Rough Drafts (8 page)

“Well, like you said, sometimes things happen,”
Jonah repeated her words. Jameson sighed. “Hey, I can’t imagine how pissed you
must have been,” he admitted. “Man, if that happened to Marianne or Shell…or
Rick? I’d be pissed. I don’t know who I would be the most pissed at, though,”
he said.

“What do you mean?” Jameson asked.

Jonah shrugged. “Well, I mean let’s say it was
Shell and Marianne and Shell died. I don’t know if I would be angrier at
Marianne or at Shell. I don’t know what I would do without them, you know?
They’re annoying as hell, but as sisters go, well, they are my best friends.”

Jameson smiled. “Yeah, I do know.”

“It’s gotta suck.”

“What’s that?” Jameson asked.

“Losing them both,” Jonah said. “I mean, Scott is
still here, but you aren’t friends anymore. That almost sucks worse.” Jameson
stared at Jonah blankly. “Aw shit, J.D., I’m sorry. I was just thinking out
loud. I didn’t mean…”

Jameson shook her head. “It’s okay,” she said.

“Are you going to tell your mom?” Jonah wondered.

“Tell her what?”

“About me and Laura?” he asked sheepishly.

Jameson couldn’t help but laugh. “Why? Worried
about what she’ll say?” she asked him. Jonah blushed. “Well, one thing is for
sure, she’ll be honest. She’s a lot like Pearl in that way,” Jameson smiled.

“Yeah, I know. That’s what scares me,” Jonah said.

Jameson laughed again. “Finish your beer,” she
instructed him.

“Liquid courage?” he asked Jameson.

“Something like
that.
”

***

“Senator?” Susan poked her head into Candace’s
office.

“What is it, Susan? Please tell me, it is not one
of my children making a surprise visit.”

Susan’s brow knitted in confusion. “Um, no.”

“Good.”

“There is someone here to see you,” Susan said.

“Are they selling anything? At all?” Candace asked.

Susan chuckled. “I don’t think so, but you’ll have
to ask him yourself.”

“Him? Who, him?” Candace asked just as Jeffrey
peered over Susan’s shoulder. Candace smiled. “Did you check his credentials?”
she asked Susan playfully.

“He seems to be legit,” Susan played along.

“Well, all right then, let him in,” Candace
instructed.

Jeffrey walked through the door with a grin. “Am I
suspected of something?” he asked.

“You are 007,” Candace laughed.

“Only according to my mother,” he replied. “She has
an
overactive
imagination,” he said.

Candace arched her brow. “Um-hum.”

“Not you too!” Jeffrey laughed. Candace made her
way to him and looked him up and down. “What are you doing?” he asked her.

“Looking for anything suspicious,” she said. “Like
a pen that is really a camera or a tie tack,” she grabbed his tie, “that
records everything I say. Hello?” she spoke into it.

“Knock it off,” he laughed. “You’ve lost your
mind.”

Candace smiled brightly. “I live with a lunatic.
It’s par for the course,” she told him.

Jeffrey nodded. “I see. J.D.—she is certainly an
interesting character.”

“Is that your stamp of approval or should I warn
her now? Candace asked lightly.

Jeffrey sighed. “Everyone seems to love her,” he
offered.

“But?”

“I don’t know her well, Candy. If you are happy….”

“I am.”

“Come on, don’t get defensive. I’m sorry that I am
protective. I just worry about you,” he said.

Candace took a deep breath and leaned against the
edge of her desk. “I’m a big girl, Jeffrey.”

“Yes, I know that. That hasn’t stopped you from
getting hurt before.”

“Jameson would die before she would hurt me,”
Candace said flatly.

“If you say so.”

“I know so,” Candace said with growing frustration.

“Candy, I would like to get to know her better. Mom
loves her. So, does Jonah. That says a lot.”

Candace nodded and decided a change of subject was
in order. “So, what brings you to the hill?” she asked. Jeffrey’s face grew
pensive. “Jeff?”

“Candy…”

“What’s wrong?” Candace asked fearfully.

“Does Mom seem okay to you?” he asked as he took a
seat on the sofa in Candace’s office.

Candace felt her heart skip several beats. “Why do
you ask that?”

“I don’t know,” he said. “She’s tight-lipped about
herself. You know that better than anyone.”

“I suppose, I do,” Candace admitted. She made her
way to a chair that sat facing Jeffrey. “Jeff?”

