Page 95 of Heartache & Playdates
I chuckled as the console on my dash lit up. It was Nick.
“Nick, you’re on speaker.” I always had to preface that if there was anyone else in the car because I never knew what was going to come out of his mouth.
One time I was on the way to the airport with Samara and when I answered the call, before I even said hello, he said that he’d fucked so hard and long the night before his dick was raw. Thankfully, Samara took it with a grain of salt, like everything else, and even suggested a remedy for his chapped penis. But I was not about to take the chance of Nick blurting out something wildly inappropriate about his sex life with my daughter in the car.
“Sadie’s in labor. Alex is taking her to SFGH.”
“It’s too soon.” Sadie still had six weeks left before she was due.
“I know. I’m headed there now.”
“Okay, I’ll be there as soon as I can. Call me if you get any updates.”
“Will do.”
The phone disconnected and Lina asked, “Is that the one who owns the bakery?”
“Yeah.”
“Is this the way to the hospital?”
“No, I was going to drop you off first.”
“I don’t mind going.”
“I have no idea how long I’m going to be there.”
“I don’t have to be anywhere until Monday morning, and I think my boss would understand if I’m late.” She grinned.
“Are you sure? It might be boring.”
“I just…don’t want to stop hanging out. If that’s okay.”
My heart expanded four times in my chest. “Yeah, that’s more than okay.”
40
PEYTON
My hands ranup and down my bare arms in a failed attempt to warm myself as I yawned and stepped into the elevator in search of caffeine. After securing a hot, steaming, cup of coffee I was going to see if the gift shop was still open. If it was, I was hoping and praying that they had a sweatshirt or blanket or something I could buy to ward off the freezing temps in Nonna’s room.
She had been admitted a few hours ago. She was settled in her room, but a nurse just came and took her to radiology for x-rays.
I was kicking myself for not grabbing a jacket or a sweatshirt or a bra or aphone chargerbefore I left the house. I’d been so panicked that I hadn’t thought about how freezing it was going to be in the hospital or that I would be dealing with a nipple-gate situation. I’d been crossing my arms over my chest for the past six hours as I spoke to nurses and doctors.
I had no idea how I was going to get home since my phone wasn’t charged and I didn’t have a car. Maybe they’d have a charger in the gift shop. If it was still open.
As the elevator descended it stopped on the twelfth floor where a young couple got on. They spoke in hushed tones huddled in the corner discussing a family member’s drug overdose. They didn’t make eye contact, for which I was grateful. I hoped that my disheveled appearance might serve as a cloak of invisibility.
On a trip to the bathroom this morning, I’d done my best to tame my hair by securing it up in a bun on top of my head and I’d managed to scrub off last night’s makeup, which had migrated from my eyes to my cheeks like I was member of the band KISS. But I still looked like I should be an extra onThe Walking Dead.
The elevator once again came to a stop, this time on floor ten. When the doors slid open the couple exited, and two elderly gentlemen entered. Both made eye contact. So much for my invisibility cloak.
“Hello there young lady. I’m Hugo and this is Felipe.”
Hugo wore a Kangol hat and had two cigars in the pocket of his long-sleeved polo shirt.
Felipe, who stood five feet on a good day, wore a checkered button-up shirt with a bolo tie, wranglers adorned with a silver longhorn belt buckle that took up way too much real estate on his frame, and cowboy boots.
