“Hi, I’m Peyton.”
“Peyton, that’s a pretty name.” Hugo smiled.
“Just like the quarterback,” Felipe added.
“Right.” I nodded.
“You named after the quarterback?” Hugo asked.
“No.” I smiled. “I’m named after a character in a book.”
“What book is that?”
“Lie Down in Darkness.” I’d always thought it was odd that my father named me after a character in a book who ended up committing suicide because of her dysfunctional upbringing and family. Not exactly setting me up for success there.
Felipe shook his head. “Never heard of it.”
“Not many people have.”
The elevator stopped on the eighth floor and a family of four got on. I stepped into the corner to make room for them. Hugo stood in front of me, and Felipe was to my right.
“We’re here visiting our friend Jack who just had a triple bypass,” Felipe explained to me. “His two double-bacon cheeseburgers a day habit finally caught up with him.”
I nodded.
“And what about you, young lady?” Hugo asked. “What brings you to San Francisco General this fine evening?”
I wasn’t sure what the protocol was for hospital elevators, but I didn’t think that it was the best idea to ask people what they were doing there. But I answered anyway. “I’m here with my grandma. She had a minor heart attack this morning.”
“Oh yeah.” Hugo nodded his head.
“That’ll happen.” Felipe smacked his lips together. “How young of a lady is she?”
“She’s ninety.”
“And this her first?” Hugo followed up.
Her first?How many heart attacks did these men think she should have had? “Yeah, it’s her first.”
“Wow, she made it to the nineties club! Good job!” They gave each other high fives, which I wasn’t sure about as we reached the ground level.
“The nineties club?” I asked as we all exited.
“Yeah, if you make it to the nineties without having a stroke or a heart attack you get a pin.”
Sure enough, the men pointed to their shirts where they each, respectively had a tiny gold pin that said “90” on it.
These guys were characters, and I was actually disappointed when I immediately spotted the Starbucks kiosk.
“This is my stop.”
“Well, you take care now. And you tell your grandma, welcome to the club!”
“I will.” I smiled as the two men went on their way.
There were two people ahead of me in line. When it was my turn I stepped up and ordered. “Can I get a grande honey oat milk latte, please?”
“Name?” the cashier asked.
