Compromising Positions (23 page)

Wrapping one arm around me and taking my suitcase with the other, he laughed. “I know, but you’re my guest.”

He led me toward the ornate doorway of what could only be described as a mansion. “This house is beautiful.”

“Thanks, but wait ’til you see the inside. It’s a little too fussy for my taste.”

I laughed. “Now that we’re openly dating, I’m going to actually get to visit your apartment, and I can see for myself what your taste is like.”

“And the next time you come to visit me here, you can stay with me at my place in the district or my apartment downtown,” he said with a smile.

“You have four homes you can sleep in at any given time?”

“Yeah, I guess so, if you count this place, which is my parents’.” He shrugged. “Are apartments really homes, anyway?”

“Uh, yes, the majority of the world lives in apartments.” I squeezed his arm.

“Regardless, let’s just say you have four beds you can sleep in at any given time.” Michael leaned down and whispered in my ear. “And I plan on having you in every single one.”

“Ah.” I exclaimed, my eyes wide. “I can’t believe you just said—”

“What are you two laughing about?” asked an older male voice.

I looked at the door to see Gerald and Evelyn Grath standing in the entryway. I glanced up at Michael, who had turned his smile to his parents.

“We’re not laughing at anything really.” He rubbed my shoulder. “Dad. Mom. I’d like for you to meet Jessica Clark.”

“Hello, Congresswoman Clark,” Michael’s father said, extending his hand. “Evelyn and I are very happy to have you here.”

“Thank you, Governor and Mrs. Grath,” I said, as I shook his hand. “But, please call me Jessie.”

“And please call me, Gerald.”

“And I’m Evelyn,” said Mrs. Grath with a smile. “It’s good to see you again, Jessie.”

“It’s nice to see you also. You have a lovely home.”

As Gerald ushered everyone inside, Evelyn glanced around the grand foyer and said, “Thank you. That’s nice to hear because it feels a little empty sometimes.” She looked at me again. “And thank you for visiting. I get to have dinner with both of my children tonight, which doesn’t happen that often anymore.”

Evelyn’s eyes were bright and happy, but I searched her face for some sign of her actual feelings. Considering the circumstances, I didn’t believe that Evelyn was really pleased I was visiting, but she did appear genuinely warm, as did Gerald.
Politics aside.
They’re really nice people
.

“Oh, Mom, I’m here all the time,” said a young woman as she placed her hand on Evelyn’s shoulder. She grinned at me. “Hi! I’m Emily. Michael has probably said terrible things about me.”

“Hi, Emily. I’m Jessie,” I said, extending my hand. “And he’s said nothing of the sort. Well, he has said you’re a workaholic, but he has no room to talk.”

“No one in this family has any leeway to speak on that subject,” said Evelyn, laughing. “And I know for a fact that you’re probably a hard worker yourself, Jessie. No woman gets to where you are without serious dedication.”

“Thank you.” I smiled at her. “I appreciate it.”

While Michael and the rest of his family debated who the biggest workaholic was, I watched Evelyn again. What she’d said to me was a compliment, but it also was a reminder that she knew who I was outside of being the girl her son had brought home.

A few hours later, my judgment was confirmed over the course of dinner. In the fancy formal dining room, dinner was delicious and the conversation was smooth. The meal had been catered by Emily’s favorite chef, and she also provided the bulk of the conversation. As the evening wore on, she began to be really nice to me.

“Jessie, you should really come to my restaurant the next time you’re in town. We could have a drink, and then I’ll take you to this great hole-in-the-wall Japanese place.”

“Thanks. That’s really nice of you to offer.” I glanced at Michael.

Emily watched me look at her brother and said, “Oh, Michael. You can come, too, but only if you don’t talk politics while we’re out. You know I hate that.”

“You’re a Grath, and you don’t like politics?” I chuckled.

“Hate it.” Emily sneered. “No offense. It just bores me to tears.”

“No offense taken.” I smiled. “It’s just funny considering your family.”

“I’m not a Republican anyway. I’m a Libertarian.”

“Libertarian.” Michael snorted and wiped his mouth with his napkin. “That just means you’re selfish as hell.”

“You always say that, and it’s not true,” Emily countered, as she crossed her arms. “I’m very generous. I just don’t want anyone telling me what to do, and I don’t want to tell anyone else what to do.”

