More Than Rivals (2 page)

Without another word, she turned, tossed her cup into the trash can, and sprinted down the street into the darkness. He would’ve called out to her, but she was moving too quickly and he was confused.
We
can’t? You’ll understand? What does she mean? It doesn’t make sense, if I never see her again.

***

The following day Jack walked into the swanky law offices of Dresser and DuBoise, high atop the Transamerica Tower in San Francisco. He said “hello” to the receptionist who greeted him by name. Though he wasn’t an employee of the firm, he strode down the halls with the assurance of someone who belonged there. He could because his best friend and campaign’s finance director, Bill Dresser, was the grandson of one of the firm’s founders.
 

He knocked on a corner office door. “It’s Jack.”

“Come on in.”

He walked in to find Bill stretched out on the sofa, reading an iPad. “Hey,” Bill said, looking up from the tablet.
 

“Hard at work?” Jack asked.

“I am hard at work. I’m reading some press hits. How was chicken town?”

“Petaluma?” Jack asked, taking off his jacket.
 

“Of course.”

“The Chamber of Commerce went great,” Jack said and slumped into the closest chair. “I got some crap for not spending enough time in that part of the district, but no big deal. They were good guys, and I think I made an impression. It’s just hard to break through. There are too damn many people running in this election.”

“The new primary system is a real problem,” said Bill with a nod. “It’s a friggin’ free for all with both Democrats and Republicans running together in one primary.”

“The only good news is that I doubt they’re going to give Charles Kingsley or Herb Yancey an immediate endorsement.”

“That’s awesome. Anything you can do to slow down the Kingsley/Yancey juggernaut is a good thing.”

“I know.” He grimaced thinking of the race’s two frontrunners who if they won the primary would go head-to-head in the fall. He hated thinking that it was destiny they would be the two candidates in the November general election, and it only added to his bad mood.

“So what’s bugging you?” said Bill as he set the tablet on the coffee table. “You seem frustrated.”

Jack shook his head. He must’ve let down his guard for Bill, or maybe Bill simply knew how to read him. Jack mumbled, “I met this girl...”

“In Petaluma?”

“Yeah. At a coffee joint late last night. We hit it off, but she flat out refused to give me her number.”

Bill’s voice lowered into one of exaggerated pity. “Prince Charming got rejected? That’s so sad.” He waved him off and grumbled, “Now you know what it’s like for the rest of us.”

“I’ve been rejected plenty of times before. You know that. It’s just that she was different.”

“Different how?”

“Just different.”

“Is she pretty? Is she built like Bev?”

“No, not like that, but still cute. There was more to her though. I enjoyed talking with her. She seemed like a great person.” Tugging at his tie, he stared out at the perfect blue sky above San Francisco Bay. “Hell. What am I doing?”

“I don’t know what you’re doing.”

“Thanks,” Jack muttered.

“Okay. Okay. I’ll be helpful. Did she tell you anything so you could track her down?”

“Only her first name. Oh, and she’s a nurse.”

“A nurse? Huh. Nurses are either hot as hell and dumb as shit or ugly and really smart.”

“She’s neither one.”

“Oh
really
? Hot
and
smart?” asked Bill with a sly smile.
 

Not wanting to dwell on the one who got away, Jack rose from his seat. “All right. I’ve had enough. Give me my call sheet, and I’ll go raise some money.”
 

“Touchy…But you do need to get to work. The sheet’s right there. Lots of rich Dems in Mendocino County. You should know or know of most of them.”

“Great. I’ll be in the office next door.”

An hour later, Jack heard a knock as he finished writing notes from his last conversation. He watched the door open. “Yeah?”

“Hey,” Bill said as he walked in. “How’s it going?”

“Okay. Some of these people have no idea who I am, and they’re getting me confused with the other candidates.”

“Well, it just got a little more crowded.”

“Another candidate?”

“Yup. Another Democrat.”

“Damn it,” said Jack, throwing a paper on the desk. “Why couldn’t it be a Republican? Like we need more competition among the Democrats.”

Bill took a seat next to the desk. “This story just posted in the Santa Rosa paper, and now it’s spreading. Supervisor Ursula Robles has entered the race.”

