Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 Lo & Behold by Diola Dragontail

   Chapter 3: The Kitchen Table

   Sarah Lo sat on the living room couch, staring at the television screen.
The television sat silent and dark, not even having been turned on.  She
just sat there, thinking.  Attempting to reconcile all of the conflicting
thoughts she was having.

   She had come home from her grocery shopping to what seemed like an empty
house.  What she saw in her bedroom upstairs was the last thing she
expected to see.  Her husband of seventeen years joined in a passionate
coupling with their eight year old daughter.

   Everything she had been told, everything she was brought up with,
everything the media told her said that this was wrong.  There was no hope
now.  Her daughter was irreparably damaged.  She'd end up in a foster home,
or on drugs, or a runaway.  This is what everything she had learned led her
to believe.

   But was it really true?

   Now she wasn't so sure.  She saw the look on her daughter's face.  She
didn't look like she was in pain.  She didn't look frightened.  She didn't
even look upset.  She looked like she was honestly enjoying it.  Enjoying
being so close to her father.

   Sarah shook her head slightly, sharply.  No.  It was wrong.  And if
someone outside found out about it.  Well, that would just be the end of
everything.  The police would storm down their door.  Drag their kids away.
Lock up her bastard husband and it would serve him right.

   She brought her hand up to her face and bit one of her fingers, hard. 
The pain reminded her that this wasn't some sort of dream she'd fallen
into. There was no waking up and finding everything back the way it was
before.  This was real and what the hell was she going to do next?

   She remembered the look on her husband's face.  The way it was strained,
almost a grimace.  She could see the way the muscles on his arms and his
shoulders and even his back were straining.  He was fighting back his
urges; in her own past coupling with him she'd seen him do it.  That wasn't
the look of someone just sating his basest desires.  No, there was more to
all of this then just primal urges.

   She sucked on the side of her finger now while still staring at the
television.  She wanted to be mad at him.  He cheated on her.  With their
own daughter.  You couldn't go lower than that, could you?  He was slime,
garbage, a worm.

   But then what was she?  How could she explain what happened to her? 
When she saw what was going on in that bed, in her bed, she enjoyed it. 
Even if it was at only the basest most level, she enjoyed it.  She felt
what happened in her own body and she liked it.

   She closed her eyes and long forgotten experiences came back to her. 
She remembered having to spank Catherine when she was about Angela's age.
She remembered how much she liked that too.  She had tried to push the
thoughts away and she had managed to forget it.  Until today anyway.  Now
she remembered the warm feeling she felt when her open hand slapped against
the thin cotton panties that were covering Angela's cheeks.  She remembered
the way Angela's flesh bounced firmly back after each slap.  She remembered
how the room smelled of old paint and freshly mowed grass.  She remembered
the cool breeze that was coming in through the window.

   Sarah's eyes darted open, breaking the siren call of the memory.  She
had no idea she could remember anything that well, much less something that
she had spent so much energy trying to forget.  More memories started to
come back to her, like a flood forcing its way through a crack in a dam.

   She remembered inspecting Ben, her son, when he was just a toddler.  It
was what mother's were supposed to do, she told herself.  Make sure
everything was in order.  She remembered the first night she spent with
Mike.  She remembered the night she spent with Tracy, her best friend in
high-school.  She remembered being pregnant with Angela, but letting Mike
have her ass for the first time, to try and satisfy him.

   She shook her head again, trying to stem off the torrent of memories
that seemed to assault her mind.  Every questionable encounter she had ever
had seemed to come back to her, unbidden.  And she remembered how every one
of them had made her feel.

   ===

   Mike had woken up in bed, with his daughter curled up next to him, sound
asleep.  He laid there for a number of long moments trying to put his mind
together.  He felt drained, mentally and emotionally, but he also felt
physically alive, brimming with energy.  He felt like writing a poem about
what happened this afternoon, or painting a picture, or something, anything
to celebrate it.

   Instead, he just laid there and stroked her hair slowly.  As he stared
at her, the enormity of what had happened slowly dawned on him.  She just
slept there, curled up against him.  Her chest falling and rising slowly,
regularly.  He could see the white cream he had deposited in her, still
leaking out of her small slit, puddling on the side of her thigh and then
running over its side, to land on the bed which sucked it right up.

