Chapter 26: Married To Not Just One, But Three Wives
The two of them climbed into a taxi and were soon on their way to the hospital. The ride ran long, since the place sat in the east center of Dumphrey Avenue. An hour and twenty minutes of watching the city slide past the window, and they finally rolled to a stop in front of MCH.
Uthed got down and tilted his head back at the building looming over him, a pale tower of glass that seemed to have no top. He muttered.
"Meteor City Hospital?"
Theo joined him and nodded.
"My wife is here."
"Ah... I see..."
Uthed’s answer came slow, as though the word were only now settling, even though Theo had been saying the same thing since they met. He was only really hearing it now.
’Wife? He looks quite young, though.’
Uthed shrugged to himself.
’Well, if I’d had decent money, my wife would still be around by now. Haha.’
He glanced up.
’But a hospital? Poor kid.’
Still thinking it over, he trailed after Theo. They crossed the ground floor and stepped into the elevator, where Theo slid the special brown card the hospital had given him across the control panel, and the floor number changed.
After a while the doors slid open on the top floor, onto a corridor brighter and quieter than any hospital floor Uthed had ever set foot on.
The smell, the atmosphere, the flooding light all made it hard to tell night from day. And Uthed couldn’t stop turning his head, taking in the polish of the place, the quiet money in the furniture, the well-dressed people drifting past.
’Crap. Should I have settled for that one hundred?’
Theo reached Thall’s room, where two hard-looking men in black suits and black glasses stood on either side of the door. The moment he moved to enter, they folded their arms and pushed him back.
For a moment he frowned, his stomach dropping at the thought that someone had gotten to her. Behind him, Uthed was already shifting his weight, one hand drifting back toward the large black sword bag.
"We have authorization not to let anyone who is not Theolyne Chadwick in."
Relief loosened Theo’s chest, and he answered.
"I am Theolyne Chadwick."
The men looked at each other, glanced back at Theo, and asked.
"Identification."
Theo produced the card the hospital had handed him, a Royal-tier membership card with his name printed across it. They studied it, holding it to the light a moment, then waved him and Uthed through.
Theo felt a small flush of gratitude for the courtesy. Having Uthed here, for whatever reason, made it feel like things might go a little smoother. It wouldn’t last. He only needed the man long enough to settle the house situation and move her somewhere quiet.
Then, at last, he could enter the Tower.
’I’ll need to hire a caretaker once I find a new place.’
Theo crossed to Thall and took her hand, thumb resting over the still knuckles, while Uthed hung back at the door and watched the two of them.
’Wow. Never thought I’d meet a young man so devoted to his marriage.’
Theo kissed her hand gently and laid it back down. Then he turned to Uthed.
"Can I have your account details? I’ll wire you the money. I need to get home to my remaining two wives."
Uthed felt a strange sting of betrayal the moment Theo said two wives.
’What? He has two more?’
His face went pale.
Theo ignored it and finished his thought.
"But I’ll be back tomorrow morning. I’ll spend some time with her, so you can go home, do what you need to do, and come back."
Uthed chuckled.
"Go home? No need for that. Honestly, this place feels far better than mine. I don’t mind living here."
Theo gave him a stern look.
"I’m not paying you more than we agreed, even if you stay longer hours."
Uthed let out a small laugh.
"That’s alright. Seems you’re a very busy man. Can’t be easy."
Theo smiled with his eyes.
"What do you mean, exactly?"
The middle-aged man cleared his throat.
"It’s just... the other... wives. That’s at least two more, right?"
Theo’s face turned pleasant and open.
"Oh? Ah, right. Yes, I have three wives. It’s not easy caring for them all at once, but I enjoy doing it. It’s been a while since I felt alive, after losing my father."
Uthed was somewhat taken aback. He blinked at Theo a few times. Meanwhile, Theo merely bowed respectfully and said.
"I’ll be on my way now."
Afterwards, Uthed watched the young man go, not quite able to put a name to what he felt.
’Even with three wives at such a young age, he doesn’t speak of it like some lecher. He looks fulfilled. That’s a strange thing to see.’
"Hmm... weird."
He set down his sword bag and shrugged off his coat, settling onto the seat by the entrance. For a moment his gaze rested on the unconscious woman across the room. Then he shifted, closed his eyes, and let himself rest.
***
Theo returned home. By the time he stepped inside, it was already 10:37 p.m.
Estea was still up in the sitting room, half-dozing, though she seemed to be fighting it even in sleep. Beside her stood the broomstick, one of her hands clasped loosely around it and already slipping free.
Theo paused a moment, then studied her with a somber smile.
’Thall, you’ve left a gap far wider than I may ever fill. But at least, in your absence, it seems someone is stepping up to take responsibility.’
He crossed the room and gently scooped her into his arms. Her eyes cracked open, almost startled, but when her crimson gaze found his face, the tension went out of her and she sank back down. She was more asleep than awake, after all.
He carried her to the room and laid her on the bed, then wheeled her chair in after her and stepped back outside.
Before turning in, he summoned his sword and closed his eyes, trying to picture the fight with Uthed from a few hours before. What had come to him on instinct, he now tried to see clearly and make deliberate.
He kept coming back to the way Uthed had moved his blade. A few times he swung one-handed, the sword light in his grip, working at it until the motion finally sat right. He drilled it a while longer, on past one in the morning, before he finally set the sword down and let himself sleep.