“Who the hell is Ursula Robles?”

“The Sonoma County supervisor? You’ve never met her?”

“I don’t know. Maybe.” He shook his head. “Is she stupid or something? She’s a nobody county supervisor, and she’s running for Congress in a district which spans four counties. No one knows who she is. She’s gonna get clobbered.”

“Uh. She’s not stupid. She was smart to get in. This could be the only time this congressional seat is open in her lifetime, and she’s the only woman running in a field of four men.”

 
“So what does she look like?”

“Not bad. Not bad at all.” Bill cocked his head, looking at the photo one more time. “Pretty actually.”

“So what’s her story?”

“First of all, she’s a widow, but she’s young.”

“That’s sad.” Jack frowned. “How did her husband die?”

“In Iraq. He was a doctor in the army. They met while she was at nursing school and he was doing his residency at UCSF. He died when she was seven months pregnant.”

“Wow. That’s rough.”

“Yeah, she first ran for school board when her son started kindergarten. When the county supervisor seat opened up, she beat out a bunch of guys.”

“Interesting.” Jack yawned and stretched. “Where does she live?”

“Petaluma.”

Jack snapped his head up. “What else do you know about her?”

“I don’t know. I already told you most of what I read.” Bill shrugged and glanced at the screen one more time. “Single mom, widow, nurse, marathon runner, lives in Petaluma with her parents, rescues dogs, went to Cal. She’s Mexican-American, and her friends call her—”

“Lily,” Jack whispered as he leaned forward in his seat.

“That’s right.” Bill lifted his head. “See you
do
know her.”

Covering his eyes in humiliation, Jack laughed. “Oh my God. I can’t believe it.”

“What? What’s going on?”

Jack didn’t answer because he couldn’t stop laughing or wondering how on earth this had happened to him.
 

“Tell me,” Bill demanded. “Why are you laughing? How do you know her?”

“She’s the woman I met last night.”

“Ursula Robles? She’s the girl you’re all hung up on? Are you kidding me?”

“No, I’m not kidding.”
 

Bill smiled and snickered. “I can’t believe you hit on your opponent. No wonder she gave you the brush off.”

Jack shook his head, but then slapped his forehead. “
That’s
what she meant!”

“What?”
 

“After she told me she wouldn’t go out with me, she said ‘you’ll understand’—like you
will
understand. It didn’t make any sense to me because why would I understand in the future if I never saw her again. So this is what she meant.”

“Oh my God. This is fucking hilarious.”

“Let me see her picture,” Jack said reaching for the laptop.
 

There were two photos with the story about her entrance into the race. The first image was her official headshot as county supervisor. Jack nodded, vaguely remembering seeing it before. She looked attractive, but nothing like the Lily he met the night before. When he examined the second photo, he smiled because there was the Lily he’d met. She stood in a blazing orange field of California poppies with her arms around a young boy. Her smile was bright, and her hair mussed. He sighed. “That’s her.”

“Well, you’re gonna get to see her again.” Bill laughed.

“I guess I am. That should be interesting.”

“Yeah. Interesting. Get ready, buddy. Because she’ll be at that candidate forum on Saturday. What are you going to say to her now?”

“Hey sweet guy,” Lily said, rousing her son. She rocked his shoulder with soft pushes. “It’s time to get up. You’ve got a big day.”

Luke scrunched his mouth, nestling his head further into the pillow. “No.”

“Come on, guy. You’ve got karate this morning, and soccer this afternoon. You need to get going.”

He opened his blue eyes for a second, blinked, and closed them again. When he was younger, she didn’t think of them as his eyes because they were his father’s—exactly. The rest of Luke’s features were a true blend between her and David, but his eyes came straight from his dad.
 

But time had passed. She’d spent seven years with her son, compared to the three she’d spent with David. Now it was only on occasion she’d see her husband in her son.
 

This was one of those times. She needed the reassurance she found in remembering David. He had been such a daring rock for her, providing her with solidity, but urging her to do more. Her first official event as a candidate for Congress was that afternoon. David would’ve gotten a huge kick out of it, and in some ways she was doing it because of him. Thinking of her husband, she leaned down and kissed Luke’s cheek.

