A Bad Day
“What’s wrong?” Ben asked her.
Leslie looked up from the document she was filing at the kitchen table to look at him quizzically. “What do you mean? I’m fine.”
Ben squinted at her, a sad smile on his face. “No, you’re not.”
Leslie sighed a little, putting the binder down. “You’re right. I’m not.”
He always knew when she was having a bad day. They didn’t happen often- or maybe they happened more than he thought, and she was just good at burying herself in work to distract herself. That was something they were trying to work on. Leslie did work because she loved it, but sometimes she did it because she loved to block out whatever bad things she was feeling.
And they had been together long enough for him to read her like a book.
He moved around the table to reach her, wrapping his arms around her in a hug. “Come on,” he said to her gently. “Let’s come and sit for a while.”
“But I’m not finished with this binder!”
“Honey, I will bet our house and all our savings that that binder is for a project due in at least three months. I know how well-prepared you are."
Leslie let out a soft breath of a laugh. “Alright, Wyatt. You got me there.”
***
“Do you want to talk about what’s upsetting you?” Ben asked her once they were on the sofa. She was sat practically on his lap, her head on his shoulder. He ran his hand through her hair, the other one resting on her knee. She sighed softly.
“I don’t even think I’m upset. I’m just a little down.”
Ben felt his heart clench a little. He wracked his brains for any reason why she could be like this. “I haven’t upset you, have I?”
Leslie looked at him. “Of course not. You’d know if you had,” she added with a chuckle, prompting him to smile. “No, I think I’m just having a bad day.”
“I could call Ann?” he asked. “She always cheers you up.”
“That is true,” Leslie replied. “But I think I just want to sit with you right now. If that’s okay?”
“Of course,” Ben told her. “Of course it is.”
***
She was leaning against him, the silence comfortable. Ben was worrying, of course he was, but if she said all she wanted was to sit with him; if that would improve her mood, then you can bet every cone of dunshire that he wouldn’t be moving for a long time.
After about an hour, she sat back. He could see her eyes were watery, and she hastily wiped them.
“I feel better now,” she told him. “I think I just needed a hug.”
“You can always just ask, honey,” he told her. “I know that things have been a little rough lately. The recall was only a few months ago, and then Ann left…”
She winced, and he regretted instantly that he was basically listing her problems. But then she smiled.
“Yeah. But I am so lucky to have you here with me, to make me feel better. I love you.”
“I love you too,” he replied straight away, leaning in to give her a soft kiss. “What do you want to do tonight?”
“I don’t mind,” she said with a soft sigh. “As long as waffles are involved.”
Ben pulled out his phone. “You got it, babe. I’ll call JJ’s.”
She leant back against him. “Thank you, honey. Thank you so much.”
Ben wanted to say you don’t have to thank me- you never have to thank me, but he knew she knew that. She was just being the lovely person she was, so instead he just hummed softly and kissed her sunshine hair and let her lie against him for as long as she needed.