The moans woke Ben up gradually.
At first, they snuck into his dreams, a small accompaniment to the random firings of neurons entertaining his subconscious as his body slept. Soon enough, however, they became more insistent, and his mind began to wake him up. This, too, was gradual; he knew he was in a bed. Then he knew it was night, and he was sleeping.
Then, he knew it was two in the goddamn morning, his eyes now open to see the red numbers glaring from his nightstand.
The moans came from beneath his bed, from the only other bed in the house. Christ, but they were loud!
Ben shifted under the covers, wondering what was keeping his eighteen-year-old daughter Ash up. Well, he pretended to wonder; those sounds strongly suggested sexual passion. But at two in the morning? Good lord, why?
Ben slid his feet from under the covers, the shifting weight on the mattress causing his wife Linda to stir. He slipped his feet into the slippers at the edge of the bed just as she mumbled something in Ben's general direction.
"Go back to sleep, honey," he whispered as he stood up.
"What is it?" she said, more cogently this time. Her eyes were now open, aware; she stared down at the bed, in the direction of Ash's room, as the moans continued. Linda had always been a light sleeper.
"Why in the world . . .?"
"I'll go down and tell her to knock it off," said Ben firmly. He stifled a yawn as he grabbed his robe. "Or, you know, do it quieter," he mumbled.
Linda yawned herself, and stretched. "Mhm," she said as she fell back onto her pillow. After a moment, she shifted again. "Holy hell, she's loud."
Ben snorted at that as he opened the door to their room silently, then closed it behind him. The moans echoed up the stairwell at the end of the hall, and Ben could almost make out words. No, just one word. A name?
Then, suddenly, the moans stopped. Ben stopped in his tracks, listening.
Just the creaking of the house, and the distant sound of crickets from the kitchen window they always left open in the summer.
Ben waited for what seemed like five minutes, but the moans did not start again.
He turned back to the bedroom. In the dim light he saw his wife sleeping soundly, her chest rising and falling rhythmically. He shook his head as he shrugged off his robe and kicked off his slippers. He'll have to have words with his daughter in the morning.
In the morning. At a reasonable hour.
Soon enough, Ben found himself on the edge of sleep, turning over the sounds of his daughter in his mind. Though he tried not to focus on them, they seemed fixed there, like a bad song with an unfortunately catchy tune.
Henderson, he realized. That was the name she had been calling out. Henderson.
Ben's last thought, as he passed into subconsciousness, was,
Who the hell is Henderson?
#
"Henderson?"
"That's what I heard. I don't have any idea who that is, though."
Linda sipped her coffee, the sun streaming through the open window at her back and lighting up her naturally brown hair. She looked away from Ben, deep in thought. "Henderson," he heard her mutter to herself. Then, "I think I know a Henderson."
"Hm?"
"Yeah," said Linda, crossing over to her study's computer desk. She pulled a stack of papers closer to her, rifling through them.
Ben hadn't had a chance to confront his daughter that morning; he had forgotten she had Jazz Band practice at five, and would be picked up by one of her classmates long before he had crawled out of bed at six.
"Here it is!" Linda held up a stapled set of papers, the name of Ash's school prominently sprawled across the top. She flipped through to the second to last page, then stabbed the paper with her finger triumphantly.
"Henderson," she said. "Patrick Henderson, guidance counselor for the Twelfth Grade."
"Guidance counselor?"
Linda set the sheaf down on the desk. "Yep. I only remembered since we have an appointment with him this afternoon -- the school wanted us to meet with him to discuss Ash's future plans. You know, college stuff."
"Huh. Do you think-?"
Linda shrugged. "We'll have to ask Ash, but I doubt it's more than just an innocent crush. Henderson must be a dreamy guy. You know, strong but sensitive, sweeps you off your feet-"
Ben enfolded Linda in a sudden embrace, depositing a short kiss on her lips as her pendulous double D's pressed against him. "I'm sure I don't know what your talking about," he said.
"Well, I could show you what I mean," Linda said playfully.
And she did.
#
"Well, if it isn't Mr. and Mrs. Lawson. Aisling's parents?" Mr. Henderson actually pronounced it correctly,
ASH-ling,
instead of how it was spelled.
Ben took Mr. Henderson's hand in his own, noting the man's natural charisma. A strong handshake, a firm gaze. He seemed completely open, fully aboveboard, but, well. You never knew.