Divorced! Now what?
Chapter 154

Theo POV

Scott, my best friend, was overjoyed when I asked him to be my best man. He was the first person I thought of when discussing the wedding plans on sports day. Bob, my future father-in-law, had asked his son Thomas to be his best man, which couldn't have been a better testament to his love for his son. Mum took Bethany to the attic; I know what is up there. I hope Bethany chooses one of the family dresses that her mother does not railroad; I am sure she will try. Dad had been talking about hiring suits, but we have enough in the wardrobes here that Mum made herself that we could use. Dad said that was an excellent idea and that he would see if we could get Thomas, Jacko, Hank, and Scott all here to try some on, and he was sure. Mum would be honored if we all wore the clothes she had made over the years; she only makes them for special occasions; it has been years since she had given them away or sold one that was a special order.

We were getting someone to make the wedding cakes. There will likely be two cakes, but side by side, they look like one big one. Not being a cake designer, I had yet to learn what that meant. I nodded in agreement and tried not to look dumb.

We were going to forgo sports day this week and have that day as a honeymoon. Dad suggested a night away. A friend has a large yacht, and that would be nice. However, it would be only for Bethany and me; Bob has other plans for Pam. 'Dad, can Bethany and I move here for a little while? At least until the house is finished, the bigger renovation will occur.' 'Sure, son, Your room is always there for you. Anytime. You do not need to ask!

'While I'm here, would you like a hand with the nursery?' I offered.

I get the feeling Mum thinks she'll be the kindergarten for all the babies coming soon. Dad couldn't help but burst into laughter at the thought.

'You're not wrong; she keeps talking about what she needs to prepare for the babies as if she is the one going to have them all the time. I hope you kids share so that she won't be too disappointed. But yeah, seriously, I could do it with your help. Dad laughs again at his private joke.

'On another note, Jacko had given us a warning. A person I had thought was long gone from our shores might be heading our way again! Dad sounded none too pleased. 'Who?' I was at a loss as to who Dad was talking about.

'The old nemesis of ours. You may have been too young to remember him. The syndicate boss had attempted to take over the city crime but failed to get a good hold of the place. Jacko was worried these Gutter Boys were an arm of his. But we have put a stop to that arm. He is concerned that the boss will come looking to see why he has not heard from them lately. Dad looked concerned; He kept looking over at the door, worried Mum would come in and hear our conversation. He never likes to talk like this around the

woman.

'What do you want me to do?' I was still determining what he was getting at. If that man was coming and he was that bad, what could I do about it?

'I am warning you, Scott is raising the security around your home and mine, and he is also adding more men to keep an eye on you, Bethany, and Bob. Bob had been told, and he was going to warn Pam. I am not sure if she even knows of him, but to be safe, she should be told, with all her undercover life, she may have been involved in a few of his illegal dealings to be closed. We discussed the possibility of the syndicate boss visiting here and what precautions have been put in place for his arrival. The police cannot arrest him on sight; we need to link him directly to the crimes; we all know he had a hand in it, and arresting him without someone being killed over it was our main concern. It is hard to see him on our streets again, and we will have eyes on him the best we can. We hope he stuffs up enough for us to arrest him. 'The thought of having that dangerous man here in our country again has chills running up and down my spine. 'Put the thought behind you, Dad, and let's work on this weekend's double marriage. He is not likely to be here before then.'

I tried to reassure Dad.

He shook his head as if to clear his thoughts and slapped me on my back, and we headed off to find what the girls were up to.

The rest of the day was good, with Dad showing me what needed to be done. Now, babies are coming to the house, and I could feel how excited Mum was getting. The thought of us being so close has her mind working overtime with ideas. Let's hope Bethany and Pam don't mind a meddling grandmother hanging around. Felicity should be the first to give birth, and we can see how Mum is with her before ours arrives into the mix.

Why does all this now seem so daunting? I was looking forward to being a Dad and a husband more than I had thought, but now that Mother looks like she is likely to be in my house more often than me, I am not so sure shifting close to them was a good idea. I hope Bethany does not mind, though she will have Bob and Pam next door. That, too, seems scary. My father-in-law can pop in whenever he feels like it, and so can my Dad. At least Bob will be busy being a new Dad, too, and coming over too often might not be on his radar in the beginning. Pam and Bethany may get closer as they go through similar experiences so that they can compare and console each other.

Bethany pulled me out of my musing, wanting to go home and rest before packing things back into boxes; she was happy. She had not gotten rid of the boxes since she moved to the penthouse. She had only just started emptying boxes of books that will now have to be packed again. She was talking about bringing the rest of her possessions in storage to our new home and getting a new shed built just for our extra stuff that needs to be gone through one day.

'I do not feel like cooking. Can we stop and get some takeaway?' Bethany suggested, through a yawn.

'Sure, how about we stop at the little food court, and we can get a variety of dishes.

'Sounds good.' Bethany was asleep before we reached the food court, my mother having tired her out with trying on so many wedding dresses and then measuring her for some minor adjustments. I was reluctant to wake her up and even more unwilling to leave her in the car asleep, not with all the threats about it. I ended up not going into the food court but phoning a guy I know who works there to bring me out an assortment of food. It took him only a short time to grab various food, and I handed him a hundred-dollar tip. In our garage, I gathered her up in my arms, took her to our penthouse, laid her on the lounge, and then headed back to the car to grab our food. I placed the food on the table and made sweet tea and coffee to give her a choice. Once I had it all set, I squatted down beside her and swept some hair away from her eyes. She looked so peaceful and beautiful.

'Sweetheart! I kissed her cheek and waited for a sign of her waking. She moaned something unintelligible but did not open her eyes.

I picked up the tray of roast beef and waved it under her nose; she wiggled her nose and licked her lips before her eyes sprung open in surprise.

'Hey, take it easy!' I whispered in a husky voice. She looked around and then back at me.

'You carried me up here?' She looked stunned.

'Yep. Popping the P.

'I am not exactly light; you have been working out without me knowing about it?' The cheeking wench.

'Of course not, and you are not that heavy, I argued back. She sat up, took the tea, and drank it down.

'What did you get? I smelt roast beef! She lifted the lids off the containers and hummed in delight at the choices before her. She picked up the remote, put the sports channel on, and dug into the food. I chuckled at how at ease she was around me and how far we had come in such a short time.

I looked forward to our years ahead and finding out what our baby is. I want a mini Bethany; she would look cute.