“I just worry, being away so much,” he said. “You
know, you are the most like her,” he admitted with a smile. Candace smiled
back. “Growing up, I used to tell everyone you were my sister. Did you know
that?”

Candace smiled. “No, I didn’t.”

“I did—for a long time. It wasn’t like I was making
it up. As far as I knew, you were. I mean, I knew you didn’t sleep at our
house, but you were older. You used to call Mom, Mom. She always called you,
Love. I remember that.”

Candace sighed. “I didn’t know that you ever heard
that.” She and Candace had reserved those moments for times when they were
alone. For the most part, that had remained
true
into Candace’s adulthood. It had nothing to do with shame or embarrassment.
Their relationship was sacred to them both. It wasn’t something either could
explain
nor something they needed to explain.
Experience had taught them both that openness often led to the expectation of
an explanation.

Jeffrey shrugged and Candace couldn’t resist
smiling at him. His expression brought her back to when he was still
tiny
, running around her grandmother’s kitchen.
“I remember. I remember one day when you were both in the kitchen. I think I
was about four or five. I heard you telling Mom about someone at school. I don’t
know what it was about. I remember what Mom said, though. She said, ‘Candy,
Love, you will always have my heart.’ You were crying, that’s why I remember
it.” Candace listened intently. “I didn’t really think about it then. After
that, I told everyone you were my sister for a long time. And, I believed it
too.”

“As far as I am concerned, I am,” Candace said.

“I think I knew that. I do know that. Your mom
caught me talking about my sister to some friends one day,” he said. Candace
grimaced. “She pulled me aside and asked me why I was making up stories.”

“I’m sorry,” Candace apologized.

“I didn’t understand. She said that you were a
Stratton and I was a Johnson. Those were very different things. I would never
be a Stratton.”

“That’s not true,” Candace groaned.

“I know,” he smiled.

Candace nodded. “She told you—that you are a
Stratton, I mean,” Candace surmised.

Jeffrey nodded. “Why didn’t you ever tell me?” he
asked.

“Oh, Jeffrey, it wasn’t my place. It wasn’t my
story to tell. I didn’t even tell Pearl that I knew until a few months ago,”
Candace said.

“I know. She
told me
,”
Jeffrey said. “Technically, you are my cousin, but to me you are my big sister,
Candy. And, to Mom…You…Candy, I think you are the most important person in her
world.”

“No,” Candace said.

“It’s okay that you are. I love Mom. I was always
closer to you. Just like you were closer to her than to your mom.”

Candace nodded. “You’re worried about her,” she
said.

“I’m not here, Candy. She’s not getting any
younger. I just…If something
were
wrong,
she would tell you first.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” Candace said. “What
makes you think something is wrong?”

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s nothing.”

“Or maybe it’s something,” Candace interjected.
“Jeffrey, please…”

“After we left the other night, she lectured me
about when she’s gone. Told me that I needed to stop running away and accept my
family for what it is. Then she
told me
about her parents, how Governor Stratton was really her father.” Candace nodded
and smiled. “You don’t seem worried,” he observed.

“I know Pearl,” she said. “She’s lived long enough
to know that life is unpredictable,” Candace said. “God knows, she tells me
that all the time,” she giggled. “You’re right, you are going to be far away.
She just wants you to know how she feels, I suspect. She worries about you.”

“She worries about you too,” Jeffrey said.

“Um. I know, not as much as she used to,” Candace
told him.

“J.D.?” he asked. Candace just smiled. “Yeah, the
way she talks you would think your wife was Jesus walking on water.”

Candace roared with laughter. “Oh God, whatever you
do, don’t ever tell Jameson that!”

“You know what I mean,” he said.

“I do.”

“Candy? One other thing,” he said.

“What?”

“Jonah,” he said softly.

“What about Jonah?” she asked him with growing
concern.

“Look, I don’t want you to think I am interfering
or…”

“Jeffrey, what?!”

“He sort of slipped, well, at least I think it was
a slip. I don’t think he meant to…”

“What are you talking about?” Candace urged him.

Jeffrey shook his head. “His girlfriend, Laura?”

“What about her?”

“Did he ever tell you her last name?”

“No. Why?” Candace asked.

Jeffrey sighed heavily. “That’s the slip I am
talking about,” he said. Candace waited for him to continue. “He mentioned Mr.
and Mrs. Klein.”

