See you when I'm there
Are you right where you belong?
Thank you for your kind 'feel better' emails about Henry. Once we surpass his strep throat/double ear infection and resulting all-night coughing I'll feel much better. He gets very sick very quickly and we have to be so vigilant living here. The cold wreaks havoc on more than just our dispositions.
He has medicine to take and will be home the remainder of the week, which works well. Jake is home and will take Ruth to school and bask in my rare strength at the same time. I'm going to sleep it away when I can. The week, not the strength. I need this week to end.
Ben went out to Toronto to meet up with the rest of the guys, hooking up with Caleb as well. An all-night party led to all sorts of admissions from Ben about where he gets his inspiration and Caleb took it and ran with it. He publicized it. Curiosity and judgment has been swift. Let's just say I suspected as much but I didn't feed enough of my ego in to fully entertain these possibilities and it pretty much destroys another large portion of my life and it left Jacob reeling, even though he always suspected as much. Right down to calling Ben out on his tattoo of a B that didn't stand for Ben. Yup. even that. Oh, yes, and there's more but I don't plan to ruin it for Ben's supporters. Yes, he is a genius but at what price?
The funny part is, this is done. It can't be fixed. We know, it's over and it's out there so we have to just swallow it or ignore it or somehow come to accept it and accept Ben's position on it and Caleb's utter glee over it and keep moving ahead.
Caleb decided to make Ben his best friend and built him a snowman. Ben, one half of the infamous toxic twins, has always wanted to make the leap and is now in a difficult position, probably about to lose everything he's ever done for himself and then some if he isn't careful. Oh, he's having fun now and Caleb has his own puppet. A puppet full of secrets that he has now blown wide open. Open secrets. No worries, Caleb cannot touch me. Ben will enjoy a brief surge in creativity now until the snow melts and he dies, maybe.
I won't be helping Ben.
I can't help him.
Ben broke every deal we've ever made and as bad as we were for each other, he's old enough to know better and my hands are tied, legally and otherwise. I already let him go and I'm done.
Everyone seems very proud of me right now and confirms that I'll get over the guilt. Guilt holds on tight and I keep turning this around. What if it were me? How many chances would I get?
The answer doesn't bring much comfort, honestly and I'm not above immersing myself in pain.
Another night of no sleep brought me to the den, where I could slip on my giant headphones and escape into Ben's world, to see exactly how bad it was. Applying myself to his work with purpose, so that I could see what everyone else now sees.
It was beautiful. I was beautiful.
He knows exactly who I am. And I feel sorry for him for that.
This morning Jacob picked a new song, and it instantly became my favorite. Black Cloud. Jacob sings it with his early-morning ragged voice that catches on the long notes and sounds perfect. His own ego seems to receive the confirmation it requires on a daily basis. Somehow though, Jacob is not a man who lets his pride overtake his gratitude and I wish the other guys could pull that off.
No, scratch that. It keeps him above all this. So that I can find him easily. So that he can lift me up. And hold me there. I figure if we do that long enough I won't stick out like a sore thumb anymore. I might be accepted and given a place of my own.
And wouldn't that be lovely?