Read Something New for Free Online

the man beside me, I’ve gone from social misfit to gregarious funny gal. Ben Campbell is probably thinking that I’m schizophrenic. But what the hell?
    “Where did you move from?” I ask, my eyes still on the field. Matthew has now gotten to his feet and is attempting to steal the ball from Liam. He doesn’t have a prayer in hell.
    “L.A. area,” Ben tells me.
    “So, not far.”
    “Well, no. But in terms of my job, it’s a lot different down here.”
    Talk about a leading statement. I ask the next logical question. “What do you do?”
    “I’m a cop,” he says matter-of-factly. “Detective.”
    “Wow. Keeping the world safe for humankind, huh?”
    He laughs. “I try.”
    I process this information, looking at him from a new perspective. He’s like the superhero of dads. His kids probably can’t wait to bring him to Daddy Career Day. (My kids are still confused about what Jonah actually does.) I fleetinglywonder what it would be like to be married to a cop instead of an office supplier. I mean, Jonah’s work is important (how would people do business if their companies didn’t have the proper equipment?), and sometimes it’s dangerous (he handles a whole line of very sharp letter openers), but let’s face it, we are not talking about someone who is trained to use a gun and probably saves lives on a daily basis.
    Ben is talking, so I tune him back in. “My wife, Linda—you’ll meet her—she’s an environmental lawyer. She lowered her caseload when we had the kids, you know, pro bono work mostly, but she just got an offer from a firm down here to go back to work full time. So I put in for a transfer. The timing was good.”
    Wow. An environmental lawyer. I’m impressed. She actually does something important, something that makes a difference in the world. (I know, I know, motherhood is supposed to be the most important job, but you can’t really put it on a résumé, now can you?) I suddenly feel inadequate. What have I been doing to make the world a better place? I mean, recycling only goes so far. I still use too much water in the shower, I leave the lights on all the time, and I’ve never donated a single dollar to any “save the wildlife” charity, ever. Bambi would probably take one look at me and pee on my shoes. I tell myself that Linda the Lawyer is probably a lousy cook, and she probably looks like Madeleine Albright on a really bad day, and no matter how immature it sounds, these thoughts make me feel better.
    “What?” asks Ben. “You have a funny look on your face.”
    “You’ve only just met me,” I say lightly. “Maybe that’s just the way my face is naturally.”
    “Oh,” he says skeptically. “Well, you kind of reminded me of the little Tattoo guy from
Fantasy Island
for a minute.”
    I am so shocked by his words that I burst into laughter.Maddy and Tina simultaneously glare at me, most likely annoyed that they are not privy to our amusing repartee. If I were fifteen, I would stick my tongue out at them, but instead I merely smirk.
    “You’re saying I look like Hervé Villechaize?” I exclaim.
    “No, no,” he says, laughing with me. “It was just the evil grin. You’re a lot better looking than Hervé Villechaize.”
    “Wow,” I say. “Thanks so much.”
    Both of us still smiling, our eyes meet. And for an instant, I cannot feel any of my limbs, cannot detect my heartbeat, cannot draw in a breath. I am certain that Ben is not experiencing the same set of bizarre symptoms I am, but that fact does not diminish the effect his direct gaze is having on me. I quickly make a show of glancing at my watch and see that practice is due to conclude in two minutes. I stand up suddenly, almost lose my balance, barely avoid tumbling down the bleachers (firmly dispelling the myth that Matthew gets his klutziness from his dad), and feel Ben’s firm grip on my forearm, steadying me. In that split second, I notice that his fingers are long and hairless and his nails are clipped