Loving the Nurse by Piper Sullivan
Antonio
As much as I loved having a job that allowed me to spend as much time with Rosie as possible, I also appreciated that the community center offered dozens of classes and activities for kids under the age of ten. This allowed me to finish my production schedule for the next month. Planning wasn’t just a necessity for my business, but also my life as a single dad. Planning allowed me to order hard to find ingredients and sign Rosie up for ballet when I had a shoot schedule that might trigger her asthma.
With just two more days to schedule out, I felt great about the progress I’d made this morning. There never seemed to be enough hours in the day, but I enjoyed the independence that being my own boss gave me. I didn’t have to answer to anyone, which I loved, and my schedule was always my own. Some days I still longed for the chaos of a professional kitchen, but those days happened less and less often.
The phone buzzed on the kitchen table just as I slotted in the last shoot for the next thirty days and I sat back with a sigh. It was probably Travis or Cenzo, calling to see if I had any leftovers they could poach. “Antonio Ricci,” I practically barked into the phone, because, as Teddy loved to tell me, my phone manners were atrocious.
“Antonio, it’s Magda with some very good news for you. Are you sitting down?” My manager was a drama queen for sure, but she listened when I told her what I wanted and she only brought up shit I didn’t want to do when the money was too good to pass up.
“Yeah, I’m sitting.”
“Great. I’ve booked you an appearance on a cooking competition show, and the best part? You’ll be there as a judge and not a lowly competitor, thanks to your bestselling cookbook and that award last month for being a top rated YT’er.” Magda was giddier than I was over the accolades. As long as it meant I could keep supporting my family, I didn’t give a damn.
“Sounds good, but when and how long?” I learned early on to get all the details before showing my cards.
“It’s just one full day of shooting, the day after tomorrow, but it’s in New York. Flight and hotel are paid for though.” Magda’s tone was hesitant, as if she thought I might reject the offer to appear on a national television show.
New York for twenty four hours. It wasn’t ideal, but it was manageable. “All right Magda, I’m in.”
“Excellent! Great! I’ll let the producer know, and Antonio be sure to play up your bad boy image. Show off those gorgeous tattoos and maybe throw a leather jacket into the luggage. You know the drill.”
I nodded because I did know the drill. The press, my manger and publicist all thought it was an image, but the truth was it was just me. The tattoos were another way to express my art, and the dark wardrobe was because I hated shopping and one of my girlfriends once told me that dark colors complimented my olive skin. It was an easy ask to fulfill, so I didn’t bitch about it.
“I need to make arrangements for Rosie,so just send the travel details to my personal email.”
“Done. I’ll meet you in the hotel lobby at eight and take you to the studio. Laters.”
“Perfect.” As soon as the call ended, I dialed my sister first. “Can you watch Rosie for me? I need to go to New York for a day.”
She sighed and my heart sank. “I wish I could say yeah, but we just started a renovation on a three-story Victorian that will appear in a national magazine which means all hands on deck to make the deadline.”
“Damn, that’s incredible. Good luck.”
“Thanks,” she laughed. “Travis is out too, so you might as well skip straight to Cenzo.”
That’s exactly what I did. “Vincenzo, my favorite brother. How’s life treating you?”
He chuckled in amusement. “What do you need Antonio?”
“It’s not me, it’s for Rosie. She needs a babysitter while I head to the east coast for a shoot. Can you do it?”
“Only if you’re all right with the princess spending the day at the office with me. That Victorian job means I’ll be manning phones all day.”
That was out of the question. “With all the debris and dust in the air, that’s just asking for trouble.”
“Sorry.”
“No problem. Talk later, I gotta find someone else.” Too bad Dad had retired and left for the greener and warmer pastures of Florida, because I could really use a yes right now.
I mentally ran through my close friends. Cal’s schedule was too unpredictable, but Hannah was an option. We weren’t close, but she was family. “Antonio Ricci, must be serious if you’re calling me.”
“It is.” I explained what I needed and crossed my fingers. “Can you help me out?”
“I want to say yes, but I have a big delivery arriving tomorrow and my house will be a kid-free zone for the next week or so. Sorry. Maybe I can take half a shift and stay with her at your place?”
It wasn’t ideal, but if it was my only option I would make it work. “All right Hannah, thanks. Let me make a couple more calls and I’ll let you know.”
“Cool.” She ended the call abruptly and I laughed at finding someone with worse phone manners than mine.
There was one more option and I sucked in a deep breath, let it out slowly and dialed. “Ollie, I need a huge favor.” I went through the whole tale once again and begged for his help. “It’s just for a day. I leave tomorrow night and I’ll be back the day after.”
“I can do it. I might not have been present during the important years, but I remember how to take care of tykes when they’re Rosie’s age. Keep ’em safe, fed, clean and happy.”
My shoulders sank in relief. “Thanks Ollie. I owe you one.”
“Nah, you don’t. That’s what friends are for and it’s a good lesson I’m glad to see you’re finally learning. Maybe if I had asked for help back in the day, I wouldn’t have lost so many years with Augusta.” The sadness in the old man’s voice was a punch to the gut.
“I had a good teacher drill that lesson into me until it became second nature.”
He laughed. “Nice of you to say.”
“It’s not nice, it’s the truth. I’ll even share this story at the next meeting.”
“Good. Good. I’ll see you tomorrow for dinner then.”
“Perfect. Thank you, Ollie.”
“None necessary,” he said again, his voice a low grumble that said the man still didn’t know how to accept kind words. “I’ll keep your girl safe.”
“I know you will.” As soon as I got off the phone with Ollie, I texted his daughter. “Cooking lesson number two tonight?”
Her response came back almost immediately. “More lessons? I’m a salad dressing expert now, and as such, I’ve learned all I can from your culinary brain. But thanks for the offer.”
I shook my head before I came up with the perfect response. “Then you can show me everything you’ve learned by cooking me dinner. Tonight at eight. That should give you plenty of time to plan something to wow the pants off me.”
“An ice cold beer could do that.”
Damn I loved this woman’s wit and the way she didn’t try to spare my ego. Ever. “I’ll bring the beer. Eight o’clock, Augusta.”
She responded with three eyeroll emojis.
“Don’t hesitate to call if you need any tips or tricks. I’m full of them.”
More emojis, this time crying laughing ones. “You’re full of something. Eight o’clock.”
Her easy acceptance surprised me a bit, and I wondered if that meant she was starting to see things my way. Pleasure didn’t have to be meaningless, and tonight was the perfect night to show her that.
