“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 out on a date with her.

We were finishing an after-dinner drink when she declared, “This has been nice, Alex. Very nice and easy.”

“Surprised?” I asked her.

“No, not really. Well, maybe a little bit,” she admitted. “Maybe a lot.”

“Want to tell me why?”

“Hmm. I guess because I knew you had no idea who I was, even though you probably thought that you did.”

“When I see you, you’re usually working,” I said. “You’re being Dr. Kayla of Neighborhood Health Services.”

“Take two aspirin, don’t you dare call me at home,” she said, and laughed. “I guess what’s hard is that lots of people confide in me, but most of the time, I don’t get to confide back.”

I smiled. “You have anything you’d like to tell me?”

Kayla shook her head. “I think that I said it already. This has been good. I enjoyed tonight even more than I thought I would.”

“Right. And there will be a next time. That’s what you said.”

She gave me the most delightful wink. “Wasn’t I right about that?”

“You were right. If you’ll see me again.”

“Oh, I’ll see you, Alex. Of course I will. I want to see how this turns out.”

Chapter 80

Chapter 80