“Are you planning on living there now?” I asked.
She and my dad exchanged smiles. “Well, we haven’t decided,” she said. “We thought it would be nice to keep a place in the suburbs for when we want to get away. We’re going to refurbish my house soon, so I’ll be spending more time in the city. That’s okay, though, because my daughter lives nearby.”
“Cool,” I said dryly. “Are you planning on continuing to work?”
“A little,” she said bashfully. “I admit, with your dad’s help, I don’t need to work as much as I used to. I think I’ll cut back on hours until I go into retirement for good.”
“Good for you,” I said, faking some cheer. “That’s what the old man’s good for.”
My dad gave me a warning look. I didn’t really give a shit. I had gone through this enough times. If anything, it was just funny to me. The poor woman was so sweet and earnest about her new marriage, and she probably had no idea it wouldn’t last. I started to make predictions about how long they would stick together.
“How long have you been together?” I asked.
“A few months,” Miranda said. “I’ve never been in a relationship that’s moved so quickly. Normally, I tend to take things very slow. But, as Winston told me, we don’t know how many days we have left on this Earth. We might as well make the most of it.”
“You said that?” I asked my dad. “You’re over the hill, but you’re not that old.”
“I’m not planning on dying anytime soon,” he said gruffly. “It’s just important to do what makes you happy. Someday, you will understand that.”
“Are you seeing anyone, Damon?” Miranda asked innocently.
I chuckled. “Nope.”
“My son has no interest in settling down,” my dad said. “I keep trying to convince him to start taking dating seriously. Before you know it, you’ll be thirty. Then forty and fifty and sixty and you’ll wonder why you didn’t get married and have kids while you had the chance.”
“I guess I’ve had bad examples,” I said dryly. “Have you met my brother yet?” I asked Miranda. “Hopefully, you’ll get to meet his kids soon. They’re great, but they can only come by a few times a year.”
My dad sighed. I could tell he regretted ever bringing his wife to meet me. I got along well enough with my dad, but I wasn’t shy about pointing out when he was making a terrible mistake.
Sometimes, I felt like I was the most responsible one in the family. As my dad aged, the more he began to act like a big child. He was never strict with us kids, and it showed. He ran around, doing whatever he liked, and no one gave a crap because he was charming and well-liked. He’d get drunk at the bar and drive home with nothing more than a slap on the wrist from the police because he donated to their fundraisers every year. Or, he could cheat on his wife while she had young children at home and no one looked down upon him. He’d even fool around with other soccer moms and face zero consequences, while his lovers went through horrible divorces.
Now, because he was retired and had more money than he knew what to do with, he flung it around like a kid in a candy store. While I still assumed my brother and I would receive hefty inheritances one day with the remains of his fortune that he hadn’t managed to blow, he didn’t worry about saving for us. We could take care of ourselves. So, my dad married women and took them to extravagant places and fixed up their houses for them and paid off their debts. Then, he would stupidly lose them, returning to step one. The cycle would continue. It was foolish and the whole thing was getting old.
My brother wasn’t much better. He was a little more conservative with his approach, but just as foolish. He’d spend his money on girlfriends while his wife was at home. They nearly milked him dry a few times. Unlike my dad, he hadn’t had the time to acquire the same amount of wealth. For a few years there, he was on a serious budget while he paid for private preschools for the kids and a mortgage for his wife.
While I was known to spend lavishly on occasion, I was still in control of my finances. I could drop a few thousand on a date, but that was a small amount compared to alimony checks, especially if your girl had gotten too used to her lifestyle with you. Instead of dumping my money into women, I used it to enjoy all life had to offer. Then, I saved and invested the bulk of it so I would always have options.
I thought that made me the most responsible out of the men in my family. My parents always thought of me as the wild one, but I had never gone to jail, never gotten a girl knocked up, and never been fired. Sure, I had been an asshole and toed the line between respectful society man and deviant at times, but I managed to stay in control. My father could chastise me all he wanted for never settling down with a woman, but I had done far better than he had in some respects.
“We wanted to have a more formal dinner to introduce our marriage, but it’s so hard when everyone has a different schedule,” Dad said. “Eventually, we will have a small reception of some sort. But, we’d like to keep things small and only for close family and friends. We don’t really need a big celebration.”
“No, I would imagine not,” I said as I chewed on an ice cube. “So, who do we have left to meet?”
“I have a son and a daughter. My son is in school, but my daughter is in her residency, so we might wait until she is more settled for our gathering.”
“Cool,” I said, stifling a yawn.
“Is there something you’d rather be doing?” Dad asked. “Are we keeping you from a surgery?”
“No, not at all,” I said, trying to act a little cheerier for Miranda’s benefit. My dad deserved my annoyance, not her. She seemed so in love, I actually felt bad for her. Everything about her seemed so genuine. I wonder if that’s what made it so hard for her to see that in my dad.
“Are you sure?” she asked. “You dad’s told me about how well you’ve been doing. It’s very impressive.”
“Thanks,” I said softly. “No, it’s not a big deal. I just have one of our interns coming around to check out the surgical theater.”
