Phase II.I- Changes

Ange and Ben sat on the couch as they watched Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell verbally spar in their newsroom. Ange was laying down with her head on Ben's lap, while Ben toyed with her hair and occasionally rubbing her face. Ange was wearing a grey NYPD shirt and black booty shorts. Ben was wearing his one formal suit, or at least part of it. His white button-up shirt and black dress pants and shoes.

There were open pizza boxes on the table in front of them, full of half eaten pizzas.

It had been a day since Ben had started his job at the accountancy firm. He had to go to the office his first day to get a feel of the place. He also got some assignments to work on for the rest of the month. It was not especially notable, but he noted that the men and women seemed to have a real affinity for retro fashion- and attitudes. It had a very Mad Men sort of air to it, except with modern technology.

While he was gone, Ange decided to do some cleaning. Or rather, a lot of cleaning. Her visit to Debbie's house left an impression on her. Both the house itself and how clean it was and Debbie's goal of taking care of Ben to the best of her ability. Ange decided to take it upon herself to clean up the house before Ben got back.

Despite the size, it actually wasn't that hard, given how big the House was in proportion to the things that were actually in it. She actually got done in a couple of hours. She was actually somewhat disappointed.

Maybe we ought to get more things. More clothes, or junk to fill this house up.

Because she hadn't headed out all day, she decided to just put on a simpler outfit than her detective suits.

She exercised a bit more, and watched some TV before Benny... Ben returned. The TV had a lot of local channels: some were local reality or game shows, one was locally produced sitcoms and movies(or productions from sister cities), some were reruns of classic sitcoms or movies. She ended up gravitating towards the latter.

Ben returned to see the house completely clean. To celebrate, they ordered some pizza instead of Ange cooking, and sat to watch some classic movies.

"You know," Ange turned to face Ben. "We're kind of like those two. Walter and Hildy"

"You think so?"

"A little"

They watched a little more, before Ben broached an uncomfortable topic.

"Hey, Mom, uh, about last night..."

"Yeah, baby?"

"I... was a bit shocked by the make-up."

"You didn't like it?"

"No, no, I loved it, I really, really did, it's just, it's not really something you normally do."

"And what's wrong with that?"

"Well, I'm just concerned. It's just a sudden change for you, and I wanted to know if you're comfortable with it."

"I had some help with it from the neighbors, but I am comfortable with it. I like it, actually. I like the feeling of it, and how I look in it."

"That's good."

"Yeah, even when I married your father, I never wore make-up. Now, I want to do it regularly."

"That's good, I'm glad this change wasn't about anything other than your own happiness" Ben was actually a bit relieved. "I did really like the way you did it."

"Oh you," Ange slapped Ben on the chest lightly. "You really liked it."

"Yeah, though I think red is a better shade of lip gloss on you."

"Red. Hmm." Ange laughed a little. "Your grandma Serena wore red lipstick all the time. She and her sisters, all these Italian ladies. Your _abuelo _used to have stains on his cheeks. My Cuban side, come to think of it, also wore red"

"So, you're fine with red."

Ange laughed, before wrapping her hands around Ben's head, and kissing him.

After finishing, Ben and Ange headed upstairs, and were about to head off to their respective rooms, when Ben reached out.

"Hey, Angel," Ben was too tired to watch himself, "I have a bit of a weird request."

Ange fumed a little at "Angel", but held her tongue.

"I can't really just wear this one formal suit all the time, and I have to wear something formal even though I'm working at home. I have Zoom meetings all day with the IT team at Jing, and I need something to wear. Can I..."

"Yeah, sure." Ange immediately answered before he could finish. "I ain't really using the suits anyways. Not much."

"Just one. Until I have the time to buy some more."

"Baby, you can take whatever you need." Ange thought of Debbie's words. "I want you to do your job best you can. I want to help you with whatever you need. If you need my suits to do your job, then sure. In fact-"

Ange went into her room, and picked a tan suit with brown undershirt out of her closet, before heading back out.

"Here's a good one to really get your co-workers attention."

"Uh, thanks, Mom. You sure you're okay with this?"

Ange pulled Ben in for a kiss.

"Positive. Night, baby."

"Night, Angel, I mean, Mom."

Ange again brushed off the nickname, and took off her clothes, leaving her in her underwear. She jumped into bed, prepared to think about all the moments of today and have a little bit of fun while doing it.

"I can't believe you won again!" Ben stuffed his mom's omelet into his mouth. He was wearing one of Ange's old suits, black with a white undershirt, her own signature look.

