“That’s not the damn point!” Ben yelled. “Stop rationalizing your actions and think for a second! You knew this would happen. You knew it, and you didn’t care.”

“Ben, I never meant for you to get in trouble. What do you want me to say? I’m sorry. I’m sorry a million times. What the hell else do you want?”

“I want you out of this house.”

“What?” Eric asked.

“Ben, you can’t do that,” Ober said, his voice cracking.

Ben looked at Eric. “You heard me. I want your ass out of this house.” As Eric shook his head in disbelief, Ben continued, “I’m not joking, Eric. This isn’t some silly high school fight. I don’t want you in my life anymore. I don’t trust you, I don’t like you, and I no longer need you as a friend.”

“What if I won’t leave?”

“Then I will,” Ben said. “Our lease is up on the first of the year. That gives you a month and a half to find a new place. If you want to fight me on it, we’ll take a vote. If no one wants to vote, we’ll flip a coin. Either way, I refuse to have you in my life anymore.” Turning his back to his friends, Ben stormed up the stairs to his room.

“Eric, just let him cool off.”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Eric said, walking to the front door. “I’ll be at the paper if anyone needs me.”

When the door slammed, the room was silent. “I really think he’s serious,” Nathan finally said.

“He can’t kick him out of the house,” Ober said. “We can’t let him do that.”

“What’s wrong with you?” Nathan asked, surprised by Ober’s reaction.

“We can’t let him break us up. When I moved here, it was to be with the four of us.”

“Ober, you have to relax.”

“Do you think he’ll really kick Eric out?”

“I don’t know,” Nathan said. “But when he went flying toward Eric, I thought Ben was going to kill him. This isn’t an easy thing to forgive.”

“You have to talk to him,” Ober said. “Promise me you’ll talk to him.” When he saw Nathan heading toward the stairs, he asked, “Where are you going?”

“To talk to Ben.”

“Are you going to talk about Eric?”

“No, I’m going to talk about Murray Simone, King of Hair.”

“What’d he say?” Lisa asked the moment Ben arrived at work the next morning.

“It was a disaster,” Ben said, hanging his coat in the closet. “He had no excuse.”

“Nothing?” Lisa asked. “He didn’t even make up an excuse?”

Ben grabbed the cup of coffee from Lisa’s desk and took a sip. “He tried to tell me he was going to get demoted, but it was pathetic.”

“Did you at least take a swing at him?”

“Lisa, I’ll have you know, I’m a man of words, not violence.”

“But didn’t you want to rip his face off? Didn’t you want to just bust his teeth in? Didn’t you-”

“I get the idea,” he said, fidgeting with his red and gold tie.

“Wait a minute,” Lisa said. “You hit him, didn’t you?”

“I didn’t hit him.”

“Ben, don’t lie to me…”

“I just threw him into the wall, threatened him a bit, and told him to move out.”

“All right, Mr. Tough Guy!” Lisa said. “Give me all the gore.”

“It wasn’t anything. I just lost it for a second.”

“I can’t believe it. I can’t even imagine you losing it.”

“And why’s that?”

“Because you’re such a wuss.”

“Oh, and you’re so tough?”

“Trust me, I kick ass when I have to. And given time, I’ll kick your little ass as well.”

“Lisa, I don’t want to hear your sadomasochistic fantasies in the office. That’s sexual harassment, and it’s against the law.” Ben’s phone rang. “Hello, Justice Hollis’s chambers,” he answered.

“Ben, is it okay to call you now?”

“Mom? Is everything okay?”

“Yes, everything’s fine. Are you in court?”

“No, we don’t have court on Fridays,” Ben said nervously. “Why? What’s wrong at home?”

“Well, I was wondering if there was something you had to tell me,” his mother said.

Either she was talking about Eric’s story or she’d gotten another letter from Rick. Either way, Ben saw trouble. Hoping to pry before he gave up any information, Ben said, “I’m not sure what you mean.”

