Page 90 of A Moment In Time

“Yes. And for a game or two.”

“Yay! Can I stay up late?”

“No school tomorrow. I don’t see why not.”

“Yay, again.” She was quiet for a few miles, then she turned toward him. “Will I ever have a baby sister or brother?”

The question caught Corbyn off guard. Rose used to ask for a sibling when he and Julianna were still married. But she hadn’t asked in a while.

“Um…I don’t know. I’d have to find myself a wife first.”

“Dad. I know how these things work. You don’t have to be married. You just need a girlfriend.”

“That’s true. But I’d prefer to be married. And I’m not sure that’s going to happen.”

“Why not?”

“Who would I marry?”

Rose shrugged. “I don’t know. But there must be someone in town who would like to marry you.”

“I need to find someone in town who wants to date me first.”

“You’re a doctor. Doesn’t that make you a catch?”

He smiled. “A catch, huh?”

“Yeah. And you’re handsome. Nice. Kind of busy. But I’m sure you could fit dating into your schedule. Especially after you hire your new doctor.”

“Well, once I hire a P.A. I’ll look into that.”

“Good. Because you’re not getting any younger.”

After dinner and two games of Life, Rose went to bed and Corbyn and Cassie were having a glass of wine in the living room. Corbyn set his glass on the table next to his chair.

“Rose thinks I need to find myself a wife before I get much older.”

Cassie laughed. “Oh my. I’m sure she didn’t mean it the way it sounds.”

“Ah…her exact words were ‘I’m not getting any younger.’”

“How did this conversation even start?”

“She wants a sibling.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. I thought she’d given up on the idea. But seeing Raphael brought it back.”

“Can I ask why you and Julianna didn’t have another child or two?”

“I was still in medical school when Jules got pregnant. We didn’t really plan on it. And it turns out it was the beginning of the end. It made me more determined than ever to come back here and take over the clinic. She wanted to stay in Portland. By the time we moved here, our marriage was pretty much over.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It wasn’t meant to be. I don’t think she was ever fully onboard with being a parent. She hung in there as long as she could. Andshe never conveyed how she felt to Rose. She was a good mother. She just became a really bad wife.”

“It always seemed like you guys got along so well.”

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