   He took a deep breath and extracted his arm out from under her; she just
rolled in the other direction, curled on her other side, still soundly
asleep.  He slipped out of bed and walked to the closet, pulling down a
quilt and unfolding it over her.  Leaving her to rest while he pulled his
jeans back on.

   He descended the stairs, bare foot and bare-chested before he spotted
Sarah sitting in the living room.  She was watching a television that
wasn't on.  So he could only assume that this didn't bode well.  He didn't
think of himself as a great genius, but he was pretty sure he was right on
this one.  He stopped before he reached the bottom of the stairs and just
stood there.  Unsure if he wanted to proceed or run back upstairs.

   "I saw what happened up there." Sarah said, putting it plainly and
bluntly.  Her sudden, unexpected voice breaking the silence.

   He stared at her back, not sure what to say.  His mind stammered over
thoughts, all of them running together like trains crashing.

   Sarah took a deep breath and continued to stare at the television
screen. "Just tell me one thing."

   Mike continued to stare at her, enough thought returning to his mind to
remember to close his mouth which had been hanging open.  He nodded slowly,
agreeing to what ever this option was.

   "Tell me that you didn't hurt her." Sarah said, finally turning in her
seat to face him, her eyes staring into him like they could see if he was
telling the truth or not.

   "What?" Mike replied, a bit dumb-founded.  The question seemed alien to
him, like the answer was obvious.  Her eyes on him only made him more
uncomfortable and harder for him to think straight.

   "I said," Sarah repeated, "Tell me that you didn't hurt her.  Tell me
that you didn't force her to do that."

   "What?" Mike repeated again.  He could see the anger rising in his
wife's face, she was about to say something more, but he quickly raised a
hand to stop her.

   "Sarah, how could you even ask me that?" He said, never taking his eyes
off of her as he finished descending the stairs.  "That's our daughter up
there.  I would never, never hurt her.  I thought you would have realized
that already?"

   She nodded slowly, for just the briefest moment her biggest fears had
been confirmed in her mind.  But now the anger fell out of her like leaves
from a tree.  He was telling the truth, at least as far as he believed it.

   He sat down on the couch, but not right next to her.  He gave her a
little bit of space, just to be safe.  After a long moment of silence, he
asked "Do you want to know what happened?"

   She looked at him now and nodded, "Yes.  I would."

   He took a deep breath and was about to start recounting the events of
the afternoon when Sarah spoke up again.  "The groceries." He blinked and
stared at her like she was speaking another language.  Or that this was
some sort of code word that he was supposed to have remembered.

   "The groceries." She repeated, "I left them in the kitchen." She stood
up now, "Come on.  You can tell me while I put them away."

   Mike followed her into the kitchen and they started to put away the
handful of groceries as he explained what had happened.  He told her about
Angela and James and their explorations on the picnic table in the
backyard. He told her how Angela thought she was in trouble.  He told her
that he tried to reassure her and the last thing he wanted was her to think
it was wrong.  But he also didn't want her letting every neighborhood boy
play doctor with her.

   The groceries had been long since put away and fresh coffee had been
made by the time he got around to explaining, in detail, exactly what
happened that led Angela and him to be found in bed together.

   Sarah sat at the kitchen table and held her coffee mug to her face.  She
was actually biting the rim of the mug as Mike's story drew to a close.  He
could tell what was going on, she was aroused by this.  He'd seen that look
in her eyes many times before.  When something struck her deep down inside
and started those fires burning in her.

   "Well, that's it." He leaned against the kitchen counter, facing her. 
He decided to take a gamble and confront her on her desire.  "You're
excited, aren't you?"

   Sarah's teeth remained in place on the mug, but her lips curled into a
smile.  "Umhm." She murmured through the porcelain.

   Mike smiled a bit more in reply.  "Would you like me to do something
about that?"

   Sarah's smile stayed in place, "Umhm." She removed the coffee mug from
her mouth and added, "You've been a pretty naughty man.  I think you need
to eat me out now."

   He raised an eyebrow in amusement now, "Our bed is still occupied." He
teased her, wanting to see just how aroused she was.

   "Fuck the bed!" She said as she put the mug down.  "I can't wait that
long.  Right here.  On the table!"

   He smiled even more.  She was cursing, she was really excited.  Sarah
never cursed unless she was extremely pissed off or extremely horny.

