I Still Think That We Were Meant To Be
Dr. Fitzgerald Thomas Grant III is starting over. After a bitter-year long divorce which took him away from his children and then relocating to a new state for work, love is the last thing he is looking for. But after a chance encounter with an up and coming funeral director, love might be exactly what the doctor ordered.
Prologue
Santa Barbara, California
20 Years Ago
"Fitz! Put some damn clothes on and get down here! Bring Mellie with you!" Fitzgerald Thomas Grant II yelled up the stairs of his mansion in Santa Barbara. Rolling off his wife, his son, Fitzgerald Thomas Grant III sighed.
"Oh I don't like that man right now." Fitz's wife Mellie moaned as Fitz perched over her and shook his head, as her hand ran down his bare chest.
"I've never liked him." Fitz moaned in reply before kissing her. "Now shut up. I'm trying to get you pregnant." he added, pulling the blankets back over them, as he heard Mellie giggle in delight.
Coming downstairs a few hours later, Fitz sighed as they walked into the dinning room and found a room full of men sitting around the table, heads together and talking very quickly. Wrapping his arm loosely around Mellie's waist he cleared his throat.
"Fitzgerald! About damn time you got out of bed." Big Jerry said standing. Slapping Fitz on the back, Big Jerry laughed. "My son, going at it with his wife like a couple of teenagers lustin' after each other." He added as Fitz rolled his eyes.
"Oh Jerry. We do not." Mellie said shyly with a hint of a giggle in her voice. "We're just in love that's all. You remember what that's like." She added, as Fitz shook his head no.
"You have to be in love with someone first." Fitz muttered before looking at his father. "Dad. What is it that you want?" Fitz said calmly as his father continued to laugh.
"You, are running for governor of California. You start campaigning next week." Big Jerry said proudly as he slapped Fitz on the back again. "Me and the boys have been working everything out." He added, as Mellie turned and faced Fitz, her hands slapped together in excitement.
"Oh Fitz. Governor. How exciting. I'll have to start setting appointments for hair and makeup, and ohh, I'm gonna need to go buy some new suits and whatnot." Mellie started, but Fitz shook his head.
"No. We are not doing this." Fitz said, as everyone looked at him surprised.
"Oh Fitz. You're just surprised that's all-"
"No. I am not a politician. We are not doing this. Gentleman, I'm sorry my father has wasted your time." He said, as he addressed the table full of people. "But I am not cut out for this."
"Bull shit!" His father yelled at him. "You're a Grant and Grant's are politicians. You're just surprised that's all." Big Jerry said, as he turned to the table of men. "And between myself, that lovely wife on your arm and these men, you are going to win this election hands down. It's in the bag."
"I don't care. I said I'm not running, now that's final." Fitz said, as he walked through the room and out the doors to the patio. Turning to look at Big Jerry, Mellie sighed.
"I'm so sorry about that. He's just overwhelmed that's all. Its so wonderful of you all to help make Fitz's dream of becoming a fine politician like his father come true, but I think he just needs time to let this sink in." She said, as Big Jerry took her hands into his and placed a kiss on each one. Looking back up at her, he smiled.
"I'm sure glad that he at least has you around to help him with stuff like this Mellie. I know you'll help him make the right call." Big Jerry said, as she smiled and watched her shake her head.
"Well, I'll certainly do my best. Now, if you excuse me, I think I'm gonna slip upstairs for a little bit and start making some of those phone calls." She said, excusing herself. Leaving the room, she sighed as she went to go find Fitz.
Chopping wood in the back of the yard, Fitz swore as he swung the ax into the wood as he envisioned his father's face. God damn him, Fitz thought, as the wood split in two. Him and his damn Grant are politicians crap. Setting up the next board, he swore again, as this time he heard his father's booming "FITZGERALD" coming up behind him. Well, the hell with him. He thought, as he heard and ignored the command to put the ax down. He was tired of taking orders from his father. Going to swing the ax, and hearing the satisfying sound of the wood breaking in two, he threw the pieces to the side as his father grabbed a hold of him.
"What the hell are you doing? Grant's don't crop wood. We have servants for that. You'll ruin your hands." His father started in on him, as Fitz again set up the next board.
"You have servants for that. I don't have servants. I chose to move out of this house and purchase a nice, reasonable sized home for my wife and I, to which it was promptly ripped out from under me when my father decided that it would be better for his only child and his only daughter in law to move in with him." Fitz said coldly, as he split another board. "So maybe you don't chop wood, but I do. I like it. I enjoy it." He added, as he turned around to face his father. "Because I don't base everything I do on my name."
"And that's what's wrong with you. You're a Grant, but you don't take advantage of it. This election for governor, it's yours. You're a newlywed with a lovely wife with whom you claim you're attempting to start a family with. You attending Ivy League schools your whole life and you were in the Navy. But now you're out. You need something to do with your free time. That's all I'm thinking about." Big Jerry said, as Fitz shook his head, as placed another piece of wood on the stump. Swinging his ax, he sighed, before turning back to his father.
"No. I have a job. One that I'm happy with. So does Mellie. I don't want to be a politician!" Fitz yelled, as his father slammed his hands on his hips.
