The Shepherd of Ashburn Court Pt. 05

Ben hung up and dug into his meal as he flipped on the local news. He wondered what the fuck was taking that asshole so long to join his family at their new home. He felt the dull throb of a headache starting behind his eyes.

Gabriella opened the door and saw Catherine standing there with a very tall blond woman with a baby on her hip. Catherine's smile was wide but she saw the new woman looked a little intimidated. Behind her stood two teen girls who also seemed shy. She welcomed them into her house and Catherine stood to the side as the women entered. Miriam and Daniel were standing in the living room entrance. Once everyone was inside Catherine and Gabriella made the introductions. They moved into the living room.

"Dinner will be ready in ten minutes. I hope you like spaghetti and meat sauce!" Gabriella said.

Madison and Savannah smiled brightly and Ashley nodded with a small smile. She was looking between Gabriella and Catherine. She couldn't get over how lovely both women were. Both were well dressed and had stylish hair, make-up, and manicures. She felt like dishrag next to them. She'd had the chance to have a nice shower and she'd done her hair today at Catherine's but she couldn't compare to these two ladies. She began to worry about Eli's reaction to all the beautiful women in this neighborhood and her own appearance. Her confidence took another hit.

Gabriella had a long conversation on the phone with Catherine that afternoon. It seemed Megan had recognized some behavior in their new neighbors that suggested they might be in an abusive relationship. As the husband had yet to arrive the source was likely him. She saw Ashley was feeling out of sorts so she did her best to be friendly.

Ashley caught Gabriella's eye. "When we had dinner at Ben and Tina's he told us you travel to Italy and France. Can you speak the languages?" she asked.

Gabriella smiled. "Yes, I had some background in Italian from my parents but I took courses in French and Italian in University as well as Business Administration. The best education is just being there and speaking with the people. Immersion in the other culture and environments really accelerates the learning curve. Do you have an interest in languages?"

"I can speak Spanish." Ashley said almost reluctantly though Gabriella caught the merest touch of pride.

"That's a beautiful language!" Gabriella gushed and Catherine moaned that she wanted to learn Spanish.

"You can teach us Spanish and we will teach you French!" Gabriella exclaimed excitedly.

Madison and Savannah looked at Ashley with nervous expressions and her smile was a little brittle. The woman just nodded.

"Well, I think dinner is ready, Catherine could you get our guests situated in the dining room?" Gabriella changed the subject. She was beginning to agree with Megan's assessment. She wanted to help but she'd have to tread carefully so as to not frighten them off.

Miriam was aware of the odd behavior and looked at her mother with a troubled expression when she entered the kitchen to help her bring the food out. "Mama?"

"Just be their friend." Gabriella said with a smile. She proudly watched her daughter absorb that and give her a firm nod.

They carried the plates of spaghetti with rich meat sauce from the kitchen to place them in front of their guests. Once more Ashley had managed to take a chair on the side of the table and Daniel was sitting in the guest of honor spot. Joshua was sitting in Ben's clamp-on highchair Catherine brought from her place between his mother and Catherine. On the opposite side of the table were Miriam, Madison and Savannah. Gabriella sat at the head. A basket of garlic bread was passed around.

Ashley looked at Madison and Savannah and they bowed their heads. Daniel looked guiltily at his mother with a piece of bread in his mouth but she just smiled and indicated he should be quiet.

Once the prayer was over everyone dug in and were soon enjoying the meal. Daniel gave Madison and Savannah a lesson on the proper way to use a spoon to assist in the twirling of spaghetti. Savannah in particular found this charming though Miriam rolled her eyes.

When they were finished the meal Miriam, Madison and Savannah jumped to their feet and cleared the dishes. Daniel excused himself politely and assisted with the cleanup then headed upstairs to his room to finish his homework. Miriam brought the teens up to see her room.

Ashley turned to her host. "I've been very impressed with how kind everyone has been since we arrived. Everyone has been very respectful of our desire to say a prayer before our meal. So many people have stepped forward to greet us and welcome us to the neighborhood. I haven't felt that level of hospitality since I was a child living in a small town in rural Texas. I've lived in the city for years and while people can be friendly there it certainly didn't approach this level."

