Stuck in the "Friend Zone"

I woke up earlier than intended the next morning by Ben slamming the door shut on his way to work. I sighed and knew that once I woke up I wouldn’t be able to fall back asleep. So I jumped out of bed and made my way into the kitchen where I was greeted with a plate full of pancakes and a note from Ben that said” “Enjoy!” with a smiley face next to it. “That man is too cute for his own good.” I muttered. I still didn’t know how I felt about Ben, well, more like I knew how I felt but I just wouldn’t come to terms with it. Letting out another big sigh I plunked myself down onto the couch and turned on the TV. After finishing up the pancakes and cleaning up my dishes I decided to get dressed, and go out on the town for a bit. By noon I was out the door.
As I was exiting the apartment building I ran into a woman who was entering “Oh I’m sorry honey,” she said in a sweet southern accent.
“It was my fault I didn’t see where I was going.” I apologized.
“Well how about it was neither of our faults.” She said beaming up at me, she was a small stout woman practically a foot shorter than me and dressed smartly with her graying hair curled around her face.
“Sounds good to me.” I replied, smiling back “have a nice day.”
“Oh you too.” And with that the two of us went our separate ways. There was something slightly familiar about that woman but I couldn’t remember what. Deciding it wasn’t a day to ponder familiar faces I shook it off and continued on my way to lunch.
I happened upon a local Italian restaurant, that wasn’t very Italian, but the spaghetti was tasty enough and the atmosphere was welcoming, if not a bit sketchy. After lunch I made my way to a grocery store remembering that there was very little milk left in the carton that morning and I figured that since Ben was letting me invade his house the least I could do was help pay for a few groceries. After picking up the milk and a jar of Nutella, just for the heck of it I took the train back to Ben’s district and walked to his apartment. It was around 3 o’ clock when I made it back to the apartment and the sky was full of rain clouds.
I took the Elevator up to the apartment and slipped the key that Ben had given me into the door, letting it swing open as I entered and kicking it shut with my foot behind me as I hung up my coat on the apartment, and that’s when I noticed the other person in the room. It was the same woman I had run into as I was leaving the apartment building. “Umm, who are you, and why are you in my apartment?” I asked, guessing it’d be better to say this was my apartment rather than a friend’s.
“Well honey, for one this is not your apartment, this is my son’s.” the woman said in her sweet southern accent “and I would like to know who you are and why you have a key to his apartment.”
And that’s when it clicked; I realized where I had seen her. “You’re Ben’s mother!” I exclaimed. Ben had a family picture on his bookshelf in the living room, which is where I recognized her.
“Oh, you know my Benny!” she replied, a smile instantly gracing her face.
“Yeah he’s letting me stay here for a few days while I visit.”
She gasped and said: “So you must be Jack.”
“Yes I am.” I replied.
“Oh my Benny has told me so much about you! He told me you would be visiting. I’m Marie. I guess he didn’t tell you that I was visiting this week. I thought I’d surprise him by making some dinner.
“No he didn’t tell me that.” I replied. “It’s nice to meet you though.” I held out my hand for her to shake, which she did.
“Well now that has been settled would you like to help me with preparing dinner?” She asked.
“I would love to, what are we having?”
“Well I thought I could make some casserole, does that sound alright with you?”
“It sounds delicious!”
Marie began to take out all of the necessary ingredients and asked me to grab the measuring cups and such.
“So Jack, Ben tells me you’re in a band. Tell me what that’s like.” Marie requested as we began to cook.
“It’s a dream come true, and I know that sounds cliché but it’s true. I’ve wanted to be in a band since I was 14 and getting to play music with the people I love and see the world is incredible!” I explained. Some people might get tired of hearing that question but it never got old to me. I loved telling people why I did what I did and how much it meant to me.
“Are you sure it’s not just for the money and girls.” She said, eyeing me suspiciously.
My eyes widened, and I opened and closed my mouth a few times before saying “Um, well um. I mean, um I’m gay so that wouldn’t really matter.” I stuttered out.
Marie just began to laugh, it was high and kind of a nasally laugh and if it had come from anyone else I would have thought it really annoying but it fit her. “Oh honey, I know I was just joshing ya!” She exclaimed.
“Oh, okay.” I muttered, a little confused.
Several minutes passed as the two of us continued to cook, Marie cutting up the vegetables and mixing them up, I had been banned from doing anything after I nearly chopped my finger off while cutting up the carrots. So I just sat at the counter drinking a bottle of beer and watching Marie cook.