“Benjamin, don’t play games with me. Now, do you have anything you’ve been meaning to tell me?”

“Mom, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Well, then, perhaps you can explain why I had to hear secondhand from Barbara that you have a very serious girlfriend.”

“Oh, my God,” Ben said as Lisa looked up from her desk. “Mom, I don’t have a serious girlfriend. Ober’s mom doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”

“Don’t lie to me, Benjamin.”

“Mom, I swear I’m not lying.”

“Then who was the woman your friends were raving about at Katie’s house last week?”

“They were probably talking about my co-clerk,” Ben said, frowning at Lisa.

“You’re sleeping with your co-clerk?”

“I’m not sleeping with anybod-Mom, I’m not sleeping with Lisa. Nathan and Ober were just joking around with Aunt Katie. We’re just co-workers.”

“Well, Ober seemed to say it was more than just a working relationship.”

“When did you speak to Ober?”

“This morning. You had already left for work. What time do you go in anyway? They must be working you like a dog there.”

“It’s the Supreme Court. We tend to work hard,” Ben said. “Now tell me what Ober said.”

“That’s none of your business. William and I had a wonderful conversation. Now, tell me, is this co-clerk from Washington?”

“No. She’s from Los Angeles.”

“Is she there now?”

“No, she’s not here now,” Ben said, looking up at Lisa. “She’s taking depositions.”

“HI, MRS. ADDISON!” Lisa called out.

“I knew she was there!” Ben’s mother said. “Put her on the phone.”

“Mom, I’m not putting her on. Get it through your head.”

“Ask her if she’s going home for Thanksgiving.”

“Mom-”

“If I need to, I’ll get her number from Ober and call her myself.”

Laughing, Ben said, “Lisa, my mom wants to know if you’re going home for Thanksgiving.” Ben mouthed the words “Say yes.”

“No, I’m completely free!” Lisa shouted.

“Wonderful,” Ben’s mother said. “Tell her she’s invited to spend it with us. She’ll come home with you.”

Glancing over at Lisa, Ben said, “My mother wants me to tell you that she’s glad you’re going to be alone on Thanksgiving. She hopes you have a miserable night, and that your heat gets turned off, and that you die alone without the comfort of family and friends.”

“Benjamin!”

“She wants you to come home for Thanksgiving.”

“I’d love to,” Lisa said, sticking out her tongue at Ben.

“Great,” Ben said, turning back to the phone. “Mom, you may want to prepare an extra turkey or two. I don’t know if Ober told you, but Lisa eats like a cow and a horse and a whole barnyard of animals.”

“If you’re seeing her, I want to meet her,” his mother said.

“Fine, I give in. You caught us. We’re going out. Mom, this one’s the one. Lisa and I are in love, and she’s pregnant, and we’re thinking of naming the baby Hercules, after Aunt Flo.”

“That’s not funny,” his mother said.

“Listen, I really have to go.”

“Just tell me one last thing: What happened between you and Eric?”

“Mom, nothing happened. Why? Who said something happened?”

“Ober.”

Closing his eyes, Ben spoke in a calm voice. “Nothing happened between me and Eric. We just had a small argument. That’s it. We’ll make up later tonight.”

“Just remember what I said to you when you left for college: ‘There’s nothing like childhood friends.’”

“That’s great, Mom. Thanks for sharing that for the eighty-fourth time. Can I go now?”

“So Lisa is coming to Thanksgiving?”

“Yes, Mom. Thanks to your meddling, she’ll be there.”

“Wonderful. I’ll call you later. I love you.”

“I love you, too. Say hi to Dad.” Hanging up, Ben turned to Lisa. “You really think you’re smart, don’t you? Well, guess again, missy, because you just made the biggest mistake of your life. In your infinite wisdom, you’ve just gotten yourself invited to the seventeenth circle of hell-my house for dinner.”