A Flight's Desire

Chapter 31: The Summers

As planned, Robin and Ben made a journey back to Los Angeles for the weekend where they spent time with their family. In that short time of separation, Ben missed her somehow. He didn't know what it was but he seemed to miss her energy and the joy that she brought to him. He was always happy around her and that was entirely because of her. He didn't regret telling her that.

Robin was happy to be close to her niece, Rose, again, who had grown taller in the time that Robin was in New York, but she hadn't taken any major steps yet. Robin would have hated to miss that. But one surprising thing that Robin found herself doing was that she was waiting for her phone to buzz with a message. But whenever that happened and it wasn't from Ben, she was disappointed. She was confused later on because she didn't want to think about why she was feeling that way.

After being compelled by Ben, Robin decided to meet him and his family for lunch. "You cannot back out from this." He told her over a phone call.

"But-" She didn't know how to tell him that she was just a fan and it would be strange to go to his house.

"It's my treat."

She couldn't resist a smile at that. "It is your treat but-"

"I'm not taking 'no' for an answer."

And so, she spent Saturday entertaining her niece and then talking to the publishers of her book. They revealed the potential for the movie with a presentation, which was completely unnecessary. She didn't see what they wanted to say and decided to talk to them in their next meeting. Once the moon took over the role of protecting people from its good old friend, the sun, she got dressed into a casual mustard-and-black coloured dress. She wore a bowl hat and checked her outfit in the mirror. Lincoln was leaning against the door and mixed the coffee that he was drinking.

"Meeting the boy's parents, huh?" He teased. "This is a big step for Robin and a bigger step for House Hale!"

Robin's mouth twitched at that joke. "Now don't make me throw something at you. You don't want your favourite shirt to have a permanent stain."

Robin caught a cab and reached the address that Ben gave her. She was a little surprised when there were flashes of light outside by the media but she realised that they were waiting on someone else in a different apartment. She was safe to walk through the front door of Ben's house. She pressed the button for the floor that he lived in. She was twiddling her thumbs the entire way and was looking at the fluorescent lights above. Why was she nervous all of a sudden? "Damn it, Lincoln." Her brother knew that she wasn't the socialising type and had been preparing the energy that she would be needing. She was even more scared because of who Ben was for her.

She thought about the fact that if someone had told her that she would be meeting Ben Summers' family one day, she would have definitely laughed in their faces and asked them to come to reality. But now that she rang the bell of the apartment, surrealness engulfed her once again.

The door opened up and Robin saw a smiling Ben who had been waiting for her arrival. "Hey!" He was dressed in a grey shirt and black jacket.

"Hey! Am I late?" She asked, pointing to the dish towel on his shoulder.

"Not at all." He smiled. "Oh please, come on in." He opened the door for her to enter. He pulled the towel and folded it in his hands. He had been helping around the house and was learning how to cook like always, not wanting to burn yet another Tupperware.

"I think I'm a little overdressed," she said as she straightened her dress.

"You're perf-"

Ben was interrupted by none other than his mother, Fiona Summers, who walked out of the dining area to greet Robin. "Oh, you must be Robin!" She was dressed in a white pantsuit and suddenly, Robin found her confidence. "It's so great to finally meet you." They shook hands. "I'm Fiona, Ben's mother."

"It's really great to meet you. Thank you so much for inviting me!"

"It was our pleasure, dear. Ben has been telling us all about you." Ben had expected that from his mother. If his mother didn't embarrass him, who would? "I hope you like spaghetti."

Robin looked at him, who shrugged modestly. "He didn't ask you to make it, did he?" She had told him that she missed her mother's cooking, particularly spaghetti and soya beans. She should have known that he had been planning something when he asked her about her favourite food.

"It's a family recipe. Don't worry. We make it every Sunday." Fiona assured her.

"Thank you," said Robin. "I hope I'm not troubling you."

"Nonsense." Fiona waved her hand down. "I'm so happy that you are here. It's been a really long time since we could have anyone over."

"Hey." A beautiful brunette entered the room who was wearing a purple sweater and jeans. Robin could see the resemblance between her and Ben immediately. "Hi, I'm Candice." She shook hands with her. "The not-so-annoying but older sibling."

"Now now," started Fiona. "We're not having this conversation again." She laughed and then talked to Robin. "Ignore their cat quarrels. They're always like that. You must be hungry. Shall we sit down?"

"Yes please." She felt very comfortable around them. It didn't feel like she was in a celebrity's house because they treated her like she was someone they knew from her childhood. "Your home is very beautiful."

"Thank you, Robin!" Fiona said. "Candice decorated it herself."

"I'm an interior designer and this was my trial."

"It came out better than we had hoped," said Ben, receiving a scowl from his sister.

The four of them entered the dining hall that was an extension of the living room and saw Harry Summers setting up the table. "Oh!" He set the spoons down and walked towards them. "Harry." He shook hands with Robin. "It's so good to finally meet you."

"Robin Hale, but I'm assuming you already knew that," she joked. "It's really nice to meet you as well."

"Oh you are more beautiful than Ben told us, right?" He placed the question for the room.

"Oh definitely!" Fiona assured him.

"Don't worry." Candice placed a hand on Robin's shoulder. "Ignore everything that they say. Our family is a little crazy."

"O-kay!" Ben started to stop his family from saying more to embarrass him. "Shall we start eating?"

Robin was having a really good time. Harry and Fiona were absolutely the sweetest people that she had ever met and she could see where Ben got his goodness from. Candice never let go of an opportunity to crack a joke and that made her feel secure somehow.

The Summers were simple people. Fiona and Harry were professors of Literature and History respectively. Candice was married to a businessman and had a daughter named Lila. They told her that they had never expected Ben to become an actor but he had always been interested in it. He had acted in many plays and even went on tour before he landed the role of his first job. Since then, all of their lives changed but Ben made sure that his family wasn't disturbed by his work.

Robin felt insightful when they shared his childhood memories. "You can't tell her the Tupperware story." He laughed. "I've already revealed that."

"You must be someone he really trusts then!" Harry joked.

Robin stole a glance at Ben and saw him looking at her. She looked at him questioningly and saw that his ears turned red. "Sorry." He mouthed when nobody was looking, making Robin widen her eyes at him.

"What for?" She mouthed back and told him to cut it off. She was having a great time.

He pointed to his family with his eyes and she cocked her head to one side. "Really?"

If she was being honest, she felt right at home and it was all thanks to the Summers. She felt like she had a family for once in an unbelievably longer time. And that surprised her to her very core.