Possessive Doctor

“That’s so,” I say. “She was a patient.” I blurt it out. Might as well get it out of the way.

My mother raises an eyebrow and my father laughs. “Isn’t that against the rules?” he asks.

Amber blushes. “It’s not like that,” she says.

But I stare back at my father. “It’s against the rules, yes,” I say. “And when did you give a shit about something like the rules?”

He laughs again, clearly delighted. “Well then, okay, son. Good for you.”

“Please,” Mother says. “We don’t need to do this.”

“We’re not doing anything,” I say.

She smiles that fake smile again. “Amber, dear, I noticed you walk with a cane.”

“Yes,” she says. “That’s a recent addition. I got into a car accident.” She laughs a little, clearly nervous. “I’m still not used to it.”

“Well, it’s very… fetching.” Mother keeps on smiling.

I roll my eyes. “Yes, Mother, her cane is very fetching.”

“I wish I needed a cane,” Father says wistfully. “There’s something special about a gentleman with a cane and a top hot.”

“You can always get one,” Amber says. “I think you could pull it off.”

Father laughs out loud at that one. Mother’s eye twitches.

“I like her,” he says. “Maybe I will get a cane. She thinks I can pull it off.”

“You’re not getting a cane,” Mother hisses. “And you’re not getting a top hat. Do you want to look more like the Monopoly Man than you already do?”

I can’t help but smirk at that one. “She’s got a point. Going a bit thin up there.”

“Got all the money in the world,” Father grumbles. “And I’m still going bald.”

“Can’t beat genetics, dear. But I hear Elon Musk found a cure for baldness, so I’ll have to give him a call.”

“Please do, dear.” Father suddenly claps his hands loudly and several staff members appear from out of nowhere carrying glasses. Amber jumps, looking around in surprise, as a glass is paced in front of her and the wine is poured.

“I decided to break out something nice,” Father says. “One of the old wines, from the cellar.”

“Do we have anything that isn’t nice?” I ask him with a straight face.

“Very good point, son.”

Amber stares at the wine. I lean toward her. “Go ahead. It’s probably good. He’s not good for much, but he’s good at picking wines.”

She laughs uncomfortably but Father just smiles and nods. “It’s true! I’m a useless old lout with too much money and privilege. All I care about is hunting, boating, fishing, and wine. Oh, and top hats and canes now.”

Mother stifles a groan.

Amber laughs and sips the wine. “It’s really good,” she says.

Father nods approvingly and I give her knee a little squeeze.

So far, she’s doing good. Mother is staring at her like she wants to skin her alive, but she’s charming my father at least. Although I have problems with my father, in general, he’s a much easier person to please than my mother is.

I know that’s going to be a problem, sooner or later. I’m hoping later. Much, much later.

The far door opens as we all drink the wine and Uncle Ronald steps into the room followed by Aunt Louise. Ronald is a fat man, just perfectly rotund, dressed in a fine suit. Louise has velour track pants and a matching track top on, and I’d bet anything that her outfit is the most expensive one in the room.

“There you are!” Father says, getting up. “I thought you were getting lazy.”

“Lazy, me? Nonsense.” Ronald walks over, shakes Father’s hand, and then looks at Amber. “Well, hello. Is this the girl?”

“Yes, this is Amber,” Father says.

“She’s pretty.”

“She can hear you, Uncle Ronald.”

He just guffaws then shakes her hand. She turns to Aunt Louise, but she’s already sitting. She just gives Amber a little smile and a nod.

We sit back down and instantly Uncle Ronald and Father fall into a conversation about the stock market. I’m only half listening. The first course is served, a decent soup. Amber eats it and barely looks up, trying to be as quiet as possible and as unassuming as she possibly can.

It’s a good strategy. But it won’t work.

“What do you do, dear?” Aunt Louise asks her suddenly.

Amber looks startled. “I, uh, I have a degree in, uh, business administration.”

“Administration?” Louise makes a face. “Honey, what in the world is that?”

She looks at me and I can’t help but laugh. Aunt Louise is from a family very similar to ours. She never worked a day in her life and barely knows anything about the world, except for purses. The woman knows more about purses than I think anyone knows about anything. Not just designer bags, either, but their history and evolution. It’s absurd, once she gets talking.

“It’s, well, it’s about helping to manage the business,” Amber says.

“Which business though, darling?”

“Louise, you leave the girl alone,” Ronald says. “Sorry, Amber, darling. My wife is a lovely woman but she doesn’t know jack shit about business.”