A minute later, Kashira ducked into my office. “Did you get a visit from…” She glanced over her shoulder and lowered her voice. “…our weird boss yet?”
“Shh.” I gestured her toward the chair. “Yeah, he was here. Shut the door.”
She tapped it closed with a practiced foot and slumped across from me. “He was interrogating Lavonda and the kitchen staff about the wedding food and how much waste there was.”
“I told him Owen paid for everything. I hope that shuts him up.”
Kashira rubbed her face. “Other nursing homes are worse than this, right?”
“Lots worse.” I nudged her foot under the desk. “They have hedge fund owners, worse staffing numbers, and mean, cruel nursing directors who don’t want the residents to have fun. Not awesome guys like me who make your life so much easier.”
She chuckled. “Laying it on thick there. But yeah, just bitching, I guess. I did work for one guy who makes Zhukov look like a teddy bear.”
“I’m deeply sorry to hear that.”
“Well, I quit and dropped an unbaked pizza at his feet, splashed that tomato sauce all up his front.”
“Good for you. I’ll remember to keep you away from the food if you’re mad at me.”
She snorted. “Thanks. I needed that. I’ll go soothe ruffled feathers in the kitchen.”
That was really Phoebe’s job, not hers, but Kashira was much more of a people person. “Thanks. Appreciate that.”
At the door, she hesitated. “Is Griffin sick or something? How long do you want me to keep his work plan easy on his voice?”
“Not sick, nothing contagious. Just trying to save his voice for the big concert in three weeks. He strained it a bit the other time he sang.”That’s all it is. I hope that’s all it is.
“Oh. Sure, makes sense.” She grinned. “I was thinking about having a watch party for his Rocktoberfest performance if it ends up on video.”
“I’m not sure his lyrics will be fit for general viewing,” I noted.
“A select watch party, then. Harvey would love it.”
“So he would.”
“Are they doing okay?” she asked. “Owen and Harvey? I went by to see if they wanted in on the pool for when Daniela’s having her baby and they seemed a bit down.”
“Not interested in winning a takeout meal of their choice?” I joked, although I’d noticed the same thing. “I imagine it’s hard, even though they’re together now, really having it sink in that Harvey won’t ever again do some of the things they loved. That he needs the support mattress at night, and even though we push the beds together, they’re stuck mostly holding hands.”
“Better than separate rooms.”
“Oh, hell yeah, and they’d say the same. We’ve done what we can. Getting older’s a bitch. All we can do is support folks.”
“I want them to be happy.”
I got up and wrapped my arms around her, squeezing until she squeaked and hugged me back. I told her, “That’s why you’re so awesome at your job and Zhukov needs to give you a raise.”
“We wish.” She sighed, stepped away, straightened her shirt, and opened the door.
Zhukov was standing right there, and she jumped. Calling, “Thanks for the advice,” to me over her shoulder, she hurried off down the hall.
Zhukov peered at me. “I hope nothing inappropriate was going on.”
Sometimes real people who aren’t robots need hugs.I sighed. “You do recall I’m gay, right? Gold star, no interest in women? Nothing inappropriate was going on.”
“Right. Well. Mrs. Svenson says the overhead light in her room is buzzing. We need to get that fixed for her.”
“I’ll put in a ticket for maintenance.”
