Today was a freaking miracle. As Poppy pulled her blue scrub top over her head, she was amazed. For the first time in weeks, not a single kid had gotten sick on her. Her feet ached and her legs screamed, but all in all it was a good day for once.

“Oh my God, my arms are killing me,” Penny said as she sidled up next to Poppy.

“Your arms? Why?”

“Because I had to carry around the Jackson baby all freaking afternoon.”

“He’s adorable,” Poppy said as she slid her pants down. From the corner of her eye, she could see the youngest intern trying his best not to look their way. It was getting more natural, changing in front of everyone.

“He feels like he weighs a hundred pounds!”

“Penny, he’s two years old.”

“Biggest two-year-old ever,” she grumbled. “You got plans tonight? First earlyish shift in a long time.”

“Not really, probably stream something.”

“No plans with Will?” Penny asked as she stepped out of her own scrubs.

“No, he’s actually out of town for work.”

“Cool! What’s he doing?”

“Meeting some Netflix people. They’re optioning one of his scripts.”

“That’s great! It’s so amazing he’s a creative who’s actually driven and found a way to make money with his craft.”

“Yeah. I guess it is pretty cool.” Sometimes I need to be reminded of that.

“You know,” Penny said as she pulled on jeans, “Ryan’s okay, but Will is a lot better looking, in my opinion. Honestly P, I want someone like that. Someone with ambition who will really take care of me, you know? I hope you know how lucky you are.”

Poppy smiled briefly just as her phone buzzed on the locker shelf.

Missing you HARD tonight. Will’s text came through with a bathroom mirror shot of him, seemingly naked, though only the top of his pubic hair could be seen before everything else disappeared below the counter. Classy. She was a lucky girl indeed. For a second she thought about replying, but pursed her lips and clicked away.

She scrolled through the messages and emails she’d missed on her shift. Hey, grab a drink with friends tonight? 9? She couldn’t help but smile at Ryan’s text. With friends, huh?

“Is that Will?” Penny asked.

“Oh, um, yeah,” she said.

“Told you. Lucky girl.”

Poppy checked the time—it was already 9:30. Before she could talk herself out of it, she replied in a flurry. Just off a long shift now, but see you soon! Text me place/address.

In seconds, Ryan replied with a smiley face and the name of a nearby pub.

As she walked through the heavy wooden double doors, she was relieved to find her jeans and T-shirt were perfectly suited for the little Irish bar. She scanned the crowd for Ryan, and spied him in the corner with… Sarah?

Sarah threw a dart wildly at the board. It stuck to the thick wooden paneling instead. Poppy walked toward them, and watched Sarah pretend to be embarrassed and hide her face in Ryan’s chest. With a frown, Poppy walked faster.

“Hey! Poppy!” Ryan called, and engulfed her in a bear hug. “These are some of my buddies. Josh, Manny, Chris—this is Poppy. And, well, you know Sarah of course.”

She smiled and gave Sarah a side squeeze. “You all ready for another round? Poppy? I’ll get us a fresh pitcher.” She nodded to Ryan as he headed for the bar.

“I didn’t know you and Ryan were a thing,” she whispered to Sarah.

Sarah’s honey colored eyes were wide. “P, I—”

“Hey.” Suddenly Ryan was back, his arm wrapped around Sarah’s bare shoulders. “Actually, I’m going to order a pitcher for the guys. How about the three of us get a real drink?”

“Sure,” Poppy said before Sarah could reply. “Jameson, rocks.”

“Damn, girl, you go straight for the hard stuff.”

“Ry, please—”

“I know, I know. Sorry. Darn, girl.”

Sarah giggled and smacked Ryan’s butt playfully. “Whiskey for all!” she called.

Seated at a high-top, just the three of them, the tension melted away with each sip. “I’m going to order some appetizers, you ladies want anything?”

“Bubble and squeak!” Sarah said.

“What the hell is that?”

“I don’t know. I saw it on the menu and it sounds fun.”

Ryan rolled his eyes, but ordered it when the server arrived—along with three other appetizers.

“Well, here's your ‘leftover vegetables from a roast dinner,’ Sarah,” Ryan said when the dishes arrived. “At least that’s what Google says it is. But if you’re in the mood for some real food, we’ve got fish and chips, Shepherd’s pie sliders, and some Guinness bread.”

“How drunk are you?!” Sarah laughed. “Are you going to eat all of that?”

