All Good Things
an excerpt

Benjamin arrived with the others as Serenity finished. “Is there a problem?”
“These three gentlemen want Paul or Gaston.”
“Paul Reed and Gaston Fournier have two restaurants and a tag-team book tour to contend with. They're not going to be able to cook here. Dylan James, on the other hand, is going to be incredibly visible because of the book tour.” Benjamin turned to Serenity. “We already discussed this with everyone, right?”
“Mr. James's cockiness was off-putting,” Serenity whispered.
Dylan James crossed his arms over his chest. “Do you really want someone who doesn't think he's the best in that kitchen? Because, if you do, I know of a dive diner down Beach Run Boulevard you might be able to find a line cook.”
“The decision was already made,” Benjamin insisted. “Besides, guests are not going to deal with him on a regular basis. He comes out, takes his praise, flirts with wives, and goes back in. Everyone is happy.”
“He's been at L'Escoffier when I've cooked?” muttered Dylan.
“I told him,” Serenity replied quietly.
“We already did the proof tour when Serenity's people questioned her methods. Just walk around and see what your investment has done.” Benjamin took Serenity's hand. “I had hoped the weather would stay good, but it's looking like I'm going to be up against a wall on this.”
He pulled her quickly from the bed and breakfast onto the large lawn overlooking the ocean. As fat drops of rain fell on him, he held Serenity's hands and faced her. She laughed, turning her face up to the rain. “Why are we outside?”
“I was hoping the weather would stay with me, but maybe it's better this way,” he said. “You told me you wanted me as your friend. That my home is a sanctuary to you. That being with me makes it easier for you to connect to the awe.” He laughed as the sky opened up and began to pour rain. “It would be a good time for a chuppah, hunh?”
Serenity nodded, laughing then stopped. “You're– are you?”
“I want to be standing right here – hopefully with less rain – in six months. I want to stand here with Goldie and Peter and everyone we know.” He pointed upward. “Under a canopy. With you.”
Serenity grinned and pressed her forehead to Benjamin's. “Get to the point so I can say yes.”
“Serenity, will you marry me?”
“Yes.” They kissed as Benjamin slid a band up her left ring finger. “How did you know it would fit?”
“Goldie,” he said. “You haven't looked.”
“I'm too scared it says, 'Ha! Ha! Made you look,' ” she said, grinning at him so broadly her cheeks ached.
Benjamin lifted her hand and she gasped, covering her mouth with her other hand. “It's not two months' salary, but I wanted you to be able to lift your hand.”
“Now you're just bragging,” Serenity said. She looped her arms around his neck. “I keep wondering, 'Why me?' “
“Serenity, every time I expected you to act like most women do around me, you went the opposite direction. When I expected blame, I got none. When I expected you to con me into a marriage, you refused to.” He kissed her eyebrows then her nose, then her lips. “The accident on the freeway made me realize you were who I needed. You kept your head about you, you didn't yell at me when I was angry. Instead of turning away from God for nearly allowing you to die, you embraced the Sabbath with a renewed appreciation for life.
“My apartment isn't a sanctuary without you, Serenity; you bring your faith with you, even here.” Benjamin hugged her. “I'm not going to do what they did, Sereh, because you are precious and beautiful and irreplaceable in this world and deserve to be treated like you are.”
Serenity wept in joy. “I don't want this to end; please don't make me wake up yet.”
Benjamin kissed her again as the clouds began to break up and the sun shone again. They turned toward the ocean; heavy storm clouds were broken by finger-rays of sunlight as Serenity leaned against Benjamin. He rested his arm around her shoulder and kissed her forehead.
After watching the breaking weather, they turned around. In the atrium, the investors, Dylan, and Ike and Jake were staring at them. Serenity and Benjamin walked, swinging their arms, into the building. They stopped just inside the doorway, dripping wet. The room was quiet until Jake asked in a bitter tone, “What was that all about?”
“Not letting the perfect woman get away, Jake.” He lifted Serenity's left hand. “And I caught her.”
Ike's face became emotionless; Jake stared at them, aghast. The investors, though surprised, offered congratulations. Dylan grinned. “Wedding and reception for two hundred? Not a problem for me.”
“So,” Benjamin said, clasping his hands in front of him, “I was thinking of tabling the names we've come up with for this place and going with the perfect word for this sanctuary from everyday life.” He smiled at her, staring into her eyes. “Serenity.”
After a silence, an investor said, “I like it.”
The others began to speak their agreement. Serenity whispered into Benjamin's ear, and they walked into the kitchen together. Serenity opened the refrigerator and smiled sheepishly. “They're going to think we planned this.”
