“Maybe. If so, those are two pretty good looking cops, so maybe they could take me somewhere … you know, for questioning,” Rex said, still looking at the newcomers.
Annie shook her head, looking down at her hands. Isobelle had been hovering nearby, and as soon as she noticed the two women, her demeanor changed.
“Moll and Mag, but I have some other names for them,” she said bitingly.
“Are they friends of yours?” Annie asked.
“Doesn’t sound like it,” Kat added.
“Hang onto your wallet,” Isobelle said, looking at Rex.
“Oh, so they’re on the wrong side of the law, not just a great looking appendage of the law. Now I really want to know them.” Rex was watching them out of the corner of his eye, though he did not stop talking. “I think I should be the one to listen, and to take down their stories.”
Annie looked at Rex, relieved her disdain for him was not without merit. He was still a blow hard in her mind, and she didn’t think she needed to hide her feelings. She really wanted Grant to return. If she hadn’t been waiting for him, she would have left immediately.
Kat just laughed.
Isobelle was clearly not happy that the other women had entered the bar. It was not obvious that she wanted Grant to return, but Kat seemed to sense it. The women at the other end just added a little more tension.
“I had better tend to them, or they will complain to the front desk,” Isobelle said with a sigh.
“They would do that?” Annie asked.
“They have done it before,” Isobelle responded.
“Gosh, why would …?” Annie started.
“I could tell you, but that would be inappropriate. I’ll be right back,” Isobelle said, turning to go tend to the new arrivals.
“So, Annie, how’s the doctor business? I don’t think you told me what your specialty was.” Rex was trying to be on good behavior.
“Small practice, general medicine. I like knowing my patients, not having it be an assembly line, with not enough attention to detail.”
“De-sembly line, you mean.” Good behavior for Rex was a nebulous thing.
“How about you? What part of the saw bones trade you in?” Rex looked at Kat.
“I’m a psychiatrist.”
“Holy shit!”
“Yeah, I don’t get that much.”
Rex wanted the talk turned back to Grant. Rex wanted to plant all the good seeds he could while Grant was away, as he knew Grant would not say much anyway, but he definitely wouldn’t talk about himself. As selfish and conceited as he might have appeared to the women, Rex really was trying to look out for his friend.
“It’s been a long time, Annie. Used to be nonstop-wacky-madcap-fun, you have to admit that much,” Rex said.
“There were some really good times,” Annie said, smiling, a glimmer of reminiscence in her eyes.
“Damn right there were. There could be again, too,” Rex replied.
“That was a while ago. A long time ago, Rex,” Annie said.
“Not that long ago! Not like grade school era,” Rex said, his eyes opening wide.
“Did you go to grade school?” Kat asked.
“No. Actually I went straight into college,” Rex said.
“I thought as much,” Kat said, rolling her eyes.
“Seriously though, it wasn’t that long ago,” Rex said quickly. “Ok, what, you haven’t seen Grant in four or five years, grad school was … undergrad was … why are you making me do math? It’s under a decade, how about that. It’s not like old people thinking back on shit, we’re not that old.”
“I have a new li—a … err, a different life now. Working a practice takes a lot of time and I can’t be worrying about … about….” Annie started to look around the bar, casting around for the most diplomatic way to make her point.
“About what?” Rex asked.
“About whether the two of you are going to go streaking, or get arrested for some … some stupid thing,” Annie said, closing her eyes, tilting her head down.
“We never got caught streaking,” Rex said, very slowly.
“You never got caught streaking,” Annie said. She was having a hard time not laughing.
“That’s right, we never got caught streaking,” Rex said, sticking his chest out. “So what’s it matter?”
“There were other indiscretions. Sometimes, you guys were so, so … in….” Annie said, now trying to find the right word.
“In…?” Rex asked, before she could finish.
Annie paused, looking at Rex. “Insensitive.”
“Ah, insensitive,” Rex said.
“What is Grant doing now?” Kat asked.
“Right now? Taking a leak, probably,” Rex said, his eyes trained on the women at the other end of the bar.
Annie was embarrassed. “Not right this minute! Gosh, Rex, you just….”
“Sorry. He is working, and he has been … you still say gosh! I always loved that. Anyway, he’s been doing this computer gig for himself. He does some pretty high powered tech support stuff. I’m not a tech head, so I’m not exactly sure how it goes, but he is in the high level of the support food chain. It needs to be a pretty bad screw up to get to him. He’s the guy the companies need to fix their big problems. Was doing that for the phone company, for some healthcare company, all big groups. Some of them lay him off, then bring him back as a private contractor. That’s how fucked … excuse me, how messed up companies are. They tell you that you are a piece of …”
“It’s Ok, say it,” Annie said.
“Shit, they tell you that you are a piece of shit, and that they don’t need you. Then, they hire you back, without benefits, and have you do the same stuff. You try to leave, they tell you they really need you now. It sucks, big time. So, I told him, screw that corporate bullshit, and we are talking about the two of us working together.”
“So he’s doing well, aside from the car wreck? That didn’t come out right,” Annie said, showing her frustration.
“He’s tough. Yes, he’s doing great, just wrapped up in his work, he needs a break.”
“Who doesn’t need a break?” Kat said. She was content to listen, but she was here to support Annie and didn’t want Rex to just roll over everyone.
“So, are you sure you are not a lawyer?” Rex asked.
“Yes, quite sure. I’m a doctor. Maybe I should explain it to you. You see, doctors make people better,” Kat said slowly.
“Is that how it works?” Rex asked
“Just think the opposite of how people feel after they deal with you,” Kat said, tilting her head.
“There any more like you at home?” Rex leaned closer.
“What?”
“Nothing. You married?” Rex backed away.
“No I am not, are you?” Kat leaned closer to Rex.
“Nope,” Rex answered.
“Previously?”
“Nope.”
“Because…?”
“Because