Catherine smiled at Gabriella who answered. "I think much of that is due to Ben. He'd been a driving force in the neighborhood since the accident that took the lives of so many of the husbands.

Ashley's eyes widened. "What?"

"You might have seen it on the news around six month ago. Nine men, husbands, from this neighborhood died in a plane crash in Las Vegas. It was a very bad time."

"This is that neighborhood!?!" Ashley gasped.

Gabriella was a little unsure how to proceed as Ashley's face had gone white. "Uh, yes. I'm surprised your realtor didn't tell you in advance."

Ashley had a troubled look. "It was Eli's decision. I wasn't included in selecting where we moved." She was recalling Eli's excitement when the story was on the news. "The Khaleel Sisters." she muttered recalling the disgusting things Eli had said about them. What he'd like to do to them.

Catherine heard her and shuddered recalling that particularly nasty moment in time. "We change our surnames to my maiden name McGovern. My marriage was over by that point anyway. My husband treated me no better than property. He had no respect for me and treated his children like a burden. I was about to file for divorce when it happened." Ashley looked at Catherine in surprise.

"My husband loved his children but he stopped loving me a long time ago. I hadn't felt loved in years. If I'd been as brave as Catherine I would have filed for divorce myself. But I lacked the confidence in myself. My marriage was cold but it was safe. We had no idea our husbands were cheating on us. If I had I would have divorced him the moment I found out. No one should be treated that way.

"But you- you had something to fall back on. Your business! Your education!" Ashley blurted.

Gabriella nodded. "That's true. But Ben said something to the group of widows when we got together that day he was injured by the man with the club. He told us that we were all good people and we could rely on each other when we needed help. I think we'd been so caught up in our own individual miseries that we'd forgotten we could care for others and others could care for us. Once we realized that our friendships strengthened incredibly. That's the true strength of a community. Caring. The willingness to lend a hand, to support each other if we have trouble of any kind. Even just knowing someone nearby is ready to help has given me a peace of mind like I've never known before. Ben exemplifies those values of community. He is the first one to raise his hand to offer his time and effort. He's very protective. And he never, ever expects anything in return, not even praise. That's something you will see once you get to know him. Ben has an issue with praise. It makes him really uncomfortable. We try not to say how much we appreciate him when he's nearby as it drives him away. He's actually seeing a councillor about that.

Ashley was watching Gabriella and Catherine talk about Ben and they obviously loved him. But Tina said he loved her and Trish. She was so confused. "Are you... in love with Ben?" she finally asked.

Both women immediately said 'Yes.' then laughed. Gabriella explained. "Ben had a very rough time growing up and we haven't heard the full story yet. There are some dark hidden events in his past. When he moved into the neighborhood he got married and when they found out they couldn't have kids his wife, who was sterile, she left him for another man. That emotionally knocked Ben off his moorings. He was in pretty rough shape. He drank a lot." She saw Ashley stiffen. "But he was just a sad drunk. Not violent in any way." Ashley relaxed and Gabriella continued.

"One day a man drove into the neighborhood and tried to abduct Miriam. He got her into the back of his van and was about to escape when Ben got to him. Ben wasn't at his best but he managed to pull the man from his van and beat him against the side of it. In desperation the man shot Ben three times in the torso but Ben just knocked the gun away. I managed to get Miriam out of the back of the van by that point. She was traumatized and wailing in my arms. Ben looked at me and I looked at him. I saw the rage in his eyes and I knew he could feel my terror at almost losing my daughter. He lifted that monster in the air and snapped his neck like a twig. Then the police tackled him and he passed out from blood loss. They rushed him to the hospital and managed to save him but he fell into a coma." Gabriella took a deep breath and saw she had Ashley's rapt attention.

