Solid Foundation (6 page)

“I
know, but…”

“There
is no but,” Pearl said. “Your granddad, my father…He thought you hung the moon.
We are very much alike; so do I.” Candace began to sob and Pearl rocked her
gently. “You need
to let this all go. Let it go;
all
of it. You have too much to let the weight of these old hurts
jeopardize everything you have to look forward to.”

“That’s
what Jameson said,” Candace chuckled through her tears.

“Smart
kid; that one.”

“She
is. Smart, I mean.”

Pearl
laughed. “You need to let go of that too.”

“What
do you mean?” Candace asked.

“Well,
to me you are still a kid. Jameson is a woman, a grown woman who loves you.
She’s your equal.”

“I
know. People are going to talk. You know that as well as I do,” Candace said.

“Yeah,
but in my experience most of the time no one is really listening. They forget
what they heard five minutes before, just as soon as something else strikes
their fancy. Ghosts, Candy. All these things you are worried about; that’s what
they are; just ghosts. They’re not real. Just passing images, memories and
snapshots of other people’s imagination. You know what’s real. Don’t let those
ghosts haunt you.”

Candace
snuggled against Pearl. “
Thanks,
Mama.”

“That’s
what mamas are for,” Pearl said. “Now, you stop all this foolishness and go
remind folks what it was like to have a Stratton in the Governor’s Mansion.”

“One
more thing,” Candace said.

“What’s
that?”

“Well,
Jameson and I decided to do a small ceremony here the day before the Fourth of
July barbeque.”

“Smart
idea,” Pearl said.

“It
was Jameson’s.”

“I’m
sure it was. So, how many people am I cooking for?”

Candace
laughed. “None. You are not cooking anything. Not this year. I’m having
everything catered. Period.”

“I
know I’m supposed to know where this is going…”

“I
want you to stand with me when Jameson and I get married. It’s only going to be
the kids,
Maureen,
and Duncan. That’s it.
I’m past having anyone give me away,” Candace laughed. “It would mean the
world…”

“Candy,
I would love to be there with you…this time,” Pearl chuckled.

“I
think you might just love Jameson even more than me.”

Pearl
kissed the top of Candace’s head. “No. I love Jameson because she loves you so
much. And, I know that when I am gone someone will be there to protect you.”

Candace
closed her eyes and let Pearl hold her as if she were still a child. She found
herself pondering a conversation she had with Marianne. Sometimes, it was nice
to be needed. Candace hated to see her children disappointed or in pain, but
she was grateful when they still felt inclined to slip into her embrace for
comfort. Sometimes, it was nice to be a child that needed her mother. Pearl had
always been Candace’s haven. She had been the person who always made Candace
feel safe, loved, and protected. Pearl was right. For the first time in
Candace’s life, she had two places to find refuge. One with the woman who had
protected her since childhood, the other in the arms of the person who would
hold her for a lifetime. Candace sighed in contentment.

“Don’t
you get any ideas about going anywhere anytime soon,” she warned Pearl.

Pearl
laughed. “And miss this show? It’s cheaper than cable.
No
way.”

“I’m not stumping here.
It’s my
wedding,
not a campaign stop,”
Candace reminded the group seated before her.

“I’m
not suggesting that it should be,” a voice responded.

Candace
looked at the voice’s owner. She’d known Jason Singleton for fifteen years. He
was an up and comer in the Democratic Party when Candace first arrived in
Washington. He was bright, intuitive,
imaginative
and driven. Those were all the qualities that made someone an effective
campaign manager. Candace admired all of those qualities. Jason could also be
aggressive. The line that stood between determined and aggressive was often
extremely
fine
. There were times in a
political campaign when an aggressive posture was beneficial. This was not one
of them. Candace could see
Dana
and
several of her staffers flinching in the background as she stared down her
campaign manager.

“That
is
exactly
what you are proposing.
Jameson and I will decide what photographs to release and when we will release
them. I’m not restricting guests at the barbeque from playing on their little
phones and posting their little sentiments. The day before is for our family.”

“Candy,
be reasonable,” Jason implored her.

Candace
looked out at the rest of the room from over her glasses. “Would you please
excuse us? Jason and I need to have a discussion.”

