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I take out my stethoscope and check Daisy’s vitals while Pocus prattles on nervously. I listen to her heartbeat and find it’s nice and strong. Despite her many illnesses, she’s a fighter to her core.
“I think it’s a mistake to get so involved in gang politics,” Pocus says, more to himself than to me. “It’s not that I don’t understand Seer’s concern, but what can we really do about it? Saving Abigail and freeing all those girls from Anderson Grey was one thing, but that was a different situation. They’d been kidnapped and held against their will their whole lives. Are we supposed to be the defenders of all neglected children?”
I look at him with a nonchalant expression, knowing his question is purely rhetorical. Pocus has a heart for the kids in this town, especially since he’s a father himself. His real problem is letting go of the power he once had. Though he made the right choice by stepping down as Prez, it’s been a nightmare dealing with his mood swings. Above all else, I think Pocus still wishes he was in charge.
“Don’t even get me started on my sister,” he goes on. “Evanesce and Knix have basically been shacking up for almost a decade. Now that they’ve gotten engaged, it’s ruining their relationship.”
I hum at this, again nonchalant, as I take Daisy’s blood pressure and temperature. Her fever is much higher than I’d like it to be, but thankfully her blood pressure is normal. I look inside her ears to find them red and raw. Poor thing. This is her fifth ear infection this year. I’ll have to put tubes in her ears soon if she gets another one.
“Of course, Nesce wants me to stay out of it because she can handle herself. Every time I see Knix, I just want to punch him in the face.”
“Has it occurred to you that Nesce is the problem?” I ask without really thinking.
Of course, that hasn’t occurred to him. It never would. His baby sister basically hung the moon in his eyes. But Knix is a closer friend of mine, so I have more insight into Pocus’s blind spot. As grateful as I am not to have kids, I’m more grateful not to have a girlfriend. They’re nothing but trouble.
“Ridiculous,” he mutters, reacting exactly how I anticipated. “Knix is the one who’s dragging his feet. He had to be dragged into an engagement. Pretty soon, I’ll have to pull out my old shotgun to get him to the altar.”
“Maybe they like being engaged,” I muse. “Maybe it’s better for them.”
“He needs to make an honest woman of her before he knocks her up,” he gripes.
I look at him in amusement. “I never took you to be so old-fashioned,” I joke. “Surely not a man who used to visit—”
He shushes me quickly, looking down meaningfully at his young daughter. She’s barely conscious, so tired from the infection she’s fighting. She won’t remember this conversation, but perhaps Pocus’s panic is more to do with the fact he doesn’t want to remember the person he was before he married Abigail. He doesn’t want to mentally revisit the seedy nightclubs he frequented.
“Didn’t you meet Abby at one of those places?” I muse. “And here you are, acting like it’s the end of the world that Nesce isn’t married. Does she know how much it’s bothering you?”
“Of course not,” he answers bitterly. “I’m not allowed to comment on her relationship anymore. We had a huge fight about it.”
“Well, I think I’ve identified the problem,” I tell him, standing up.
He rushes to Daisy’s side and grabs her hand. She barely stirs in her sleep.
“Is she okay?” he asks seriously.
“She’s fine,” I tell him, quickly scribbling out a prescription for her and handing it to him. “It’s a bad ear infection, and this should knock it out in a few days. I meant I’ve identified the problem with you.”
I quickly jot something else on my pad and hand it to him.
“Get a life,” he reads slowly, not understanding.
“Yes,” I confirm. “Or a hobby. You’ve been restless since you stepped down as Prez. Plan a trip with Abby after the baby is born or pick up woodworking. Frankly, it doesn’t matter what you do, but fill that mental space with something.”
“I have plenty to worry about,” he says, which is exactly the problem.
“Right,” I answer. “Plenty to worry about and too much free time to do it. So, pick up a hobby that will allow you to stop worrying so much and start enjoying your life. Look at how good Abby’s gotten at decorating in the last few years. She never had any experience in it. You need something like that.”
“She did a wonder on Seer and Tory’s apartment,” he mumbles, referring to the semi-penthouse the two created on the top floor of the clubhouse after Pocus and Abby moved out.
“She did,” I agree. “Look how happy Hex is every time he and Juliana return from Brazil,” I say, referring to our friend who is very much in his honeymoon period, even after four years.
“He’s obsessed,” Pocus concedes with an eye roll.
“So be obsessed with something,” I say. “Find your own Brazil. Or your own interior decorating. But, for the love of all that’s holy, man, you’ve got to find a hobby. Otherwise, worrying about everyone else will drive you insane.”
“I miss it,” he says quietly.
He’s referring to his leadership position over the club, but he gave it up willingly. No one forced him to step down.