“And?”

Jeffrey swallowed hard. “I sort of looked into
that.”

“You did what?”

Jeffrey held up his hand. “Just hear me out. The
name sent up a flag. I remembered reading an article about a Lawson Klein whose
youngest daughter had just started at Caltech.”

Candace felt her stomach lurch violently. “Please
tell me her name is not Laura,” she said.

Jeffrey cringed in response to the question. “Don’t
be mad, Candy. I just thought you should know.”

Candace nodded and closed her eyes. “I knew there
was something he wasn’t telling me.”

“Candy, how bad is this?” he asked.

“On a scale of one to ten?” she asked. Jeffrey
nodded. “About a thousand.” Candace shook her head. She stood up, made her way
to her desk and picked up the phone. “Susan?”

“Yes, Senator?”

“Get Dana back here.”

“How urgently should I tell her she’s needed?”

“Yesterday,” Candace answered.

Jeffrey stood and Candace followed him to the door.
“Glad I am leaving the country,” he poked.

“Take me with you?” Candace pleaded.

“I’ll be out back at six,” he winked. “If you need
anything. Not that I can…”

“I know, just do me a favor and don’t dig up
anything that will get me in more trouble,” she said.

“I thought that’s what little brothers were for?”

“And sons, apparently,” she rolled her eyes. “You
take care of yourself,” Candace said.

“Worried about me?” he asked.

“Always,” Candace said seriously.

Jeffrey reached out and hugged Candace. “Don’t
worry about me, Senator. 007 never fails.” Candace rolled her eyes as she
opened the door.

Susan looked at the senator. “Dana wants to know if
she should bring Chinese food.”

Candace nodded. “Yes. And, scotch. Lots and lots of
scotch
.”

“What?!” Dana
screamed. Candace cringed. “There is not enough scotch in Washington D.C. for
this. Are you seriously telling me that Jonah’s girlfriend is the daughter of
the media director for FVI?”

“It
would appear so,” Candace replied.

“Jesus
Christ!”

“Not
so loud,” Candace warned Dana. “We might need his help soon.”

“I
am glad you are so amused,” Dana replied as she flopped onto the sofa. “Lawson
Klein? Lawson Klein? I cannot believe that Jonah is sleeping with Lawson
Klein’s daughter! What was he thinking?”

“This
isn’t about Lawson Klein, Dana,” Candace reminded her. “We don’t even know
Laura.”

“I
know,” Dana said. “But, Candy—Lawson Klein?!”

Candace
grimaced. “I know. It’s bad.”

“No.
Not bad. Bad is a thunderstorm. This is a cyclone. Family Values International
is one of your biggest critics.”

“Don’t
remind me,” Candace flinched. Family Values International was a non-profit
humanitarian group. At least, that is what they claimed as their designation.
Candace wondered when bias became a humanitarian effort. The organization was
decidedly anti-gay and by most people’s accounting, anti-feminist as well. They
opposed
same-gender
marriage, were
adamant about overturning Roe versus Wade, had lobbied
Congress
aggressively in support of prayer in the public schools,
and had a well-known alliance with the NRA. In short, everything they believed
in stood in stark contrast to Candace’s personal life and political beliefs.
She was the frequent target of pointed criticism with regard to both her voting
record and her
personal
life by FVI
founder Dominick Ward.

“Have
you talked to Jonah yet?” Dana asked.

“
No,
and I don’t plan to.”

“Tell
me, I heard that wrong,” Dana said.

“No,
you heard me correctly.”

“Candy,
I understand that Jonah is your son, but you have to be realistic about this.
What happens when the shit hits the fan? Think about Jonah in that equation.”

“I
am,” Candace replied. “Look, he needs to deal with this in his own way. I need
to give him the time to do that,” Candace said. Dana remained unconvinced.
“Dana, please. Just start getting prepared. Okay?”

“I
don’t even know what I am preparing for!”

“Anything
and everything you think might be possible. We both know that they will play
the morality card against me,” Candace said knowingly.

“Exactly
my point. Candy.”

“Dana.”

Dana
put her face in her hands and sighed in frustration. “If Shell comes on board,
you will have to tell her.”

“I
know.”

“Candy,
that…”

“I
know!” Candace raised her voice.

“I’m
sorry, Candy. Dominick Ward has been looking for your weakness for years.”