“Unlike liberals and conservatives, Libertarians have no moral code whatsoever,” said Michael. “It’s an anti-intellectual philosophy.”

“Unlike some people, I’ve never pretended to be an intellectual,” Emily answered with a huff.

“Which is good, because you’re not.” Michael sneered.

“Emily. Michael,” said Evelyn in a warning tone.

“Emily, it’s okay,” I said, trying to smoothing things over. “I like Libertarians. We always agree at least half the time, which is more than I can say for a lot of people.”

“I’ve always felt the same way about them,” said Gerald with a smile. “And I’m fine with whatever Emily believes for herself—as long as she votes for her brother and supports the family.”

“And I do that,” Emily said, eyeing Michael.

“Thanks,” Michael said half-heartedly.

Evelyn clasped her hands together and looked around the table. “So this brings me to something…”

“What’s that?” said Michael.

“You and Jessie are on opposite sides of the aisle, so you obviously vote differently all the time. You probably don’t agree that often. How do you feel about that?” She ended with a smile, which made me think the question was totally planned to ensnare me.

A frown formed on Michael’s face, and he flatly replied, “I believe I already told you it doesn’t matter to us.”

“But really, how can that be? You two are both passionate in your beliefs. How do you get around your differences?” asked Evelyn.

“Just like Mary Matalin and James Carville do,” said Emily. “It’s not that big of a deal, Mom.”

“Evelyn, I don’t think we have to make them answer this,” said Gerald as he gave his wife a cautionary look.

I took a drink of water as I often did before I had to tangle with someone. It was a simple action that made everything seem casual and gave me a moment to prepare. As I set the glass down in front of me, I said, “Actually, I don’t mind answering the question. Evelyn is right that Michael and I are both firm in our political beliefs. I think we grew closer because we could have friendly debates.”

“I think that’s right,” said Michael.

“But what about your formal positions on the issues of the day? How do you get around that?” asked Evelyn, arching a brow.

I took a breath. “I’m about to say something that may sound glib, but I actually mean it very plainly. I try not to even think about Michael’s voting record. I don’t want to study it or see what he says to the press because I know it will only irritate me.”

“I suppose I do the same thing with Jessie. I don’t want to hear about her votes either.” Michael snickered.

“But you can only do that for so long. One day, probably not that far in the future, one of you will vote against a piece of legislation the other offers. You may even need to speak out against it.” Evelyn nodded at Emily. “There’s a big difference between these two and Mary Matalin and James Carville. For Jessie and Michael, a difference of opinion could hurt the other’s career. They’re not just commenting on television about politics.”

“Mom, Jessie and I aren’t worried about this, so you shouldn’t be either.” Michael smiled at me. “In the end, none of this has any bearing on how we feel about each other.”

“Good. I’m glad to hear it.” Evelyn turned to me and said warmly, “Please, forgive me, Jessie. I still worry about my son.”

“Not at all. I understand.” I smiled, but gave her a steely glare. “I’ve considered it myself.”