   "As you wish, m'am." He placed his mug down on the counter and stepped
the two steps in front of her.  He reached down, grasped her hips, and
lifted her to sit on the table.  He kicked her vacated chair to the side,
which made Sarah give off a little moan of anticipation.

   Sarah leaned on her elbows as she watched her husband lower himself to
his knees in front of her.  She could see him grin at her and feel his
hands on her feet.  He was moving to take off her sneakers she guessed, but
she pulled her feet out of his grasp.

   "No." Her words came out labored, breathless, "There's no time for an
opening act.  Get right to the main event."

   He smirked in reply and grabbed her hips, pulling her closer to the edge
of the table.  That provided the opening she needed, her hands able to
reach him now.  With a flurry of movement her back feel flat against the
table as she grabbed hold of his hair.

   With her fingers entwined in his hair she pulled his head between her
legs before he could even react, pushing her skirt up out of the way with
his forehead.  She held his head in place as she grinded her hips against
his face.

   "Oh god... yes." She groaned out as she smeared her moist panties all
over his nose, mouth, and chin.  She gasped as her back spasmed happily as
she pushed her panty clad clit against the bridge of his nose.

   Under the onslaught of the mini-orgasm, her fingers relaxed, his hair
slipping from between them.  But he wasn't planning on letting her get away
that easily.

   Sarah threw her left leg over Mike's shoulder, trying to give him better
access to herself.  That's when she felt his teeth nibbling at her lips
through her panties.  "Damn it, Mike... just don't stop."

   Sarah's fingers started to claw at the tabletop as she felt his mouth
moving slowly up, following her lips.  "Fuck, yes!" she screamed out in
ecstasy as his teeth found her enflamed clit.

   His hand slipped up her leg now, hooking the edge of her panties and
pulling them to the side and out of the way of his mouth.  His lips
immediately found hers as he started to suck at her opening.  She could
feel him sucking hungrily at her moistness, and then thrusting his tongue
into her to get more.

   Sarah's spasms grew more intense as she writhed on the wooden table top.
Thoughts of all the mundane things she's done at this table only made her
feel dirtier and excited her more.

   ==

   Benjamin Lo was just your typical 13 year old male.  He was in the eight
grade.  He'd be starting high school next year.  He just started noticing
girls and was almost to the point where he was sure he'd never understand
them.  He preferred being called Ben, hated being called Benji, and hearing
his full name just gave him full body shivers.  Hearing "Benjamin" usually
meant that he'd done something wrong.

   Ben's mind was still racing at what he had seen in the movie theater
this afternoon.  And he was still working out how he'd use this to his
advantage.  He and his friends had only been in that particular theater for
a few minutes, it was only supposed to be a stopping point in getting over
to the theater showing Pitchfork Maniacs.

   So when Kat and her friends came in, the initial shock gave way to
self-preservation.  If Kat caught him in the kiddy movie, he'd never hear
the end of it.  He ducked down in his seat and hid, watching Kat and
waiting for a chance to flee the scene.

   That way he was in the perfect spot to see Kat drinking.  Oh man, mom
and dad would be pissed if they found out.  Right then and there he started
putting price tags to what this information was worth.

   His planning dropped out of his mind when he saw Kat stand up.  His
first instinct was that he was busted, but to his surprise, she actually
walked away from him.  And then sat down next to some old guy.  And then
she disappeared completely.

   Ben might have been new to the ways of males and females, but he wasn't
an idiot.  He had a pretty good idea what was going on.  In his head it all
added up to pay day.

   As he walked home, he tried to come up with the best way to collect. 
He'd have to get Kat just right in order to squeeze the most money possible
out of her.

   "God damn it!" He heard his mother scream in the kitchen as he entered
the house.

   Immediately his plans were dashed in his head.  Mom must have already
found out and was reading Kat the riot attack.  No pay day today, but at
least it would be entertaining to watch Kat get screamed at again.

   Ben headed deeper into the house and straight into the kitchen.  He
didn't walk into what he expected and all thoughts of fun at Kat's expense
evaporated right out of his mind.

   There was his mom, laying on the kitchen table.  And there was his dad,
kneeling in front of mom, with his back to Ben.  Mom's skirt was bunched up
around her hips and Ben had a perfect viewing point to see the back of
dad's head moving around.