He groaned and said, “What’s for breakfast?”

“If you get up now, I’ll make blueberry pancakes. If you get up in half an hour, you’re having cereal. Those are your choices.”

“I’m getting up,” he muttered and rubbed his eyes. “Are you going to karate with me?”

“Not today. I have that candidate forum this morning. Abuelo is taking you, but I’ll be back after lunch. I’ll take you to soccer.”

“Good,” he said with a smile.
 

“Why do you say that?”

“Because you don’t like karate, and Abuelo does, but you like soccer.”

“It’s nice that it works out that way.” She kissed his forehead. “Now get dressed and come downstairs.”
 

An hour later, Lily stood in front of her open closet, absorbed by an internal fashion debate. What to wear for her first public appearance with the other candidates shouldn’t have been such a hard decision. From her years as a county supervisor, she had plenty of nice, professional clothes.
 

Yet looking at her closet reminded her of whom she’d see that afternoon. She tried not to think about him because she wasn’t sure which man would show up. Would it be the handsome, cocky state senator, John Bengston? Or would it be that cute, nice guy, Jack, she’d met the other night? She wasn’t sure which one she wanted to see again either.

John Bengston had always annoyed the hell out of her. It was one of the reasons she’d gotten into the race. She’d shaken his hand once, and he couldn’t get her name right, even though she was an elected official in a local county. Privately, she called him Senator Ignore.
 

He never took her calls, although his staff always followed up. The sliver of Sonoma County he represented wasn’t a priority for him. He cared about the populous, ritzy parts of his district in San Francisco and Marin. She understood the politics behind his actions, but it was still frustrating when she needed his office to get something done for the county.

The Jack guy was completely different. Confident, but warm, he made her laugh, and she found his way with her endearing. It was the opposite of the conceited doctors who hit on her at work. They thought because she was a young, unmarried nurse, all she wanted in life was to drop her panties for a hot doctor. When they found out she was a widow, single mother, and a local politician, they ran for the hills.

She sighed. Nothing was possible with Jack; he was her opposition. It didn’t matter, she told herself. She wasn’t going to see Jack again. His alter-ego, John Bengston, would show up that morning, and she certainly didn’t want anything to do with him.
 

Her mother’s voice rose from the bedroom doorway and interrupted her thoughts. “What are you going to wear?”

“I don’t know. I think this black pantsuit,” she answered, touching the pinstriped jacket.

“No. That’s not good.” Martha’s voice was firm.

“Why not?”

“You are the only woman in the race. You need to show that. You should wear a dress or a skirt.”

A skirt posed a problem she didn’t want to tell her mother about. Lily worried if she showed off some leg, Jack might think she did it for him. While deep down she hoped he’d again find her attractive, she didn’t want him to know how she felt. Yet, her mother was correct she should play up her femininity in a field of men. She mulled it over aloud. “Maybe I’ll wear a skirt, but I don’t want to look too young.”

“You
are
young. That’s who you are. And there are other candidates your age.”

“They’re men though.”
 

“That is my point!”

Lily wanted to roll her eyes at her mother’s circular logic, but she knew better than to debate her. “Okay. I’ll wear a skirt.”

“Good.” Martha wore a smug smile as she left the room.

Lily pulled out the navy skirt which always garnered compliments because of the high waist. A shiny silk blouse caught her eye, and she held the outfit together, deciding it perfect. With a pair of heels, she’d look chic and professional and nothing like the woman Jack had met the other night.
 

***

A few hours later, Martha and Lily followed her campaign manager, Jordan Singer, into a small auditorium on the Sonoma State University campus. The seats had already begun to fill with community members from around the county. Jordan had chosen that week to announce her candidacy so her first appearance would be to a friendly crowd. Outside of Sonoma County, she’d be unknown and constantly introducing herself. An event in a local setting would ensure she started off with good press.

 
Jordan tugged at his natty bowtie, which stood out loud and proud against his peach button down shirt. Lily chuckled. “I told you not to wear that bowtie. Now it’s bothering you.”