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“You’re…talking about being a personal nurse,” I said, taking a stab at where she was heading.
“Indeed. It would save me from repeated visits to physicians when I could have someone around to inform me whether or not such a visit is necessary. As well as having someone around to keep an eye on things,” she said, placing her hands in her lap. “The position wouldn’t be nearly as time-consuming as your current job, and I’m sure I can offer you a far better pay rate, as well as plenty of benefits.”
“Miss Perkins…”
“Sophia.”
I blinked. “Pardon?”
“I think we are at the point where you can drop the formalities, at least while we’re alone…or around my son.”
For anyone else, it would have been absurd to be touched by such a gesture, but I understood the implications all too well. “Alright, Sophia. I appreciate the offer. I really do. Coming from you, I understand what importance is held in that and…”
“You don’t need to blow smoke up my ass, Mr. McCully. Speak plainly.”
“If I’m going to call you Sophia, you’re gonna call me Kevin.”
Sophia’s lip twitched downward before nodding. “Fine. Now get to the point, Kevin.”
“The point is, I love what I do,” I told her, setting the glass to the side. “I do this not for the money and benefits, which for the record, are more than enough to keep me both comfortable and happy, but because the job itself is rewarding. To help people like you, who are sick and possibly dying, be cared for and comfortable. To be there to help them recover and to make them comfortable if they die. No offense, but I don’t want to follow you around for the rest of your life, even if you offered me a ridiculous amount of money.”
Her expression was thoughtful as she tilted her head, looking me over. “Are you sure?”
I smiled, nodding. “I’m doing what I love, and I want to keep doing that. I appreciate the offer, though.”
“As you should,” she said with a light sniff. “However, the offer remains on the table. Perhaps not indefinitely if some other nurse I find fits the bill better than you, but it will remain all the same.”
“And if the company goes under or I’m thrown out on my ass, I’ll keep that in mind,” I said, unsure how to express just how grateful I was for the offer. Sophia Perkins was not the sort of woman who would tolerate an outpouring of emotion.
“Do so,” she said and then gave me a wry look. “Now, let’s talk about what’s been going on between you and my son.”
I gave a pitiful groan, reaching out to take the glass of liquor and downing the rest in one swift gulp. I couldn’t appreciate the rich taste quite as much, but it was the only thing I could think to do in the face of her question.
“Must we?” I asked weakly.
“I commend you on not attempting to deny it or pull some trick to avoid the conversation in the first place,” she said, glancing toward her windows. “Unlike someone else.”
“Oh God, you spoke to Shane?” I asked in horror.
“We spoke this morning,” she told me as if we were talking about the weather rather than discussing what Shane and I had been doing in the ‘free’ hours of my shift.
“Do I want to know?”
“You’ll have to answer that for yourself. Not that I’ll be telling you what he or I did or did not say. Just as I will not inform him what you or I discuss.”
“I really can’t decide if that’s a good thing or not,” I said with a wince.
“It is what it is,” she said, reaching out with the bottle to pour another measure of the liquor into the glass. “Now, what exactly were your intentions with Shane?”
“Uh, I’m not comfortable answering that question,” I told her, eyeing the glass and wondering if there was enough liquor in the world to get me through this.
“Sex then,” she said, and I almost choked on my own spit.
“Fucking hell,” I muttered, deciding to take a drink rather than respond in any meaningful way.
“I certainly hope it wasn’t a form of hell,” she said. “Lord knows that man went through enough partners before. He should have picked up enough skills. Then again, none of them were men, so perhaps that makes a difference.”
I really did choke on my drink and had to fight not to spray Sophia with the liquid. “Sophia, please.”
