Chapter 2
FOURISH YEARS AFTER PETER’S BORN
It was the perfect definition of a lazy Saturday. May and Ben had been constantly improving their lazy Saturdays since they got married. They started the morning with the news on the living room tv. They watched as much as they could handle before they turned it off and started cleaning. They did bathrooms, and the living room on Saturday mornings, with the kitchen in the afternoon. The faster they finished cleaning, the more time May had to teach Ben how to cook a meal in Italian. He’d been learning the language since they met and was getting very good at reading May’s mother’s recipes. After a late lunch they sit around on the couch. May teaches Ben more Italian, or Ben reads to May, or they take a trip to the library to find a VHS tapes to play before Mary and Richard join them for an evening of movies and popcorn.
This Saturday was not quite as lazy. Mary and Richard were leaving early in the morning for a work trip so Peter slept in the guest room. The news never got turned on because Peter had a minor meltdown about breakfast cereals. Ben was really good with Peter though. May had to leave the room because she couldn’t stop smiling at how patient Ben was with Peter. He talked Peter down from his need for Frosted Flakes and got him to eat an entire bowl of Lucky Charms. By the end of the morning Ben had convinced Peter that the spray to clean the bathroom was fun to wipe off and they had cleaned the tub and toilet together.
Peter watched cartoons while Ben and May made lunch. She read the instructions to him in Italian but they kept up a conversation in english.
“Hey Ben,” May said after he put in a few more spices.
“Yeah?” Ben turned to her as he began stirring the sauce.
“I know we talked about it a few months ago, and we were still kind of waiting for your promotion, but what do you think about me stopping my birth control?”
This got his attention. He glanced to Peter and then back at May. “You like having Peter over? Because watching a kid for five days while his parents make political deals is different than raising one.”
“I know that Ben.” May sighed, “I do know that, I just, I really think you’d be a great father. You’re so patient with him, I think you have more self control than Richard does which-”
“That’s not fair May, he was sick.”
“I’m not talking about his drinking Ben, I’m talking about the fact that Richard might have needed to have Mary help him get Peter to eat Lucky Charms. You’re really good with him.”
“I’m also not his dad so he listens to me better May, he-”
“Ben this really isn't the point of this. I’m not mad at Richard. I still think you’d be a good dad. I’m not saying I’m stopping now. I’m saying we’ve been waiting and seeing you and Peter together kind of makes me want to consider when we’re gonna stop waiting.”
Ben sighed. “I- Okay, yeah,” He started smiling, “Yeah, I really think that would- we could start thinking about that. You know you’d be a pretty good mom yourself.” He was really smiling now. “You’re really good with him too. Would you want to come home from school just to deal with your own kid?”
“I love it with Peter.” May said. “I really do, because I get to know Peter so much better, and he trusts me more than my kids at school. I- I don’t think that would bug me. Are you saying we can like, really talk about this later. Maybe after someone has fallen asleep?”
Ben was smiling like an idiot now. "Yeah, yeah we should talk about this later. Now you've got me all excited May, how am I supposed to get Peter's favorite pasta right?"
May smiled. "I think you'll manage."
"Peter," Ben called into the living room, "May's making me screw up your pasta!"
"What?!" Peter turned to May. He ran in from the living room. "May watch Clifford with me! Don't mess up pasta!"
"If I watch Clifford with you how will I be able to help Ben with lunch? He can't read Italian." She pointed to the recipe.
Peter grabbed the recipe off the counter and held it in his small hands. "What's Italian?"
"It means it's not English. You know how Ben and I sometimes talk to each other in words you, Mommy, and Daddy don't know?"
"Oh yeah! Mommy said you were speaking another tongue like Babbel!"
May looked to Ben hoping this was one of the Jewish stories Richard had taught Peter.
"That's right," Ben answered with a smile. "You want to learn a word or two in Italian Peter?"
"How do you say Pasta?!"
"Same way we do in English." May smiled. "Pasta is the same in both languages."
