Divorced! Now what?
Chapter 107

Bethany POV

Saturday with us moving home. I did not have a chance to make pies for tomorrow. Theo refused to let me stay up late at night to cook them. I have to admit I was tired from all the moving, and my head and neck were hurting. I am looking forward to not walking around in pain all the time. When we reached the parking space the following day, the bodyguards waited for us. We climbed into a special SUV, which Scott said was as close to what Dad had as he could replace in his fleet. I am not sure why I felt I needed bulletproof glass; it was just another feature that made me feel better.

I guess.

It won't stop a car from ramming us, but it will prevent other issues. From what Dad had said, I was still in real danger, but I had argued that I needed to have a life, and being caged in the hospital was not a life. Even if it is where I spend most of my time, I need to feel I can leave when I want to and sleep in my bed.

The trip to Hank's was pretty decent. I was sitting in the middle with a bodyguard by the window and Theo, on the other side, two bodyguards in the front. I felt safe with the man by the window, and I was not stressed out at all when we had a large car looking like he was going to ram us. That was how I felt, but it did not come close to us. I have to get over this. I know I do, but how? We pulled up at Hank's and coming to another person's home empty-handed was irking me. I am not the kind of person to visit without bringing something to the house.

'Sorry, Kitty. I have no pies for break time, I said as I air-kissed Kitty in greeting.

'We have plenty of food, don't worry. Your Dad and the lovely Pam have arrived and are already downstairs,' she said, turning back to her cutting up vegetables.Visit Job n i b .co m to read the complete chapters for free. She seemed to be miles away, and maybe that woman that Theo mentioned before was having a hard time again. I nodded for Theo to go on ahead, and I would catch up later. He seemed to understand and headed to the den.

'Kitty, are you okay?' I asked. I could not leave her here like this if I could help her in some small way.

She looked up at me in surprise.

'What dear?' she was definitely not right and looked very spaced out, not her happy, cheery face.

'Talk to me, or would you like to go somewhere more private? I asked softly, touching her arm gently to get her attention. She nodded and smiled, leading me to a room down the hall. Entering it was a sort of office. Kitty closed the door, turned to me, hugged me, and burst into tears. I held onto her and let her cry, not sure what else to do, as I had no clue why she was in tears.

When she settled down, she started to talk. It was a woman who was being beaten by her de facto, and Kitty was having trouble getting her to see a doctor. She wouldn't let Hank or Theo near her; being afraid of men, her self-confidence was almost nil.

'Do you want me to see her?' I asked. Kitty may be a nurse, but she can only sometimes give her all the care she needs. 'I was going to ask you to, but then the accident happened, and you had issues of your own, but if you are up to it, we could arrange to visit her and talk to her. I doubt the boyfriend would harm her when we are just females visiting. He is a good man until he has a drink, and then he turns violent, and the poor woman ends up getting hit as she tries to protect her kids. Kitty said through hiccups. 'I am not back to doing surgery yet on live subjects. My head and shoulders cannot cope with the long hours of surgery. I am closer but not yet confident. I am practicing on cadavers and general research, so I can come anytime and work around my research. I offer, and you would have thought I had just given her a present. She pulled me back to her and sobbed some more before I headed down to the den and left her to return to the kitchen and finish what she was doing.

The players were still being introduced, so I did not miss much. Hank and Dad were sitting together talking. Theo was next to Pam, who, to my surprise, was in the same shirt as Theo. It was nice to see another woman who may have a similar interest in sports, and she would be perfect for Dad, I thought. However, I did wonder if Dad was interested if he would have to wait until Mum and the others were all convicted.

'Hey sweetheart, how are you?' Hank asked at the same time as Dad stood up, came to me, and hugged me. He felt good and relaxed, and a spark was back in his eyes. It was like he had a new lease on life. I leaned forward and asked the burning question. 'Did you get laid last night?' Dad pulled back and looked me in the eyes, surprised. I smiled back and nodded, yet he did. 'Good for you, Dad, but be careful. I whispered, and he chuckled as I gave my Dad advice and gave me an extra squeeze, acknowledging my acceptance of what he was doing and that his child was giving me advice.

We sat down to watch the game, and I was very pleased that I could get up and do a happy dance with each score we made. I was not yet ready to be my old self fully, but I was well on the way, and Pam got up and joined me in the happy dance, looping her arm through mine and circling each other, cheering as we went, careful not to pull too hard and jar me. I guess Hank had warned her to go easy on me, as I was still healing.

The day went well. We won one game and lost the other, but it was good to meet Pam on a different level. We promised to have a girls' day out when it was all over, and I looked forward to that. I have a few girlfriends, but they are in another city.

Dad said Cynthia had rented a place here in our city and was moving back and forth to cause me problems. I had no idea she was that desperate to hurt me. Bret did not stay in my city. He only came here for work. They had sent him here to present a pitch for the marketing job we had put out for tender. That was also why Cynthia came, but she hung around trying to catch me when dining or shopping, harassing me, and trying to make sure I saw her every chance she could. Wendy came to the city once she heard that I had been hit and wanted to see for herself. All these things were adding up against them, and that was why they were in jail and not out on bail. They were in there for my protection, plus Dad was the new chief of police, and his ex-wife was part of the problem. The judge agreed that the woman might need a mental assessment before the trial as she may have an issue there, as Dad was a character witness against her. Telling of her behavior over the years and how she is out on bail for another reason and is a high flight risk. I think both are going to get a psychiatrist to look at them before the trial, which was penciled in for this week but may be put on hold pending the psychiatrist's reports.

Dad asked if I needed to see one, maybe too, as I had been traumatized in a way hard to believe. But I refused, saying Hank would keep me sane. We all laughed at that, and Hank promised to sit with me and go through some counseling if I felt the need. He has been good for my health. Hank had already talked me through a lot of stuff that Cynthia put me through, from the accident to other childhood traumas that she had caused. I was not one to carry a grudge, and I forgave her for most of it, and only time will fix the rest.

Theo and I were going to stay the night, so Theo called Scott so he could advise the bodyguards about what was happening. Tomorrow, I will go and see this lady who got Kitty in tears. I think you call it secondhand embarrassment. I was feeling embarrassed about catching Kitty in tears, who was embarrassed that she was caught like that. Or something like that; by the time I had headed up for bed, Dad was gone, and Kitty was a lot happier, knowing I would accompany her to this woman's home and take Hank's medical bag, with all the things he believed she would need.

Let's hope the bodyguards can stay out of sight, or the boyfriend might cause harm to the lady. I am not as strong as Kitty to see women or men abused by their loved ones. Maybe it is because of how Mother and Cynthia have been to me that I feel their pain as much as I do and feel a bit of a hypocrite judging them when I had been abused most of my teenage years.

...