Sue Crates—Ben

Sue Crates—Ben is a mother-son relationship defined by regular contact and deliberate care across separate households. Sue’s work and circumstances mean Ben spends much of his time with his grandparents, but she makes seeing him nearly every day a priority and has him stay with her on most weekends. The arrangement is not presented as a lack of attachment: Sue is described as missing Ben when he is away, while the effort she makes to maintain their time together gives that longing a practical form.

Family Circumstances and Care

After her divorce, Sue moved to the south coast in part because her parents agreed to help care for Ben. Their support makes it possible for her to live and work independently while Ben remains closely connected to her. He stays with his grandparents most of the time, but Sue sees him nearly every day and brings him to live with her for most weekends. The pattern combines extended-family care with a continuing, active maternal presence; the grandparents’ role supplements Sue’s relationship with Ben rather than replacing it.

Sue’s approach to the practical responsibilities of parenthood also reflects her insistence on financial independence. She refused maintenance from her former husband, even for Ben, and accepted only half the proceeds from the sale of their house. The account gives this decision as part of Sue’s fierce independence, not as evidence that Ben’s needs matter less to her. Instead, it places her caregiving within the limits and choices of her own circumstances: she works to support herself while relying on her parents’ help with childcare.

Time Together and Its Pressures

Sue’s job as a producer at Radio Brighton takes up much of her time. As work occupies more of her attention, she sees less of Ben, a change that worries her. This tension is central to the relationship as presented: Sue is not indifferent to their separation but conscious of it, and her regular visits and weekend arrangements stand against the gradual loss of time that her work threatens to bring.

The narration reaches this family context through Gerry Fenn’s perspective. He understands that Sue misses having Ben with her all the time, making her concern more than an abstract scheduling problem. At the same time, the account does not suggest that Sue abandons her work or gives up her independence to resolve the tension. Instead, their established pattern—grandparents’ help, near-daily contact, and weekends together—shows how she tries to preserve her bond with Ben while managing competing demands.

Ben in Sue’s Shared Life

Ben is also included in Sue’s relationship with Gerry. When Gerry asks Sue to keep Sunday morning free, she explains that she will be seeing Ben and later arranges for Gerry to pick her up at her place, where Ben will be staying with her, so that they can go together. Her wording makes Ben part of the plan rather than an obstacle to it: the outing is organized around all three of them.

On the Sunday in question, Ben sits in the back of Gerry’s Mini beside Sue, his face close to the back of the front passenger seat. He looks expectant and watches the road ahead with his mouth open in a half-smile. The crowd moving toward the church grounds has made the morning unusual, and Sue asks Gerry whether he is beginning to feel the atmosphere. Ben’s quiet attention and eager expression place him among the participants in this family outing, though the scene does not establish what he understands about the gathering itself.

Significance and Limits

The relationship is shown through repeated arrangements and shared presence rather than through an extended conversation between mother and son. Sue’s care appears in the frequency of her visits, the weekends Ben spends with her, and her decision to include him in the Sunday outing with Gerry. Alongside those actions, the account acknowledges the pressure of her work and her worry that it is reducing their time together. Their closeness is therefore neither idealized as effortless nor portrayed as broken: it is maintained through a practical network of family help and Sue’s continuing effort to be present.

The available scenes offer only a limited view of Ben’s own perspective. His expectant look on the way to the church grounds is a specific sign of his engagement with that morning, but the narration does not explain his broader feelings about living mostly with his grandparents or his mother’s work. What it does establish is Sue’s sustained involvement and the place Ben holds in her plans. Even when she is arranging time with Gerry, she accounts for Ben as an essential part of her life.