Linda glanced at her uncle.
George’s eyes had begun to drift closed again. The morning had been long for him. Four interviews in a row, plus the small effort of being his charming self for each one, had taken its toll.
Linda set her notebook on the night table and leaned across to Tom.
“Can we tell him about... you know?” Linda whispered.
“No,” Tom hissed back. “Absolutely not.”
“Tom...” Linda pressed.
“Linda.” Tom glared at her, shaking his head.
“You know you don’t whisper as softly as you think you do,” Maggie cut in, leaning toward both of them. She looked between Linda and Tom with eyebrows raised. “What do you want totell?” Her eyes narrowed playfully. “Are you two keeping a secret from me?”
“No!” Tom denied.
“Oh, come on, Tom,” Linda urged. “We’re all family here.”
“Okay, now I have to know,” Maggie said firmly.
“I have to know too,” George murmured from the bed, his eyes still half-closed.
“Sorry, Uncle George,” Linda apologized softly. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“Sweetheart, Maggie is right,” George chuckled sleepily. “You have never been able to whisper as quietly as you thought.” He stifled a yawn and turned his head to look at the three of them. “Now tell me this big secret so I can go back to sleep.”
“Tom...” Linda pushed with a big smile.
Tom sighed and shook his head.
“Fine,” Tom relented. “Go ahead.”
“Tom has a date with Lila tonight,” Linda announced joyfully.
“Well, it is about time,” George exclaimed. “Good grief, the pair of you have been making puppy dog eyes at each other for months.”
“Yes, Tom,” Maggie agreed, standing up and crossing to give Tom a hug. “We’re so glad you finally got the hint and asked Lila out.”
“So everyone really did know,” Tom sighed, his cheeks turning a faint pink under his stubble.
“Yes,” all three of them chorused.
“And we are very happy for you, Tom,” George said around another yawn. “It is about time you put yourself out there again.” He sighed, a soft smile lifting his lips, and drifted into sleep.
The three of them sat for a moment listening to the steady rhythm of George’s breathing.
“Right,” Linda whispered, gathering her things and standing. “Let’s let him rest. We need to find the head nurse and give her our list.”
They slipped quietly out of George’s room and walked down the corridor to the recovery wing nurses’ station. The head nurse, an older woman with kind eyes and a name tag that read Patricia, looked up from her clipboard as they approached.
“How did the interviews go?” Patricia asked warmly.
“Wonderfully, thank you,” Linda answered. “Uncle George has chosen Brock Hendricks as his primary, with Stuart Walker as his alternate. The other two go on the backup list.”
Patricia’s whole face lit up.
“Oh, I’m so glad,” Patricia exclaimed. “I thought Brock and Stuart would be the right pair for Mr. Heart. Brock is wonderful with older orthopedic patients. He has a way of getting them out of bed when they don’t want to move. And Stuart is one of the most patient nurses I have ever worked with. They are going to be excellent for your uncle.”