“As any good politician would,” said Gerald with a wink. “Now, that we’re done with this I’m ready for dessert. Emily, what did you bring for us?”

~~~

Later that night in one of the Grath’s palatial guest suites, I’d finished getting ready for bed and began the daunting task of removing the throw pillows from the four-poster bed. There had to be thirty of them. I wondered if all the beds in the house had that many pillows or was it just the guest bedrooms. I pictured Michael standing in front of his bed and tossing pillows across the room like Frisbees. Then a loud crack from the door caused me to jump, and I warily stared as the door opened.

Michael entered, wearing a white t-shirt, pajama bottoms, and a grin. “Hello.”

“I don’t think you’re supposed to be here,” I whispered but smiled.

He closed the door and walked toward the bed. “I don’t really care.” Taking me in his arms, he asked, “Do you?”

“Not really.” I gave him a peck. “I’m kind of lonely in here, except for all these pillows.”

Leaning down to give me a kiss, he murmured, “I can take care of the pillows and the loneliness.” Then he placed his lips on mine.

We kissed just as we always did at night, but the fact I was in his parents’ house was in the back of my mind. After a string of sweet kisses, I asked, “Just so I know. Where is your parents’ bedroom?”

“The other side of the house,” he said with a laugh. “And don’t worry about them anyway.”

“Easy for you to say. You’re not the one who was brought here for approval.” I turned and climbed onto the bed and slid under the covers. Patting the space beside me, I said, “Come here. We can talk.”

“Sure.” He got into bed and wrapped his arms around me. “I’ve got a few things to tell you.”

“What’s that?”

“When the story hits this week, I think we should go out to dinner that night—some place really visible, so we look as normal… like we’re not trying to hide anything.”

“That sounds good.”

“And then on Saturday night…”

“What’s on Saturday night?”

“I have tickets to the National Symphony at the Kennedy Center. They’re box seats. It should be nice.”

“Really?” I probably had such a dopey grin on my face. “That’s great! I can’t wait.”

He found my hand and held it in his. “These are things I’ve been wanting to do for a long time. I’m glad we can. The rest of the world is just going to have to get over it.”

“I agree,” I said, giving him a kiss.

“I don’t think it will take that long either. Look how easily you charmed my family.”

“I don’t think ‘charmed’ is the right word.”

“I’d say you charmed Emily. She thinks you’re great.”

“That’s nice. I like her. She’s a lot of fun.”

“For a sister, I suppose…”

I poked his arm. “What about your parents? I doubt I charmed your mother.”

“I don’t have any direct intelligence yet.” He grinned and waited a moment like he was going to make a major announcement. “But it looks as if you may have hit it out of the park.”

“Really?” That seemed impossible. “How?”

“Well, I can tell my dad liked you.”

“He was very kind, and he’s pretty funny too.” I had stroked his arm before I asked the kicker. “What about your mom?”

“I know what you’re thinking. She was a little harsh during dinner, but that’s just her. I swear she was being genuine throughout the entire time. She wouldn’t be that warm with you if she didn’t like you.”

“Like I said, I didn’t mind being asked any of those questions. I think they’re all reasonable, and she did seem genuine.”

“But…” Michael trailed off, his voice expectant of a response.

“I think she made a good point, which we haven’t really talked about. What do we do when one of us is offering legislation which the other is going to vote against?”

“I think we just agree to disagree.” He kissed my hair. “We’re not going to convince the other one is wrong. We should just let it go.”

“She’s right, though. What if a vote is crucial to one of us? What if our reelection depends on it? There are so many scenarios that could put us in that situation.”

He lifted up my chin, which I’m sure was to see my face, but it also allowed me to see his beautiful blue eyes. They were always so reassuring. “We can’t worry about this. When something like that happens, we’ll know well beforehand. We’ll get through it and move on. That’s what we’ve done so far, and it’s worked.”

“It has worked,” I said, and my smile returned. I reached up to kiss him. “I love you, regardless of everything else.”

He grinned, his blue eyes dancing for me. “And I love you regardless of everything else.” 

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

The Graths

 In the master suite on the other side of the house, Evelyn and Gerald Grath began their nightly bedtime ritual. As they took their time preparing for bed, they always talked about the events of the day. Only that night, there was only one subject. Evelyn closed the door, ready for the discussion.

“So, what did you think of her?” asked Gerald, as he took off his shoes.

“Hmm,” Evelyn murmured.

“You don’t know what you think?”

“No. That’s not it at all,” she said as she unclasped her pearl necklace and placed it in its case. She then removed the matching earrings. “I know exactly how I feel about her.”

“Well, I like her. She’s smart and nice, and it’s obvious Michael loves her.”

“He does,” Evelyn said with a nod. She had watched her son’s actions around Jessie, and he showed all the signs of a besotted man. “And I agree with you. She’s a very pleasant person to be around. There’s just something different about her, though…”

“What do you mean?” he asked as he unbuttoned his shirt.

“She’s pleasant, but she doesn’t seem to be eager to please. Does that make sense?”

Gerald laughed. “Yes. I picked up on that, too. I can understand it. She interacts with us like we’re equals. She’s a very successful woman and doesn’t need our approval.”

“It’s actually sort of refreshing,” said Evelyn with a contemplative smile as she walked toward the dresser holding her nightgown. “She’s the exact opposite of Stacy, who was always ingratiating herself.”