“Great, then come be a buffer between me and my dad.” I give him no time to really let my words sink in as I open the door and nearly tug on his hand behind me. Alexi looks confused for a moment but gives a polite smile as I introduce everyone. “Dad, Tess, this is Alexi. He plays for the Foxes with Charlotte's pack mates.”
“Ah, yes, your little friend,” my dad says. Charlotte has been my best friend since I was five, yet he’s never taken the time to learn her name. He’s such an asshole.
“Lovely meeting you both,” Alexi says, shoving his hands in his pockets. My father looks him up and down like Alexi isn’t worth the dirt under his shoe, and it makes me even more angry than when he does the same to me. I ignore him the best I can and take out the food and place it on the table. I give Alexi half of my portion as everyone comes to sit and eat.
It’s a round table, and Alexi is to my left, Tess to my right, and my dad is smack dab across from me. Here’s to hoping they eat, leave, and I don’t have to deal with my dad’s judgements for long.
He eats slowly and methodically, like he does everything.
“They could ease up on the salt,” my dad says. Tess hums in agreement, and I keep my mouth shut. The food is delicious.
“I think it’s pretty tasty,” Alexi says.
“You would,” my father replies. I watch as Alexi’s fist clenches under the table, but he doesn’t reply.
My father takes one more bite before putting his spoon down and looking directly at me.
“I have another motive for stopping by.” Of course he does. Peter Blake always has some sort of motive. It’s not like I have a father who would stop by to say he loves me or that he hopes I’m doing well. I’m not sure my dad has ever told me he loves me now that I think about it.
“Okay,” I reply. He looks over at Alexi like he’s irritated that he’s a part of the conversation, but he wipes his mouth and continues anyway.
“Dr. Mayfield has told me some troubling things, and I thought you could use some more motivation, or we could discuss your current performance.”
I know my cheeks are heating, mostly due to anger, not embarrassment.
“What did she say?”
“She said that you’re too emotional and that you’re getting too attached. She said that you show promise, but unless you get that under control, you’ll fall behind in your program.”
“I don’t think I’m falling behind,” I say, my appetite gone.
“I didn’t ask what you thought. I’m telling you what your attending has told me. If you were my surgical resident, I wouldn’t tolerate the way you engage with your patients.”
“Well, thank fuck you’re not my attending.”
“Piper, that’s enough,” he says, arching a brow at my tantrum.
“I work extremely hard, and I’m a good surgeon. I think that caring for my patients makes me a better doctor. I’m sorry that I’m not detached from human emotion.”
That one hits him deep as he glares at me. “Always such a disappointment, Piper.”
Alexi’s chair legs screech against the wood floor as he stands and places his hands against the table.
“That’s enough. Your daughter is talented, intelligent, and compassionate. What else could you ask for?”
“I expect excellence,” my dad says calmly, staring at me.
“I guess I’ll just be a huge disappointment for the rest of my life, then. No one's perfect, Dad.”
My father places his hands on the table to scoot his chair but stays seated one more moment before speaking. “If I get another less than perfect review from Mayfield, I will no longer fund your lifestyle while you finish your program.”
“Well, let me make it easier for you. I’m thinking about switching to family medicine.” It spills out of me like word vomit. I didn’t want to bring it up, but he pushed me too far. It’s almost like I want to truly disappoint him as much as possible.
“Pack up your things. I’m going to be renting this unit to someone else,” he says calmly, standing up and directing Tess to do the same.
“What?” I say blinking.
“I said you’re no longer welcome here. You want to throw away everything I gave you? Then fine, I’ll give you nothing in return. The management company will be here tomorrow to make sure you’re gone.”
