Kiss the Girl (33 page)

It was
just a kiss
, she told herself.  Nothing to get all weird about.

“
Wow,” she said, doing her best to ignore the long stretch of hard thigh pressed against hers.  “Cozy.”  She reached forward and fingered the fern frond that hung at eye level. 

Mary Jane, sandwiched between the plaster wall and Karl’s considerable bulk, gave her a stiff smile.  “That’s one way to put it.”

Karl reached out and snapped off the offending frond.

Mary Jane said, “I wouldn’t have done that.”

A
scandalized gasp had them all turning toward the aisle where a thin man with a white apron and accusing eyes stood covering his mouth with his hands. 

“That fern is a delicate living creature,” he said with great
dignity
.  “Please refrain from doing it further violence.”

Erik
covered his face with a cloth napkin and hacked into it suspiciously.  Nixie whisked the amputated frond
off the table
. 

“We’re so sorry,” she said.  “It won’t happen again.”

“I should say not.” 

Nixie handed the
waiter the frond.  He tucked it
into his apron pocket with a stern look for Karl. 

“The flower boxes are lovely,” Nixie said.  “Are they your work?”

He nodded
, breaking into a pleased smile
.  “A
ren’t the poppies a smash?”

“
I’ll say.  And
I haven’t seen a trailing geranium like that outside Bavaria.
  Where did you find them?
” 

“I smuggled a
seedling
through customs.”

“Pre-9/11, I assume?”

He threw a glance over either thin shoulder.  “Post.  Sister, you have no
idea
what I went through.”

“
If you’re half as committed to coffee as you are to your
flowers
, you must do pretty well
.”

“We brew the
finest fai
r trade coffee in DC.” 

“
And here I am, about to order tea.  Is that a terrible faux pas?
”
Nixie asked.

“I have a
Lapsang
Souchong
that’ll put hair on your chest.”

“Just what every girl needs,” Mary Jane muttered. 

“I’ll take it,” Nixie said.

The rest ordered coffee
--
black, hot, unimaginativ
e.  The w
a
iter s
ailed off to the counter
, and Mary Jane said, “Well, I can never come here again.  Thanks a lot, Fern Killer.”

“I’ve been a vegetarian for thirty years,” Karl said.  “I have great respect for life.  But plants are food.”

“
Tell it to
Cuppa
Joe
.”

“Yeah, I don’t think so.” 
 

A few minutes later, Nixie was sipping something that
tasted like it
had recently put out a campfire
while outlining the highlights of her
plan to save the clinic.

“Today laid the groundwork for the gala we’re putting on
two weeks from to
morrow
,” she said.  “
It’s short notice, but I’ve called in a few favors and
it looks like we’ll have a decent
turnout among DC’s taste makers.”
 

“Including Edward
Harper
and son
,” Erik said, with an edge to his voice that had her setting down her cup with exaggerated care. 

“
You can thank Karl for that one
,
”
she said
, giving Karl a pointed look
.

Karl consulted
his phone
,
dragged a few things around the touch screen
.  “
Edward
talked to you about making
nice with
James
, then
?”

“He asked
me
to take him to the gala
,” she said, her lip curled in
distaste
. 

Karl shrugged his massive shoulders, pasting Mary Jane even more firmly
against the wall.  “I figured
.”

“Sloan’s going to have kittens,” Nixie said.  “There’s no way she’ll show up for the gala if she knows about this.”

Karl didn’t look up.  “Are you kidding?  Sloan’s a pro.  Of course she’ll show up.”

Erik leaned forward.  “Show up, make a scene and stomp off?”

“In full view of the press, yes.”  Karl nodded absently, then set down his
phone
.  “Like I said, she’s a pro.”

Erik leaned back, his face dark and closed. 
N
ixie’s stomach twisted
.  “She knows already? 
About my taking
James
to the gala?
”

“
What does it matter?  It’ll play the same in the press either way.
”

Nixie stared
, stunned at this breathtaking bit of insouciance.

Karl put his elbows on the table.  “I have to admit, I wasn’t so hip on this childhood asthma thing, but it’s paying off. 
You can’t buy publicity like this.  It’ll
make a great jumping off point for
Bumani
.
”

“Good for you,” Nixie said
.  But
her face
was
so
tight with
rage she didn’t know if she’d managed to move her lips.  She’d walked away from all this, hadn’t she?  Her mother’s endless publicity stunts
?  Her own
frantic efforts to calm the waters and get something done
while Karl milked
it for every last charitable cent?  She’d
quit
for heaven’s sake.
  How were they still using her to create this sick dynamic?
 

“
I’ve spoken to
Chat Magazine
, and
they’ve agreed to give us a photographer
starting this Monday,” Karl said.
 
“Sloan’s agent is opening an auction for the documentary film rights tomorrow morning.
”

The furious pressure in Nixie’s head died and guilt rushed in to fill the
vaccu
um
.  “Wow.  That’s fantastic
.”

“Just doing my job, kid.
”

“How did you get
Chat Magazine
interest
ed
in asthma?”

“Asthma?  No,
Nixie
, they’re coming with us to
Bumani
.  The documentary crew, too.  We’ll have to fly out first thing in the morning, but don’t worry.  We’ll
get
you back in time for your gala
.”

“
Bumani
?
”
Nixie
asked. 
The photographer,
the documentary
crew, the mock date with her asshole ex-boyfriend
--
no
ne of it was for the clinic. 
Of course it wasn’t for the clinic.  Karl’s agenda had only one item on it:  putting Nixie where he thought she could do the most good, whether or not she wanted to be there.

“
We can hardly skip the gala
,” Karl said.  “
Poor Edward
’s gone to a lot
of trouble to set up
James
’s redemption
.  Let’s
not disappoint the guy.  We can land in the afternoon, do the
gala
and let the publicity follow us
right back to
Bumani
, where it belongs.”

“
I’m not going to
Bumani
, Karl.”  Nixie locked her hands together and placed them on the table.
  “I told you that already.  Several times, in fact.”

He poked absently at his
phone
.  “Hmmm?”

“
I’m not going to
Bumani
with you and Mom.  I have work to do here.”

He finally looked up.  “What
are you talking about
?”

“The gala is in two weeks, Karl.  I
have
lunches
,
brunches
,
coffees
, drinks, walk-and-t
alks
.  I’m meeting with
anybody who’
ll see
me. 
Edward’s
agreed to put me in touch
.
”

“Nixie,
I already put you in touch
.
  With
Bumani
.
 
Don’t tell me you’re s
eriously thinking about ignoring an entire nation of abused and impoverished women so you can buy asthma meds for fat kids?”

Mary
Jane sat up.  “So o
ur poor aren’t deserving of help because they’re American?”

Karl
glanced at her
.  “Poor kids in the rest of the world make soccer balls out of rags.  Poor kids in America stuff their faces and play video games.  Forgive me if I don’t see the comparison.”

Erik smiled genially.  “You want to
make a bal
l out of rags and kick it aroun
d
Anacostia, Karl?  I’m sure it’s perfectly safe.”