“I
know that too,” Candace said. “Look, I stand by Jonah no matter what.”

“I
know, and that
is
your strength,”
Dana smiled. “It’s not so much that I think this jeopardizes you in the
election,” she continued. Candace closed her eyes in anticipation of Dana’s
next words. “They have never been dragged through the mud like you have, Candy.
They’ve left the kids out of it. All bets are off now.”

“I
know,” Candace sighed. She was fighting the urge to be sick.

“A
lesbian daughter, who might come on board the campaign. A son fathering a child
out of wedlock with the daughter of a conservative
activist…
Candy, they are not kids anymore.”

“Dana—I
know.”

“I’m
just preparing you. What are you going to do when the target is on Jonah or
Shell’s back?” Dana asked.

“Trust
me, Dana. You don’t want that answer,” Candace told her.

Dana
looked up at the ceiling as if to implore a solution from on high. “That’s what
I thought. Are you willing to quit the campaign to avoid that?”

“That
isn’t my preference,” Candace said.

“That’s
not what I asked.”

Candace
sighed. “Let’s cross that bridge
if
we come to it.”

Dana
nodded. “All right, you’re the boss.”

Candace
chuckled. “Glad you remember
that,
” she
said just as her cell phone rang. She looked at the number and exhaled a
nervous breath. “Hi, honey….What’s wrong? No, I’m not sitting down. Why? Should
I be?” Candace asked Jameson on the other end of the line.

Dana
covered her mouth and groaned. “Jesus. What the hell is it now?”

***

Jonah
looked down the hallway and shook his head.

“They’ll
be fine,” Maureen Reid assured him. “Trust me, they need a few minutes alone.
It’s long overdue.”

Jonah
turned and looked at Jameson’s mother. “Yeah, J.D. told me what happened.”

Maureen
smiled at the young man standing before her. “Have a seat, Jonah. We can visit
while I finish making dinner.”

“Can
I help you with something?” he asked her.

“If
you are willing to chop some vegetables for the salad, I would be grateful.”

“I
think I can manage that.”

“So?”
Maureen set out to start a conversation. “J.D. said your visit home was a
surprise.”

Jonah
shifted his weight nervously as Maureen handed him a knife. “Yeah, I needed to
talk to them.”

Maureen
nodded. “How is school? You’re an engineering major, right?”

“Yeah.
Civil.”

“I
thought J.D. might be inclined toward that. Then again, I thought she might
choose History too. Her father thought she’d go into construction,” Maureen
said. “She
chose
architecture. Said it
had a little of everything she loved.”

“She’s
excellent
at it,” Jonah observed. Maureen
smiled at him proudly. “I mean it. I watched her working today. She’s amazing.”

“That’s
what I hear,” Maureen said. “What about you? What are your plans?”

Jonah
sighed apprehensively. “Not sure that I can make any right now,” he said. “Get
a job as soon as possible.”

Maureen
frowned. “Just, get a job? That doesn’t sound like you, not from what I know,”
she said.

“Things
change,” he said as he chopped a cucumber.

“With
those knife skills, maybe you should consider engineering in the mafia,”
Maureen kidded him. “What did that cucumber do to you?”

Jonah
shrugged. “Sorry.”

“Don’t
apologize to me. I’m just glad I’m not that cucumber.”

Jonah
chuckled. He liked Jameson’s mother. She always made a point to engage him in
conversation at family events. Jonah found that refreshing. He looked at her
and shook his head again. “She really didn’t tell you,” he said.

“I’ll
assume you mean J.D.,” Maureen guessed.

“J.D.
or Mom,” he replied. He was well aware that his mother had developed a close
relationship with the woman beside him.

“No.
One thing about your
mom
and J.D., they
are far from CNN when it comes to news. Sometimes, I turn on the news just
hoping I will know what they are up to,” she smirked.

Jonah
laughed lightly and then looked down at his hand as he continued the task he
had been given. “My girlfriend is pregnant,” he said softly.

Maureen
stopped what she was doing abruptly and looked at him. His eyes lifted to hers
slowly. He was surprised by the compassionate gaze she offered him. “It
happens,” she said. He looked at her hopefully. “Sometimes, these things turn
out far better than you think they will.”

“I
hope so,” Jonah said doubtfully.

“Toby
was a surprise,” Maureen told him.

“Really?”
Jonah asked.

