“They’re idiots,” Ivy said with a shake of her head.
“Idiots,” I repeated.
Ivy detailed how she would have done the task presented, and I agreed. Though truthfully, under pressure, I probably would have done way worse, but it was fun to feel superior.
Ivy’s room was decorated from Christmas still, but she wore a pointed tinsel New Year’s hat and held on to a noisemaker for when we had our New Year’s countdown.
Ivy and I had become fast friends in the last year, sometimes to the chagrin of Owen. We shared a love of sweets and the darling man who brought us together. I genuinely enjoyed spending time with her and the other residents of Golden Sunsets.
“How much longer until lover boy is off?” Ivy asked, straining to turn in her chair and look toward the hall.
“Lover boy is off,” Owen said as he walked into the room.
He looked happy but tired at the end of his shift.
“Yay!” I jumped out of the chair and into his arms, giving him just enough time to drop his jacket to the bed and catch me.
“Ouch,” he said, but smiled down and kissed me.
I wasn’t even sure where I hit him that time.
“Did I ever tell you how hot you look in those scrubs?” I whispered, tugging at the powder-blue material that made his eyes pop.
“Once or twice.” His gravelly voice sent shivers through me.
“Children, please. I just ate,” Ivy said.
“Haters gonna hate,” I said, but wiggled out of Owen’s arms. “Plus, you’ve said way more inappropriate things, lady.”
“Now that he’s in school again, I’ve slipped back into his teacher role.” She sniffed haughtily.
“I don’t think it works that way when I’m going to the local nursing school and you aren’t teaching,” Owen said, stretching his back. He’d started working here in the spring when the Head Nurse, Laura, offered him a position as he worked on his nursing degree. It was a no-brainer to quit working as muscle for Benny Jr.
He slid off his name badge and put on one of the party hats I handed to him. “How long until midnight?” he asked.
It was 6:03 p.m., according to the large print alarm clock on Ivy’s side table.
“I just have to open the app on the streaming service, and it starts a twenty-minute countdown.”
“Start it!” Ivy said, giving Owen a kiss as he bent to greet her. “I’ve been dying for a glass of bubbly, but Bee said we had to wait.”
I clicked my tongue. “See what I get for being responsible?”
“In her defense, you two were wasted by the time I got off on Thanksgiving,” Owen said.
Ivy and I shared a smile. “That was a fun night,” I said.
“That poor intern got an eyeful.” Ivy cackled.
“He should be so lucky.”
After the sparkling wine was poured, the three of us held up our glasses in our little trio of love. “Anybody have any resolutions?” I asked.
“I guess since blowing up the tram is off the table,” Ivy grumbled.
“We let you hit it with a sledgehammer,” Owen said smoothly. “We weren’t even technically allowed to do that.” I scooted closer to him on the comfortable loveseat that sat across from Ivy’s upgraded auto-reclining chair with all the fancy bells and whistles.
Over the summer, the town petitioned to have the old tram knocked down and rebuilt with modern technology with the help of Mayor Sparks. The demolition process was very satisfying, and we all saw a darker side to Ivy that day. I liked it.