"It's not an option damn it! You are going to be governor!" Big Jerry yelled. "Because you don't have a job. You think you do, but god damn it, there has never been a Grant male who wasn't in politics except you! So get over it!" He added, as Fitz throw the ax into the tree stump.
"I've had it! I'm done! We are NOT doing this! I am a doctor, a successful doctor whether you like it or not. So no, I'm not running for politics, BECAUSE I AM HAPPY RIGHT WHERE I AM!" Fitz screamed at his father, as he felt tears threatening to fall, but blinking them away, so not to give his father something else to use against him.
"YOU'RE NOT A DOCTOR! IS THAT WHAT THEY TAUGHT YOU WHILE YOU WERE AWAY IN THE NAVY, THAT YOU'RE A DOCTOR NOW? BECAUSE A MAN WHO WORKS ON THE DEAD ISN'T A DOCTOR!" His father screamed at him, as Fitz ran his hands through his hair, trying to avoid throwing a punch that he desperately wanted to throw.
"MAYBE IN YOUR EYES IT DOESN'T MAKE ME A DOCTOR, BUT IN THE EYES OF THE NAVY, I AM A PATHOLOGIST AND A DAMN GOOD ONE! BUT OH, WAIT, BEING A DOCTOR MEANS I DON'T HAVE SECRETARIES AROUND ME ALL DAY TO PICK FROM WHEN I'M READY TO PLAY!" Fitz screamed back, as his father punched him in the mouth. Turning back to face him, Fitz spit out a small amount of blood." That was low." He growled, as his father hit him again. Turning back to face him again, Fitz spit out another mouthful of blood.
"I should have hit you more often. Then you'd have learned respect." Big Jerry spat at him, as Fitz still glared at him. "I expect to see you and Mellie at dinner. Six o'clock. Dress formal. We'll have company." He added, as he turned and began to walk away from Fitz.
"I'm surprised you'd turn your back on me." Fitz shouted, as he wiped his sleeve across his mouth, wiping away blood. Turning around to look at his son, Big Jerry glared.
"You don't have the balls to hit me. You never had." Big Jerry sneered at him, before turning around and headed back into the house.
Walking into the library after dinner, Mellie sighed, as she began to skim the shelves looking for a book. She figured with Jerry being a senator, his political library would be vast. As she found the book she was looking for, she daintily slid it off the shelf, when the door opened.
"Why Mellie darling. What on earth are you doing in here at this hour of the night?" Big Jerry said pleasantly, as she turned and smiled, the book clutched to her chest like she was a child in school.
"Oh. I was just looking for a bit of light reading. Fitz is down in the weight room and didn't want to be bothered, so I figured I'd take this time to read." She replied, as her father in law walked up to her and frowned at her selection. Taking the book out of her hands, he shook his head.
"Might I recommend a different one?" He questioned, as he reached up on another shelf and pulled down a book, handing it to her with a smile on his face. "I think you'll enjoy this one much better." He said, as he walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a tumbler. "Want one?" He asked her, as she smiled at him.
"Please." Mellie replied as she placed the book on a table next to her and went over to him, as he handed her the tumbler. "A toast I think, to Fitz, the next governor of California." She said happily as she clinked glasses with Big Jerry and took a sip. Following him around to the couch, she sat down next to him. After a few moments, Big Jerry cleared his throat.
"Go on. Ask. I know you want to." He said, as she looked at him confused.
"Ask what?" She replied, as she turned to face him.
"You want to know what put Fitz in such a bad mood. You want to know what happened out in the yard." Jerry replied, as she shook her head.
"I figured that's between you and Fitz, but I must admit, I do think you're being hard on him. He loves you. I know you don't think so, but he does. And he wants to be a politician, it's all he ever talks about, but I think he's scared. I think he's afraid that he won't be able to make a difference when I know we can. We both know he can, it's just getting him to see that he can." Mellie said quietly, but quickly. Placing his hand on her knee, he nodded his head slowly.
"He's a Grant Mellie, and the Grant men are in politics. He doesn't need convincing. He's being stubborn and stupid. He's done this his whole life. His mother coddled him too much as a baby. Do you know what she use to tell him as a child? That he could be anything he wanted. I should have known then that he was already screwed up, but I told myself that I could save him and turn him into a man. When it didn't look like I could, I was glad to see that he joined the Navy. I figured they would. Well, how wrong I was." Big Jerry said curtly, as he tossed his drink back before getting up to pour a second one. Holding out the bottle, Mellie shook her head no.
"Do you know what the Navy taught him to do? They taught him to fly airplanes, which he was good at, great at actually, until he ruined that. His plane crashed, and he got glass in his god damn eye. They removed it all, but it ruined his perfect 20/20 vision that he had. So instead of kicking his ass out, they send him to medical school where he becomes a pathologist. I mean whoever thought that was a good idea, is crazy." Jerry spat as, he sat down on the arm of the couch next to Mellie.
"I never knew he crashed his plane. He never said anything. Just that he decided that flying wasn't right for him." Mellie said slowly, wanting nothing more at that moment in time than to run to Fitz and hold him. Looking back up at Jerry, she sighed, as she stood up, slightly dizzy. Stabling her, she smiled weakly at him.
