A Real Family

Chapter 4-1

Chapter 4

Peter got to the clinic a bit later than usual. Trevor, Helen, and Bernice all figured he would be late, but it was Trevor who won the three dollar bet. They bought his coffee.

Peter saw the exchange of money and narrowed his eyes at the trio. “If I was a gambling man, I’d wager that you three were betting on when I’d get here. And that the bet was based on my date with Russell last night.” He put his hands on his hips and shook his head. “This is a clinic, not a day-care. So, was the bet based on the closest to the mark, or to guess the time I’d show up, bang-on?”

At the end of the day, during the summary meeting, Peter brought up Russell’s situation. Trevor mentioned an oncologist who’d had a cancellation. He’d tentatively booked the spot for Russell. Timing was important to successfully treat cancer.

Bernice grinned. “You’ll have to work your magic by persuasion or other means to get Russell to accept the appointment.” She waggled her eyebrows.

Between their bouts of love-making, Russell had opened up to Peter about his family. He had an older brother who was diagnosed with cancer shortly before their mother passed away. She had a heart disease that nobody knew about, and died suddenly at home. His father couldn’t handle the loss of his wife and the impending death of his first child. He left suddenly and nobody knew if he was still alive or not. Peter learned that his name was George Arthur Bennett, fifty-eight years old now, and his birthday was November twenty-second.

“Bernice, I’d like you to access the inter-provincial medical data bases. See if you can find any information on Mr. George Arthur Bennett. It would be helpful to have more family medical history. Trevor, I’ll persuade Russell to come for a follow-up, but I can’t be there with you. I’m afraid I can’t be objective.” He looked around at the three. “I fell in love with the man a while ago, and I told him last evening how I felt. He tried to push me away, wanting to protect me from heartache when he died.”

They finished their meeting and got ready to close up for the night. Peter smiled when he noticed the three roses Russell had given to Bernice, Helen, and Trevor in a vase at the reception desk. His was sitting on his new boyfriend’s dining room table with one Russell kept out for his assistant. During his lunch break earlier, Peter had gone home to pack an overnight bag and booked a table for two at Il Ristorante. It was a fine Italian place, known for its intimate atmosphere and excellent cuisine. He was out to win his guy over, and was ready to use all means at his disposal to do so. He was pleasantly surprised to see Russell in the waiting room when they finished the meeting.