"I was at a particularly low point in my marriage at that time. And Ben had just killed a monster who was trying to steal my daughter. I knew he did it for me and Miriam and I fell for him hard. I went to the hospital as often as I could and I took care of his house. My husband was annoyed by how much time I was spending on Ben but outside of that he didn't care. Ben was in the coma for four months and it took eight months of physiotherapy before he got to go home. I brought him home but I never told him I was in love with him. He was still mourning the loss of his marriage. His self-worth had taken an almost fatal blow when that woman left him. I secretly loved Ben for years as my husband just grew more distant. Catherine was also in love with Ben and at first I was threatened by that. I didn't understand Ben well enough and I didn't understand the truth about love. Ben is capable of loving completely. Whatever damage was done to his psyche during those rough years of his youth somehow it failed to diminish his incredible capacity to love. He loves me. I know he also loves Catherine and Tina... and Trish though she's a little sensitive about that. Once I was able to accept that his love for them didn't diminish his love for me in any way I was able to open my heart to him as he'd opened his to me. I love Catherine like my best friend and a sister combined. I would never deny her Ben's love and there's truly no reason to. Please understand. Ben isn't trying to get as many women in his bed as he can. He's actually very shy and uncomfortable with people noticing his looks and coming on to him. He's not a flirt, or a player, or any of those things. He's just a nice man... who happens to also be gorgeous, brilliant, strong, sensitive, generous to a fault, and great listener."

"Don't forget he has an amazing body and the libido of a teenager!" Catherine grinned.

Ashley blushed.

Gabriella scowled at Cat. "Yes, well, the most important thing to take away from this conversation is that you are surrounded by people who care. That event six months ago may have been horrible and life altering but from it we've forged a new community comprised of people you can turn to no matter what. No judgement, just help. Catherine, Ben, Tina, Daphne, Trish, Rochelle, and myself. Any of us will be there for you. You just have to ask. Ok?" she looked into Ashley's eyes seeing the message was getting through. She'd planted the seed. Hopefully, should an episode of abuse arise she'd recall Gabriella's words. She smiled at the woman.

"Anyone for coffee or dessert?"

Ben had a poor night's sleep. He put it down to sleeping alone for the first time in a while. He'd begun to get used to having someone, typically Tina, in his bed.

He used the gym and got ready the day. He went down to the restaurant and saw Bill sitting at a table by the window.

"Good morning Bill!"

"Good morning Ben! Sleep well?" the man asked.

"Well enough I suppose. I prefer my bed." Ben replied.

"Do you travel much?" Bill asked.

"Actually, this is the furthest from home I've been." he said honestly.

"I've travelled to Las Vegas once for a trade show but that's it. I prefer the comforts of home and the missus prefers me home as well." Bill admitted. "I don't like being away from my kids. Do you have a missus and kids?"

Ben smiled and shook his head then paused and smiled more broadly. Bill's eyes twinked. "What's that smile mean?"

"I was married once but it didn't work out. We didn't have kids. But I'm living with a woman right now who has a one year old. It's... it's nice to hear him call me dada." Ben said with a guilty smile.

Bill's grin cranked up as Ben shared his happy secret. He knew Ben was good people.

The waitress arrived and took their order. She promised it would be right out.

"So I told you I'd take you to see the old man this morning but he called me last night to say that I wasn't to schedule anything for him until the evening as he had to fly to Las Vegas on family business." The man explained with a grimace. It looked like he had a bad taste in his mouth.

"Oh! Has there been some tragedy?" Ben asked, concerned.

"What? Oh! No, nothing like that." Bill said then frowned. Obviously there was something bothering the man and he wanted to talk about it but something was holding him back.

"What's on your mind?" Ben said in a deep casual tone, using the old bartender trick to start a conversation. He kept his expression neutral as well.

Bill needed to talk with someone about this. As a senior level manager he had no one to vent with and know it wouldn't get back to his boss. Ben was a good listener and Bill somehow knew he could trust his discretion. "The old man... he's great with us. I mean sure he's a tough old bird who doesn't give an inch but he's fair and generous enough. Working at Sturn has been really great for me and the team but a while back we almost all quit. The old man has one blind spot and that's his boy Ray. In high school the kid was some kinda football quarterback prodigy and he got picked up on a football scholarship in University. Something bad happened involving a party, too much alcohol and a girl. The next game none of the defence would protect him and Ray got injured, pretty bad. Some say it was retaliation for what he'd done to the girl. He dropped out of University and his dad brought him into the company. He tried grooming Ray for management, to take over the company when he passed on but Ray developed a bad temper and a cruel streak. We lost more female employees during those years than we ever had before. Company parties were the worst as he got mean when he drank."

