Divorced! Now what?
Chapter 146

Theo POV

The week flew by, and with the public and media sitting outside the hospital, it was an annoyance but peaceful; we hardly had a chance to think. Bethany, bubbling with excitement, was taking it all in her stride, and now she had finished her side. She was staying home and going through virtual views of homes, and it seems she had pinpointed two that she liked, and we were going to look at them today. It was Saturday and a day closer to our much-anticipated announcement; it had been hard to keep it a secret. Dad knew Bethany was pregnant and had asked when the big reveal was, so he knew we would say something on Sunday; he had not been told I had proposed. I wanted at least one surprise for him, though I doubt he would expect anything less of me. The SUV pulled up at the front of our building, and we climbed in and gave the driver the address to meet the realtor. Bethany was excited to view the house and hoped it was as good as the online walk. The realtor was an overly dressed woman. I am still determining how she will walk around the backyard in stilettos; they are unsuitable for gravel or grass. My sister Cindy said she walks on tiptoes on grass so the heels do not sink in. That would make your calves ache the following day if you had to do that for too long. What women put themselves through in the name of fashion, I am glad few men had that sort of fashion problem.

'Hello, I'm Mandy. Allow me to guide you! She extended her hand to me, completely disregarding Bethany. I felt a surge of irritation, but I suppressed it as Bethany chuckled and breezed past the woman. Bethany veered towards the side gate, ignoring Mandy's insistence on using the front door. We could hear Mandy struggling to keep up as we explored the yard, the sheds, and finally, the granny flat Bethany was keen on converting into a lab.

We whispered about what we saw, and with unwavering confidence, Bethany was all set on making this our new home. It had everything she wanted or needed, so we finished out the back and headed inside. Mandy tried to lead the way, but again, Bethany ignored her, as she had ignored her when we first arrived. Petty as it may seem, Mandy got the message loud and clear and could not try to make it up to Bethany. She followed her around, trying to point things out, and I held back, chuckling to myself. Bethany was buying the house; this woman did not need to try so hard to sell it; the house sold itself if the right buyer looked at it. In the end, Bethany offered less than the asking price; in a last-ditch effort, Mandy tried to make her give a higher offer, but Bethany refused to budge with her unyielding confidence. What I am sure annoyed Mandy was that this place had been on the market for a long time; when the owners received a cash offer, they accepted it with no counteroffer, which I am sure Mandy would have tried to push for. 'What about your Penthouse? Would you like to put it on the market?' Mandy asked me, but that was another mistake, assuming I was the owner.

'No, thank you. We have something already planned, Bethany said, and Mandy turned to look at her, giving Behtany a stink eye. I chuckled.

'The Penthouse is not mine; it belongs to Bethany! Mandy was shocked and then turned beet red. We left Mandy and returned home.

Because the house was empty, Bethany added a clause for access to start the renovation. After reading a cash sale, the owner was happy to be rid of the house and did not worry it would fall through. With that in mind and keys in hand, Bethany started calling in people to paint and carpet the place and was now talking to someone about the granny flat being turned into a lab. She spoke all sorts of jargon I had just heard when she added, remember to get the correct permissions; I want to avoid problems later for incorrect installation. I had not thought of that. My pride swelled even higher for my girl.

'What are you going to do with the Penthouse?' I asked as we nestled in the lounge, watching the sports news on tomorrow's game.

'I'm not sure yet; I have not given it much thought. We could ask Felicity if she has friends who want to buy or rent it! Wow, how thoughtful.

'Felicity will be so pleased that you consider her feelings about pregnancy. Sam said her emotions are all over the place.' I am listening to Sam constantly complain about the roller coaster he is going through, and it is preparing me for when Bethany starts; it will be annoying, but I am there for her through it all. Each time she loses it, I am going to remind myself that I have a child making all these emotions rise and see if that will help me keep my head and support her even more.

'We can ask her tomorrow at Dad's when we announce the baby and surprise them where we are moving. Mum will be so thrilled that we will be that close.

'I am counting on it; I might need a babysitter when I get called into the hospital!

'You will continue to work at the hospital?'

'Of course, Robson has another researcher in mind and will consider bringing him in soon. But he will look to research other areas and leave the trial hearts to me. Or the ones I am building with this new compound? The body seems to be accepting it without the usual fight. I wish I could have keyhole heart transplants; cutting open the chest is not only hard on the body but leaves a nasty scar. I have been experimenting with using less of a break but cannot find a way. Bethany was harder on herself than anyone else. I pulled her to me and snuggled in while her team was on the news. She growled at one comment and then ranted about how insane that was. Then, out of the blue, she changed the subject.

'What do you think of Nate?' Now, that was a baited question.

'He makes me laugh. I say, being careful, as I needed to figure out where this questioning was going.

'He came into the kitchen swinging his hips a lot like Mandy was at you and complained how the men kicked him away from the grill and told him to join the ladies; he was not sure if he should take that as a compliment or an insult. Sometimes, I think he had no clue who he was. Sometimes, he wants to hang with the men, and other times, be in the kitchen with the ladies; it must be hard to want both! Ah, poor Nate, he had commented about how Thomas was cooking the steak, kicked him away, and told him to be with the woman; I guess he took it to heart.

'Nate is special; he can fit in anywhere and has a great sense of humor!

'That he does. He took over the kitchen, almost brushing Judy and me out of the way, as if what we were doing was all wrong; poor Pam did not know what was going on and froze as she watched Judy growl at him and told him to get back into his box, I guess he tried to take over both the cooking of the steaks and the kitchen food. Judy said he loves to cook and is often the one to be in the kitchen cooking something delicious. Lucky girl.'

'He is going to be there tomorrow along with Judy and Thomas. Kitty wanted to hold the baby but was getting so clucky now. Samantha is out of the hospital and has returned the children, making her feel a little lost!'

'Oh, I had no idea they were coming too. That is perfect! Bethany's spirit seemed to pick up after hearing they were coming.