“So,” Marie said, breaking the silence “has my son asked you on a date yet”
I choked on a sip of beer, “what?!” I spluttered, after clearing my throat.
“Oh dear, he hasn’t has he! I am so sorry I shouldn’t have said anything. He was just telling me about how he really wanted to and how he was going to do it when you visited. But I guess he hasn’t asked you yet.”
“Um, no he hasn’t.” I muttered rolling the beer bottle between my hands.
“Well, since we’re on the subject, if he asked you would you say yes?” she asked.
I concentrated on the detail in the graphic on the beer bottle wrapper, trying to hide the slight blush that crept up my face. Why was I talking about this with a woman I had just met, who just so happened to be the subject topic’s mother.
“Well by the rosy tint in your cheeks I’d wager my guess at a yes.” She smiled, and poked me in the arm, before continuing to chop the remaining veggies and adding them to a bowl.
“It’s complicated.” I replied, still staring at the beer bottle.
“Ahh, do you have what they call ‘baggage’” she asked, adding air quotes around the word, baggage.
“I don’t really want to talk about it.” I mumbled.
“That’s fine, I guess I am being a little nosy, I’m sorry if I touched a sore spot.” She soothed, she turned around to put the casserole into the oven and set a timer for an hour.
Just then Ben walked into the apartment muttering about the weather, after shrugging off his coat and adding it to the coat rack, he looked up and exclaimed “Ma!”
“Hello honey, I assume you forgot I was coming over for dinner tonight.” She said, giving him that look that said: “I’m your mother you better not have forgotten.”
“Of course I didn’t forget!” He exclaimed, but the slightly shifty expression gave him away.
“It’s a good thing you’re my favorite son Benjamin.” She said, pulling Ben into a tight hug,
“I’m your only son.” He pointed out.
“And I love all the more because of it.” She said patting his cheek affectionately “Now, we have about an hour until the food is ready shall we sit and chat while we wait?”
The three of us sat at the kitchen table, Ben and his mother catching up, most of the conversation went on between the two of them. It made me realize how much I missed my mother, and I realized that I should probably call her, or visit. She was probably pretty angry that I didn’t stop by to say hello before I flew out to New York. An hour passed and we all loaded our plates full of casserole and green beans, returning to our previous seats at the table and the two of them continued to talk.
About halfway through the conversation I spoke up. “Can I ask something?”
“You already did.” Ben said.
I just shook my head at him and spoke directly to Marie “Why do you have a southern accent while Ben doesn’t?”
“Ohh this question always comes up. Well I was born and raised in Alabama, but I went to college in Minnesota where I met Ben’s father, God rest his soul, I ended up staying there until Ben moved out, then I moved back down to Alabama, the weather is so much nicer there than cold Minnesota.” She explained.
After dinner Marie left. She apologized for leaving without helping with the dishes but she explained she was exhausted from her flight, and needed to get back to her hotel to sleep. Leaving Ben and I to tend to the dishes.
As Ben gathered up the plates and began to wash I placed the remaining casserole into Tupperware and stored them into the fridge. “So what did you think of my mother?” Ben asked.
“She’s a lovely lady, she’s got the southern hospitality role down pat, and I can see where you get your amazing cooking skills from.” I commented.
“She taught me well. During my senior year she enrolled me in a cooking class, because she refused to have her only child live off of microwavable food during college. You ever heard of freshman fifteen? Well for me it was more like freshman fifty!” He joked.
“Aww you don’t seem so chubby.” I replied, moving beside him to take the washed dishes and dry them.
“Yeah that’s because I decided to start running.” He explained.
“So… your mother told me something interesting about you tonight.” I said.
“Oh lord, did she tell you about the incident with the cat and the firecracker?” He asked.
“What? No! Although that does sound like an interesting story! No, she mentioned something about you asking me out on a date.” I said, my heart pounding in my chest.
Ben was silent for a moment before sighing and saying “You can never trust mothers with secrets. Um well, I mean yeah. I don’t think I was ever going to act on it, because you’re getting over Alex and everything. But I thought maybe in the future.”
“Oh, well I mean I wouldn’t have said no.” I said shrugging my shoulders and continued to dry the plate in my hands.
Another few seconds of silence passed before I said “Ben, go on a date with me.” It was more of a statement rather than a question.
“Are you asking me or ordering me?” He joked, but after a moment he said: “Okay, I will.”
“Okay, awesome.” I said and we both looked at each other for a moment smiling before we went back to the dishes. I couldn’t keep that dumb smile off of my face, but I didn’t mind, I had a date with a cute boy who liked me, why shouldn’t I smile?