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She’s so furious that night that she doesn’t notice the slump in his shoulders or the small frown on his face as he rips off his tie.
She keeps muttering under her breath, cursing Ron to the ends of the earth and back, but Ben says nothing. The kids are staying over night at her mom’s, so while there is peace and quiet in the house for the first time in weeks, Ben only says a brief goodnight and goes to bed as Leslie washes out the bits of cake and frosting from her hair.
It’s not until 3 AM, when the fog of anger lifts from her subconscious mind and she wakes with a start, that she realizes what she had done.
This was Ben’s night. A night that he had been working towards for his entire career. He was finally being honored for all of his hard work, and she and Ron–mostly Ron– had ruined it.
She turns over to look at her sleeping husband and feels the familiar sharp pang of regret and shame. She presses a kiss to whatever part of him is closest, and he shifts towards her in his sleep.
She is going to make this up to him somehow.
When Leslie called him to say that she was leaving work early and not to worry about picking up the kids, he should have suspected something. That she would willingly leave work amidst something as huge as the Newport land bid was itself a red flag, but he was still reeling from the emotions brought on by Tom’s real speech so he let it go.
So after a long day of dealing with Leslie’s feud with Ron, the land bid, and plenty of resentment over his ceremony being ruined, he walks through his front door.
The yell of “surprise” that he’s met with nearly makes him scream, but all he does is drop is briefcase on the floor and jump back.
After his heart restarts, he sees his wife and three children smiling broadly as they hold up a small cake. There is a banner hanging in the living room that says ‘Man of the Year’ surrounded by small, crayon drawings, his children’s newest masterpiece.
Leslie carefully places the cake down as he is bombarded by three tiny missiles that launch in his direction. He kneels down and welcomes their hugs and kisses, his wife looking on with a warm smile.
“What’s all this, guys?” he asks incredulously.
“Surprise!” Stephen screams again.
“Yes, I can see that. You all definitely surprised Daddy.”
“We got cake,” Sonia says while jumping up and down in excitement before running over to it.
“Hey, Soso,” Leslie says sternly, “what did I say about the cake?”
The little girl’s face falls and she sighs. “Gotta wait.”
“That’s right. We have cake after we give Daddy his surprise and eat dinner okay? Why don’t you three go get what you made for him.”
The two boys wrestle away from their father and run after Sonia towards what he assumes to be his surprise.
He stands back up and gives her a confused look. “What’s this about?”
She bites her lips and slowly walks towards him, contrite. “I know things have been crazy, and last night was…well, you know.” She wraps her arms around his neck. “But no matter how upset I was with Ron and everything that was going on with the Newport land, I shouldn’t have let it interfere with your night. You worked so hard and deserved that honor more than anyone, and I ruined it for you. So, I wanted to say that I’m sorry and try to make it up to you even a little bit. I know it’s not the same, but in this house, you’re always Man of the Year.”
Ben smiles and rests his forehead against Leslie’s. “Thank you. This is amazing. I can’t believe you left work to do this for me.”
She just shrugs her shoulders. “Honestly, there’s not much more I can do at this point. My offer is in, and I just have to wait and see if they’ll take me seriously. My staff has my number if they need me. You’re more important.”
He gives her another kiss before he hears three pairs of tiny feet stampeding back towards them.
“Daddy! Daddy!”
He looks down and smiles at what looks like some sort of trophy crudely made out of an old tissue box and paper towel tube, and a construction paper card.
“Thanks, you guys,” he says indulgently and reaches for the items.
The front of the card looks like Leslie traced the words “Man of the Year 2017″ and the kids filled it in with crayon.
“Open it,” Wesley insists with a tug on Ben’s pant leg, so he hoists his son on his hip and flips open the card.
“Oh, wow, is that a drawing of me?”
Wesley nods and smiles proudly. “I drawed it.”
“That’s amazing. And look I’m wearing something on my head. Is that a….spider?”
Leslie peaks over his shoulder. “Oh, I told him to draw a crown on your head, but Wes wanted an octopus instead.”
“Oh, okay,” Ben laughs and accepts the sloppy kiss from his son before he wriggles out of his arms. “Thanks, buddy.”
“I did the cake,” Sonia says proudly.
“Yup, she helped me make the cake, and Stephen painted your trophy.”
Ben kneels down and pulls the three of them in for another fierce hug. “Thank you. This is the greatest award I’ve ever gotten.”
“Okay, little monsters, it’s almost dinner time. Give Daddy one more kiss and wash your hands.”
Ben’s face gets peppered with adorable, toddler kisses before they run off to the bathroom.
“Now it’s Mommy’s turn to give Daddy some love,” Leslie teases with a grin, and gives him a sweet, lingering kiss. “I know this doesn’t make up for last night, but-”
“No, babe, this is amazing. I mean, yeah, I wish last night had gone better, but that you went out of your way to do this for me is just the greatest.”
“So, you forgive me? Because, I‘m just warning you that things like this will most likely happen again if I keep having to interact with Ron. Fury overrules rational thought each and every time.”
Ben chuckles and shakes his head. “Yes, I forgive you, and I consider myself warned. But don’t worry so much, this will all work out. I promise.”
She smiles and squeezes his hand. “You’re the best husband ever. Now, go get comfortable so we can start dinner and then have some cake.” Her voice drops to a low whisper. “Then after the kids go to bed, there’s a certain ‘orchestra conductor’ fantasy that we missed out on last night.” She winks and walks back to the kitchen with an extra sway in her hips.
He grins and makes his way upstairs to change. Last night might have been a disaster, but right now, he definitely feels like Man of the Year.