Divorced! Now what?
Chapter 28

Theo POV

My phone rang while I was getting dressed. It was work, and I was disappointed that I would not be spending the day with Bethany. On an emergency call, a new patient had just had a major heart attack, and although I was not on call, they wanted me in there as it was terrible. The doctor on duty said he did not think the man would survive the night and needed my expertise.

I told Bethany, and she convinced me to stay and eat. I saw the logic in her suggestion, so I ate what she had cooked for ten minutes and then rushed out the door.

The patient was already in the theater, and the doctor was already working on the man, but it was over by the time I scrubbed up and entered the room. The man did not make it. When I looked down at the man, I noticed his heart was a mess and was not surprised he was gone; there would have been little I could have done even if I was sitting there waiting for him to arrive.

I did a quick ward round, letting two patients go home, and headed out. I had every intention of returning to Bethany's place, but my mobile rang as I climbed into my car, and my sister Felicity called and invited me out for lunch. She wanted to talk to me about something before the family lunch tomorrow.

Intrigued by what that could be, I agreed to meet at a sushi train restaurant she enjoys. For her to suggest that place meant that whatever she wanted to talk about was a big deal. I arrived and took a seat facing the door and waited for her to arrive. Not less than ten minutes later, Felicity came in, a beaming smile on her face, so this was not bad news then.

I stood up and greeted her with a hug and a kiss on her cheek.

'Hey, thanks for coming. I hope you were not waiting long, or I interrupted anything important,' she said as she took a seat and placed the napkin on her lap.

The waiter came over and asked if we wanted anything. Or were we going to pick up from the train line?

'Satay beef and water, please! I ordered. I like the way they make it here. Felicity would get something from the line and wanted coffee. We rarely took anything off the train. I am not sure why. There is no real reason. Maybe because I was not in the mood for what was moving past me.

'What was the big need?' I probed, wondering what was going on.

'Sam proposed last night, she gushed and showed me the ring on her finger. It was large and gorgeous, but not something I would buy. She was over the moon with pride, and I would not burst her bubble with my preferences. 'Congrats, sis, but why must we meet here?'

'Will I bring him to lunch tomorrow and break the news, or should I go tonight and tell them?' Was this the big issue? I could not see the problem.

'Why not take over tonight and celebrate? I can come over too and be your support!' I suggested and kicked myself, which meant I wouldn't see Bethany tonight.

'Would you do that for me? That would be great. Taking the pressure off Sam, having you there!'

'You bet I have your back, Felicity, you know that.' We had a nice lunch and planned for her to walk home with me. I would change and take her to her fiancé's place, and he would follow me to Mum and Dad's place.

After we finished our meal, I paid, as usual, and walked arm in arm-back to my car and then to my place. When I left the elevator, I was tempted to see Bethany and let her know what was going on, but I changed my mind. We were not at that stage yet, or at least I was not at that stage, where I needed to tell her what I was doing. We were still two individuals, with benefits, and boy, are they great benefits.

I changed into jeans and a button-up shirt and left the penthouse. The drive to my sister's boyfriend's place was half an hour away in bumper-to-bumper traffic. I waited downstairs until they both came out and climbed into my car. Things have changed again. I thought they were following me to Dad's place.

We made it there by four o'clock, and Mum answered the door. Since moving out of the family home, I no longer just walked in; the girls still do, but I felt uncomfortable walking in, even though Mum and Dad said it was still my home. I had walked in once, and they were getting hot and heavy on the couch, and I have not done it since. I'm not sure how anyone else would feel, walking in on your parents making out on the couch, but I did not want to watch or think about that. I understand they still do it, but I don't need to see it. 'Mum, you met Sam before?' I asked as he walked in behind me.

'Sure, we have met a few times now. Welcome, come inside. Will you be staying for dinner? I can whip up some fried chicken.

'Sure, I would love to stay, Felicity, Sam?' I said I would stay, hoping they would get the message to stay, too. It would be good for Mum and Dad to get to know Sam better after Felicity had kept him a secret for so long, maybe because she had had a bad break before and did not want to get Mum's hopes up.

After Mum brought out coffee and cake, Felicity sat there like she was on hot bricks, unable to start the conversation. I could see Dad kept looking at me with a frown, raising one eyebrow as if asking me what was happening.

'Dad. Mum, Felicity, and Sam have some news.' I blurted out, not able to continue with the stares.

'Felicity, care to explain?' Mum said.

Felicity lifted her hand and showed Mum the ring, and Mum moved from her chair and pulled her hand to her face, tilting her hand in the light.

'Nice ring, love the setting. Does this mean what I think it means?' Mum asked with a cheery voice and eyes full of hope. 'Yes, Sam proposed, and I have said yes!

'Wait a minute. How long have you known Sam? According to the last time you spoke about him, I thought there was nothing serious going on. Dad was not impressed. He was very protective of his daughters, and even with them being adults now, he still wanted to protect them. 'Just over a year. Dad, Sam wanted to come and ask your permission, but I talked him out of it.' She said sheepishly. 'Why would you do that? I would have enjoyed being asked, but it does not seem to be the way things are nowadays. Dad grumbled and sulked after being denied the chance to grill the man before he agreed to let him marry his daughter.

We stayed till late, with my other two sisters arriving, and they all gushed over the engagement ring. Sam sat on the couch next to Dad, watching the girls. Sometimes, he smiled; other times, he looked dam-right frightened, and I wondered what had spooked him. Maybe the chats about dates for a wedding and how large it could get, he was in for a ride if he thought it would be a small family wedding, with Mum and Dad's sides of the family. We could easily get over one hundred people to attend, and that does not include the young ones.

It was nearly midnight before I managed to drop Felicity and Sam off at her place and crawled into bed just before one in the morning. I had to be back at the family home for luncheon in a few hours. Luckily, I am used to working with little sleep.