Dear Bridget, I Want You(5)

“Well, first off, you can’t talk like that.”

“Like this? I’m working on losing the accent, but I don’t think I’ll master calling the trash gah-bidge or going to the ba ba for a trim anytime soon.”

Bridget laughed. “I didn’t mean you had to lose the accent, I meant you can’t use bad words.”

My brow furrowed. “What bad words did I say?”

“You said ‘fuck if I know,’ and you also talked about your lower anatomy and seeing my ass. Those are all no-nos.”

“No-nos?” I arched a brow. She was really damn cute.

“Sorry. I have an eight year old and worked in the pediatric ward for years before moving to the ER. Force of habit.”

I’d forgotten that Calliope had said she had a kid. She didn’t look old enough for one. “How old are you?”

“That’s not a proper thing to ask a woman, you know.”

I folded my arms across my chest. “If I remember correctly, you asked me how old I was within thirty seconds of walking into the examining room a few months back.”

“You have a very good memory, don’t you?”

“Yep. It’s been three months, and I could have identified your arse out of a lineup.”

She blushed again. I could tell she was flustered. “Back to the rules. You can’t say ‘arse’, either. No curse words, or you’ll have to put money in the swear jar.”

“The what?”

She pointed her eyes to the kitchen counter. Sure enough, there were two mason jars in the corner. Each had a piece of masking tape across it with what looked like a child’s handwriting. The one labeled Mom was filled half way with coins. The one labeled Brendan had one lone, shiny copper penny. Bridget sighed. “It was my son, Brendan’s, idea. He’d left his bike out at the curb again even though I’d told him to bring it in for the hundredth time. It was stolen, and I refused to buy him a new bike for no reason. I’d figured he’d get one for his birthday or Christmas, and by then maybe he’d learn his lesson. But he’s a resourceful boy. A day or two later, I was unloading the dishwasher and didn’t realize a glass had broken until after I’d sliced my finger open. I yelled, “shit,” and after the bleeding stopped, Brendan came up with the swear jar idea. He’d recently taken a liking to the word damn, and I’d been on him about it. If my jar is filled to the top first, I have to buy him a new bike. If his jar is filled to the top first, he has to get a haircut.”

“You don’t like his hair?”

“He’s going through this phase where he wants to grow it long. I think one of the girls at school told him she liked it that way, and now he won’t even agree to get a trim.”

I wiggled my brows and ran my fingers through my longish hair. “That’s how it all starts. He’ll have a selection of gel in no time.”

Bridget shook her head at me and sipped her tea. “Great.”

“Don’t think I didn’t notice that you still haven’t answered my question.”

“What question?”

“How old are you?”

“I thought we decided a gentleman didn’t ask a woman’s age.”

“Well, there’s your first problem. You shouldn’t have assumed I was a gentleman.”

She laughed. “I’m thirty-three.”

“You don’t look a day over thirty-two-and-a-half.”

“Gee, thanks.”

I caught the time on my watch. I was enjoying my chat with Bridget, but I was going to be late to work if I didn’t get myself out of here in the next five minutes. Finishing off the rest of my tea, I stood and placed my mug in the sink. “I have to get to the hospital. What are the rest of the rules?”

“Oh. Let’s see…” she tapped her pointer finger to her lip a few times. “Off the top of my head: Clean up your own mess in the kitchen. Don’t leave dishes in the sink—either wash them or load them into the dishwasher, and even though you have your own bathroom, if you use the one off the kitchen while you’re in here, put the seat down when you’re done.”

“Got it. Is that it?”

“Yes. For now. Although I reserve the right to add more at a later date.”

I contained my smile. “Of course you do.”

“Are you working a twenty-four-hour shift?”

I nodded. “Four twenty-fours this week.”

“I don’t know how you guys do it.”

“You get used to lack of sleep.”

“I suppose. I guess we’ll be seeing a lot of each other from now on. I’m working a twelve-hour shift tomorrow, too.”