"Baby, I'm just that good." Ange smiled, as she sipped her coffee. She was also in a suit, though this one was tan. Ben had hoped to go clothes shopping, but Ange assured him he was free to use any of her suits.

After a week of Ben's new job, they adapted at least their morning routines. Ben usually started work at 9 AM, so they did their exercises at around 7, and ate breakfast at around 8:30.

Their exercise routine had become an excuse for the two of them to just rub against each other senselessly. Same their short basketball games, which Ange won time after time.

"Nobody's that good!"

Ange and Ben laughed it off, though Ange felt a little bad about her winning all the time, even if Ben was merely joking.

"I have a short day today. We could hang out a little."

"Yeah, let's do that, after I get done with my thing."

Normally, while Ben largely kept to his room to work, Ange would spend time cleaning the house, and cooking Ben's lunch. However, today, she had plans to meet Debbie at the hair salon to maintain her new look.

Indeed, she was wearing the kind of make-up both Ben and Debbie liked: some blue eyeliner, some blush, a little lip wax, and especially a bright shade of red lipstick. Her hair had been neatly done in a sidepart- Italian fusion style, that was shaggy and curly, but long enough to curl up at two ends. It had gotten too shaggy, however, and she needed to modify it.

Ange looked at her son, in her old suit. She was concerned that he was sleeping in the same place as he worked, and he would work into the late hours, with her bringing up some dinner.

She had seen this before, with detectives who would take their work home with them, obsess over it, and destroy their family lives. Hell, she had almost been one of them, especially after Tim's ****.

She decided to think about a solution, and try to figure it out with him, but for now, he left to go up to work, and she also went to check on her make-up.

"Oh, darling, you are doing so well." Debbie gushed as she and Ange sat at the hair saloon. Both had their heads in the large hair dryer, and both had their hair in curls.

"You really think so?" Ange was reading the newspaper. The Stepford Gazette had some national news stories and stories from Stepford's sister towns, but it was mostly local news.

"You have been showing your dear young man that you're dedicated to helping him do his job, by taking care of his space." Debbie put her hand

"Thanks."

"And you giving your suits, that was a great touch. Shows how much you trust and respect him."

"Really? Didn't think of it like that. Just, he needed something and I decided to give it to him."

"Wonderful." Debbie just gave a big toothy smile, "Just splendid. You are coming along quite nicely"

Ange felt a little insecure here. Debbie was wearing a blue sweater that emphasized her best features (especially her breasts), and a long flowing grey skirt and blue heels. Her makeup with her own red lipstick made her feel like an amateur who was trying to hard. The few other women there with their own perfect ensembles and perfect dresses made it even harder.

Debbie eventually noticed Ange's nervousness.

"Your son is working from home?"

"Yeah," Ange broke from her trance. "He's been working from his room."

"You don't seem too happy."

"I like his job, he likes his job and his pay, and everything. It's just.... I've seen a lot of guys on the job who did that, who worked their asses off and brought it home, and they just destroyed themselves and their families."

"I understand." Debbie said obliquely. "My sister is a journalist, and she did this big investigation into a cold case for a true crime podcast. She brought that obsession home with her, and it destroyed her marriage. I've been working on bringing her to Stepford."

"Yeah, I just don't want Ben to fall into the same trap I or his old man did, and come back to the same place we were back in New York. But I also don't want him to give up on this job."

"Well, that falls into what I feel is the next steps: You are starting to take care of him, making sure his space is clean, but now you need to take it further."

"How?"

"By 1.) making sure you anchor him and prevent him from getting too lost in his work, and 2.) providing a welcome home environment. Even if he's working from home, you can still separate his work from his home life. Make it clear where the line is. And part of that is making his home life worth the work life."

"Yeah, I got all that, but how?"

"Well, you now have to make yourself a little more involved. You're already on your way, but you have to ramp up. Make yourself more appealing, make sure all his needs are met so that he won't overcompensate with work. He's not going to the office, so he doesn't have much of a social life?"

"Yeah, that was the big thing with me."

"Well, you'll have to do."

"What?"

"You have to provide that social outlet. That's part of being an anchor."

"Do like, friend stuff with him?"

"That and sometimes... a little more. Just, be there for him at all junctures, make sure he has someone to talk to or relax with. Make sure he has everything he needs."

"Let's hope that works." Ange thought for a minute. "Say, a bit earlier, you said somethin' about making myself more appealing."

"I could see it." Debbie raised her eyebrows. "Perhaps we could discuss it more at our next meeting."