Ain't it fun living in the real world.

My hand reached for the switch on the wall, my eyes widening when I realized that all of the lights were already turned on. And the alarm? It didn't even make a beep. Slipping a hand into my bag, I reached for my phone walked towards my office, listening for any sounds but there was nothing. "Is anyone here?" I yelled out finally, my voice breaking the silence. I stopped walking for a moment before heading in the opposite direction. I wasn't positive, but I was almost sure there was someone in the back of the agency. 

I heard shuffling and then there was silence again. I paused for another moment, the realization hitting me that there might be a robber and worse, they might have a gun. My fingers tightened around my phone and I prepared myself to dial 911 in case of emergency when a voice spoke up, "Mom?" 

I followed the voice to the hallway, blinking at my son. "Ben? What are you doing here?" I asked slowly, giving him a glance over. His hair was a mess and if that wasn't enough? His clothes were obviously just tossed on. It was something I'd expect from my daughter, but not from Ben.... He was a father for Christs sake.  

"I have a casting tomorrow morning and I couldn't find my book," He said while trying to sound nonchalant, even adding a smile and kissing my cheek, "What are you doing here on Sunday?"

"Your dad lost his phone and says it's here." I sighed and before he could say another word, I stared at him again, "Is anyone else here?"

He shook his head, keeping his face as straight as possible, "No, of course not."

I tried to process his words, wondering why he was lying to me. Of course he wouldn't want to discuss his sex life with his mother... but once upon a time, he told me everything. "I heard noises...and your shirt is buttoned all wrong. Not to add that your hair is..." I motioned at it, making it clear it was a mess.

He just shrugged, "I got out of my apartment in a hurry." 

"Benjamin," I looked at him with a serious face, "I hope she wasn't a model that works for us. That'd be really unprofessional from you and I'd be really disappointed."

"I don't know what you're talking about mom," He said back stubbornly but his face gave him away as always, "I'm alone."

"You know better than lying to me," I pointed out, disappointed in the lies yet I was once his age and very sexually active myself. 

He leaned back against the wall, looking about 15 all over again. "It was Cami," He confessed, my mouth quite possibly falling open as I tried to take in what he had just said. Instead, I just stared at him blankly. "I should get going," He said when I didn't respond. 

"Oh no you don't mister," I shook my head, finally finding my voice. I kept my lips parted as a sigh escaped me, still looking for the right words to tell my son. "Ben," I started and sighed again. Why did it feel like he was so young and innocent again and I had to protect him? Probably because I didn't do such a good job the first time around. I understood where he was coming with his love for Cami, hell, even I loved Cami as if she were my daughter... In a sense, she was. 

"I'm sorry," He said when my words failed me once more, looking genuinely embarrassed for getting caught. But there was more to it and I couldn't put my finger on it.  

I smiled at my oldest child, my heart aching for him, "I know that you still love Cami, but you need to let her go. She isn't the kind of girl you screw around with at work and then don't call. You have a child with her and this is only going to complicate things. What if Gabriel found out?"

He processed my words, a wave of emotions appearing on his face that stung my heart. He looked upset, disappointed even. Maybe I had gotten it all wrong, but I never wanted to jump to conclusions in my childrens lives. "I'm glad to know you think I'm so stupid to fool around with her," He said eventually. 

"Ben, listen," I started with a pained expression as I took a step closer to him, setting my hand on his arm, "I don't want you or Cami to get hurt. You two have a son-"

"I know mom," He cut me off and ran his hands through his hair, "We talked about it and no one is going to get hurt. You know that Gabe always comes first for us."

"And what happened to that girl you were dating?" I asked, raising one eyebrow.

"Celeste?" He asked back and I nodded, "I stopped seeing her months ago...almost a full year ago actually."

I sighed and frowned a little, it hurting that I knew so little about my kids nowadays. They used to tell me everything... now I only found out the truth when I caught them in the act. "Why you don't tell me anything anymore Ben?"

He shrugged, "It took a while to make everything right...but we're back together now. I mean me and Cami. Gabe knows it already."

My eyes widened and I nodded my head eventually, a smile playing on my lips because he looked so sure of himself. Chloe was always the one so sure of herself, her confidence showed and it scared me sometimes how much she reminded me of myself when I was her age... But Ben? Ben was so genuine, so down to earth and an amazing father. His love for Gabe made me proud of him, made me never doubt his choices because his family always came first. I raised my kids well, I had to give it to myself. "And how long have you two been together?" I asked since I couldn't resist. 

He let out a deep breath, "Almost a year."

