Life in the Monroe house was going better now that the house was full of life and two happy little girls. But money was still tight and all too soon Marlie had to return to work part-time. Ben was a
personal trainer so he arranged his shifts around Marlie's and they managed to
care for the girls and conveniently have nothing to do with each other - he might be an okay Dad but Marlie and he were only just beginning to rebuild some kind of friendship.
She could only discount a few, two were children, one dead and
one in a retirement community with advanced dementia. There were still too
many. She debated calling round but she had so little time between work, sleep
and looking after her daughters that she couldn't see ever getting to all of
them but she started mailing out letters to every NJ still on the list. Late one night whilst mailing the latest batch she had a brainwave.
The next morning she waited outside for the mailman with the box
which had contained the guitar, hoping he might be able to identify the postmark. The tale took a turn for the mysterious
'I never delivered this Miss' stated the mailman with certainty.
'Oh', sighed Marlie, 'Perhaps a colleague was working that d-'
'No Miss, You see that box is too large, we don't deliver parcels
that big. 'Sides that label ain't a post label, nor a courier label neither - I
used to be Fedex see - it's just a random sticker. I'll wager that was
delivered by hand. Got to run Miss, sorry!'
A thrill ran through Marlie, NJ may have been on HER lawn, who was
this person and why were they interested in her - what were their motives. She swore she'd track them down and
headed to work thinking of ways she could keep watch 24 hours for any unusual
deliveries.
She jogged home through the frost that night hoping to find Ben in a good mood, she planned to
ask him to keep an eye out for visitors while he was watching the girls. As she
approached the house she could hear crying from inside, sounded like both girls
and she worried they were sick, Belle had seemed a little grizzly that morning.
As she rounded the trailer she was shocked to see Ben leaning against the outside wall
with a glazed look in his face muttering about flowers.
'BEN' she yelled, 'Can't you hear the babies screaming'.
'Uh sure Marlie, I was just unwinding with Lauren, it's my
birthday ya know! Hah! she's so great and you just missed the party! It was AWESOME - Belle was singing this great but totally sad song, then there were sparkles everywhere and my arm was like a wing from a flying unicorn!'
Marlie was horrified, if Lauren was back then that changed
everything - that girl was trouble. She looked closely at Ben's face. 'Are you high', she whispered.
Ben just giggled.
In a calm and deliberate tone, Marlie said 'You'd best stay out
tonight. We'll talk tomorrow.'
As she walked in the front door to comfort her daughters she
locked the door behind her. Her mind was made up.
The next day Marlie called in sick. It was the girls' third
birthday and she spent the morning cleaning up and baking them a cake each. Ben
staggered to the door at lunch time and Marlie let him in to shower, taking the
girls outside to blow out their candles (the trailer was so flammable that the rain was preferable!). Ben emerged looking fresher and
clearly not remembering the events of the night before.
Later Marlie put the girls to sleep whispering that Mummy
and Daddy loved them, whatever happened in the future, and she asked Ben to talk to her out front, knowing that this wouldn't be easy.
Taking a deep breath she began.
'Ben, I think it's time you move out' she said.
He just looked at his feet.
'I know we've been getting along okay lately and you're a great
dad but we have to be realistic. We will never be right for each other, we'll
only make each other miserable and now that you're getting older you deserve to
follow your dreams - whether I like them or not. And I want to be happy too, I
want a man who loves and appreciates me and supports me in everything I do.'
Marlie paused, Ben wasn't responding, he looked completely blank
so she soldiered on.
'Above all, I need to know the girls are safe and with Lauren
back in town I don't feel sure that they're your top priority'.
Ben finally looked at her with a glint of malice in his eyes. 'I
should have known that that's what it was about' he snarled. 'You always were
jealous of Lauren. It's fine, I never wanted a family anyway, don't expect to
see me around much any more!'
Marlie winced but she was determined to finish. She pulled her
shoulder back and stood firm, refusing to be intimidated. 'I'm sorry you feel that way Ben, I
hope you'll still want to be in the girls lives, I just think it's best you
move out before they're old enough to expect you to be here forever'.
Without another word, Ben stalked into the house, he packed up his
things, called his dog and a few hours later walked out into the night with a puppy under each arm.
Marlie cried herself to sleep that night. She knew she had done the
right thing but she hated that she was alone again, and this time she had twin
daughters depending on her.
-----------------------------------------
Next time on The Monroe Legacy - Will Marlie catch NJ delivering any more mysterious packages. Will Ben stay away or will he be there for the girls. Can Marlie find the time to meet some new people to help her out and keep her sane?
Find out now in The Monroe Legacy - Chapter 8 - Silver Linings and Sweet Nothings
Find out now in The Monroe Legacy - Chapter 8 - Silver Linings and Sweet Nothings
Marlie's brave to kick Ben out, since it will be even harder now that she has to care for the kids herself. She's smart though, Lauren is a terrible influence on Ben. *sigh* LOL, it's too bad Ben can't think for himself, and lets Lauren bring out bad habits in him. Maybe Marlie will find someone who really loves her, that would be good for her. :)
ReplyDeleteIt sure would, Ben is just selfish - he lets Lauren make him into a crappy version of himself and then makes it someone else's fault. Marlie's in for a tough ride but at least she'll be in control.
DeleteWhew! It sounds like the right thing to do, but boy, oh, boy, she's going to be even busier. Hopefully, they'll be toddlers soon, but then she needs to teach them how to talk, walk and potty. Maybe a good guy will come around and help her out. :) On to read the next chapter...
ReplyDeleteI don't know if, having the twins around, kicking Ben out was a really good choice. I mean, I would have waited until they grew up :)
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to know more about NJ and about Marilyn
Marlie definitely did the right thing. I'm glad she did, even if it was hard and will make things harder for her. He's poisonous and I can't see things going well if he stayed. I hope she's able to balance raising the kids on her own and everything else! o:
ReplyDeleteIt won't be easy but I think Marlie knows that it's better to have hard times now than heart ache later... She's seen first hand what an unhappy family can do to a kid.
DeleteThanks for reading, I really appreciate I :)
Well obviously I was wrong, haha. Nice turn of events, you really had me believing that he might end up being a decent guy! I'm glad Marlie dumped him on his ass though, it was the best choice for her family.
ReplyDeleteI was undecided myself but fundamentally he would have kept messing up and it would have been bad for everyone - so he had to go!
DeleteBack to catching up. I'm glad Ben is gone, I was hoping he wouldn't stay X3
ReplyDeleteHey, welcome back! I hope you enjoy the continuing adventures of the Monroe clan! Xx
DeleteMarlie did the right thing, ultimately Ben would have been a bad influence on the twins. It'll be tough but Marlie will be able to manage raising them on her own.
ReplyDeleteHe certainly isnt a good guy right now and he's had more chances that he deseves. Marlie's just gonna have to keep getting tougher!
DeleteBoo, Marlie's brave but I'm so disappointed in Ben. I was secretly hoping he had changed so they could become closer..
ReplyDeleteYep. I toyed with having him stick around but he was just such a flirt and a loser that he had to go! A tiger cant change his stripes.
DeletePoor Marlie!