Fiance Next Door

I sink back into the chair.

No. This is exactly what I feared.

And I knew it was going to happen. The doctors said so. I just didn’t think it would happen… now.

I’m not ready. I’m not ready to lose my dad just yet.

“Is there a chance his memory will come back?” Mason asks.

“I’m afraid that’s not likely,” the doctor answers.

So here we are – at the point of no return.

“As I think you already know, Alzheimer’s has no cure,” the doctor goes on. “We can only try to take care of him, make him comfortable.”

Until the rest of his body fails. And the clock is already ticking.

I wrap my arms around myself to ward off the sudden chill from the thought.

“Thank you, Doctor.” Mason says.

The doctor and the nurse leave. Mason pulls me into his arms.

“It’s fine,” he assures me.

No, it’s not.

“Your father will be fine. I’ve already found the best nursing home and – ”

“Nursing home?” I look at him in disbelief. “Mason, there’s no way I’m going to put my dad in a nursing home.”

No way in hell.

Mason sighs. “Aster, I know this isn’t what you want, but think of your father. This is the best option for him right now.”

“I am thinking of my father.” I get up on my feet. “Do you think he wants to be entrusted to the care of strangers?”

“The care of medical professionals,” he corrects me. “Who know just how to take care of people like your father.”

“I know how to take care of my father.”

“Really? Like you did just now?”

I try to think of something to say to that but fail.

“Aster, you can’t keep your father from hurting you, from hurting himself.”

“Yes, I can,” I tell him. “I’m his daughter. I – ”

“He doesn’t know you’re his daughter,” Mason points out. “He doesn’t know you. You’re a stranger to him now.”

I swallow. I know that. Even so…

“He’s still my father. He will always be my father.”

“I know.” Mason touches my arm. “That’s why he deserves the best care.”

Now, where have I heard that before? Right. When we first arrived in DC and he relegated my father to another floor. I let him have his way then. I’m not going to let that happen this time.

I square my shoulders. “My dad isn’t going to stay in a nursing home. He’s going to stay with me.”

Mason draws a breath. His shoulders rise, then fall. “Fine. We’ll get another nurse and – ”

“No,” I cut him off.

My dad can’t stay here. He doesn’t like it here. This place scares him.

“We’re going back home.”

Mason’s eyebrows furrow. “To Eastport?”

I shrug. “That’s our home.”

“But – ”

“And you know it,” I tell him. “You know my dad and I only came here because you told us to, because we’re supposed to be married.”

“We are married.”

“We only got married for my dad’s sake,” I remind him. “To make him happy. Well, he isn’t happy anymore, is he? He doesn’t remember that we got married or that he wanted me to get married. He doesn’t remember you or me.”

“So what? Are you saying we should get divorced now?”

I purse my lips. I guess that’s the right thing to do, isn’t it? It’s simple, really. When you’ve lost your reason to do something, you stop doing it. You can’t do it.

“Aster…”

“Yes,” I tell him in the steadiest voice I can manage. “We should get a divorce.”

Mason’s eyes narrow. “You don’t mean that.”

I take a deep breath to try to push back the pain flooding my chest. “I do.”

“What if your dad’s memory comes back?”

“Didn’t the doctor just say it won’t? And if it does, then I’ll just tell him you and I got divorced. He’ll understand.”

“He’ll worry,” Mason tells me. “Isn’t that what you wanted to prevent? Isn’t that the point of this marriage?”

I shrug. “Exactly. This marriage is pointless.”

He shakes his head. “I’m not giving you a divorce.”

I look at him. No way.

“You told me you’d give me one.”

“Not under these circumstances.”

I frown. “Well, circumstances change.”

He says nothing. The look in his eyes tells me he isn’t going to budge. Well, neither will I.

“What? Are you going to keep my father and I locked up?” I challenge him. “You have the means, after all. You can do whatever you want, and you will, because you don’t care. Even after all this time, you still don’t care about anyone else but yourself.”

Mason falls silent.

I hold my chin high. “You can give me a divorce or not, but my father and I and the dogs will go back to Eastport.”

He exhales. “And what if your father gets violent again? What if the dogs attack him? What if he hurts them? What if he hurts you?”

“That’s no longer your concern, is it?” I tell him. “Because regardless of whatever papers we sign or not, I’m no longer your wife. I never was.”