Nana

"Wow, what are you doing here? I didn't expect this," Nana said happily as she got into the black sedan.

Sitting in the back was Veronica, smiling brightly at her good friend. She replied to Nana's question, "I came to pick you. I know you usually catch the train home and knew you'd welcome a ride back after a long day. Didn't I say on the phone that I wanted a catch up?"

"Yes, but Ver, a lift home is hardly a catch up," Nana replied. She was tired after a long shift and couldn't work out what Veronica was up to.

"Hmm." Veronica wore a bewildered expression, then acted as if inspiration had struck. "That's it, you can just come back with me. We can have a sleepover; it's not like you need to be at work tomorrow morning."

Nana narrowed her eyes as she asked in a serious tone, "Wait, what? How do you know that?"

Veronica laughed as a flash of guilt appeared in her eyes. "I might have called the hospital to ask about your schedule."

"And that's how you knew I'd be finishing around this time. But I finished an hour later than scheduled, have you been waiting here the whole time?"

Nodding, Veronica replied succinctly, "Yes."

Unable to chastise her after she'd waited outside for over an hour, Nana smiled.

"Okay then, I'll come back for dinner, but I don't know about staying over."

"Yippee! We're going to have so much fun. I've had the chef prepare a massive meal and whip up some fresh homemade ice cream."

Nana couldn't help but roll her eyes at Veronica. 'Months without talking and she's still the same as ever. I was right though, her giddiness when she's excited or happy is contagious.'

…

When they arrived at the estate, Nana went into a spare bedroom to change into some more comfortable clothes that Veronica had prepared.

As soon as she opened the door to that room again, the smell of scrumptious food wafted toward her.

Upon descending the stairs, she entered the dining room, at the center of which was a table covered in all kinds of food.

"Ver, you didn't need to do all this. I'd have been fine with anything; I'm just happy that you've done so much for me."

Veronica laughed at what she'd said. "I didn't do any of this, dummy. It's the chefs you should be thanking. But that can wait for later; let's eat before it goes cold."

Without waiting for her guest to even pick up her plate, Veronica dived into the food, placing heaps of different dishes on her plate.

Shaking her head, Nana had the same thought as before. 'She really doesn't change. But her consistent childishness is one of my favorite parts of her.'

While they worked their way through the food on the table, they chatted, catching up on all the gossip in each other's lives.

Thinking of something, Nana turned to Veronica and asked, "Ver, in your message, you mentioned that you have some good news. What is it?"

"We're finally dating," Veronica replied with a brilliant, sparkling smile.