Page 67 of Meant to Be
Hank turned, giving Mitch an annoyed glance. “I don’t like her.”
“Really? Why?”
Hank looked again toward the doors behind which his daughter was having a baby, before returning to his seat next to Mitch. “When Alicia told me she was pregnant, we had it all planned out. She’d stay with me and work at the shop while my mom watched the baby.”
“Alicia is lucky to have you.”
“Yeah, well tell that to that Yankee doctor. They don’t understand family up there like we do here.”
“What happened?”
“Doctor Preston helped Alicia and JD find a place of their own.”
“You don’t like JD?”
“He’s alright, but they’re young. They don’t have any education. It’s not like when we were coming up, Mitch, and you could earn a living with a vocation.”
“How are they going to live?” Mitch always thought of Sydney as being practical. She wouldn’t encourage two kids to live on their own if they didn’t have the means to pay the rent.
“Alicia says she’s got some job from home answering phones for airlines or something. And she’s planning to sign up for online college courses.”
Mitch scanned his brain for why that plan was irrational. “I don’t know, Hank. Alicia and JD are about to be parents. Having a job and taking classes from home, where she can be with the baby, sounds like a good plan.”
Hank looked at Mitch as if he’d grown a third eye. “That’s my baby in there. What happens if JD or Alicia gets laid off? What will they do then?”
“Then they can live with you and your mom can watch the baby, just like you originally planned.”
Hank ran his hands over face. “Yeah. I know you’re right, but how the hell did this happen? Sometimes I envy you, Mitch. You figured out how to avoid all this.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re not married, have no kids, and if everything they say about you is true, you never will. No drama. No entanglements. No pacing the hospital because your nineteen-year-old daughter is having a baby.”
Mitch agreed, and yet, hearing Hank say it made his life sound empty and shallow.No, he told himself. It was safe. And he liked safe. No drama. No entanglements. No betrayal or heartbreak.
And wasn’t that what Sydney had agreed to? “Friends… with benefits.” She’d made it clear she not only understood his conditions, but she wanted them. And, Christ, he wanted her. He couldn’t remember wanting a woman as much as he wanted her. It was more than want. He was nearly desperate with it. He’d always liked women, been attracted to and enjoyed them. Sometimes the desire was intense, but not like this. The need ate at him, like every neuron was firing and would continue to fire until Sydney calmed them.
Hank stood, adjusted his baseball cap with the hunting camouflage design. “I imagine I’ll be here awhile. I’m gonna get coffee from one of the machines. Want some?”
“No. Thanks, Hank.”
As Hank went off to get coffee, Mitch tortured himself again with the pros and cons of giving in to his need for Sydney. He briefly considered calling one of his other lady friends, just to help him take the edge off. But besides the fact that it would make him a complete jerk and it was logistically impossible with Sydney staying with him, he knew it wouldn’t matter. Only Sydney would be able to satisfy the hunger. He’d thought he’d extinguished his feelings for her, but now he realized they had only been lying dormant, and now, were erupting to the surface. And he was helpless to stop it.
Hank wasn’t much in a talking mood when he returned, so Mitch perseverated on thoughts of Sydney for the next several hours until the door opened to the maternity ward and Sydney walked through. She was wearing pink scrubs, and her hair was pulled back in the same ponytail she’d had the night before.
“It’s a girl. Everything went perfectly, Mr. Shoner.” She reached out and took Hank’s hand. “The nurses are getting her settled in a room and the baby checked out in the nursery, then she’ll be ready to see you.”
“How’s my baby?” Hank looked both in awe and nervous.
“She’s very well. And so is the baby’s father. You should be very proud of them.”
Hank nodded and changed the grip on Sydney’s hand so he could shake it, which he did until Mitch thought he might pull her arm from the socket. “Thank you, Doctor.”
She smiled and put her other hand over his, presumably to lessen the shaking. “You’re welcome, Grandpa.”
Hank looked at Mitch with a goofy grin. “I’m a grandpa.”
Mitch poked his tongue into the side of his mouth. “Yes. Congratulations.”
Sydney turned her attention to Mitch. “I need to take care of a few things. It’s going to be a little while longer.”
“I’ll wait.”
“I’ll let you know when I’m ready.”
Mitch watched her as she walked away.
“So you and the doc, huh?” Hank patted Mitch on the back.
Mitch’s first instinct was to tell Hank it wasn’t like that, except, if Mitch got another chance, that was exactly what it would be.