“Hey, these are just the appetizers,” Ryan said as he dug in.

“I remember the first time we had fish and chips,” Poppy said as she dipped the battered halibut in tartar sauce. “The lake we used to hang out at back in school. Lake of the Woods, I think it was called?”

“That’s right!” Ryan said. “They had that random little food stall right at the park entrance. Run by that crazy old lady with the bad perm.”

“Yeah,” Poppy said, and started to laugh. “Then there was that one time the whole class went when we were, like, fifteen? That poor woman must have gone through her whole inventory for us!”

“I completely forgot about that!” Ryan said. “Talk about stupid, taking a bunch of teenagers to spend the night in a cabin.”

“Oh my—Sarah. Sarah, that night, I caught Ryan red-handed with Jenny Thompkins! They were—I mean, you don’t know who she was—but they were making out in the kitchen forever.”

“It was all she would let me do!” he said.

Sarah laughed. “The kitchen, huh? Naughty, naughty.” She shook her finger at Ryan and stuck out her lower lip.

Poppy downed the last of her now watered-down whiskey and reached for Ryan’s—largely untouched since the food had arrived.

“But me?” Poppy said as she took a sip of the Jameson, “I didn’t snitch! Nope. Not even though they were kind of loud in there.”

“Don’t exaggerate, we weren’t that loud,” he said as he moved to the sliders.

“You were totally loud! You woke up half the class trying to sneak back to your beds.”

“Ooh!” Sarah said as her eyes lit up. “I like a man who’s vocal.”

“Don’t get too excited,” Poppy said. “It was mostly them banging around in the kitchen then trying to be all sleuth-like coming back.”

“Banging—” Sarah started.

“The pans, Sarah, come on,” Ryan said. “They were all over the counter.”

“You know, I even pretended to throw up? To cover up for those two who clearly didn’t know how to sneak around.”

Ryan put down the slider. “Pretended? I though you really were sick!”

Poppy busted out laughing, and Sarah followed suit. “It wasn’t that big a deal!” she said. “I mean, there was no way they were going to believe I, quiet and nerdy little Poppy, was going to be downing the Schnapps. I guess I had everybody fooled.” Ryan shook his head.

“Aww,” Sarah said. “You have such good friends, Ryan.” She looped her arms through his, and he didn’t seem to mind. Poppy watched him even give her waist a little squeeze, and she let out a yelp.

“There’s the squeak,” he teased her. “I already know where the bubbles are.” Sarah laughed and slapped his arm.

As Poppy watched the flirtations unfold, she felt a lump grow in her throat and a sadness draw over her. What’s your problem? It’s not like you’re into Ryan or anything. You should be happy your two friends like each other. She made a face at the thought.

“Poppy? Don’t you think?” Ryan and Sarah looked at her inquisitively.

“Sorry. What?”

“Come on Poppy, keep up with the conversation!” Ryan said.

“Some of us are coming off of eighteen-hour shifts, okay?” she said with a smile.

“Oh, my bad, big busy doctor lady. Here, have some of this beer bread. It’ll soak up some of that whiskey.”

“You go ahead and finish it,” she said. “I have to go to the restroom.”

“I’ll go with you,” Sarah said as she stood up and adjusted her skintight jeans.

“More for me,” Ryan said. He removed his arm from Sarah and used both hands to dig into the cheesy loaf.

“P?” Sarah asked as they stood before the mirrors. She swiped on lipstick while Poppy tightened her ponytail. “You’re not upset. Right? About me and Ryan?”

“Of course not!” Poppy said. “Don’t be silly. I’m happy if you are.”

“It’s just—there’s nothing going on between you guys, is there?” Sarah caught Poppy’s eyes in the mirror.

Poppy smiled. “No. No way. I’m just adjusting, that’s all. To Ryan being back, and finding out you two—it’s a lot. But I’m good. I’m happy for you both.”

Sarah hugged her tight. “That’s great,” she said into Poppy’s hair. “Because I’m super into him. Always have been.”

“That’s good!” Poppy said. “Seriously. Ryan’s a good guy.”

“Do you think he likes me?”

“I think we should get back to the party,” Poppy said as she picked up her phone from the counter.

Sarah linked her arm through Poppy’s as they walked back to the table, now surrounded by Ryan’s friends.

Poppy hung in there the entire night, even stayed through last call for the first time in years. But she just couldn’t help that feeling in her gut every time she looked at Ryan and Sarah.