Alpha Billionaire Series

GAVIN

“Well, all I am saying is that the postage to send these gifts back is ridiculous. You could literally drive them back faster. And I think maybe Madison should be the one doing this, not me.” The ring of a cash register in the background of our call was piercing, causing me to pull my phone away from my ears. Mom was at the post office doing some errands for me while I sat trying to relax on my break.

I had been listening to her complaining about returning my wedding gifts for at least I5 minutes, and I was trying to be patient. Despite my calm replies, the conversation was escalating, and I was growing more frustrated. I felt like she had no clue what I was going through and even if she did, she didn’t care.

I tried to explain, “Mom, my work hours are not conducive to getting things returned. By the time I'm off work, the post is closed and even on weekends I have to do rounds in the morning when they're open.”

“Yes, but what about her? She should be doing this, not me” Mom's voice took an edge that made my frustration worse, but I bit my tongue rather than snapping at her.

The nurses break room, where I sat at a table eating a snack on my break, was bustling with noise and activity. I didn’t want to embarrass myself by shouting at her, and it was getting more difficult by the minute. Pam, one of our charge nurses, walked by, staring at her phone, and smiled at me, so I forced a smile and nodded at her. And once she was out the door, I took a breath and engaged with my mother again.

“Mom, I told you. She is going through a lot right now. It is really difficult for her, what's happening, so I told her we would take care of everything. All of the gifts were here in town, and her parents and sister live a few hours out of the city, so it made sense.” Another nurse left the room, and I breathed a sigh of relief that only myself and one othe nurse were there.

Mom shouted something, but I could tell her phone mic was covered. I knew she was at the post office, so I didn’t think much of it. There was more muffled talking and then I heard a bell jingle, followed by honking and some traffic sounds.

“I swear, sometimes people just irritate the daylights out of me.” I heard a car door shut and then an engine, and I knew Mom had climbed into her car. “I just don’t understand if she wants to be your wife so bad, why is she spendin all her time with another man right now. Doesn't she know how that will ruin your reputation? I mean, Gavin, if your wife can’t be bothered to run your errands for you, what type of woman are you marrying?” When she got like this there was no reasoning with her. Her voice turned almost hostile, and I bit the inside of my cheek in anger.

I couldn't take it anymore. As much as I tried to keep myself calm and focused, to not draw attention to myself, I was about to snap. And given the fact that Madison and I were speaking again following our encounter that night at her house, I knew we were going to make it. I also knew my mother would not let up until I put my foot down. Dad had a way of doing this, but for me it had never been as easy, likely because I was her little boy whom she parented for so long. But I was a grown man now, and it was time she started respecting me and my choices.

“Okay, Mom. I have been so patient and understanding about so many things, but I am really hurt. I've asked you to not speak of Madison that way. It is unfair and disrespectful. If you want to destroy my relationship with you, then keep doing what you're doing. It's working.”

My eyes popped up as Adam Baker strutted in eating a bagel slathered in cream cheese. He parked himself across the table from me just in time to hear my mother’s prattling about choices and boundaries. She talked so loudly I had to hold the phone away from the side of my head just to understand what she was saying, and Adam's eyebrows rose in reply to a few choice words she said.

“Listen, Mom. I think I am going to have to call you back. When you decide that you can be civil when it comes to my relationship with Madison, we can discuss this further”

I hung up before she could reply again, more due to the embarrassment factor than anything, but I didn’t really want to hear her angry, hateful lectures any more today. After locking my phone and dropping it to the table, I scrubbed my hands over my face, hoping I wasn’t flushed from being so embarrassed. Adam had one eyebrow raised as he chewed a bite of bagel.

“Problems with the lady?” He spoke with his mouth full, which was sort of rude, but not all men were as considerate and had good manners as I did.

“Nah, my mom. She hates the woman I'm dating. We are going to be married soon, but there has been a slight kink ir our plans which caused a delayed wedding. Mom seems to want to point out every flaw Madison has and just hammer away at my respect for her. She just doesn't realize it's not hurting me and Madii; it's hurting my relationshi with her”

“Strange.” Adam offered a look of contemplation, then took another huge bite of his bagel and stared at me. He had dab of cream cheese on his upper lip, so I pointed to my lip. With a stupid grin, he reached for a napkin from the dispenser in the center of the table and wiped his mouth clean.

“What's strange about my mom hating my soon-to-be wife? It's not like it's the first time in the history of mothers-in law that this has happened.” I spun my phone around on the table. Adam finished chewing and wiped his mouth again before replying.

“No, no... I think it's strange that you're getting married to a woman named Madii, when that new patient I took on a few weeks ago, his fiancé is named Madii also. Small world.”