“Intern?” my dad asked. “I didn’t know you were looking at adding an intern, since when?”
“Since I started mentoring them this session,” I said. “She’s a bright, young doctor and I think she’ll make a fantastic surgeon.”
“She?” My dad chuckled. “Have you been approached by HR yet?”
“Yes, and I don’t think I need any warning from you, of all people,” I smirked.
I heard voices outside of my door, then it slowly creaked open. Olivia poked her head in. She looked very lovely in her skirt and suit jacket. It was perhaps a bit much for a visit, but knowing her, she was already playing the game.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know you had a meeting,” she said.
“No, come in,” I replied. “Olivia, this is—”
“Mom?” she exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”
Miranda’s eyes opened wide, her mouth gaping open to match. She looked back and forth between everyone in the room; it was almost cartoonish. “What?” she tried to form into an articulate sentence, but couldn’t string any other words together.
Olivia turned to me. “What’s my mom doing here?”
I pursed my lips. “She’s here with my father, delivering some important news. Do you want to tell her, or should I?”
Miranda flushed. “I wanted to tell you over dinner, sweetie, but Winston and I got married!”
Olivia gasped and went to her mom to hug her. But, as she hugged her mom, she looked back at me with a look of pure confusion.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Olivia asked her mom.
“It happened so quickly,” she said sheepishly. “By the way, this is Winston.”
Olivia raised her eyebrows and shook his hand before quickly stealing a glance my way. I didn’t know what she was thinking about, but I suspected she was trying to see the resemblance between my father and me.
“Are you the intern that Damon was talking about?” her mom asked. “That’s going to
be such a good opportunity for you. I can’t believe you two already know each other. I hope working with your stepbrother doesn’t make things weird.” She giggled.
Olivia went a little pale. She sat down in another chair in the corner of the room. I made her a cold drink and wordlessly handed it over.
“How long have the two of you known each other?” my dad asked Olivia.
“Longer than you’ve known each other,” I replied, gesturing between the newlyweds.
“Since the beginning of the year, I suppose,” Olivia said, looking worried. “Damon is mentoring our group of interns this session.”
“And now you’re going to be his intern in the surgical wing,” her mom said, looking pleased as punch. “I know you said you were worried about getting into the field. Hopefully you’ll find it’s everything you want. Is it a paid internship?”
Olivia nodded slowly.
“How much are you paying her?” my dad asked all authoritatively.
“That hasn’t been discussed yet,” I said crossly. “But I’m not the one paying her, the hospital is.”
“Yeah, but you can probably find some money to make sure your sister is taken care of.”
I shuddered. “Please don’t call her that.”
“Your sister? She is. Well, step-sister. I can see how that might be weird, but no one here is going to care. It’s not like anyone has a problem with nepotism around here, right? In a way, it’s like adding another child to the family business.”
My dad and new step-mom laughed at this, but their offspring remained silent. If they only knew what their children had been up to, they’d be horrified. Miranda was kind to me now, but I didn’t think she would be if she knew I had her daughter bent over my kitchen counter just a few days ago.
“I’m just so shocked by all of this,” Olivia muttered from her corner.
“I know,” her mom said apologetically. “I wanted you to meet Winston before we got married, but there just wasn’t enough time. It was a complete surprise for both of us.”
“When did it happen?” she asked weakly. “Where? What did you wear?”
Her mom beamed. “I’ll tell you details over dinner. Should we leave while you meet with your new boss?” She giggled.
“No,” we said in unison.
“We don’t have to do this today,” I said, loosening my tie a little. “The internship doesn’t even start for a few more weeks.”
“Great.” My dad smiled. “We should head to the restaurant. Are you coming with us, Damon? You said you weren’t busy today.”
“Uh, I have some— I have some stuff to do,” I lied. “Why don’t the three of you go and enjoy yourself? I’m sure we’ll all see each other soon.”
“Okay,” Miranda said. “I hope we get to spend some more time together soon. I’m really looking forward to getting to know you.”
“Likewise,” I lied again. “It was lovely to meet you, Miranda.”
I gave Olivia’s mother a hug and was struck by how similar some of their features were. They both had the same thick, dark hair and emerald eyes. Miranda was still very pretty in middle age. I wondered if Olivia would look like her mom at fifty, not like it would matter then. In twenty-five years, we would have long parted ways.
From what I could calculate, I decided that Miranda would stick around for a while. She didn’t seem interested in taking my dad’s money the moment things went belly-up. And, if she was anything like her daughter, she was intelligent and kind. Keeping these things in mind, as long as my dad behaved himself, he could reasonably keep things going for a year or two before ruining a good thing.
Unfortunately, I didn’t necessarily plan on keeping Olivia around for that long. If things ended poorly with us, would I have to avoid family functions for her benefit? Even worse, would we have to stop sleeping together because we were related through marriage?
It was more than I wanted to think about. For the first time in recent memory, I was very happy with my social life. I had found one girl that ticked all the boxes for me, and I wanted to keep seeing her until the fun ran out. Now, my dad had to go and spoil everything for me. It was childish to not be happy for him because it meant that my life became complicated, but I didn’t know how else to feel.
