Karen Yuletide just stood in the ICU Ward of San Diego Hospital in shock.
In the distance was her estranged and long divorced father talking to a doctor about her mother, who was still in a medically induced coma after a serious auto accident.
"Karen. Are you all right honey?" her fiance Peter Talbot whispered in her ear.
Having heard Karen utter the word "Dad", Joanne Howard (Monica's surprise fiance) turned to stare at the older man.
"That's Monica's ex?" Joanne said, just as surprised as Karen to see him there. "I've never seen any pictures of him, but from the way she talks about him, I was expecting a big muscular bruiser with red skin, horns, a pointy tail, and a pitch fork."
Peter, probably the more objective of the three, just looked at the balding man.
What hair he had left was a mixture of yellow and gray. There was the beginning of a noticeable beer belly, but otherwise the man seemed fit enough.
Karen pulled Peter aside and whispered in his ear, "Can you hear..."
Despite not being in his fursona at the moment, Peter concentrated his werelion senses in that direction. "Just that he's asking about your mother, and..."
That was when the man noticed them.
He thanked the doctor for her time, then walked over to the group.
"Hello," he said. "Afraid I don't know the two of you," he told Peter and Joanne, "but I do know Karen. How are you doing baby girl?"
Karen just looked at him, a ton of past memories and feelings swelling up in her.
"I-", she began, then stopped, figuratively bit her tongue, then said, "I'm surprised to see you here."
"Not the nicest greeting I've ever received, but far from what I might deserve," her father conceded. "The truck driver who had the heart attack and hit your mother was a friend of mine. We work for the same outfit, so when I heard about the accident and who was involved..."
"You drive trucks?" Karen repeated, uncertain what to actually say to the man who up and left his family when she was still in elementary school.
"Yes. The road gives me the freedom I crave," he replied.
And probably a woman at every stop too, she thought. "Which is why you left mom and me, let alone told the divorce court she could have full custody, because you never wanted the brat," said Karen, still able to recall his stinging testimony after all these years.
He stared at her for a moment, then simply said, "Perhaps I could have been more polite with my statement, but it was true. It was your mother's idea to settle down and have children when we did. I wanted to wait. Maybe just live together for awhile and see how things went between us. But when Monica announced she was pregnant with you..."
"I-" began Karen, but when no further words came, broke down and started crying.
Peter instinctively pulled her close and held his fiance.
"It's not like I left her high and dry holding the bag. I did try," the man said, attempting to defend himself.
It was all Peter could do to keep from growling at him for hurting the woman he loved.
Again.
TO BE CONTINUED...