Dana
motioned to the small group that was gathered in Candace’s office. She stopped
in the doorway and grinned at Candace from behind Jason’s back. He was about to
get a lesson in Who’s The Boss 101. “I’ll see you in a bit,” she said. Candace
nodded her agreement to Dana as the door closed and promptly returned her
attention to the man seated in front of her.

“Candy,
this is a golden opportunity. I am sure that Jameson understands that.”

Candace
nodded thoughtfully. She removed her glasses, set them down gently, and rubbed
her eyes. She deliberately moved from behind her desk to lean against the front
of it and shook her head at the younger man. “This is not about what Jameson
understands.”

“What
is it about?” he asked her pointedly. “You have a chance here, one that not
many people get I might remind you.”

“What
kind of chance might that be?”

“You
know exactly what I am referring to. How many people launch a campaign at the
same time they are getting married? On the Fourth of July no less!”

“Actually,
we are getting married on the third of July,” Candace reminded him.

“Cute,
Candy. You are trying to tell me that this is just happenstance? You didn’t
plan this timing deliberately?”

“I
didn’t plan this timing at all,” Candace said flatly. “It was Jameson’s idea to
get married that weekend, not mine.”

“Smart
woman. I like her more and more,” he said.

“Glad
you approve, and yes, she is,” Candace agreed.

“Even
your partner sees the low hanging fruit here,” he said.

Candace
chuckled. That was true. Jameson had excellent instincts about many things.
Candace had no doubt that Jameson saw the political gain in the timing of their
wedding. That was where the compromise of the weekend had been born. Candace
recognized that. Jameson did not need to say anything specific for Candace to
realize that their plans
were,
in fact,
one of many compromises they would make in their relationship. Jameson was a
private person marrying a public figure. She had engineered a plan that would
respect both their private world and Candace’s public persona. Candace had no
intention of breeching that unspoken agreement. She folded her arms across her
chest and raised an eyebrow at the man before her.

“I
think we need to establish some ground rules, Jason. First, I will accept your
advice at face value. I
accept
that it is
based on what you see in my best interest regarding this election,” she said.
Jason smiled. “With that said,” Candace continued, “you will respect that the
decisions ultimately lie with me. When I say no, it means no. When I close the
debate, it is closed.”

“You
aren’t even open to debate,” he said.

“Oh,
you will find that I am open to debate on many things. You want to rearrange
the campaign schedule? We’ll talk. You want me to address one issue over
another? I am all ears. You
want
to align
this campaign with a certain group or issue? We’ll discuss it. You want me to
appear beside someone at an event? The conversation is open. What is not ever
open to debate is my family. Any decisions that affect my children, my marriage,
or the people I care for will
rest
with
me and me alone.”

Jason
groaned. “You know as well as I do that family can be either an asset or
liability.
Nothing in a campaign is off the
table for the press. You of all people know that.”

Candace
nodded. “I certainly do know that. That is precisely why those decisions rest
with me.”

“Candy,
this could go either way in the courtroom of public opinion. It all depends on
how it is spun.”

“Jason,
I want you to listen to me.”

“I
am listening to you! You are not listening to yourself!”

Candace
laughed. Jason was still young. He was energetic and she genuinely liked him.
He still had a great deal to learn. She had spent her entire life
around
politicians and campaigns. The courtroom
of public opinion was a playground. It moved back and forth, up and down just
like a swing. You could kick as hard as you wanted, inevitably you would fall
back down again. Sometimes it was best to just stretch out your legs and coast
for a bit.

“You
are going to do well,” she complimented him. Jason was confused by the praise.
Candace laughed at the peculiar look on his face. “You’re not married yet,” she
observed. “No children running amok.”

“No.
What does that have to do…
”

“It
has everything to do with everything,” Candace said. “For you, this is life
itself. Am I right?” she asked knowingly. “There is more to life than campaigns
and elections, Jason.”

“I
understand that.”

“Do
you?” she questioned him.

“Why
run if you aren’t willing to put everything into it?” he asked.

Candace
took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Everything? I’ve spent my entire
life in this world. I do mean my
entire
life. As early as I can remember I followed my grandfather at campaign stops. I
watched him press the flesh. I learned how to work a crowd. He was a master.”

“Yes,
he was,” Jason agreed. “Most people think that he could have been president if
he’d wanted,” Jason said. Candace smiled. “So could you, Candy. It’s not only
me who believes that.”