As I waved goodbye to my new, fucked up family, an involuntary giggle came out of me. Olivia must have heard this, because I heard the same incredulous giggle come from her, too.
I poured myself another soda and wished it was something stronger. I was glad I had nothing to do for the rest of the day. Usually, I hated spending a nice day indoors, but with everything going on, all I really wanted to do was go home and get drunk and not think about any of this at all.
Chapter 21
Olivia
It took all the strength I had to sit politely through our early dinner without screaming. It wasn’t that I didn’t like Winston or I was upset with my mother for hastily getting married after being single for twenty years. If Winston were just some guy, things would be different. But, I felt like I knew Winston, and he might not be the right man for my mother.
Don’t get me wrong— Winston was the total package. He was a very handsome man and had impeccable manners with my mother. When we were seated at our reserved table, he pushed her chair in for her. He opened all the doors for her and said all the right things. She giggled as though she were a spinster going to the ball with a prince. I loved seeing her happy, but I feared it might not last.
At the same time, I was conflicted with the news of having a new step-brother. Damon seemed very unhappy about the whole thing, which didn’t surprise me. But, since I was typically the uptight one, it was weird seeing him so damn tense. It was a side of him I had never witnessed before. Sure, I had only truly known him for about a week, but every other experience with him indicated he was a super chill guy. Back at his office, he looked ready to crawl out of his skin.
“So, your mother tells me you’re interested in being a general surgeon,” Winston beamed. “It’s such a fantastic coincidence that was my career for many years, and it’s what my son is doing.”
“Yeah, well, with Mom being a nurse, and Dad a doctor, I knew I wanted to go into the medical field,” I replied between bites of dessert.
“I’ve heard about him,” Winston said solemnly. “It sounds like he would be very proud of you.”
I shrugged. “I guess.”
“I’d be happy to help you out in any way I can,” he said. “I know we’ve only just met, but your mom talks about you all the time. I know that you must have had to take out some student loans for med school and now the added expense of residency, and living in NYC isn’t cheap.”
“Yeah,” I said, wondering where he was going with this.
“Since we’re family now, I just want you to know that your mother and I decided we would pay those off and help you out. It’s the least we can do to help you achieve your dreams.”
“Really?” I asked skeptically.
“Of course. I paid for all of Damon’s school. I expect that he’d do the same for his own kids one day, but it’s looking more and more like he’s never going to have kids. I expect that he starts a scholarship fund or something instead.”
I laughed at the thought of Damon becoming an old, rich philanthropist. Even funnier was the thought of him chasing kids around the house.
“Thanks,” I said. “That will help a lot.”
The couple beamed at each other again, thinking that they were just sprinkling blessings upon their combined children. If only they knew what the real issue at hand was. I hoped that my mom would never find out about Damon and me. In all fairness, we met before they did, but I still thought she’d be shocked to learn that I was canoodling with a mentoring doctor.
When our meal was over, my mom invited me back to Winston’s place to hang out. I declined, feeling too weird about going to what was once his bachelor pad. My brother and I weren’t terribly close, but at that moment, I wished I had some backup. It
would be less awkward to have another family member around.
So, I used the excuse that I had early morning rounds to get out of another engagement. There was no way I was going to get any sleep now. I needed to vent to someone who would enjoy the preceding events way too much so I headed home to share with Carol.
“You’re fucking kidding me!” she exclaimed. “She got married?”
“To Damon’s dad, of all people,” I whined. “How awful is that?”
“That is super weird. You’ve got an incest thing going on now, don’t you? He’s technically your brother.”
“We don’t share any common ancestors,” I yelled.
“Yeah, I know,” she giggled, “it’s still funny to think about it, though. So, you’re going to see him at Thanksgiving and Christmas from now on. Do you sneak from your bedroom to his at the family home?”
“No!”
“But you wouldn’t even think about it?”
I bit my lip. “I don’t know.”
“Is your mom happy?”
“Happier than I’ve seen her in a very long time.”
“That’s good.”
“I don’t know if it is,” I said wringing my hands. “Damon told me about his father. He’s not the kind of man that I want my mother married to.”
“Why not? Is he an ass like his son?”
“He’s very nice. Perhaps he is too nice. This is his sixth marriage.”
Carol gasped. “His sixth?”
“I know. The last five have all been within the last ten years or so. He’s gone through more wives in that time than I’ve gone through bras. It’s absurd. I laughed about it when Damon told me because I couldn’t believe that anyone would marry someone with so many ex-wives. I mean, there are a million red flags.”
“Then why did she do it?” Carol asked. “I’ve met your mom, she seems like a reasonable woman.”
“She usually is. I don’t know what’s come over her. I’ve never known her to get serious with a boyfriend, let alone want to marry one. This is so unlike her. I want her to be happy, but I’m worried.”
Forbidden Prescription 6: A Stepbrother Fake Girlfriend Medical Romance (Forbidden Medicine) Page 12
