Chapter 27
234 Words
Chapter 271990Benjamin was in his room, polishing off the last of an apple tart and pretending to do his homework.
He heard his mother scream, and it sounded to him not like her usual screaming about his eating habits or ants in the kitchen, but this time as though something was seriously wrong. He ran downstairs to help.
In the living room, his mother was lying on the sofa with an arm over her eyes, and his father knelt beside her, his hand on her shoulder. “It’s all right, isn’t it, Marine? It’s going to be all right.”
Ben stopped short, feeling as though he was intruding on something private. He saw his mother take her arm away from her face, saw the gratified look she gave his father—and with a flash of understanding he realized that his mother had fabricated the upset in order to get his father’s attention. And now that she had it, all was well.
He crept back upstairs to his room and ate the final bite of tart. Why would his father be so solicitous, when he was obviously being manipulated, he wondered. And if Maman wanted his attention, why not just ask him to go somewhere with her, or play a game of cards?
He wanted to understand why people did the things they did. But at that moment, his parent’s actions seemed so inscrutable, he was not confident he would ever comprehend them.
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