Maureen
nodded with a smile. “Best surprise I ever got,” she said assuredly. Jonah
smiled back. “So, what about this girl?” Jonah blushed slightly at the
question. “Oh, I see,” Maureen winked. “She must be something.”

“She
is,” Jonah said. “I just don’t know what they are going to think,” his voice
dropped to almost a whisper.

“They?
I assume you mean your Mom and J.D.?” she asked him. He nodded. “Well, what did
they say when you told them?”

“They’ve
both been great,” he said. “It’s just…”

“It’s
okay, Jonah.”

“Her
father won’t approve. It’s why we haven’t told anyone we have
been seeing
each other,” he explained.

“Won’t
approve of her pregnancy?”

“That
too,” Jonah said. “He would flip if he knew she was with me.”

Maureen
was perplexed. Jonah was an intelligent, handsome, polite young man who was
almost certainly on his way to a prosperous career. “Why on earth would he have
an issue with his daughter dating a grad student from a prominent family?” she
asked in bewilderment. Jonah’s eyes gave away his answer. Maureen sighed
deeply. “Let me guess, he would have an issue with your mother’s relationship.”

“He
has an issue with everything about my mother,” Jonah groaned.

Maureen
shrugged. “Well, she isn’t dating your
mother
,”
she pointed out.

“Might
as well be in his book,” Jonah said.

“I
take it that you did not share this with your mom,” Maureen said. Jonah shook
his head. “Well, you can’t keep it a secret forever. If I
understand
correctly, you and…”

“Laura.”

“Laura,
right. You two are going to have to tell them all sooner or later. My advice
is to get
it over with and get on with life.”
Jonah snickered. “Bad advice?” she asked.

“No.
I
was just thinking
that J.D. was right.”

“Oh?
What was my daughter right about? Do tell.”

Jonah
laughed. “She said you are a bit like Grandma Pearl.”

“I’ll
take that as a compliment.”

“You
should,” Jonah told her. “I just don’t want to disappoint them.”

“You
lost me,” Maureen said.

“Her
father is a
bigwig
at FVI,” Jonah said.

“So?”

“So?
They hate my mom. I can only imagine what they
think
of J.D. and Shell, oh God,” Jonah groaned. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

Maureen
shrugged. “Who cares what they
think
? You
aren’t dating her father any more than she is dating your mother. What does
Laura think?”

“She
thinks he father will flip out.”

“Safe
bet,” Maureen agreed. “I meant, does it bother her about your mother?”

“Laura?
God, no. She’s not like that at all. That doesn’t mean he won’t make her life
miserable….or my mom’s and J.D.’s,” he said regretfully.

Maureen
laughed. “I wouldn’t worry about Candace and J.D.”

“Why
not? Who knows what…”

“Jonah,
trust me on this one. Your mom’s biggest
worry
will be you. J.D.’s
biggest
concern
will be her and you. Just tell her. If
you can’t tell your mom, tell J.D. She’ll understand,” Maureen said.

“I
doubt it.”

“Oh
no, she will,” Maureen said assuredly. “She’s got a conservative brother, an
uncle who won’t acknowledge her, and…ask her about the first firm she worked
for that fired her,” Maureen said. “She’ll understand.”

“She’s
got enough to deal with…with her own family right now,” Jonah pointed out.

Maureen
shook her head and smiled. “Jonah, I hate to burst your martyr bubble here. You
are J.D.’s family.”

“You
know what I mean,” he said.

“No.
Actually, I don’t,” Maureen said. She turned back and retrieved her lasagna
from the oven. “Go tell J.D. and Scott that dinner is ready.”

“I
don’t want to interrupt them.”

“It’s
food, Jonah. Trust me, it will be fine.”

Jonah
laughed. “Maureen?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks.
I mean, for listening,” Jonah said.

Maureen
offered Jonah a smile and a nod. “You driving tonight?”

“No.
Why?”

“A
couple of beers won’t hurt then,” she laughed.

“You
are definitely J.D.’s mom,” he said.

“How’s
that?”

“Liquid
courage,” he explained.

Maureen
winked at him. “Welcome to the family, Jonah. Our motto? Drink til you can stop
the think.”

Jonah
laughed. “She’s right,” he continued to
smile
as he headed out of the kitchen.

“Who’s
right?” Maureen called after him.

“Mom.
She married into a family of lunatics.”