The waitress arrived with their food and they ate in silence for a few minute. Ben didn't press him to continue but remained receptive if and when he decided to start again. He liked Bill. He seemed like a recent decent man and this was really eating at him. Bill set down his fork as he was ready to continue.

"Finally someone talked to the old man and he seemed to get control over his son. Things got better for a while and a woman took interest in him which seemed to calm him down a little more. When the first baby was announced Ray seemed to be growing up. The second one followed a year later and we had almost forgotten he'd been such a headcase before. Then we had a Christmas party and Ray got to drinking and took a fancy to one of the secretaries. A married one. The husband took offense and ended up in the hospital when he got the shit kicked out of him in the parking lot.

We knew who did it but couldn't prove it and the old man only saw his dutiful son with grandkids. Ray started acting up again and I think his wife bore the brunt of it. He was a cruel bastard. He made life miserable as work as well. It took an organized protest from the entire engineering department to get the old man to listen but all he did was transfer Ray to the Houston office. About three years ago Ray's wife died. Overdose. He'd isolated her so none of her friends had known what kind of pressure she'd been under. I feel bad for his kids. Not a year later he started dating a poor young blond from the Houston office secretarial pool. It wasn't too long before he knocked her up. The old man threatened to fire him if he didn't marry the girl but I'm not sure if that was a favor."

Bill leaned in so Ben did as well.

"Something bad happened in the Houston office. Something no one will talk about but the old man had to move Ray and his family once more. Now I got word that Ray got into a drunken altercation with a prostitute in Las Vegas. She's in bad shape. The old man flew over to bail him out, again."

Bill fixed Ben with a look. "With the money he's spending getting his son out of trouble and the money he may be spending to deal with this Houston situation we really need to get this prototype of yours into production. Once they're in place we'll be able to triple our output safely and that will give an immediate financial boost for the company. Not to mention the jobs it will protect, mine included! I know you aren't likely to sell the patent to the old man. I know there are many industries and applications that would benefit from your design. Are you looking at licensing it to us?"

"Yes, and the rate will be fair. I don't need to get rich off this one design. The volume of license deals I can make will take care of generating a decent revenue stream."

Bill sighed and relaxed. "Should we get back to it then?"

"Lead the way!" Ben smiled.

Bill signed for breakfast, Ben's stay was going on the corporate account, and they headed back to the lab. When they got there the shifts were changing and the men seemed rested and calm.

"Morning Bill, Ben! Uneventful night." the short bearded engineer said.

"Morning Dale! That's excellent news!" Bill said all smiles. They went through the logs and the test bench had thrown several calamitous events at the prototype but there was no sign of excess heat, strain, but most pleasing of all there had been no occurrences of hydraulic shock. None. Not even a ripple.

Ben went through the numbers and he asked Bill for a schematic of the full assembly. Bill's eyes lit up as he could see the wheels turning in the engineer's eyes. Ben pulled out his laptop and fired it up. Once the drawings were in front of him he ran some calculations and pointed out a particular section on the drawing.

"Do you have sensors on this section for heat build-up?" he asked.

Bill smiled seeing where this may be going. "Yes, that's one point in the process where we encounter that."

"Can I get the specs for this piece here?" Ben said to Dale who was leaning in over the drawings.

"Coming right up." Dale said.

Soon other members of the team were getting involved. Bill and Ben reviewed the entire refinery schematic and between them they found four more places where Ben's component should be installed over the existing four places they'd intended. The net effect of this would allow the system to handle five times its current load. They'd be five time more productive.

When the team finally sat back in exhaustion they were all dazed by the events. By utilizing the valve Ben had designed for the nuclear power plant in place of the standard valves the entire system was safer and five times more efficient. Output would be five times higher meaning five times more cost effective and five times the revenue.