Welcome to Milton

1

Robert Copeland stumbled bleary eyed into the kitchen at five in the morning. He hadn't slept well. The neighbors had company. Their grown sons were outside in the garden most of the night and had been a touch loud. Yet, Robert wouldn't complain. The neighbors were close friends, to the point that the two boys called him Uncle Bob. Besides, one of the boys rarely got to see his brother and parents due to work commitments.

The scent of fresh brewed coffee was in the air. Frowning, there shouldn't be a pot on yet. He had just woken up and his wife was away for the next five days. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw what was placed on top of his favored mug. It was a note from his daughter.

Just me Mum and Dad. Out in the garden.

xo,

A

Walking outside with his mug, Robert went looking for his daughter. Under the cover of darkness, she sat at a table watching a storm roll in with the rising sun.

"What are you doing here at this hour Alexandria?"

"Good morning to you too. I needed to get away." She smiled at her father.

"From what?"

"Myself?" She sighed. "I got called in last night. Nasty case. Lost the guy on the table."

Robert understood her feelings all too well. He was a surgeon too. "How do you feel about it?"

"Patient dying? It was a Hail Mary attempt, Dad." Alexandria shrugged her shoulders. As far as she was concerned, it wasn't an issue.

"How did the therapy session go with the shrink Tim set you up with?"

"It didn't, Dad. " Alex grimaced, the shrink had been too gentle with her. The sort of work that Alex did wasn't for the faint of heart. "I need to beat some sense into that man."

"The shrink or Tim?"

"Mostly Tim, possibly both."

"I wouldn't bother with Tim, he would probably enjoy it too much." Robert laughed.

"Not the visual I ever needed Dad!" Alex laughed with him. Tim was her godparent's son and a very close friend. The mere thought of him in such a situation was far too close to being incestuous for her.

"How are you, Phillipe and Xavier doing?"

"Good. Everything is up and running at full capacity. X has an excellent head for business. I can't believe it all finally came together."

With some of the patents that Alex held on pharmaceuticals, she had gone in business when two close friends who had bought out a small pharmaceutical company nearing bankruptcy. With a lot of time and effort they had rebranded a new line of prescription drugs to be sold across the world. It had taken a decade to get everything fully functional.

"Is he ever going to marry that beau of his?"

"Phillipe keeps threatening to make an honest man out of X but it hasn't happened yet." She chuckled. "Those two are just meant for each other. I swear. I am not sure who is more adorable." Alex dropped her head down on to arms bridged across the peaks of her knees. "Bloody hell though, I'm tired."

"I wish I could tell you something that would help, but there isn't."

"Perhaps I was just born in the wrong time Dad."

"Why do you say that?"

"I would have been much better married off in one of mom's classics than trying to forge this on my own. It's ridiculous. I wouldn't have to worry about.....well most anything. I want a time where there were good men all about, chivalry wasn't dead, nor was honesty. Life could have just fallen into place, I would be told and done." She paused, looking up for a moment. "Speaking of, where is mum?"