“What?” Grant asked.
“Let’s hear more about you. I’m sure Annie would like to know. I know I do.”
Annie blushed slightly, but pushed ahead. “Yeah, how is everything? Rex tells us you are thinking about starting a business with him.”
“He said that?”
“Yes. He said you were talking about it just today,” Annie said, looking at Grant in a way that suggested she wanted him to say this was not the case.
“Well, uh, we were … it was mentioned, I guess.”
“That would be, umm, really something, if you worked with Rex, Grant,” Annie said. The hesitation in her voice made it clear that she was anything but excited at the prospect of Rex and Grant starting a business together.
“You had better tell the bartender when she gets back, because she also seems to be is quite interested in what you do,” Kat added.
“What?” Grant said.
“It wouldn’t be the first time someone was interested in you—” Annie stopped herself, wishing she hadn’t said it.
Grant leaned forward, staring at her, as if he was trying to bore a hole into her soul.
“I never …” He started, feeling the need to defend himself.
“I know you didn’t. I’m sorry I said anything.” Annie paused. “So, business is good?”
“Ok. Constant. What about you?”
“The same. Nothing to talk about.”
“Too modest. Always modest. I still want to know,” Grant said.
“Me too,” Rex chimed in.
“What about you?” Grant asked, turning to Kat, though he kept his eyes fixed on Annie until the last possible minute, when he turned to Kat, waiting for her answer. His body was still facing Annie, his hands on the bar, pointed in Annie’s direction.
“Ask her to tell you the difference between a doctor and a lawyer, and then guess which one she is,” Rex said.
“Annie and I have been friends a long time. I’m a psychiatrist. I work at a clinic in La Jolla, and I …” Kat said.
“You live in La Jolla?” Grant asked.
“Yes.” Kat shook her head, as trying to shift from describing her work to where she lived was funny to her.
“Not far from me, I live in Encinitas,” Grant said.
“I love both places,” Kat said.
“She wants me to meet her relatives,” Rex leaned in.
“Nobody wants you to meet their relatives,” Grant glanced at him.
Annie started laughing, out loud, which she seldom did. Everyone looked at her, surprised, but she just shrugged and grinned.
Isobelle had been following the conversation as closely as she could. She was enjoying listening to Annie and Kat, but her facial expressions when she looked toward the other end of the bar, clearly showed disdain for the two women. But Rex’s interest in the other women did please her, as she thought it might remove him as a possible obstacle. Isobelle didn’t know whether to warn Rex about the two women, or to let him find out on his own. After a few minutes, she decided that letting him find out the hard way would probably keep him busy and out of the way longer.
“Moll and Mag,” Isobelle said.
“What?” Rex asked.
“Moll and Mag, the women at the other end of the bar, those are their names. At least, that’s what they call themselves. They asked me to send you a drink,” Isobelle said, looking at Rex. This was not true. The women had not sent a drink to Rex.
“And you’re just now getting around to doing it?” Rex exclaimed, motioning with his hands.
“Sorry. I will make it for you now,” Isobelle said.
“Well … you send them one from me,” Rex said, straightening up in his chair.
“Very good,” she said as she moved to prepare the drinks.
“Things are looking up. You all might have to try to do without me for awhile, while I go talk to my adoring fans down there,” Rex said, beaming.
Annie was now noticing Isobelle’s attention to Grant. It was almost as if she was a little jealous, and it gave her pause, as she realized this was the first time she was ever jealous of someone else and Grant. There were no flirtatious moves, just a keen sense of paying attention to all of Grant’s actions. She would expect that from Kat, as she was a psychiatrist, but that would be for different reasons. She doubted Isobelle was a psychiatrist. Grant had never been a womanizer—in fact, in the past, he paid attention to no one but Annie. But now, she could tell, he was definitely noticing Isobelle.
“Well, don’t you worry about us,” Kat said.
“I assure you, he isn’t,” Grant responded.
Annie laughed again.
“This is kind of nice, seeing you laugh like this, Annie,” Kat said.
“I laugh.”
“Not usually this much.”
Annie again blushed, still smiling.
“You know, we have to go, to meet some other people.…” Annie said, her voice trailing off. She wished she had not said it.
“Oh,” Grant said, looking disappointed.
“Well … when we were planning this thing, we weren’t really sure.…” Annie said, seeming not sure how to finish the sentence, and still be polite.
“Weren’t really sure that Rex would show up at all? Or that I would be here either?”
“No! I mean, no it’s not like that. Well, maybe Rex, but not you.”
“You all can thank me later for making this come together,” Rex said, still looking at the women at the end of the bar.
“If only we can figure out how to thank you appropriately. A parade, perhaps?” Kat said.
“I have some ideas about how you could thank me. Hadn’t thought of a parade, but we could do that after,” Rex replied.
“But we could meet back up, after we see our friends, couldn’t we?” Annie asked. It was a struggle for her to get the words out.
“You mean your better friends?” Rex added brusquely.
“That’s not fair,” Annie said, her tone changing.
“Who said anything about fair?”
