*I just want to say that I'm grateful for those of you who decided to stick with me and this story. In my stories, I'm always looking for ways to be original but make things mimic real life. Divorce is a real situation and I wanted to show our couple as less than perfect because that's how life is. Anyway, I hope you continue to stay with me and give this a shot!*
The next morning
"Seth, sweetie, brush your teeth. Bus in five minutes."
She dumped the colored milk from his fruit loops down the sink and rinsed his bowl, putting it in the dishwasher.
Seth ran out of the bathroom and put his tennis shoes on, not bothering with the laces. Then he grabbed his lunchbox and backpack. "Bye, Mommy!"
She kissed his cheeks and smiled. "Bye, sweetie. See you after school."
The bus honked and she watched him run down the sidewalk and up the bus steps. Seth loved school. Especially art class. He was always drawing and coloring. She figured he would be an artist one day.
Elizabeth finished straightening the house after her cute tornado left his toys everywhere and then sat at the table to work on her manuscript.
Her intent was to work at least two hours on it but her phone rang.
"Hi, Rosie," she answered, putting her best friend on speaker.
"Hey. Okay tell me. How did Dr. Doesn't Ever Listen react to your little announcement?"
Elizabeth smiled. "First he thought it was Charlie's."
"Of course he did," she said sarcastically.
"Then, he basically said he needed time to process and then his girlfriend showed up."
"Dr. High and Mighty, the guy who accused you of cheating, waited all of nine months to move on? Figures."
"But then last night, he brought Seth home and we actually talked a little. Without fighting."
"Okay. That's a good start."
"I guess. I don't have the faintest idea where we're going with this but, yeah, it's something."
"I still hate him."
"And I…"
"Still love him."
"I guess I do."
"What if all he does is hurt you again?"
"No matter what, we're in each other's lives forever for the kids. That's all I can think about right now."
Jack walked down the wide hallway of St. Luke's, scanning over his patient charts on his iPad. It was already looking like a full day when he was paged to the ER for a consult.
He hurried down from the 4th floor to the ER wing on the first floor.
"Dr. Thornton, here for an Ortho consult," he said to the nurse at the desk.
"Bed 9," she replied.
He walked over and pulled the curtain back. He was not prepared for who was there waiting for him.
"Charlie…"
"Hey Jack. Are you the doctor for my dad?" He moved to sit next to an older man who was reclined back on the bed, clearly in pain. "This is Beth's husband, Dad. You're in good hands."
"Just give me a sec," Jack tried to smile. Just outside the room he placed his hands on his hips taking a few deep breaths before stepping back inside. "Sorry about that. What seems to be the problem?"
"My dad, Charles, took a bad fall in his shower. My mom called and when I got there I called the ambulance."
"So humiliating," Charles grumbled. "Everything hurts now. Especially my back and my knee."
"I bet! May I take a look?" The man nodded. Jack did his exam and looked at his x-rays and then sat down to put his notes in the man's chart. "Good news is you didn't break your back, but it will be bruised and sore for a bit. I'm concerned about your knee though. Let me grab an ultrasound machine and we can take a closer look at the muscle tissue there, alright?"
"I'm not going anywhere," he groaned.
Jack stepped out and Charlie followed.
"Will he be okay?"
"I'll know more in a bit."
"Okay. Man, I'm glad it's you with him."
"I'll do my best for him. I promise." He meant it. "I'll be back with the machine in a bit okay?"
"Alright, thanks, Jack."
Jack headed to radiology to grab the portable ultrasound machine. Of all the people to see in the ER, it had to be Charlie?
"What are you muttering about?" his buddy Lee asked as he walked in.
"Nothing. You'll never guess who my patient is."
"Harrison Ford," he guessed with a chuckle.
"Haha. Nope."
"Mickey Mouse."
"Close. Charles Kensington."
"The guy your wife...I mean...whoa."
"She didn't cheat on me with him but he is the one, yes."
"I bet that's awkward."
"To say the least." He sighed. "Anyway, I need an ultrasound machine."
"Take it. Good luck, man."
"Thanks." He signed out the machine and rolled it back down to the ER.
Elizabeth drove to the diner in town to pick up her lunch. She was craving a Gyro with extra tzatziki sauce and crispy fries.
"Hi, Elizabeth," Nathan Grant, the chef and owner said from the window in the kitchen.
"Hey, Nate."
She found a booth and pulled her phone out. It was past ten. Jack would be off by now.
"Hey, Elizabeth," Gabe, the waiter greeted. "What can I get you?"
"Diet soda and a gyro with crispy fries and extra tzatziki."
"You got it. Be right back with your soda."
Julie sat down across from her. "Hey, sis. I saw you come in here so I'm taking my lunch. How's your manuscript going?"
"Good. Got a few hours in this morning. I'm right on schedule to be done before "little miss" makes her appearance."
"That's good."
Gabe came back with Elizabeth's diet soda. "Hey, Julie. What can I get you?"
"Caesar salad, dressing on the side and an orange soda."
"You got it."
"You keep eating like that, you're going to disappear," Elizabeth teased.
"I like salads, Beth. Plus, guys like a thin woman. One of these days when I actually find a guy, I will be all ready."
"If a guy doesn't like you for who you are and not what you look like, he isn't worth your time."
"Says the woman who found a man."
"I got divorced. I was plenty thin but that didn't help me hold on to Jack."
