Free First Class Stamp by Aj Harmon

home,” Ben smiled as he ushered her inside
and closed the door behind them. He led her to the dining table, glass and
massive, and pulled out a chair for her. “I’ll get plates and napkins,” he said
as he placed the grocery sack on the table next to her.
    The rustling of the plastic broke the mesmerizing spell of
sophistication and Sophia watched Ben walk away. She opened the bag and pulled
a couple of bottles of root beer out and placed them on the table. He returned
with placemats, napkins and a fork and quickly set the table for dinner. The
brown paper bag, with the order ticket still stapled to the outside was sitting
on the massive island that separated the dining area from the kitchen. Ben
grabbed it and began emptying the boxes of food before her.
    She didn’t hear him tell her what was in each of the boxes.
She was still taking in her surroundings. There was a show on television years
ago called ‘Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous’ and Sophia knew this apartment
would definitely fit the qualifications to be a featured segment.
    “Sophia?” Ben said again.
    “Hmm?”
    Ben was holding a box for her to scoop some noodles onto her
plate. “Sorry,” she smiled.
    “Fork or chopsticks?”
    “Fork,” she answered. “Please.”
    “I always eat with chopsticks, even though whenever I’ve
been in Thailand I’ve never been given them to use. They have these big spoon
things…nothing like chopsticks at all.”
    By the time Sophia had taken a scoop of each of the boxes,
her plate was full. She had no idea how she was going to finish it but it
smelled divine so she began on the right side and worked her way left. Chicken,
shrimp, tofu, noodles, rice, spice, heat, vegetables. It was all in front of
her and all delicious.
    They chatted away about the Yankees mainly, and how much
Alex loved them and how happy he was that he’d gotten to see a couple of games,
sitting in a box right behind home plate.
    “It’s my brother’s box,” Ben shrugged. “He said it was after
he’d secured that box for a season that he knew he’d never have to worry about
money again. I was still in college and didn’t get it. I had no clue what life
was all about back then and just enjoyed going to the games.”
    “Just like Alex,” she nodded.
    “Yeah,” he grinned. “Just like Alex. It isn’t lost on me
that I have the opportunity to do some good.”
    The statement hit Sophia like she’d just been punched in the
gut. “We are nobody’s charity case,” she snarled and put her fork down.
    “No! No!” Ben exclaimed. “That’s not what I meant. Not at
all.” He was desperate to make her understand. “Alex is a great kid and I enjoy
going to games with him, but I’ve never thought of it as charity. It never even
entered my mind. Really. You have no idea how much joy it gave me watching him
have fun at the game. I guess I take it for granted that I can go to a game
whenever I want to. He’s reminded me how very fortunate I am. What I was
talking about was donating the box for a couple of games a year to the Big
Brothers program so that some kids who would enjoy it can go. Alex is the one
who reminded me that boys and baseball go together like…like root beer and ice
cream,” he grinned as he lifted the bottle in front of him and took a swig.
    “Oh,” Sophia said, picking up her fork again. “Sorry.”
    “It’s fine,” Ben smiled. “Don’t be upset.” Why the hell
do I care if she’s upset?
    When their plates were empty, Sophia shocked that she’d
eaten everything off hers, she helped Ben clean up and then she said thank you
and goodbye.
    “You don’t think I’m letting you walk home in the dark alone,
do you?”
    She was shocked. “It’s just across the street. I think I’ll
be fine.”
    “Well of course you will cuz I’ll make sure of it,” and he
followed her out the front door and down the hall to the elevator.
    “You really don’t have to,” Sophia protested.
    “What did you tell Alex