London Bridges - James Patterson [27]
I got a surprise when I arrived home a little before 9:30 that night. Dr. Kayla Coles was in the living room with Nana. The two of them were huddled together on the sofa, conspiring about God only knew what. I was a little concerned that Nana’s doctor was there so late in the evening.
“Everything okay?” I asked. “What’s going on?”
“Kayla was in the neighborhood. She just stopped by,” Nana answered. “Isn’t that right, Dr. Coles? No problems that I know of. Except you missed supper.”
“Well, actually,” Kayla spoke up, “Nana was feeling a little faint again. So I stopped by as a precaution.”
“Now, Kayla, don’t exaggerate, please. Let’s not get carried away,” Nana scolded in her usual way. “I’m just fine. Fainting’s just a part of my life now.”
Kayla nodded and smiled pleasantly. Then she sighed out loud and leaned back on the couch. “I’m sorry. You tell it, Nana.”
“I felt a little faint a few days last week. As you know, Alex. No big thing. If we still had Alex Junior around to take care of, then maybe I would be more concerned.”
“Well, I’m concerned,” I said.
Kayla smiled and shook her head. “Right. Like Nana said, I was in the neighborhood and I just stopped by, Alex. Strictly social. I did take her blood pressure. Everything seems to be in working order. I would like her to go for a few blood tests.”
“Fine, I’ll go for tests,” said Nana. “Let’s talk about the weather now.”
I shook my head. At both of them. “You still working too hard?” I asked Kayla.
“Look who’s talking,” she said, then smiled brightly. Kayla had tremendous spirit and could always light up a room. “Unfortunately, there’s too much work to do around here. Don’t get me started about the number of people in the capital of this wealthy nation of ours who can’t begin to afford to see a good doctor, or wait for hours and hours at St. Anthony’s and several other hospitals I could name around this town.”
I had always liked Kayla, and maybe, to be honest, I was even a little intimidated by her. Why is that? I wondered as we talked. I noticed that she’d lost some weight, what with all her running around and do-gooding in the neighborhood and elsewhere. The truth was, she looked better than ever. I almost felt embarrassed to have noticed.
“What are you standing there gawking at?” Nana asked. “Sit down and join us.”
“I have to go,” Kayla said, and stood up from the couch. “It is late, even for me.”
“Don’t let me break up the party,” I protested. Suddenly I didn’t want Kayla to leave. I wanted to talk about something other than the Wolf and the terror attacks that had been threatened.
“You’re not breaking up the party, Alex. Wouldn’t happen. But I still have two more house calls to make.”
I looked at my watch. “Two more calls at this hour? You’re something else. Wow. You’re crazy, you know that?” I grinned.
“Maybe I am,” Kayla said, and shrugged. “Probably true.” Then she kissed Nana with obvious affection. “You take care. Blood tests. Don’t forget.”
“My memory is fine.”
When she was gone, Nana said to me, “Kayla Coles is something else, Alex. And you know what? I think that one reason she comes around here is to see you. That’s my cockeyed theory, anyway, and I’m sticking with it.”
The thought had occurred to me, too. “Then why does she leave so fast when I get here?”
Nana frowned and raised an eyebrow at me. “Maybe it’s because you never ask her to stay. Maybe it’s because you gawk at her when she’s here. Why is that? You know, she just could be the one for you. Don’t argue with me. She scares you, and that might be a good thing.”
I thought about it, and I didn’t have a response. It had been a long day and my brain wasn’t firing on all cylinders. “So you’re okay?” I asked Nana. “You’re sure you’re feeling all right?”
“Alex, I’m eighty-three years old. More or less. How okay can I be?” she asked. Then Nana kissed me on the cheek and headed off to