"Benjamin!" I gasped and shook my head, wondering how they had hid it from us for so long... of course we all had our assumptions when they went on that month long vacation, but we all gave them their space. "How is Gabriel taking it?"

"Honestly?" He shrugged his shoulders and an exhausted look appeared on his face, "I'm not sure. He's been acting out. His temper keeps getting shorter and shorter."

I parted my lips but nodded my head, surprised that he would act out over his parents being together. Of course, he's never never actually seen them together, see the way they're soulmates. Even when they were kids I could see it. "It'll take him some time to adjust to the changes, but he will," I replied, sure of that. 

"I hope so," He sighed once again, choosing his next words carefully. "It's killing us, you know him and he's not like that at all. He's usually such a good kid..." He trailed off, shaking his head.

"He still is Ben, only sometimes we react to unexpected news in weird ways because we don't know how to handle it or we're scared," I replied softly, doing my best to console him. 

He nodded in agreement, "He basically told me he's afraid I'd leave him and Cami again. I had to promise it won't happen again." He explained and when I gave him a look, he went on, "It won't happen again. I'm sure about that. We weren't together all these years because of many reasons, but not because we didn't love each other anymore."

Another smile curved my lips as I looked at my, he sounded wise beyond his years and you could just tell by the way he spoke about Cami and Gabe that he meant every word. "I know that Ben. What are you going to do instead?" 

"We're looking for an apartment, we want to move all together as soon as possible," He answered and this time he smiled too, looking excited at the thought of living with his family, all under one roof. 

"I'm happy for you two," I smiled at him, feeling so much pride for the man he had become. His childhood hadn't been easy, he was so young when they discovered Cami was pregnant and when their relationship became too hard for them to handle? It broke his heart... but he was in a better place now. I couldn't remember the last time I'd seen him smile so much, probably the day Gabe was born. "It might take Gabe some time, but it's really the best thing for him. He's going to love having the both of you around all the time, no more split custody..." I trailed off as Ben nodded his head. 

"I hope he comes around sooner than later," He said finally.

"Like we always say, he's a very smart boy," I said matter of factly, my eyes looking past him towards the makeup room. "Is Cami still here?" I peeked around him, as if she might appear blushing furiously. Out of all of the girls I'd come across in my career? I was so thankful that Ben chose Camille.  

He shook his head with parted lips, running a hand through his hair, "She left out the back."

I cracked a grin, "Should I be expecting more grandbabies soon?"

He groaned, "Mom."

I rolled my eyes, "Let's not beat around the bush. I know what you two were doing here and as much as I don't approve of your actions? I wouldn't mind having more babies in my life."

He stared at me, before breaking into a smirk, "How can we give you more babies if we don't do the things you don't approve?" 

"Ben," I stared back at him as I sighed, "I don't approve the fact that you decide to hide here."

"Okay okay." He paused and lifted his hands in surrender, "Got it mom. I know what you mean and it won't happen again." 

I sighed one last time, "Do you know we have security cameras all over the agency right?"

"Not in every room," H said and pursed his lips together, keeping his face straight. I could hardly believe we were discussing this. 

"Oh god Ben," I shook my head and crossed my arms against my chest, "Enough. I don't even want to think about it."

He smiled, "Cami and I talked about having other babies and we both agree on having at least another one, but it's not happening anytime soon. We still have things to work on and Gabe needs to get used to see us together before getting shocked all over again with a brother or a sister."

I smiled back at him and the way he sounded so certain of his life and future. I hadn't seen my son this genuinely happy in a while and that made me happy. "I'm very proud of you," I said seriously. "You're putting your son first and being a good father."

"I only hope Gabe sees it that way," He retorted while his smile faltered ever so slightly.

"He does," I replied with a nod. "He adores you Ben. Every time I watch him, he reminds me so much of you and how you were when you were little... he wants to be just like you." It swelled my heart watching Gabe grow up. He was such a smart little boy and aspired to be just like his papa.

Ben grinned, "As long as he doesn't make the same mistakes I made? I have no problems with that."

"You've corrected your mistakes and look at how happy you are now," I said honestly, a firm believer in everything happening for a reason... of course that's not to say that I didn't freak out and nearly have a heart attack when my teenager son got his way too young girlfriend pregnant. But even then, they were young souls and had already known they had found their true loves. 

He cracked a wider grin at my words, "You're so wise. Maybe I need to have you talk to Gabe."

I laughed, "What has your sister said about all of this?"

His grin dropped and he almost looked mad. "That I got Cami pregnant and dumped her when it got too hard," He said flatly, sounding hurt since that wasn't what happened at all. 

