“Got it.” Milo headed over to the small table where Chase and his dad were already waiting. I took another two decks over to where Jenny was waiting to kick my ass. April and the others also found kids to visit with or play. Jenny was a good enough player that I needed to focus on the game, but my attention kept wandering over to Milo’s table.
To my surprise, he was smiling. He laughed at something Chase said before plunking down a card, arm muscles flexing, crown catching the light. Damn. He really was the perfect Neptune. He’d never accept the compliment, but he did regal well, and the white of the toga contrasted nicely with his Italian looks. Something about the gold jewelry worked for him, too, and my brain kept buzzing with unwelcome thoughts about teasing his ears and neck.
“Jasper! How are the games going?” Ned, the administrator of the hospital’s charitable foundation, came into the room, followed by a young, dark-haired woman a little older than me. I paused my game with Jenny so that I could give them my attention.
“Great.” I’d worked with Ned on some projects for the kids before, but my main contact with him had been through my parents when they’d needed to apply to the foundation for assistance with April’s many hospital bills.
“And how nice to see April full of energy.” Last time I’d seen Ned, April had been fighting off another bacterial infection, and he’d stopped by to see how my parents were holding up.
“Yup. We’re lucky.” And we were. Not all families got to bring their loved ones home, and I tried to never lose sight of that. We owed a ton to this place, to both the doctors and the administration. Thanks to Ned and the foundation, my parents hadn’t had to lose their house when bills continued to mount.
“I wanted to come see your group today because Allison wants to tell you about our latest fundraising efforts for the foundation.”
“Yes.” Allison had a big smile and a bubbly voice. “Every year we do a big fancy dinner and silent auction, but this year we’re doing something a little different.”
“And fun,” Ned added. He was like a proud grandpa, and I couldn’t wait to hear Allison’s idea.
“Yes! Fun. Costumes. It’s going to be a costume ball.”
“Oh my gosh. That sounds so cool.” April appeared at our table, undoubtedly sensing the possibility of getting all fancy. But the annual fundraiser was the sort of thing with seats going for three digits and big law firms and accounting firms buying tables for their partners.
“Yeah, it does. But I bet tickets are going to be pricey.” I tried not to sound regretful. We wanted the foundation to raise tons of money, and I didn’t want them lowering prices just so some broke college students could attend. But then Allison smiled wider.
“Well, we’re aiming for the corporate sponsors, true. But we’re also asking a few of our regular visitor groups to join us. Mingle with the guests, do pictures, help make sure everyone’s having fun.”
“I want to do it.” April bounced on her feet, practically quivering like a puppy. Homeschooling really was getting to her, and I wanted her to have this opportunity. And if it helped the foundation raise money, I’d be there.
“I’m in.” I nodded, loving how April gave a happy laugh in response.
“And the rest of the group?” Allison pulled a small notebook from a pocket in her cardigan. “I’ll need to know how many tickets to comp.”
“We’ll need Neptune,” April said, predictably eager, while I was still counting in my head.
“I’m not sure…” Getting Milo to do this more than once probably wasn’t going to happen, let alone something with bigwigs. Even now, I could see him eyeing Ned and Allison like they were seconds away from laughing at us, more of that unease he’d had with the doctors rolling off him.
“You know everyone’s going to want a picture with him.” April made the puppy-dog face she did so well that had gotten me into this mess with Milo to start with.
“He is rather…impressive.” Allison smiled in his direction, but Milo busied himself with his game with Chase. Maybe his empathy for Chase could convince him to don the costume more than this once. Maybe.
“I’ll ask him.” Heck. Now I needed Milo to continue this gig, and that was not a comfortable thought at all. I much preferred being the guy swooping in with the big save, not the person needing a hand. My neck itched. He’d better agree. And now I had that much more pressure to help him find the replacement cards. I might need more than good luck to pull this off.
Chapter Eight
Milo
“So, on a scale of terrifying to terrible, how bad was that?” Jasper’s smug grin as we packed up our stuff said that he already knew my answer.
“I had fun.” I wasn’t lying. Once I’d gotten over the more…breezy aspects of the costume, I’d relaxed considerably even though it was still weirdly uncomfortable being in a hospital for no medical or personal reason. Seeing how the kids reacted to us had further unknotted my shoulders. They were so happy to see Jasper and his squad, and they acted like Neptune was a pop star, not merely an illustration on some cardboard. After a while, I’d become more into the whole thing, smiling for some pictures and playing a second round with Chase and another kid.
“Not too weirded out by the medical stuff?” Pausing from putting away the card decks, Jasper gave me a considering look.
“Nah.” Actually, I had been at first, especially because of my own past. But I wanted to impress Jasper for reasons that were probably best not deeply considered. However, the longer he looked at me, the more truth slipped past my bravado. “Okay, it maybe took a little getting used to. I just…feel bad for them. I dunno.”
“It’s called compassion, Milo. Might be unfamiliar to you.” Jasper laughed like he was making some big joke, but I didn’t join in. Jasper didn’t know shit about what I’d been through the past few years.
All of a sudden, I’d had enough of this stupid costume. I pulled off the crown and shoved it in the costume bag. “That’s not fair.”
Jasper simply gave me another long look. And okay, I got where his sarcasm was coming from. I didn’t like it, but I got it. I’d been an asshole to him in high school, hadn’t stuck by him, hadn’t stood up for him when I knew good and well that I should have. It was easier to see what a jerk I’d been, especially now that I was trying to shake free of that world.
“I tried to apologize the other night. And I probably suck at apologies, but can we maybe not relitigate my past sins every five minutes?” Maybe text message wasn’t the best medium for a grand apology. I didn’t know because I hadn’t tried to make that many before. But somehow Jasper made me want to try to be something more. “I’m not that person anymore.”