"Woah!" Peter stared at the pots Ben was making pasta in. "Pasta! Pasta! Pasta! Pasta!" Peter danced around the room, "May I'm speaking in two different languages listen! Pasta! Pasta! Pasta!" He giggled so hard he sat down on the floor.
May laughed with him and Ben smiled at them as he stirred the noodles again.
"Out of the way Petey." Ben took the pot off the stove and the phone started ringing. "I've gotta take the noodles to the sink, May can you get the phone?"
May gave another laugh at Peter as he slid out of Ben's way. May went to the landline, making faces at Peter as he kept saying 'pasta.'
"This is May Parker," She answered the phone.
"Hello you and your husband Ben Parker are the emergency contacts for Mary and Richard Parker correct?"
May's heart dropped.
The next twenty minutes began with a dropped strainer full of pasta and ended with the news finally playing in the living room over the sounds of a four year old screaming.
A social worker arrived half an hour later. She was tired and worn out. She walked May through the paperwork to say that her and Ben were now legally responsible for Peter Parker. They also took ownership of all of the couple's property, possessions, and wealth, as laid out in their wills.
Ben held Peter. A police officer showed up due to a neighbor who was worried Peter was being hurt. May felt bad for the officer who had to ask that they quiet down the shocked four year old.
She couldn't look either of the boys in the eye. Peter hadn't opened his eyes in minutes and Ben had yet to look at her, choosing mostly to watch the news coverage of the plane crash. Mary and Richard were the closest things to celebrities on the plane. Their professional photos were shown as the wreckage played in the background. The news was telling their audience what May and Richard had accomplished in their ‘short lives.’ May felt her stomach turn.
May started working on taking full custody of Peter immediately, as suggested by the social worker. The woman pushed her through the paperwork and made sure Ben and May had every possible reason to be able to keep Peter in their home. She didn't seem worried Peter would be taken from them.
May mindlessly filled in financial paperwork saying that her and Ben's income could support a four year old. It could. It just meant they weren't doing a big summer trip for a few years.
By the time the social worker left Peter wasn't screaming. He was almost asleep in Ben's shaking arms. It should have been peaceful.
Wednesday was the wake. There weren't bodies. It was long and painful. So many political figures and campaign staffers made their appearance. General Thaddeus Ross thought it appropriate to hug Peter. Peter hadn't hugged May in two days because it reminded him of his mom so much he couldn't stop crying. The General didn't ask.
Kings and Presidents from African countries visited with gifts. Ben talked for a half-hour with a King named T’Chaka and his children. They gave a beautiful tapestry. Mary had been granted their highest honors, and his daughter Shuri had loved her. Shuri, for her part, was very well behaved for a four year old at a political wake. Peter was not, and every politician who scowled at the grieving boy’s cries lost May’s support immediately.
May’s knees gave out when her co-workers walked in the door, and Ben helped her sit down while her fellow teachers paid their respects. The math teacher who May would call her best friend had been unable to make it, however May knew she would be over that night as she had promised to make dinner. The teachers left soon after they came, having all used their lunch break to visit May.
May sat next to Peter while more politicians wished her their respects. Some had enough dignity to look upset. Others had the nerve to discuss how unfortunate it was that Richard’s last four years had been spent more-and-more as a father rather than on politics. May squeezed Peter’s hand glad he was too young to understand what they were saying.
They took a taxi back to their apartment after the burial. Peter had fallen asleep soon after they left the burial. Ben didn’t talk the whole ride back.
“I’m glad they worked for that non-profit because their co-workers are such kind people, and those politicians were fucking despicable.” Ben said as he walked into the kitchen. He had just laid Peter on their guest bed. They hadn’t gotten the chance to move furniture from Mary and Richard’s apartment yet.
May let out a short laugh. “Glad it’s not just me.”
“Did you see the way they looked at Peter?” He asked. “Our state senator looked at Peter like she couldn’t understand why he was crying so loud. Honestly what the fuck.”
May slowly pulled Ben into a hug. “I don’t get it either babe.”
“I- God that fucking pissed me off. And that fucking General hugged him!”