   Ben just stood still, frozen in place, his eyes wide and taking the
entire scene in.  Mom panting as she laid across the table, loud moans and
curses still exploding out her mouth.  Dad leaned back and then Ben could
see it all.  The matted, glistening wet black hair between mom's legs.  The
skin of her cunt dark red and shiny.  Her yellow panties dangling from her
left ankle.

   Neither of his parents seemed to notice him standing there.  That is
until mom leaned up and Ben's wide awed eyes met his mom's sultry, lustful
ones.

   "Ben!" Sarah shouting in surprise, her hands instinctively reaching to
push down her skirt.

   Mike spin in place, staring at Ben in mild surprise.  He had actually
expected someone interrupt them, but he thought it would have been Angela.

   "Oh, um!" Ben blurted out, blushing a deep, dark crimson shade. 
"I'm-sorry- I'm-sorry- I'm-sorry!" He started to repeat quickly, as he
started to back up out of the kitchen.

   "Like mother, like son." Mike couldn't help but chuckle, recalling that
this was the second time today he'd been walked in on.

   Ben's retreat stopped when he backed right into the archway at the
threshold of the kitchen and hallway.

   "Ben... It's okay." Mike said reassuringly.  "Your mother and I were
just...enjoying ourselves."

   Ben stood with his back against the wall, eyes glancing quickly from his
dad to his mom.  Okay, maybe he wasn't going to get killed for walking in
on them like this.  He still felt like he wanted to curl up into a ball and
hide though.  Or, better yet, run upstairs to the bathroom and relieve
himself of the raging hard on he had in his jeans.

   Sarah started to slide herself off the table, her hand holding her skirt
down to keep from giving any more free shows.

   Mike glanced at his wife now, "Hey.  Where do you think you're going?"

   Sarah glanced at her husband, confused.  She opened her mouth to answer,
but couldn't think of answer other than the obvious one.

   Mike smiled more, "We're not done yet, you know." He then looked to Ben,
"Maybe you can give me a hand, son.  What do you think?"

   Both Ben and Sarah both stared at Mike in disbelief.  Ben was sure that
his ears weren't functioning properly.  He couldn't have just heard that.
Or maybe this was all some sort of dream.  Sarah's disbelief was only
momentary though, she realized where Mike was going with this and the only
thing that came to her mind now was "Why not?"

   "You see, I need to fuck your mother." Mike said with the same smile. 
"And I figured, if you wanted to, you can help me."

   "You, you...." Ben stammered out, still in disbelief.  "Want me to have
sex with mom?"

   Mike laughed and shook his head.  "No.  Having sex just sounds way too
clean.  Your mom needs to be fucked.  Totally different thing."

   Ben blinked a few more times and then looked at his mother, sitting on
the edge of the kitchen table now.  His eyes looked back to her waist
first, but she had covered up.  He glances up at her face and saw that she
was smiling.  Maybe this wasn't all his imagination after all.  She moved
slightly and her movement drew his eyes back down to her waist.  She was
opening her legs very slowly, just so he could see.

   Ben's eyes were transfixed as his mom's seething pussy, but he nodded
slowly.

   "Great." Mike said, clapping his hands together.  "And don't worry, if
you have any questions, both your mother and I will be happy to answer
them. Right honey?"

   "Of course." Sarah's knees were about a foot apart now.  The way Ben was
staring at her, well, it just made her tingle all over.

   "Come closer." Mike said, using his hand to motion Ben closer.  "She's
not going to bite you know."

   Ben swallowed and nodding, moving closer to the table with just little
steps.  Mike took a step back, not wanting to distract Ben or stand in his
way.

   "Would you like to touch me?" Sarah asked her son.

   Ben felt more than a bit dizzy, but nodded again.  "Yes."

   "Where?"

   "Umm..." Ben started to say.  Even with this scene in front of him, his
mom half naked and spreading her legs for him, he still felt weird using
`dirty' words in front of her.  "Your... your..." He just couldn't bring
himself to say it, so he just pointed at her lap.

   "Oh, honey, you can say it." Sarah replied, Ben's nervousness was
starting to pierce through her excitement.  Maybe this wasn't such a good
idea after all.  "You can call it anything you want... Just as long as you
start touching it."

   Ben nodded slightly and reached his hand towards his mom's skirt.  He
wished his hand would stop shaking so much, because it made him feel like a
child.  That wasn't going to stop him though, not when it was this close to
happening.

