2006 - Ethan
Ethan knew. He saw Bethany try to hide her reaction upon meeting Patrick. The fluttering of her eyelashes, the not-so-subtle glances as he introduced them in passing.
What was there not to like about him? Young and good looking, he took care of himself, while she was a mass of blonde hair and long legs. Patrick would have to be blind not to notice her.
He had seen the way men looked at her, but the look she shot Patrick was electric.
"Daddy, I need that cheque we talked about this morning," she said, twirling a lock of her hair around her fingers, swaying side-to-side as if she wanted out of there, all the while giving Patrick that look she thought her father didn't understand.
He understood it all too well.
He watched as Patrick left the hospital, not at all surprised that Bethany had been outside waiting for him. He watched as Bethany pounced, and Patrick, not really knowing her or her background, took her arm and led her to his car.
He knew what they were doing.
Poor Matt, he thought as he watched them drive away together.
Ethan wasn't the type to rock the boat. Matt would have to find out about his precious Bethany in his own way. Ethan didn't even know if he could bring the subject up with her.
He lay awake, staring at the ceiling as the clock ticked the hours away. Thinking of his young colleague; thinking of his daughter.
Matt adored Bethany. It would break his heart to find out. Ethan knew what that was like, too, and yet he couldn't bring himself to tell him. Thoughts of the deception tormented him as sleep stayed out of his reach. He remembered what it was like to feel betrayed.
Would it have been easier to just not know?
Patrick didn't say anything the next day, or the day after that. Ethan watched his friend drive away at the end of each day and never brought the subject up.
Just like her mother. In more ways than one.
He longed to talk to her, ask her why, but she would flutter those self same eyelashes at him and his heart would melt. She was still his baby.
It was hard to know who had disappointed him the most: Bethany for her fling, or Patrick, who surely must have known she wasn't far off getting married. Did he know?
If he did, he never mentioned that either. Not that he and Ethan had intimate discussions about their lives.
Then came the day that Patrick came to work not quite himself. A little moody, a little sad.
"What's wrong?" Ethan asked him, unsure if he wanted to hear the answer.
"I was seeing someone. Turns out she belongs to someone else. I'm so angry at myself, Ethan. For letting it go so far. If I had known, I never would have gone there."
Ethan patted him on the back. "If she hid the truth from you, it's not your fault."
"Every relationship I have is tainted somehow. Ever since …" His words trailed off as if he couldn't finish his sentence, say the words that linked him to whatever caused him to think that way.
"Ever since what?"
"I loved this girl for years. My whole life, almost. I wasted so much time telling her I loved her, and when I did, something went horribly wrong and she dumped me. I don't know why and it has driven me mad for years. Nothing compares to what I felt for her; it all just seems a pale imitation."
"You thought this new relationship was going somewhere?"
Patrick shrugged. "I wanted it to be about more than just sex. Turned out I was wasting my time."
Ethan nodded. "Life can slap you in the face when you least expect it."
He watched Patrick leave, alone this time. Despite the young man's pain, he smiled. Bethany had what he hoped was her last fling before marrying. Now she would settle down, maybe even give him grand-children.
At least, that's what he hoped she’d do.