Page 4 of SEAL's Patience
Patience headed back to the kitchen after checking on her tables one more time. Her shift was almost done, and she was ready to head home. If she stayed, she’d just embarrass herself more with Quinn. He obviously wanted nothing to do with her. That’s what stung the most. But only Livie knew it. Too bad she was away with Theo for the weekend.
Jen and Louisa were behind the bar chatting.
“Hey, Charity, I have one table that still has an open tab. Will you be able to close it out for me and handle anything else they need?”
“Sure, no problem. Is there anything special I should know?” Charity was an older woman who only worked a few nights a week. She told everyone it was to get away from her kids, but no one believed her. Especially when she’d come in a few weeks ago with bruises around her arm. It was obvious it was a hand that had caused it, and not a small one. But she’d refused to talk about it.
“Nope. They are just finishing up and might need another pitcher, but I doubt it will be more than that.” Patience tore the table’s orders from her pad and handed it over. “Keep the tip,too. I appreciate you taking care of them. I really want to get home before it snows.”
“You don’t have to do that; you worked the table?—”
“I know, but I appreciate you helping me out. I’d have to stay later otherwise.” Patience smiled. Jen needed the tips more than she did, and it felt right for her to keep them.
“If you’re sure…”
“I am. Be careful when you head home later. It’s supposed to get bad.”
“Yeah, they upped it to six to twelve inches. Crazy, right?” Jen said.
“That’s for sure. Hopefully, they’re wrong like usual.”
Patience headed down the hallway and into the kitchen to punch out. She pushed her way through the kitchen doors and tried to hide her smile when Pam and Tony jumped away from each other. Pam, the owner of the Ready Room, and Tony, the chef, were a couple, but they kept it quiet. The employees knew since they couldn’t keep their hands off each other. It was cute. The momentary happiness in Patience’s chest dulled as she remembered her own unrequited feelings for the gorgeous ginger SEAL.
“Hi, Patience, all down for the night?” Pam asked.
“Yup, Jen is going to close out my last table. Quinn already paid for the Red Falcon table. Unless they order more.” She shrugged.
“Perfect. You okay?” Pam asked.
Patience turned from punching out and forced a smile onto her face. “Yeah, I’m great. It’s been a long week.”
“Mid-terms or whatever you call it in med school?”
“Yeah. But they’re done now. I’ve got a couple of weeks of downtime before the last semester. I can’t believe I’m almost done.”
“You should be proud of yourself. I’m sure your parents are.”
Patience nodded. They’d offered her their steadfast support from the beginning when she said she wanted to be a doctor. But they’d never pushed her to follow in their footsteps and do charity work. Not that they had always done it. When she was small, they’d had a private practice. It was still there, but they’d hired doctors to work for them. It allowed her parents to travel the world, helping where they could. After learning how horribly Livie’s parents treated her because of her decision to not work with the family but to become a doctor, she appreciated her parents even more.
“They are amazing.”
“Will they be home for the Christmas holidays?” Pam followed Patience to the employee break room where they had their lockers.
“Not this year. We had Thanksgiving together, but they’ll be back for my graduation.” Theo had invited Livie to spend Christmas in Minnesota with his family. It meant she’d be alone this year and wasn’t looking forward to a Christmas of one.
“You’re welcome to come join us. You’re practically family. Sky and Murphy will be there, too,” Pam offered.
“Can I let you know? I’m not sure what’s happening yet.” Patience felt bad about the lie, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to intrude on their holiday.
“Of course. Tony will make enough food to feed half of Norfolk, so it’s no problem if it’s last minute.” Pam smiled and patted her shoulder. “If you need to take time off, just let me know, okay? We’ll manage. You’ve been busting your butt for months.”
“Thanks, but I enjoy being busy. Besides, the money helps with my expenses.”
“I remember those days—I’m not that old.” Pam grinned. “I worked in a few restaurants before I met Sky’s dad, and we got married. I sure never thought I’d own a bar someday.”
“I bet. But you do a great job. It shows in how packed it always is.”
“Thank you. You’re so sweet. But I think it’s more the people I employ that keep this place hopping.”
