Post by benvolio on Aug 29, 2011 21:03:09 GMT -5
Ben was, in a word, content.
Content was not a word that could often be applied to Ben Montague. He had his medical training- rewarding, but undeniably stressful. He had his family, too; still more demanding, and far more stressful. As much as he loved his sisters, they always knew just how to aggravate him. (Not Freddie, of course; she was different. But Bianca and Carlotta, he was sure, were conspiring to give him a heart attack one of these days.) His parents were undeniably worse; his father wanted him to be the model son, his business heir, and many other things Ben just couldn't work himself up to care about. His mother, too, had high expectations for her son, though hers were mostly social aspirations. And as for his cousins... Ben had been gifted with far too large of an extended family for most people to even keep track of, let alone deal with the kind of headaches they regularly gave Ben. Romeo was by far the worst of the lot, and he was one of his best friends! Of course, the rest of his friends weren't any better...
Given that extremely long-winded explanation, one might see how unusual it was for Ben to find a moment's peace. Today, though, he had managed to find it. He woke up early, early enough to sneak out of the house without any of his family noticing. The staff noticed, of course; he had politely told Hastings that he would be going out today, and Greta, one of the maids, had given him a conspiratorial wink when he said he would probably be gone all day. He had then breakfasted at a little cafe not too far from home, and afterwards, noticing how nice of a day it was turning into, he decided to take a walk. His feet had led him to Central Park.
He had a lot of happy childhood memories of the park: looking at the ducks with his sisters, holding Freddie's hand so she wouldn't fall in the pond, buying birdseed from a friendly old woman and feeding the birds, playing frisbee or tag or just plain running around all over the grass...
He hadn't spent much time there in the past few years. He seriously doubted if he'd been in there since he started college. Even in high school, he had spent less and less time in there... Maybe that had something to do with a rather spectacular fiasco of blind date Mercutio had set him up on. While it was true that the girl in question was quite pretty, Ben had been utterly speechless for most of the afternoon, and by the end of it he was praying for a meteor to fall from the sky and end the awkwardness of it. That date hadn't ruined the park for him, but it had been awkward to show his face for at least a few weeks.
He smiled languidly as he remembered those carefree days. He wasn't one of those people who always moan about going back in time and reliving their childhoods, or changing some mistakes they made; he was largely satisfied with his life thus far. Shifting back to the present, he was stretched out lazily beneath an oak tree, not quite asleep but not quite awake either. He simply lay there, luxuriating in the familiar peace of his surroundings and half-listening to the chatter of all of the people around him. One woman was complaining loudly to a friend about her marital problems; judging by the lack of interest in her friend's replies, this was nothing new. A child nearby begged his mother for an ice cream cone. A group of children ran around playing tag just as Ben had done when he was their age, squealing with delight each time new person was tagged and made "it." The calls of "You're it!" "No I'm not, you didn't touch me!" "Did so!" "Did not!" brought a smile to his face.
Eventually, he pushed himself to his feet and started walking again. He wasn't quite sure where he was going, but he trusted his feet. He walked along, humming softly to himself, feeling completely at ease.
The sun had by now hidden itself behind the clouds, but the air was still warm. The crowd in the park began to disperse as the raindrops plopped down, but Ben found that he didn't mind. He liked the rain, and most of it would miss him under the tree, anyway. Since there were no ominous rumblings of thunder to be heard, Ben let himself relax, and just listened to the sounds of the rain.
-------
Notes: Sorry this took do long to post! I'm doing a semester in Italy this fall, and I've been caught up in all of the last minute things I need to do.
Content was not a word that could often be applied to Ben Montague. He had his medical training- rewarding, but undeniably stressful. He had his family, too; still more demanding, and far more stressful. As much as he loved his sisters, they always knew just how to aggravate him. (Not Freddie, of course; she was different. But Bianca and Carlotta, he was sure, were conspiring to give him a heart attack one of these days.) His parents were undeniably worse; his father wanted him to be the model son, his business heir, and many other things Ben just couldn't work himself up to care about. His mother, too, had high expectations for her son, though hers were mostly social aspirations. And as for his cousins... Ben had been gifted with far too large of an extended family for most people to even keep track of, let alone deal with the kind of headaches they regularly gave Ben. Romeo was by far the worst of the lot, and he was one of his best friends! Of course, the rest of his friends weren't any better...
Given that extremely long-winded explanation, one might see how unusual it was for Ben to find a moment's peace. Today, though, he had managed to find it. He woke up early, early enough to sneak out of the house without any of his family noticing. The staff noticed, of course; he had politely told Hastings that he would be going out today, and Greta, one of the maids, had given him a conspiratorial wink when he said he would probably be gone all day. He had then breakfasted at a little cafe not too far from home, and afterwards, noticing how nice of a day it was turning into, he decided to take a walk. His feet had led him to Central Park.
He had a lot of happy childhood memories of the park: looking at the ducks with his sisters, holding Freddie's hand so she wouldn't fall in the pond, buying birdseed from a friendly old woman and feeding the birds, playing frisbee or tag or just plain running around all over the grass...
He hadn't spent much time there in the past few years. He seriously doubted if he'd been in there since he started college. Even in high school, he had spent less and less time in there... Maybe that had something to do with a rather spectacular fiasco of blind date Mercutio had set him up on. While it was true that the girl in question was quite pretty, Ben had been utterly speechless for most of the afternoon, and by the end of it he was praying for a meteor to fall from the sky and end the awkwardness of it. That date hadn't ruined the park for him, but it had been awkward to show his face for at least a few weeks.
He smiled languidly as he remembered those carefree days. He wasn't one of those people who always moan about going back in time and reliving their childhoods, or changing some mistakes they made; he was largely satisfied with his life thus far. Shifting back to the present, he was stretched out lazily beneath an oak tree, not quite asleep but not quite awake either. He simply lay there, luxuriating in the familiar peace of his surroundings and half-listening to the chatter of all of the people around him. One woman was complaining loudly to a friend about her marital problems; judging by the lack of interest in her friend's replies, this was nothing new. A child nearby begged his mother for an ice cream cone. A group of children ran around playing tag just as Ben had done when he was their age, squealing with delight each time new person was tagged and made "it." The calls of "You're it!" "No I'm not, you didn't touch me!" "Did so!" "Did not!" brought a smile to his face.
Eventually, he pushed himself to his feet and started walking again. He wasn't quite sure where he was going, but he trusted his feet. He walked along, humming softly to himself, feeling completely at ease.
The sun had by now hidden itself behind the clouds, but the air was still warm. The crowd in the park began to disperse as the raindrops plopped down, but Ben found that he didn't mind. He liked the rain, and most of it would miss him under the tree, anyway. Since there were no ominous rumblings of thunder to be heard, Ben let himself relax, and just listened to the sounds of the rain.
-------
Notes: Sorry this took do long to post! I'm doing a semester in Italy this fall, and I've been caught up in all of the last minute things I need to do.
