Mary, Mary

agreeing that we needed to work together again, one way or the other.
    I told Sampson that I’d think about his surprising proposal, and he said he’d think about mine, too. Then Sampson swung open the office door and let in the music from downstairs.

Chapter 78
    “ARE WE ALLOWED to have a drink now?” said Sampson. “It’s a party, sugar. You do remember parties?”
    “Vaguely,” I said.
    Two minutes later, I had a beer in one hand and a rib dripping homemade barbecue sauce in the other. I found Jannie and Damon in the dining room playing Thirteen with a cousin of theirs, Michelle, and Kayla Coles. To be honest, though, it was Kayla who drew me over.
    “Are you ignoring our guests?” I asked the kids.
    “Not these two,” Jannie deadpanned, with a nod to Kayla and Michelle.
    “No, they’re whipping my butt too much to be ignoring me,” Kayla said, sending Jannie and Damon into conspiratorial laughs. There it was again. A woman and my kids, getting along. What was it about that? What was I missing?
    I gave Dr. Kayla a long look as she shuffled and dealt the cards. She was incredibly grounded, and good-looking without trying to be. The thing of it was, I liked her. I’d liked Kayla for a long, long time, ever since we were kids growing up in Southeast. And so?
    “You looking at my cards?” she asked, breaking through my reverie, or whatever it was supposed to be.
    “Not at your cards,” Jannie broke in. “At you, Dr. Kayla. He’s sneaky like that.”
    “All right, that’s enough kidding around. I’m out of here. I have to go help Nana,” I said. I rolled my eyes for Kayla’s benefit, and then I walked away. Quickly.
    “Don’t go,” Kayla said. But I was already through the doorway.
    As I headed to the kitchen, there was only one thing on my mind, though. How could I get Kayla alone at the party? And where was I going to take her on our first date?

Chapter 79
    I TOOK KAYLA to Kinkead’s on purpose. It had been my and Christine’s favorite spot, but before that, it had been
my
favorite spot, and I was reclaiming it. Kayla arrived less than five minutes after I did, and I liked that. She was on time, no game-playing. She had on a black wrap cashmere sweater, black slacks, and kitten-heel sling-backs, and she was kind of dazzling again. In her own way.
    “I’m sorry, Alex,” she said as she walked up to me at the bar. “I’m punctual. I know it’s a big bore and takes all the mystery out of things, but I just can’t help myself. Next time, and there will be a next time, I’ll force myself to be fashionably late. At least ten minutes, maybe fifteen.”
    “You’re forgiven,” I said, and suddenly I felt incredibly relaxed. “You just broke the ice, huh?”
    Kayla winked. “I did, didn’t I? Just like that. God, I’m good, aren’t I? Sneaky, just like you are.”
    “You know the axiom that men don’t like women who threaten them because they’re too smart?” I said. “You’re scary smart.”
    “But you’re the exception that proves the rule, right? You like smart women just fine. Anyway, I’m not that smart. Tell you why—my theory anyway.”
    “Tell away. I’ll have a beer, Pilsner on tap,” I said to the bartender.
    Kayla continued, “I see all these supposedly supersmart people at the hospital, doctors and researchers who are complete disasters in their personal lives. So how smart can they really be? What, they’re smart because they can memorize facts and other people’s ideas? Because they know every rock-and-roll song ever recorded? Or the storyline for every episode of
Bewitched
?”
    I rolled my eyes. “You know the storylines of
Bewitched
? You know people who know the storylines of
Bewitched
?”
    “My God, no. Maybe
ER.
And
Scrubs.
”
    “I know a lot of R & B songs,” I told her. “Haven’t figured out life too good, though.”
    Kayla laughed. “I disagree. I’ve met your kids, Alex.”
    “Have you met Christine Johnson?”
    “Stop it. Anyway, I
have
met her. She’s an impressive woman. Completely. A little messed-up right now.”
    “All right, I’m not going to argue. I could make a good case against myself, though.”
    We talked like that, laughed a lot, drank some, ate good food. Interestingly, we stayed away from talk about Nana and the kids, maybe because that would have been too easy. As always, I enjoyed Kayla’s sense of humor, but most of all, her confidence. She was comfortable in her own skin, not defensive. I liked being