Divorced! Now what?
Chapter 61

Theo POV

The day ended too soon. I desperately wanted to take Bethany to bed, but what I yearned to do would take all night, and she was already yawning. I had to settle down with a few soft kisses at the door; anything more, and I would r****h her right there and then, but she deserves so much more than that.

The next few days flew by. I caught glimpses of her with Saun, either walking down the halls or in the cafeteria. They seemed to be getting along nicely, and I am going to admit I am jealous that he has her attention more than I liked. I tried to ask Drake about him, but he was tight-lipped, not at all his usual banter. That left me confused, so I did not want to bring him up in conversation again.

She had missed our usual meeting with Robson, and I was either too late or too early for the non-meeting days. I needed to get my Bethany fixed. I was obsessed with her. Sunday was the only thing that kept a smile on my face.

The look on my sister's faces when they came down to see how things were going was priceless. They arrived when Bethany jumped up and did one of her victory dances after our team scored. It was then that they knew they would not be getting her to leave anytime soon, but then the screen got blocked. I felt the pain my sister felt as she ran out of the room, but she should have known better. Dad was fuming, and I am sure he would give her a piece of his mind in the morning. I need to replace out where her mind was to do that.

I had non-stop surgery. For a week, I was exhausted and grumpy by day four. I did not bother with my morning swim and raced to work early. The wards were getting full, and I felt I was going to lose a patient if I did not get a grip on myself. I have never been this tired and grumpy; even the nurses are starting to give me the stink eye and avoid me. That was never a good sign. So, I brought a box of iced donuts on my way to work and handed them to the head nurse.

'Can you share these with the staff? I am sorry for being grumpy; I have no excuse.' I left, not waiting for her response.

I finished my ward rounds, taking extra time with each patient to listen to any problems, and to my relief, nothing unexpected was brewing. I even managed to discharge a few. Then, I started my surgery list. I had three today, and I was not sure how I would still be standing when I reached the third one.

To my surprise, when I finished my second surgery and was trying to get a bite to eat, I heard the nurses talking about Bethany and the surgery she had just completed. I had no idea she was even operating today, and I wondered who she operated on. We had no children on the list. I sat, trying to listen to the conversation. Still, the patient's identity was never mentioned, and they then turned to the discussion about the club they were going to tomorrow night. Wow, Friday is nearly here already. I was feeling a bit stupid that I had lowered myself to listening to nurses gossip to hear news about Bethany. 'Sir, Doctor Robson would like to see you in his office. The nurse delivered her message, and I looked at my almost-finished meal, picked it up, and threw it in the trash. My appetite was almost non-existent, but that was par for the course. You lose more than sleep when you put in so many hours like we often do.

I knocked on his door and waited outside, my mind already on my subsequent surgery and not why I was there.

'Enter.' Robson's cheery voice echoed through the door. I entered, and Bethany was seated in front of Robson. One look at her, dressed in her pretty bright heart-covered scrubs that she was known for, and my heart started to beat faster, and my slump slipped away. 'Afternoon.' I greet them, and Robson points to a chair.

'I noticed you were late for some long days, so I had Bethany perform for you as the last person on the list. You need to get some rest, and next time you are pushed this far, let me know. I had yet to learn how low you had gotten. If it was not for some of the nurses going to Bethany, she, in turn, came to me, offering to take on some of the lists. I would still not know.' I felt I had let the team down because of how Robson told me off. What made it worse was Bethany was in the room listening to it.

'Normally, it is not this bad, but I had a couple of longer operations, some complications I had not predicted, and things got a little out of hand. I argued back, knowing it was still not good enough.

'We hired Bethany not only to take over the research side of things but also to give you a hand when you get overloaded. Don't wait for the staff to become worried, and though the donuts were a nice gesture, being overtired is dangerous for not just the patient but the surrounding staff.! I understood what Robson was saying; I had not realized how bad I had gotten.

'Sorry, it sort of crept up on me.

'I understand. Now that the lists are finished, you two go home, and Theo gets some sleep! Robson ordered kindly. Now, the berating was over.

Together, we left his office and headed to the changing rooms. When I came out, Bethany was waiting for me with a warm smile. We left the hospital together, and the nurses said goodnight as we left. It was already six o'clock at night, and the streets were slowing down. The workers had already left for the day and headed home before the nightlife filled the streets. This time of day always made me feel good; it would be soon before sunset, and the coolness of the evening would have me hunting for a jacket.

'Would you like to join me for dinner at that Italian restaurant close to home?' Bethany offered shyly.

'Thank you! What a stupid thing to say. Was that an agreement or something else?

We entered the restaurant and were guided to a seat by a window. I held out a seat for Bethany, and though she hesitated slightly, she took it. I took one so I could see who had entered the restaurant, a habit of mine, and I wondered for a moment if that was what Bethany had wanted to do, too. I hope this does not mean I have now made her uncomfortable.

'I am Becky, your server for the night. Can I get you anything to drink while you peruse the menu?' A lovely young girl asked. She battered her eyes at me in a flirty way, but I ignored it.

'I would like a flat white coffee and the chef's special, please! Bethany replied before I had even lifted the menu and agreed that it sounded good.

'Please make that order two,' I said as the waitress filled the glasses with cold water from a jug on the table. She took the menu and left.

'I have not seen much of you this week, and I guess we both have been rather busy with work.' Bethany started the conversation lightly, and I was grateful. I am not sure why I was so out of sorts this week, but I kept blaming it on work. 'This week is at your place, yes?' I asked, not bothering to reply to the obvious question.

'Yes, Dad has been looking forward to it. I went to his place yesterday for dinner, and he kept talking about the den and how I need to buy a house and make one like that. I chuckled at that; it was an excellent idea; the walls covered in posters were partly mine. I had been as obsessed as Dad and brought lots of what I called trophies of the day. I could see myself having a den like that when I eventually found a house. I have yet to hunt for one.