Jennifer leans back in her chair and delivers a warm smile as Johnny begins to tell the story. But just like in the story being told by her son, Jennifer will soon make a dramatic entrance.
"For the record, I was safe," Johnny begins. "I was on third base and playing cat and mouse with the catcher and he threw it down to third and I thought I was on the bag. The third baseman tried to block me from getting back but I made it back. And the umpire called me out. I got really mad and lost my temper. I threw my helmet and said some things I shouldn't have and got thrown out of the game."
This is where mom comes in - both in the story and in the conversation.
"I had to come on the field and drag him out of there," she says. "And this wasn't the first time I have had to come on the field or the court and get him. He's very competitive and he becomes out of control."
Johnny says it was just part of growing up. "It's like any kid who gets mad when he strikes out," he says.
Then he adds the qualifier, like an afterthought - but in reality the real truth. "Sometimes though I took it to the extreme."
And whenever that happened, Jennifer would get Johnny and go, go, go.
A hug and a shot
Last month in a classic high school basketball game between rival schools, Johnny Benjamin hit a jump shot that most kids only dream of. His dramatic three-pointer just beat the clock to force overtime. And in overtime he made the winning shot as Dexter knocked off unbeaten rival Chelsea in the final regular-season game of the year.
No one yelled louder or celebrated more than Johnny. Well, that's not entirely true.
"It was exciting," Jennifer says. "I was screaming the whole game. I'm usually the loudest person in the gym anyway. I'm the one yelling."
The evening was an exclamation mark not only on his high school basketball career, but in a way on his relationship with his mother. Just hours before the game the two walked arms-linked to center court as the seniors were honored in a pre-game ceremony. When the ceremony was over and the seniors and other parents began to walk away, Johnny and Jennifer turned to each other hugged - with over 2,000 people watching.
It was an embrace everyone in the gym could feel. It was a thank you from a son to a mother, who also was his father, coach and friend. It was by no means an easy road for either one of them to get here. Both had to make sacrifices that most people their age aren't forced to make - and the sacrifices continue today.
Growing up
While Johnny didn't grow up with a father, he's the father figure to his four sisters. That's a lot of responsibility for a young man still growing up himself. And it's a lot of responsibility for Jennifer, who went from young lady to mother before she reached 20.
"I had Johnny when I was 19 years old," said Jennifer, who was born and raised in Orlando. "I lived with my younger brother and worked at a 7-11 when I was pregnant. After Johnny was born I moved in with my mom and kept on working."
Jennifer even found time to go to Seminole Community College. Then at age 20, she had Journey.
"I went to class the day after I gave birth," she said. "I had to. I had an assignment due."
Lexie, Sarah and Claudia would follow. By the time Jennifer was 30 years old, she had five kids to raise by herself. And while Johnny was the oldest, he wasn't the easiest.
Johnny's struggles began at an early age and so did Jennifer's determination to protect her son and help guide him.
"He's always been a handful," she says. "He's always been hyperactive. In fact, his kindergarten teacher would not promote him to first grade unless we put him on something to calm him down. So we put him on Ritalin. And they moved him along to first grade."
But she got Johnny off the drug after a few months.
"I didn't like the idea at all but I had no choice because he was going to go to first grade," she says.
While Johnny was getting good grades in school, his competitiveness would still get the best of him at times. Especially in sports.
"I would have to walk out onto the field and grab him and take him home," she said. "I liked when they moved him to centerfield. It was good in a way because no one could hear him yelling. I could still see him stomping around out there though."
Man of the house
Johnny admits he isn't close with his father. "We're OK," he says, glancing over at his mom. "I mean he writes me sometimes. But I got my mom. She's all I need."
"I'm mom and dad," Jennifer says.
Without a dad in the house Johnny has grown up quickly. While there is no doubt he still likes to win in whatever he does, Johnny is quickly realizing that responsibility requires maturity. And Johnny, who will turn 18 later this month, has plenty of responsibilities that many kids his age don't have.
"I started to realize that I was the man of the house around ninth grade," he said. "I knew then that I was the father figure and had to do some of the things a dad would do like take care of my sisters sometimes, tell them right from wrong and things like that."
That roster of responsibility includes Journey, Lexie, Sarah and Claudia - who all look up to Johnny, and not just because he's 6-feet-4. They realize that their older brother has given up part of his teenage years for the good of the family.
"It wasn't easy some times," Johnny says. "I mean there were times where my friends would go somewhere and I couldn't because I had to be home with my sisters. But my mom needed me to be there and I got used to it."
The road north
Johnny spent his freshman year of high school in Florida, going to class and playing sports with friends he grew up with. But Jennifer had other plans for the family. Michigan was a long way from the home Johnny had always known and admits he wasn't happy when he had to pack his bags.
But when he first packed his bags he didn't think it was for good.
"My mom told us we were just coming up here to visit," Johnny says, now able to laugh about it. "I was pretty well set down there with sports. I was going to be starting at a young age on the varsity level. I was going to be the starting quarterback as a sophomore.
"We were going to go up to Michigan and visit my grandpa because I hadn't seen him in a long time so we came up in the summer. And it was cold. I mean I was used to 90 (degrees). I was cold the whole time."
His relationship with his mom was about to get much chillier.
"Yeah, we were here a few weeks and she comes back and says she just got a job," Johnny said. "I was mad. Everything I knew was down there. I did not want to move here."
That changed a little after a trip to McDonalds.
"We weren't here for very long and I went into McDonalds and met the football coach," Johnny said. "I told him I played football and asked when the season started. He said they were lifting weights the next day so I went to that and started to work out."
And his life in Michigan began to work out.
Full circle
Jennifer's father, who now lives in Manchester, has been a good influence on Johnny. "He needed that relationship with his grandfather at the time and it really helped him mature," Jennifer says.
"He's really come a long way," she says, tossing a proud look over at her son. "He's really matured into a nice, young man."
Jennifer admits that the move to Michigan certainly helped. But it's time to go home.
"I am homesick and we are planning on moving back to Florida," Jennifer says. "Johnny graduates this year and then Journey graduates next year. And then we are going to go back to Florida after she graduates."
But Johnny, who once hated the idea of leaving Florida, will stay behind. He's verbally committed to Northwood University to play football and is now talking to the basketball coach about playing both sports.
His dream is the same as it's always been. To be a professional athlete.
When asked what happens if he doesn't, Jennifer makes another dramatic entrance.
"He will," she says. "It's all he's ever wanted and he will make it because he's determined."
Sports have given Johnny a purpose. And Johnny and her four daughters have given Jennifer a purpose. Together they make their way through this world, both growing and learning and enjoying life.
"We laugh a lot," Jennifer says. "It's not always easy with all of us living in such a small place but we are really a happy family. We just all get along and support one another. I'm proud of all of them."
Expanded
Web
Coverage
TOP JOBS
