughed and nodded in agreement.

“We’ll be here to pick you up before you know it, kid,” he told him, as Adam swung the door open.

“Oh, look at his little winter coat!” Kita squealed, shoving past her boyfriend and grabbing the tiny baby from Evelyn’s arms.

“Here’s everything you’re going to need,” Evelyn said, lugging the bag over toward Adam. “I assume Kita knows most everything, but if you need anything, just give us a call.”

“Sounds great!” Kita grinned, bouncing the little baby lightly, while Adam looked uneasy. “We’ll handle it. You guys go have a good night, and take your time.”

Laughing as she shoved them off of their step, Ben and Evelyn hopped into his car, silently wondering how Adam was going to handle the evening.

“Where are we headed, babe?” Evelyn asked as Ben pulled back into traffic.

“I figured just good, reliable Carmine’s.”

“I could go for a huge steak,” she agreed. “I’m starving.”

As Ben drove, his right hand gripped tightly onto his wife’s left; he was thrown back into memories of when they had been dating. The night ahead of them was similar to how they used to spend their dates together, and while Ben wouldn’t change a thing about having a baby to look after, it was nice to have a night to just themselves. He felt they hadn’t been able to goof off, to crack jokes, and to be themselves for a while. The new parents were still learning what sounds and movements babies made that were to be attended to or ignored, after all.

When they got to Carmine’s neither were surprised to find the parking lot packed full. Nor were they surprised to hear their table was going to be slightly delayed due to how busy it was. They were, however, surprised to find there had been some seating problems earlier in the night, delaying their table nearly two hours. Ben rolled his eyes, turning toward Evelyn, whose stomach—even in the loudness of the busy restaurant—could be heard rumbling in hunger. She laughed and nodded to Ben, silently telling him what they should do. Ben turned back toward the dippy young hostess and told her they passed, grabbing his wife’s hand and pulling her from the restaurant.

“What a bunch of bullshit,” he huffed as they climbed back into his car.

“It’s okay,” Evelyn told him.

“No, it’s not; it was supposed to be our date night, and now it’s ruined!” he nearly yelled, throwing his arms up in the air.

Biting back a laugh, Evelyn put a hand on Ben’s arm, telling him, “It’s not ruined. We’re still out, we can still enjoy each other’s company. We’ll find somewhere else to eat.”

Ben nodded and sighed as he pulled out onto the street, driving aimlessly around downtown Chicago to find a place to eat that wouldn’t be absolutely packed on a rather nice Saturday night.

“Oh, there!” Evelyn exclaimed, pointing out her window.

“What?” Ben asked, making a face. “Lyn…” Evelyn only smiled and nodded excitedly, letting out a ‘yes!’ as Ben pulled into the parking lot. “We’re going to be severely overdressed,” he told her, hopping out of the car as she did the same.

“Who cares? It’s our date night, and I want to eat here.”

Sitting down at a table in the famed Rock n’ Roll themed McDonald’s in downtown Chicago, Ben laughed at the ridiculousness of them dressed to the nines compared to the other people around them. Evelyn didn’t seem fazed and hungrily dug into her Big Mac, having missed being able to eat junk food while she was dieting to get back to her normal weight.

“Come on,” she laughed. “This is awesome, Ben.”

“Yeah,” he laughed, looking around at the memorabilia. “I guess it is.”

The two of them fell into conversation about life, their relationships, things they found funny, and their son. Ben hadn’t brought up hockey, so Evelyn didn’t either. As they talked and ate their burgers, a family of four came toward them, seating at the table just next to theirs. Evelyn and Ben kept their eyes on the young couple, not much older than them, for a few seconds, smiling at their two children, the older around one year and a newborn, too.

“I want another baby,” Ben told Evelyn rather loudly, making her choke on her sip of soda as his seriousness.

“Not now?” she asked him, her voice rising in nervousness.

“Whenever.”

The couple behind Ben’s back laughed and sent Evelyn a look as she stared at her husband hopelessly. “The baby’s only a month and a half, Ben! Let me rest, you ass!”

“He was the same way,” the young mother next to them interjected. “Scared to death at first, though, but as soon as we had one, he wanted another right away.”

Evelyn laughed, giving Ben a look as he raised his hands in defense of himself. “Babies are fun,” he told his wife.

“Yeah, yeah,” she sighed, throwing a fry.

“You two look a little dressed up for a McDonald’s,” the father said, giving them a curious look.

“It’s supposed to be our date night,” Ben laughed. “Our actual reservation got a little messed up.”

“Oh well,” the woman said, “it’s about the time you spend with each other, right?”

“Yeah,” Ben smiled. “Exactly.”

-

“I wish we could go back to the place I proposed to you,” Ben laughed. “It seems fitting to reminisce tonight.”

“Too bad you proposed to me in the airport parking lot.” Ben frowned and stopped walking, making Evelyn stop walking and burst out laughing. “You know I loved how you proposed, Ben! You whisked me away to make me your wife, Ben. There’s not much more romantic than that.”

“You don’t wish we had done it different; had the big wedding?”

“Never,” she told him, immediately. “That’s our memory,” she told him. “It was the most romantic weekend of my life.”

“Mine, too,” he told her, bringing her in for a kiss. “You know,” he said as he pulled away. “I meant what I said about the baby thing.”

“We can have as many babies as you want, just… not now,” she laughed.

“Fine,” he sighed. “You do look extra gorgeous pregnant, though.”

“Stop trying to schmooze me, Ben.”

“Fine.”

The couple had spent nearly four hours out when Evelyn had voiced feeling tired. Ben nodded and they headed back to where they had parked. “You think Adam managed to survive babysitting?” Evelyn asked. “I think Kita’s going to force him to knock her up soon.”

“I think she’ll lay off on the baby thing for a while after tonight,” Ben laughed.

“What? What do you know, Ben?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about…”

“Ben…” she frowned as they climbed into the car.

“No,” he told her. “Let’s talk about something else.”

“Fine,” she sighed, mocking Ben’s huff from earlier. “Let’s talk about how you are going to get in so much trouble if you’re keeping something from me.”

“It’s not something bad, Lyn.”

“So you are keeping something from me!”

“Yes, I am,” he gave in. “Shut your pretty mouth; you’ll find out soon enough.” Evelyn frowned again, but her frown faded when she saw the amusement and happiness in Ben’s eyes. She had no choice but to believe him, and because of his infectious smile, she smiled too. She just had to wonder, that if Ben was as excited about whatever-it-was he was hiding, what was Kita doing at that very moment?