The Things We Do for Love by Margot Early Page A

so that you’ll have time to read it through before Saturday.”
    “I assume I’ll follow your lead,” she said.
    “That helps, but there are some things you should know.”
    “Well, I’ve noticed that if someone has a real problem that they need counseling for, you tend to find a way to suggest that they get it.”
    “Not always easy,” he admitted. “But as much as possible, we like to keep things pretty light on the show. The harder topics are for private face-to-face counseling.”
    “Right,” Mary Anne agreed.
    “Can I ask if you’ve ever had any?”
    Mary Anne drew her eyebrows together. “Is it a prerequisite?”
    He shook his head, again with the smile that she herself was beginning to find appealing. That troubled her. Cameron likes him. Though Cameron kept insisting that Graham liked Mary Anne, she’d not yet gone as far as telling Mary Anne to go for it.
    “It’s not a prerequisite,” Graham said. “It was a personal question. Curiosity.”
    Cameron, Mary Anne thought. “Cameron thinks virtually everyone should have counseling.”
    Graham smiled but not in agreement.
    She said, “The answer is yes. My father’s an alcoholic and a celebrity, and I’ve found counseling helpful.”
    Graham nodded, wondering at all that was going on inside her. Wondering everything about her.
    Now, she said, “I’m supposed to help Jonathan with some election coverage soon.”
    Graham blinked at this non sequitur.
    “But obviously,” Mary Anne said, “he won’t be broadcasting that at the same time as your show. So it shouldn’t be a problem.”
    Graham nodded, wondering why she’d brought this up. Was it simply to hear the sound of Hale’s name? He rose. “Call me if you have any questions between now and Saturday.”
    Mary Anne said, “Thank you for coming over. It was pleasant.”
    She thought for a moment that he was going to laugh. Instead he said, “I agree, Mary Anne. I completely agree.” He paused beside her grandmother’s credenza, looked at a framed photograph there. “Is your mother in this?” he asked.
    “Yes. There. And that’s my aunt Caroline, her sister, and Aunt Louise, Cameron’s mom.” Mary Anne studied the three girls in dresses, posed with their mother and father. All wore full-skirted white dresses with satin sashes. Nanna’s hair was in the same French twist she wore today; it had been blond then. “Caroline’s the one who broke the mold.” Mary Anne laughed. “She’s the youngest.” She moved on to another photo and showed Graham her own mother and father and her brother, Kevin.
    Lucille came down the stairs then.
    As Mary Anne closed the door behind Graham, Lucille said, “That’s a nice young man.”
    Having forgotten for a moment that Cameron liked Graham and that she, therefore, should not, Mary Anne replied, “Yes. I’m beginning to think he might be.”
    Lucille didn’t ask how Mary Anne could think any different. She said, “And he lost his wife.”
    Which Mary Anne took as evidence that Lucille, like herself, wanted to know how Briony had died.
     
    T HE NEXT MORNING , when Mary Anne opened the front door of her grandmother’s house, she found a manila envelope on the doormat with her name scrawled across the front. She found a note from Graham inside, telling her that he looked forward to her joining him for his show Saturday afternoon. Thursdays and Saturdays were the days for his show. Also in the envelope was information about the show, including protocols for dealing with callers. It was part of a packet he probably had given to other guests in the past.
    Mary Anne would make time to read it that morning. From noon on, her schedule was packed—with an Altar Society luncheon, a Daughters of the American Revolution tea, an artist’s opening at the library and dinner with Jonathan. Jonathan had left her a message on her cell phone the previous evening suggesting they meet at the library and walk to the new Thai restaurant from there. Mary Anne