Well, Ben was not about to allow that. He suddenly spoke in a tone I had never heard before. I’m not even sure how to describe it; it was incredibly stern and deeper than his usual pitch. All he said at first was, “Excuse me, young man?” I don’t really remember exactly what was said the rest of that conversation, but I know my step-brother tried to brush it off as a joke. What I do remember extremely well is that the way Ben scolded my step-brother reminded me of that scene from Fellowship of the Ring where Gandalf seems to grow, and bellows, “Don’t take me for a conjurer of cheap tricks!” It was like Ben had suddenly grown into a similarly terrifying being. As I took this all in, I realized the way he defended me and seemed ready to fight reminded me of a military general. Therefore, I have dubbed this defensive and stern mode of his, “The General”.
The even greater part about this whole event, was that the next day at my sister’s calling hours, my step-brother approached Ben. He didn’t have much to say, but sheepishly apologized to him, and hasn’t tried to contact me since. Another perk of this was that Ben gained a lot of respect from my brothers. All of my brothers have always been protective of me, and when they heard this, they had to admit that it won him points. One of my brothers was so impressed that when he finally met Ben, he shook his hand in awe, saying, “I like you already.”
Now that we are married and have a daughter...woe to any guy who disrespects her, unleashing “The General.”