I blinked at him, confused since I couldn't see Chloe saying anything so awful to Ben. "What?! I meant about the present...but tell me more about that instead," I said slowly, not wanting my kids to fight ever. Family always came first. 

He smiled and shook his head, "The past needs to stay in the past, I want to focus on the future only." 

My  eyebrows furrowed as I studied his face, taking a few moments before talking. "You didn't tell your sister?" I asked eventually, doing the math even if there was a part of the equation I didn't know. If only they could make things easier for me by opening up about their lives. I felt so in the dark most of the time.  

Ben shrugged, "No. I discussed it with Cami and she wants to tell her instead. I agreed since they're better at talking than I am."

I nodded my head, knowing that Chloe would rather hear it from her brother... but I decided not to push too hard. Ben always had his reasons, mostly he preferred keeping to himself. Of course, if I hadn't caught him today? I'm sure it'd take him a while to tell me as well. "I hope she finds out soon," I said finally. "Before it appears in the tabloids."

"It won't," He retorted quickly, always doing a good job of hiding his personal life, much more than any of my other models at least. It had to be hard. Not only was he a successful model himself, but he had two parents who were also. He had been in the spotlight since he was a baby and I always wondered if he never got completely used to it... Chloe on the other hand? She was a little ham. She knew how to deal with bad press, Ben didn't.

"Because you two are being so careful?" I lifted an eyebrow, "You don't go out in public together? Kiss in public?"

"We're very private," He replied and I believed him. But he knew first hand how easy it was to end up as front page news without even realizing you had ever been photographed.

I nodded my head though, "I guessed by the way you took her to the agency during closed hours. I hope you didn't consider that a date."

"No, that was just for fun," He answered quietly. 

"I'm ignoring your answer," I sighed a little dramatically.

He sighed himself even though for completely different reasons, "I take Cami on dates as much as I can, but it's hard with Gabe." 

"I can watch him whenever you want," I said back, this time giving him a sweet smile. It was no mystery that I adored my first grandson, everybody did actually.

He smiled back, having no doubts that I'd be more than happy to watch him and Gabe would be happy to be spoiled too. "I know mom. But we think that he needs to stay with us as much as possible..." He trailed off with a shrug.

"Like today you mean?" 

"Today was an exception, and he's with Chloe anyway. She wanted to see him." 

"She missed him," I said with a nod. "All of us missed him when you guys were gone on vacation... We missed you and Cami also."

He nearly groaned, "Chloe has already told me. She made me out to sound like a horrible person for taking my family on vacation."

I smiled and reached for my son's hand, giving it a quick squeeze before letting go again, "Your sister wants to be part of your life and overreacts when things don't go her way. I know it drives you crazy and sometimes she'll say the wrong thing and hurt you, but she loves you and doesn't mean any harm."

"You're right about one thing, she overreacts..." He trailed off and rolled his eyes, but knowing Ben? He took more from my words than he'd ever admit. Sometimes men were stubborn, didn't like admitting when they were wrong. Now maybe he'd done nothing wrong or maybe they were both at fault. I didn't know. 

I sighed and decided to change the subject again, "Well anytime you and Cami need a night off, I would love to watch Gabe. He can even stay over. We'll camp in the backyard and make s'mores if the weather is nice enough."

 

"He'd love that but you'll have to convince him yourself," He said and sighed, looking instantly tired. 

I frowned, "He's always liked spending time with me and your father."

"I know...lets say he lost a little of his independence lately," Ben explained, not going on to explain what he meant by that. 

I nodded my head, "We'll spoil him a little, it will do the trick." 

"Just not too much please," He said back as he allowed himself to smile too before he pulled me into a hug, it being the thank you he didn't need to say out loud. Pulling back, he looked at me, "You didn't tell me anything about you or dad...can I take you to lunch?" 

"I'd love that," I smiled wider at my son who looked so much like his father sometimes, it melted my heart. "I just need to grab a few contracts from my office and then we can get going."

Ben nodded his head as we walked towards my office in silence. I flicked the light switch and grabbed a couple of the folders on my desk, sliding them into my purse and then looking back at him with my smile still in place. "Should we invite dad and Cami?" He asked after I turned the lights off.

"Your dad's doing yard work and god only knows that's a miracle in itself, but we can invite Cami if you'd like," I grinned, curious to see the two of them together since it had been years since I last did.

His eyes widened, "Yard work? Are you black mailing him in some way?"

I laughed and shook my head, "He's taken up gardening... Honestly, I think he gets bored sitting around at home with nothing to do. That man loves working."