   He stood right in front of his mom and slid his hand under her skirt. 
He was being careful not to touch her legs or anything else, not until he
touched `it.' He had this image that the minute he touched her, she'd
suddenly change her mind, so he wanted to make it count.

   Then he felt her.  Warm, soft, almost slimy.  Her skin felt just like
warm, melty jello under his finger tips.  He only felt her for a second and
then she pulled back.  He glanced up at her face, looking startled and
confused.

   Sarah just smiled at her son, "its okay.  Mom is just a bit sensitive."

   It was true.  After Mike's oral attentions, the nervous fingertips of
her son were almost enough to send her right over the edge just from
contact.  That didn't stop her though, as she shifted her hips and pushed
herself towards his fingers, feeling him slip slightly between her lips.

   Ben's eyes went wide again when he felt his fingers slip into his
mother. He knew that was possible and how it worked, he spent many hours
thinking about it, but he never really thought about how it would feel.

   "How does that feel?" Sarah asked her son, entranced by the look of
wonder on his face.  The very slight movements of his fingers were sending
sparks through her body.

   "Good." Ben managed to croak out, still staring down at her skirt.

   Sarah smiled more and then reached to her hip, unbuttoning the skirt. 
She couldn't take the skirt off without making Ben remove his hand and that
was something she had no intention of doing.  So instead she just shifted
the skirt down a bit.  Just enough so that he could see where the tips of
his fingers were inside her.

   To Ben it felt like half his hand was up inside his mother.  So he was
surprised when he saw that only two of his fingers were in her and even
those were barely fingernails length inside her.

   "Why don't we show Ben what oral sex is like?" Mike offered, standing on
the side with a wide smirk on his face.  He was sure his wife wouldn't be
able to resist that idea.

   Another small orgasm rocked through Sarah at just the thought of seeing
Ben's face between her legs.  His eager little tongue lapping up at his
mom's juices.  Before she could even direct him in this, she found that Ben
had other ideas.

   At the mention of oral sex, Ben remembered what he had almost, sort of
seen Kat do in the movie theater.  He immediately pulled his fingers from
his mom and moved out from standing between her legs, moving to stand
closer to where her head was.

   Mike couldn't help but chuckle at this.  Ben certainly was an eager
learner now.

   Sarah's disappointment at the change of plans lasted only a split
second. She just licked her lips as her son's waist came closer to her. 
She shifted over a bit on the table, letting her skirt fall to the floor
and getting her face closer to the edge.  She lay back as her hands reached
to Ben's jeans.

   "Mom is going to take your dick out now, okay honey?"

   "Yes." Ben's voice was a mix of barely understood desire and
nervousness. He couldn't even remember the last time mom had seen his
willy.

   Now it was Sarah's hands that were shaking, but just like her son before
her, she proceeded with steadfast resolve.  She took the hem of his blue
jeans gently, unbuttoned the top button, the slid the zipper down.  She let
his jeans drop to the floor, revealing his plain cotton briefs.  The bulge
in the front of them was unmistakable.

   She glanced up at her son's face as her fingers traced the outline of
the bulge.  She watched as his pulse obviously quickened in his body, his
eyelids flickering and twitching.  Through the outline, she found the tip
of his dick, complete with a dark wet spot right at the end.  She let her
fingers travel over this for a few moments as she continued to watch him
try to remain composure.

   She reluctantly removed her hand from his bulge, but quickly brought
them to his hips.  Slid his briefs down; his engorged dick springing out at
her once it was free from its confines.

   His dick was small and thin.  Just about six inches long, but it was
flawless.  It was mostly pale around the base with just the smallest amount
of downy, dark hair.  His balls were small and just slightly redder, still
firm and springy.  His shaft was a pale red, almost like it was blushing.

   She went back to looking at his face as she wrapped her fingers around
his length, stroking it slowly in her palm.  His reaction was immediate,
his eyes closed and he gasped for air with a sharp intake.  A new bead of
pre-cum formed at his tip, glistening in its purity.

   She moved her face a bit closer and snaked her tongue out.  Letting just
the tip of her tongue touched the tip of his dick, collecting the salt bead
and swallowing it.  It wasn't enough for her to really taste, but she
decided she'd remedy that situation immediately.

