Trust, Hope, and Love

Chapter 30:

Chapter 30:

"She's a hottie, John. I don't know how you've managed to hide her from us, but she is a goddess." Ryan Man, a psychiatrist comments to John as Espen is across the room talking with Dr. Sarah Eller. Smiling at her, John can feel his heart just leap in his chest.

"She's my everything. I'm just so lucky to have her."

"Where did you two meet again?" Ryan asks as some other guys just listen.

"A train station. I hired her as a maid a long time ago and ya know, fell in love."

"If I looked like you do right now, people would think I was high." Don comments as he sips his Heineken. "You look at her as though you're in those damn romance movies."

"What's wrong with that Don?" Kevin, a botanist asks. "So he's still in love with his wife. Just cause yer unhappy with yer marriage, doesn't mean everyone is."

"So John, you have two sons?" Ryan asks between sips of a vodka tonic.

"Yep, Jamie is my oldest at three and Charlie Quinn is two months."

"And she looks like that? Dear God someone is good to her. My wife kept all the baby weight after our twins...he gained more too." Don growls and the men glare at him.

"She's just naturally small and fit. Es is just...I don't know...perfect." John catches eyes with Espen and she blushes before looking down at her hands. Surprisingly she doesn't feel so out of place here, then again, most of the wife's aren't doctors...or really smart in the sense of interesting conversations. However, Espen finds each of them uniquely the perfect cutout of each other. All blonde and blue eyes ladies. Two, Cheryl and Doreen, have twins, while Martha, Karen, and Joyce just have one child. All of them seem to be bigger than Espen, not necessarily fat, but larger, Amazonian women. Looking amongst their husbands by John, she notices they are almost like each other as well. Tall, handsome, some more fit than others- John fits in perfectly with them as Espen sticks out like a sore thumb.

"So Espen... that's a very interesting name." Doreen says as Martha hands her another drink.

"Thank you... I'm not knowledgeable on where it comes from...or if my mother just made it up special for me." She hates meeting new people, who obviously know they're better than her. It's like putting a gold fish in with tropical ones- it knows it's just a dumb regular goldfish, that will never be more than a carnival prize.

"You and John Matthews...you are very lucky."

"I am." The women take this as a question and not an answer.

"Of course you are. He's the richest doctor in the whole state of Louisiana." Joyce gossips.

"Don't forget the most handsome as well." Karen croons.

"And John owns more than half the clinics in the state...except De Monde..." Oh yes, she remembers him arguing with the old man about owning De Monde. How the hell are these ladies not stalkers? "Yer lucky to be part of a fortune so great."

"Now hold on Karen, I've heard he's been staffing Vagrants and prostitutes as his house staff...No doubt one of them will be stealing the money." Martha counters and Espen feels more than irritated with the women.

"Oh and I heard he has his own house nigger in the kitchen. The nerve of having one touch the food his children eat. Appalling." Joyce says.

"Deranged." Doreen adds.

"Outrageous." Cheryl comments. They speak about it right in front of Espen as if she's not even there. Anger fumes deep within her and soon a strong hand grasps her hand as she's ready to throw a fist.