No kidding. If only Adam knew exactly how small this world was, he wouldn't have that dumb grin on his face. As he chewed the final bite of his bagel, I sat stewing over Mom's harsh words. The last time this had happened, I had walked into Madison's house ready to give her an ultimatum. She needed to choose me. But once I saw her, and realized we were alone for the first time in weeks, the only thing on my mind had been connecting with her.

I felt no different this time. I wanted to storm into her home and demand she choose me, but that would only force her into Drew's arms faster. No, I knew Madison. She needed time and space, comfort and connection. The slow game might have been the most difficult one to play, but if I played well, I felt that I'd have what I wanted in the end. Absently, I changed the subject. “So how is that new patient doing?” I thought if I directed the conversation back toward Adam's work, he'd let up on the conversation with my mom, and in doing so I could forget it ever happened. “Ah, you know. The guy is struggling like most patients do. He's doing well—likely he'll go home in a few weeks.”

That thought cheered me up a bit. If Drew went home that meant he was doing well and recovering, and maybe Madison would finally break it to him and come back to me. I picked up my phone, shoving it into my pocket, and I was about ready to stand and leave gracefully when Adam continued.

“It's so good watching patients recover” Adam dusted the crumbs from his hands and pants as he talked. I had to agree; even if I didn’t particularly care for a patient's personality or family, it was always good seeing them get bette: “I've watched that couple go through some really hard days, but just earlier today after therapy, I walked in on them kissing. It felt like finally he is turning a corner and getting his life back. That makes my soul happy.”

“Kissing?”

I tried to keep the emotion out of my voice, but my hands turned to fists without my consent. I sat straighter in the chair, breathing deeply to calm my instantly racing heart.

“Yeah, well, maybe kissing? Anyway, it was cute. They jumped apart like school kids caught smooching in the bathroom.” Adam chuckled.

Rising to my feet, I cleared my throat and turned to the soda machine. It didn’t take a debit card, so I fished quarters out of my pocket, nervously dropping one.Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

“You okay, man?” Adam picked up the quarter and handed it to me, but my hand was shaking so bad I couldn't keep my composure.

“Yeah, probably my blood sugar dropping or something. It's been a long day.” Lying to him made me feel sick but hearing that Madison had kissed—or almost kissed—Drew made my emotions fly into a rage. “I'll just get a soda and be fine.”

“Sure, well I'm heading out for the day. Take it easy.” Adam slapped me on the back before leaving, and I turned to find myself completely alone. I leaned my arm against the soda machine and my head on my arm. Was I totally blind to this whole thing? Was Madison still so in love with Drew that she would go back to him and leave me?

The machine accepted my quarters, and I pressed the button for a lemon-lime cola. It dropped into the collection tray, but I stood there leaning against the damn machine like a mannequin frozen in place. It only made my mother’s words more hurtful, because now I feared they were true. The problem was I still couldn’t storm into Madison's hous and demand she love me. She either loved me or she didn’t. Ordering her around wouldn't help me out.

“Penny for your thoughts? Or quarter...” Cecil, the night charge nurse on this floor, bent and picked up a coin from th ground, one I must have dropped that Adam hadn't seen.

“Thanks,” I told him, turning to take it. I reached into the machine and pulled out my soda, hands still shaking from adrenaline and anger.

“You need to talk, son. Looks like you've seen a ghost.” He offered me a compassionate expression and stepped back his mop bucket sitting behind him, mop handle gripped in his left hand.

Cecil was one of the kindest men I knew. At least 20 years my senior, he'd seen some good days and some bad. I'd talked with him about life, patients, the hospital, and even previous breakups. I wouldn't have called him my friend, per se, but he was friendly. And before I could stop them, the words spilled out of me.

“Just frustrating. You know? Madison and that guy...” Cecil had been Drew's night nurse the entire time Drew had bee in a coma. He had watched Madii and I grow closer, and he knew we were engaged. It was no secret amongst most of the staff on this floor. Adam was clueless because he only visited once patients woke up—not while they were still out.

“Yeah, I've seen that” He grimaced and shook his head. “Damn shame how love so vibrant can be so fragile.”

“You mean her and Drew?”

“I mean you and her” Cecil pulled his mop out and placed it in the drain pan, squeezing the rope strands until the excess water drained back into the bucket. “I'm not sure what she had with that guy, but I'm giving you my honest assessment, doc. She loves you. I've seen it even after he woke up. She loves you. You just hold on to that”

Cecil pushed his rolling mop bucket to the back corner of the room and slapped the rope mop on the floor. I watche him start mopping for a second, then opened my soda and headed toward my office. He was right. Madii loved me. I just hope she loved me enough—more than she loved Drew—to remember the future we had planned together.