"Never drank top shelf scotch before have you?" Big Jerry asked, as she shook her head no and placed her hand against her forehead, trying to will the room from spinning.
"N...no I haven't I'm afraid. I think its just a bit too strong for me." She said weakly as he laughed.
"Well, at least my son shouldn't have any problem knocking you up tonight darling." He laughed, as she turned to look at him. Placing his hand over her womb, he squeezed it in his hand. "But I doubt it. I've heard you two going at it before. He struggles too much to keep it up. I, on the other hand, have no problem with getting it and keeping it." He said, as Mellie looked at him, surprised and confused at the same time. "Especially when the woman is as hot as you." He added, as he pushed Mellie down on the couch and began to reach up under her dress. Slapping his hands away, Mellie forced her legs close, but with a laugh on his face, he pulled them apart as he undid the zipper on his pants and got on top of her, pulling her underwear down. Taking a quick look at them, as Mellie slapped at him, he whistled. "You wear underwear like this and Fitz still can't get you pregnant?" He said as he slid into her before grabbing her hands and pinning them above her head, as she continued to wiggle underneath him, attempting to force him off but failing. Looking up at him, he smiled like the devil at her. "You keep wiggling like this and I will have you pregnant. Admit it love, you love it. You've never felt so alive before in your life have you?" He questioned, as she turned away from him, and closed her eyes, praying that Fitz would never find out.
Coming downstairs the next morning, Mellie walked into the dinning room to find her father in law sitting alone at the table eating his eggs. Looking up at her, he smiled.
"Good morning Mellie." He said, as she nodded her head at him and sat down, her chair being pulled out by a servant who had entered the room. Placing a plate in front of her, she shook her head.
"No thank you Anna. I'll just have some juice this morning. You can save it for Fitz. He should be back from his run in a few minutes." Mellie said, as the young girl walked away, and Mellie turned to face Big Jerry. "Good morning." She said pleasantly, as a glass of juice was placed in front of her.
"About last night..." Jerry started, but she held up her hand, stopping him.
"Fitz will never know and as far as I'm concerned that never happened. What matters right now is that you get your politician and my husband gets what he wants." Mellie said, as she took a sip from her glass.
"And what is it that Fitz wants?" Big Jerry asked, as she smiled at him.
"To remain a pathologist as he is right now. And before you say anything," Mellie said, as he began to stand in protest, "It turns out that the coroner of Santa Barbara is retiring after all these years. Fitz has had his eye on the job for awhile and the position of coroner is an elected position. You get a politician, he gets to be a doctor. It's not the governor spot, but its a start." Mellie explained slyly as they both heard the front door open and Fitz come in.
"Mellie?" He called out, as he walked into the dinning room. Standing up, she walked over to him. Wrapping his arms around her, he smiled. "Good morning."
"Morning. Did you have a good run?" She questioned, as he shook his head and kissed her gently.
"I did. What about you? My father been treating you alright?" Fitz asked, as Mellie shook her head.
"He has. In fact, we've just been talking about you." She answered, as she shot a look over at Jerry. "But enough about that. I'm gonna go lay down for a bit. I'm not feeling well." She added, as Fitz held her at arms length to look at her.
"Should I call for a doctor?" He asked concerned, but she smiled weakly, as she placed her hand on his cheek and shook her head.
"No really. I'm fine. Just tired. Have some breakfast. I'll see you after." She answered, as she kissed him gently before leaving the room, looking over her shoulder at Big Jerry. Pulling out a chair as far away from his father as he could, Fitz sat down as the servant walked in with a tray in her hands. Thanking her, he silently picked up his fork and began to eat. After a few minutes of total silence, his father coughed, causing Fitz to look up at him.
"What?" Fitz asked, as he placed his fork on the table and looked at Big Jerry.
"You have a smart wife there son." Jerry said, as Fitz smiled slightly. "She's found a way to make us both happy. Not many women would do that for their husband."
"She is. She's a Harvard graduate and a partner in one of the best law firms in Santa Barbara." Fitz said, as he took a drink from his glass, wanting to avoid talking to his father about his wife. "What did she come up with?" He asked, a moment later, as he swallowed the mouthful of juice.
"The coroner of Santa Barbara is retiring, so his position is open. You want to play doctor to the dead, go ahead, but its an elected position, so that still requires a campaign." Jerry said, as Fitz looked at him, surprised.
"I see what she meant. I get to be a pathologist and you get to have the pleasure of having a son whose a politician huh?" Fitz answered coolly, as he glared at Big Jerry. "What's the catch?"
"What catch? Its a win-win Fitzgerald. I'll run the campaign, you'll win and be happy. After a few years, once we get your name out there, then we'll have you run for governor. Simple as that. So I suggest you take the offer Fitzgerald. You'll never get another any better from me." Knowing that his father was right, he would never get a better offer from him ever when it came to politics. Taking a deep breath, he sighed.
"I'll do it." Fitz said, frowning . He had just sold his soul to the devil who was Fitzgerald Thomas Grant II.