“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.”