“Ohh, please, stay just a little."  Again, that warm inviting voice.  She looked up from her watch, still not knowing what time it was.  Attached to this warm sensual voice, she saw this woman, strong and proud.  Both Kit and Bette gestured.

 
Every fiber of her being wanted to stay, but at the same time she didn’t feel at ease; she was uncomfortable with the whole situation. The place was crowded, and from the look of it, the table they had just come from had already had been taken.  Again she looked at her watch, tapped against the glass nervously.   Had it stopped?  "No, of course not," she mumbled to herself, almost disappointed.  It was moving clockwise as always. Punctual and trustworthy, "just like me."

 
With that thought, she straightened her back, positioned her glasses. “Okay."  This time, she spoke the word out loud.  She was slowly trying to get her old self back, confident and in control. 

 
“Okay, let’s have a drink together.  But I can’t stay long,” she quickly added.  “I do have a busy day ahead tomorrow."  That was not completely true.  As a matter of fact, she had no appointments at all tomorrow, which was very uncommon for her.  She had too much time on her hands.  That’s how she found herself in this awkward situation to begin with.

 
“Why not?” another part of her asked.  “Let’s be a little adventurous.”  For the first time, she even smiled, and she started to relax.  The fact that she’d set a time limit gave her at least the feeling that she was in control again. “Well, at least hoping I am.”  With that thought, she gave Kit a brief but intense look.   What was it that made her want to stay, but at the same time made her feel more than a little uncomfortable in the presence of this beautiful strong black woman.

 
Meanwhile, all the time DP was struggling with whether to stay or not, Kit had been observing her, carefully, of course, without her noticing it.  She didn’t want to make her more nervous than she already was.  She smiled and thought to herself, “This could get quite interesting.” Because although DP thought that Kit was unaware of the impact she had on her, Kit had sensed it from the very first moment she laid eyes on her.

 
“Okay!" This time it was Bette who spoke, “Let’s see if we can find a table where we can enjoy our drinks and each other’s company.”  Having observed with mixed feelings the looks being exchanged between her sister and her former doctor, she wasn’t sure she liked what she was seeing.  With that thought, she pushed her way through the crowd, Kit and Dr. Wilson in tow, being constantly jostled against each other by the crowd, to the vacant table she’d spotted near the stage.  She planted her drink on the table, like a flag on the moon, to claim it for themselves.