   Leaning even closer, she guided his dick into her mouth.  Engulfing the
entire length in her waiting mouth, the sensation was almost enough to make
him fall over.  He felt weak all over, the room seemed like it was spinning
around him.  Everything seemed to stop existing, except for his mother's
mouth and his dick in it.

   Sarah gently cupped her son's balls in her hand.  Just holding them
warmly for a moment, before starting the gently squeeze and kneed them. 
That's when she felt Mike move between her legs.  She didn't bother to look
down to see what he was doing; she just kept her attention on her young son
and his pleasure.

   Mike gripped her legs tightly, and then pushed his cock deep into his
wife.  He didn't tease her, he just entered her.  Slipping into her until
his hair was grinding against her hips.  Sarah let out a loud moan, a moan
the vibrated right up into Ben.

   Sarah's free hand gripped Ben's ass and pulled him against her face,
forcing his entire shaft into her mouth.  Her lips wrapped around it, her
tongue cupping it's underside as she sucked on him.  She could feel his
entire body twitch as he gasped for air.

   Mike started to drive himself into and out of his wife as he watched her
push his son's dick entirely into her mouth.  He held her hips as he rocked
forward and back on his feet.  Each thrust made her body shutter, but he
gripped her tightly, keeping her from slipping further back on the table.

   Sarah used her hand on Ben's ass to guide him in and out of her mouth,
showing him how to fuck his own mother's mouth.  Her motions were slow at
first, but it only took a moment for him to start the motion on his own.

   Ben just watched in a daze as his dick moved in and out of his mother's
mouth.  It was almost as if it was happening to someone else.  He saw his
hips moving against her face and then back again, but it didn't feel like
it was his doing.  The only thing that made him feel like this was really
happened were her eyes looking up at him.  They continued to look up at him
even when her nose disappeared against his skin.

   Sarah just moaned in ecstasy from the double fucking she was receiving.
She stared up at her son's face and studied the look of absolute wonderment
and lust that was painted across it.  Then she felt Mike's dick grow
slightly and get even more rigid.  She knew he was about to cum and started
to suck on Ben even harder, wanting him to cum too.

   She could feel Mike's tip swell up inside her, capping her off tightly.
Then he twitched slightly inside her and she could feel him start to spurt
inside her.  Just small squirts, one, then two, then three, then finally
one long, strong spurt that coated her walls.  The warm sticky feeling
inside her pushed her right over the edge, her body teetering with one of
the most intense climaxes she'd ever experienced.

   Her mouth sucked on her son with a wanting thirst, her tongue lashing
back and forth across him.  Her hand gripping him tightly, not letting his
hips retreat from her mouth.  She watched as his eyes closed and his face
screwed up into a grimace.  His dick quivered in her mouth and then the
steamy liquid filled her throat.  Splashing out of him with an urgent need
for release.

   For a long moment, all three bodies just stood still.

   Sarah drew her mouth back slowly, still sucking on her son's rapidly
deflating dick.  It left her mouth with a little popping noise and dangled
lightly in front of her face.

   "How did that feel, honey?" She looked up at him with a smile.

   "That was..." Ben started to say, between labored huffs of air. 
"...fantastic." Was the only word is bewildered mind could come up with.

   Mike took a step back from the table, feeling exhausted but elated.  He
looked over his wife on the table, how her belly still quivered.  How his
cum was just starting to ooze out of her over stimulated pussy.

   "Why don't you go take your dad's place?" Sarah suggested, "I want to
you to fuck me too, honey.  And dad can come up here and let me clean him
off too."

   Ben glanced down at his mother's hips, his mind jumping at the chance to
try that.

   "Whoa!  Hold on a second there!" Mike was quick to interject.  "The poor
boy has been through enough for his first time.  How about we just let him
recover a bit?  We can always do this again."

   Mike tried to remain looking calm, but his mind was a panicked jumble of
crossed wires.  He wasn't sure he could make it through another round
without going into coronary arrest.  And he doubted that a trip to the
hospital would be the best way to end this.

   Sarah glanced at her husband and nodded slightly, "I guess you might be
right."

   Ben just nodded slowly, a little disappointed, but then again, taking a
nap sounded almost as good.

   "We can do it again tonight." Sarah said, smiling as she looked back to
Ben.  "How would you like to spend the night with your mom?"

   The disappointment slipped out of Ben's mind and he smiled, "That would
be great, mom."