Benjamin lifted the lid to the cake box and laughed. “I think they'll know it was meant about the place, not us.”
“Benny,” Ike said with a grin, slapping his back hard enough to send Benjamin lurching forward. “Hell of a surprise, man.”
Jake, standing next to his brother with his arms crossed, scowled at Serenity. “What am I supposed to tell Goldie?”
“You're not supposed to tell her; I am.” Serenity ducked around Benjamin and removed the cake from the refrigerator. “Benjamin understands this is a conditional yes.”
“No, I didn't,” Benjamin said. “Yes is yes. You said yes.”
Ike stood behind Benjamin, his arms crossed over his chest. “Benny's got a point. You can't just go around talking about sharing a future with someone then just ditch them at the first sign of something more . . . establishment.”
“Ike, this isn't about us. Benjamin, I would hope you would want to make sure Peter was happy with the arrangement, too. We four would be spending a lot of time together; Leah asks you to watch Peter overnight more and more – it's possible she might give you primary custody if you have a stable home for him. Well, I already have primary custody of Goldie–“
“For now,” griped Jake.
“For as long as I have a stable home for her, Jacob. Do not forget that you let me have this custody deal because your lawyer sided with Rebecca, not you. You know what you have to do. Do it, and Goldie will see you nearly any time she wants.”
“Nearly. You mean, 'When Serenity decides from on high.'”
“No,” Serenity snapped as she glowered at Jake, “not on the Sabbath and not on the Holy Days unless you actually commit to the religion you were born into. If I know Goldie will attend classes and temple while in your care, then I would love to let her choose – even week by week – who she wants to be with. She could go east with you, she could travel to Israel with you, she could spend the important times a daughter should with the man who will be giving her away at her wedding.”
“I thought you'd rather have Benny do it,” Ike said. He stepped behind Jake and rested a hand on Jake's shoulder. “I mean, we Braumsteins are apparently not the sort to be trusted at fancy parties, weddings, and funerals.”
Serenity carried the cake and a cake cutter to the front and set it on the counter; when she returned to the kitchen, Ike and Jake were whispering with Benjamin. He looked over his shoulder at Serenity then turned back to Ike and Jake. Serenity took a stack of glass plates from the kitchen and grabbed a handful of dessert forks, then returned to the investors, who were already slicing pieces of cake.
Each trip from kitchen to guest reception desk made Serenity queasier. Sometimes Ike or Jake would be speaking quietly to Benjamin; more often, Benjamin was talking in a soft but insistent tone. When she finally carried the coffee to the desk, she returned a final time, poured herself a cup of tea, and walked into the Zen room. Locking it behind her, she sat on the soft mat on the floor and looked out over the lawn toward the horizon, where the white and gray clouds bunched and rolled inland under near-turquoise skies.
She didn't turn at the sound of soft rapping at the door. The knob unlocked; she still didn't turn but put her balled fist out. “Take it.”
“Serenity,” Benjamin began.
“I can't imagine what they said was kind, and I have no idea how much of it was correct,” Serenity replied. “I don't deserve you.”
Benjamin sighed and closed the door behind him. He knelt behind her and wrapped his arms about her. “Yes, Jake tried to convince me that you were a shrew and Ike kept telling me that you can't commit. Then Jake decided to tell his mother, who would tell my mother, who would tell me not to marry you. Most of what you saw was me explaining that it's not their business who I marry and that I don't want to hear they said anything until I've told my mother in person next week.” He paused then added, “Not ask permission, either, Serenity.”
Serenity rolled forward. “I hate them so much,” she whispered, her shoulders shaking as she sobbed. “Why do they want me to be unhappy?”
“Because they insist you be part of their lives.” Benjamin leaned his chin on her shoulder then tilted his face to kiss her cheek. “They don't understand that you will be a part of their lives, just not living for them.”
Serenity turned in Benjamin's arms and hugged him tightly. “I wish Shabbot wasn't tonight. I want to celebrate with you.”
“We have Saturday night, and I chose this morning with a purpose. Tonight will be different; tonight you will light the candles as my fiancee instead of just my friend. I wanted the whole Sabbath to either thank God for giving me the chance to have known you or praise God for giving me a miracle: that I may grow old with you.”
Serenity hugged and kissed him, whispering her thanks. “So, when we get Peter's and Goldie's agreement?”
“Six months,” Benjamin said.
“Until we . . . you know?”
“Forgive me? I'm not that observant.” Benjamin grinned at her, shrugging in guilt. “I'll atone on Yom Kippur next year.”
“I'll be there with you.” Serenity kissed Benjamin's cheek, letting him slide her engagement ring onto her hand.