"Afraid not," the man admitted.
"My daughter's in the hospital having a baby, and it's a week sooner than expected so I didn't have much time to plan.
The second I heard the news, I hopped in my car and started driving." He chuckled a little, a whistly breath in the back of his laugh, his shoulders bouncing with love and pride as he told his story.
Vladira's eyes opened with interest, her thin, dark eyebrows forming twin arches of surprise. "A baby?"
"Yes, ma'am. A baby boy. Even naming him after me, too."
Vladira smiled in spite of herself, something about the story catching in her paradoxically beating heart.
"Congratulations. We have two rooms available, and they're pretty much exactly the same. I just cleaned one of them, though, so it might still smell of chemicals."
"Doesn't bother me either way, it's just a place to crash. I could very well end up sleeping in the hospital all night, so I plan on dropping off my luggage and seeing where the night takes me."