“Ben you’ve gotta keep your voice down.” May whispered, “He’s exhausted.”
Ben’s whole body deflated in May’s arms. “I know, I- I know. Fuck May we’re his parens now aren’t we?” Ben whispered. “No more babysitting or shit? It’s us and him.”
May nodded. It terrified her.
“I don’t know anything about parenting a four year old May.” Ben whispered.
“Ben that is so far from true.”
“Really-”
“Ben you know so much more than you give yourself credit for. Even just the past couple of days during this whole and utter shitstorm you have done as good of a job as anyone. You know how to cook. You love reading to people. You know how to tell him no. I- I don’t know I told you Saturday, you’ll be a great dad.”
Ben was crying again. “God to think Saturday morning we were thinking about doing this on our own. The universe is fucked up like that huh?”
May nodded. “I thought about that when the social worker asked about future kids.”
“She did?”
“Yeah, I told her we didn’t plan on any within the next year or two. I think you were still watching the news.”
Ben nodded. “I was terrified they were going to find a way to vilify them through this. Richard always-” Ben took a deep breath. “Richard always said their relationship with the media was on edge. The minute the media found something to strike with they probably would because all of Mary’s work was so anti-capitalist.”
May nodded, she’d heard Mary worry about this. Mary had been worried that Peter would get swept up in his parents media storm. May was crying too.
“I was so worried Peter would have to watch the media slander his parents during this.”
“They didn’t do anything wrong,” May said, “And I’d honestly be a bit more worried about your having to watch your brother go through that than Peter who doesn’t understand it Ben.”
Ben sighed. “I hate this."
May reached up to run a finger through his hair." I know Benny I know."
“And then they started talking about the fucking plane crash like it was another mystery. I wish I didn’t care how weird the photos were or how it happened at an oddly convenient time for whatever terrorist group is most active in the area or whatever. I just can’t stop thinking about it. What if they’re alive? And I know it’s insane, and I know that it’s now way to live, but I can’t fucking help it and it’s gonna drive me nuts if I’m not careful.”
May laid a hand on Bens back trying to calm him down. “The news just wants something to talk about, it’ll blow over.”
Ben nodded quietly. The two held each other in the kitchen for a moment.
“How much stuff is still at their apartment? Is it going to take a while to go through?” Ben asked.
May sighed, she’d been in charge of this so far. Ben had been taking care of Peter, setting up the funeral, and contacting the politicians who he knew Richard talked highly of. She had been dealing with Mary and Richard’s belongings, and making sure that Peter could live with them as soon as possible.
“Peter and I cleaned out his room on Tuesday. That was during those two or three good hours that he had in the afternoon. Where he was quiet for a while. So we have all of his little things, and I’m sure you saw that I put his sheets on the small guest bed in the office.” Ben was nodding along. “I dealt with their food and stuff, kept what I could, threw some away. I still couldn't go into their bedroom, and I don't know what you want to do with their clothes."
"Richards clothes is all to small for me," Ben whispered. "We could probably keep his sweatshirts and stuff so Peter can have them later, but I don't even know if he had many of those."
"I thought about just keeping all their comfy clothes, anything that Peter might want, and donating all their professional stuff to a clothing closet of sorts. I know Mary used one of them when she was first getting interviews and talked about how it saved her life."
Ben nodded, "I like that idea. They've both got so much of it too."
May nodded and the pair moved to the couch.
"Kate's coming over for dinner right?" Ben asked.
"Yeah, she's the only other person I trust with pasta so I told her she was fine, we could probably use a break from this anyways."
Ben nodded. "You think Peter will eat much?"
"I don't know," May shrugged. "He's gotta be getting hungry, but I also know Ms. Harris got him to eat a bunch of apple and cheese slices and with her. Jean said she used to be an elementary school teacher so she's got some tricks into getting kids to eat."
"Do you have her contact info? Could you ask her for tips?"
May shook her head, "No but Jean probably does."
Ben sighed. "Is he, I know this is a stupid question, but is he gonna be okay after all this?"
May nodded. "I think so. He’s got us.”