Page 30 of Papa's Beloved

He smiles at me. “Yup. Ready for a day at the grind?”

I laugh. “I am. I love my job.”

“Have you thought about where you want to work when the year is up?”

“I haven’t. Are you taking your sled today?”

“No, I’m stopping by Gaia’s Hope after shift. Want to come along?”

“I’d love to. Do you know if Alena is going to be there?”

“She is. I’m giving her and baby Zander a ride home. I’m picking up an extra baby seat on the way.”

“We can stop by that store on the way. The one Stormy is always raving about whose name I can’t remember.”

“Tiny Treasures. She sent me last week to pick up a delivery for Gaia’s.”

“Isn’t that what prospects are for?”

He chuckles. “No one says no to Queenie.”

“That’s true. She is a force of nature.”

“Want to ride with me?”

“Yes, I need to grab stuff from my car.”

?

We make it to work thirty minutes early. Doc walks me to the nurses’ lounge, where I stow my gear. He leaves to do rounds and I head to do the same. I head to the nurses’ station on my floor to look at the charts.

Millie waves at me. “Morning Nay. How was your time off?

“It was good. Papa took me to see a few of my favorite krewes. The night after we went to Pele’s Palace.”

“Oh, I love Pele’s Palace. Doesn’t the club own that?”

“They’re part owners. Madison Kalani is the primary owner. She’s the best friend of one of the ol’ ladies.”

“Which one?”

“Lucia. She’s married to Nitro.”

“Nitro. Is that the one that looks like aGQmodel?

I laugh. “Hell, half of them look like tatted upGQmodels,”

“Please invite me to a party?”

“I can do that. I’ll ask Stormy when the next party is. We don’t always get a lengthy notice.”

“You’re the best.”

“Don’t thank me yet. The parties can get pretty wild.”

“I don’t mind,” Millie says with a shrug. “I could use a little fun.”

“You’ll have more than a little fun.”