"Look, I've been out with plenty of guys, sister, and I can't think of anything else to change about myself."
"You don't need to change. You own your own business. You're smart and beautiful and sweet and independent. What could a guy possibly not like?"
"I don't know. Let's talk about something else." Julie didn't tell her sister that she had created a profile on a dating website. She was almost desperate to find someone.
Jack entered curtain area 9 again. "Knock knock."
"Yeah."
"Alright, Mr. Kensington. You have a tear in your meniscus which is the cartilage between the thigh bone and the shinbone."
"Does he need surgery?" Charlie asked.
"We are going to try the RICE method first."
"Rice?"
"Yes. Rest, ice, compression and elevation. We will wrap your knee and give you some crutches and some pain meds. Also you'll need to follow up with your primary physician in a couple days."
"What do you think, Dad?"
"I'm glad there is no surgery."
"Take it easy, sir," he told him, shaking his hand.
"Thank you, doc. You too."
Charlie again followed Jack out. "Thanks again, Jack. So, um… how are Beth and Seth?"
"What? Don't you and Beth talk?"
"No. We haven't for almost a year."
"Well, Seth is fine and Beth and I are divorced."
"Divorced? Wow. I had no idea. I knew you were maybe having some problems but I didn't want to get in the middle and create a bigger problem. I figured she'd call me eventually."
He didn't want to cause bigger problems? He was there all the time. He was the problem, in Jack's eyes.
"You were at my house, Charlie. All the time."
"Sometimes yes, but just as a friend. I helped Beth when she needed it."
"How? How did you being there help her?!" It broke up their marriage!
"Seriously, I just helped around the house. She knew how important your residency was and how time consuming it could be. When things like the sink broke or when the water heater stopped working, she'd call me so you wouldn't need to stress. She didn't want to add more stress than necessary."
"You're unbelievable, Charlie. Really."
"Whoa...Jack. You're acting like there was something going on between us."
"Wasn't there?"
"Of course not. Beth is like my sister. I've never had those kinds of feelings for her. Besides, she's madly in love with you. At least, she was before. Wow, you're really divorced? Who's idea was that?"
Jack's phone rang on his hip. "Dr. Thornton," he answered. "Got it. I'll be right there." He put his phone back on his hip and looked at Charlie. "I have an emergency surgery. I need to go. Take care, Charlie."
So much for getting off at ten. It was now one PM and this surgery would push him a few more hours late. As he hurried to the OR, his mind whirled with the confirmation from Charlie that there had been no infidelity. He had known it, but now it was even more apparent that he needed to apologize to Beth.
For now, surgery. His mind needed to be focused on his patient.
Jack arrived home at his apartment around dinner time. He was starving and he was pretty sure there was nothing in his fridge. He walked into his bedroom, took off his scrubs and took a long hot shower.
When he got out, he wandered to the kitchen. Pretty bare cupboards, except for a box of fruit loops. He opened the fridge. Pizza!
He grabbed the box and opened it. One piece of ham and pineapple left. "Better than nothing," he told himself. If he wasn't so exhausted, he would go to the grocery store. "Ma?" he yelled, wondering where she was.
He found a note on the counter. "We need groceries. I'm heading to Vail with Abigail for a few days. Love you, son."
"Thanks for stating the obvious, Ma." So despite how tired he was, he grabbed his keys and headed to the store. The problem was though, he didn't cook much. Take out was his thing when his mom was gone. He could cook, but he didn't even know what he wanted.
As he stood at the meat case, staring, he heard a familiar voice. "Too many choices, Doc?"
"Faith. Hi. Yeah. I don't suppose you want to offer some advice?"
"Burgers. Stuff them with feta and spinach. Grab a bag of chips and a pint of ice cream."
"Wanna join me for dinner?" She shook her head and started to walk away. "No, Faith, wait. As friends. You were right to walk away from us. I'm still hung up on Elizabeth. But I could really use a friend. Maybe someone who likes burgers and chips and ice cream."
"Okay, but you're cooking," she said after a very long minute. "And I want mint chocolate chip ice cream with hot fudge."
"Comfort food, huh?" he said, nudging her.
"Yeah. Trying to get over someone isn't easy, as you know. I find ice cream helps a bit."
"I'm sorry, Faith. Really sorry."
"Friends?" she said, offering her hand in a truce.
"Friends."
A while later, Elizabeth kissed her son's curls and turned off his light, leaving the room.
As she got settled in her own bed, she pulled out the baby name book she had bought back when she was pregnant with Seth. She loved dreaming about her new baby girl and what she might look like. What color eyes she would have. Would her hair be curly like hers and Seth's or straight like Jack's? Would she have his dimples?
She loved looking at girl sleepers and socks and headbands. Blankets and dresses and onesies. There were a few things that Seth had worn that were a neutral color, but mostly, she needed all new clothes. She would need to budget accordingly.
She looked at her phone as it buzzed and lit up. It was a text from Jack.
"I made a change to the amount of child support I am giving u. U will see it with Friday's deposit."
"Thank u."
"Do u need anything, Beth?"
"No, we're fine."
"When is your next doctor appointment?"
Why did he want to know that? The man constantly worked. It's not as if he would have time to go with her.
"2 weeks."
"I'd like 2 b there."
"Its just a check up, Jack. Not an ultrasound or anything."
"I'd still like 2 go."
"I'd like 2 think about it."
"Okay. Goodnight, Beth."
"Night."