“Maybe
he could have been. He never wanted to. Maybe I could be. I’m not at all sure
that is what I want either.”

“Why
on earth not?”

“Because…There
are more important things in life than elections, Jason. At least, there is for
some of us. There are two kinds of people in this business,” she said. He
listened. “There are those who are in it to win it. It’s a competition. It’s a
challenge to be the best and come out the victor, to climb the ladder as high
as it can take them.”

“And
the other?” he wondered.

“The
other is a different breed. They enjoy the competition and they love to win.
There is exhilaration in the game of an election. There is also gravity at its
end. They fight for the right to serve. They are gratified by their victories.
They are even prideful. That is a necessity for survival in this business,” she
told him. “But, they are not arrogant. They understand their power is derived
from the flesh they press. At the end of the day, they are humbled more than
inflated by that fact. People matter more than positions, Jason. When you lose
sight of that, you lose everything,” she said.

“No
one is questioning your integrity,” he said.

“Wrong.
Everyone will question my integrity at some point, even you. Everyone that is, except
the people who love me. Me. Not Senator Fletcher. Not potential Governor
Fletcher. Not Governor Stratton’s granddaughter. Not the woman on the magazine
cover or the morning talk show. Me. Those are the people who matter the most.
My grandfather never lost sight of that. His decision to wage a campaign or to
quietly retire was steeped in that understanding. So
is
mine.”

Jason
groaned. “I understand, Candy. I don’t see how this compromises that.”

“I
know you don’t. You don’t need to. That’s not your job. Your job is to advise
me on how to maneuver in this campaign. It’s to keep the wheels lubricated. It’s
to coordinate and create positive momentum around my candidacy,” she said. She
watched as he began to speak and stopped him. “You will have to trust me on
some things. Someday, there will be no more elections for Candace Fletcher.
When that day
comes,
there will still be
three children who need their mother. God willing, there will be Jameson beside
me. That day might come in a year. It might
happen
in ten or twenty. It will come. All this will be a memory that is left in the
past. This is part of my life. It’s not my life’s foundation. That lies
elsewhere. Whether or not you believe that; I assure you it is the reason I
have made it this far. It is the reason I will win this election. It is the
reason I even have the courage to try.”

Jason
shook his head and smiled ruefully. “I can’t say I agree with your decision,
but I hear you.”

“Good.
Now, go find Dana and send her in here. You have a campaign launch to plan.”

Jason
nodded and marched off dutifully. Candace took a deep breath when he closed the
door. “It’s going to be a long year,” she mused.

***

Dana was leaning on the
corner of Susan’s desk when Jason exited Candace’s office. “I see you are still
in one piece.”

“I
feel like I just got grounded,” he said. Dana and Susan laughed. “It’s not
funny. She’s scarier than my mother.”

Dana
patted him on the shoulder. “You’ll find there are a lot of us who wish we had
a mother like Candace Fletcher,” Dana said honestly.

Jason
nodded. He had just been lectured and
effectively
put in time-out. In some
ways,
he felt
like a chastised child.
Usually
, that
would have infuriated him. Somehow, he had emerged from the experience more
determined than ever to please Candace Fletcher. “How does she do that?”

“What’s
that?” Dana asked.

“Reduce
you to a two year old and make you want her approval at the same time,” he
said.

Dana
and Susan shared an understanding glance. “She’s the real deal, Jason. I’ve met
a lot of people in this town, worked or a few, and with many more. Candy is a
rarity. People love her. People loathe her. Either way, they tend to respect
her. Take my advice, listen at least as much as you advise. You’ll learn a lot
more than how to run a campaign.” she told him. Dana hopped
from
her perch and headed for Candace’s door.

“She
wanted you to…”

“I
know,” Dana said. “Go nurse your wounds,” she laughed. “I’ll check on the beast
that lies within.”

Jason
laughed. “I’ll come back after feeding time,” he said.

“Just
remember,
Jason; never mess with mama
bear’s cubs or her mate. You’ll earn quickly how sharp her claws can be.” Jason
nodded his understanding and left.

“Think
he’ll make it?” Susan asked.

“Possibly,”
Dana said. “If he’s smart he’ll win over Jameson and Pearl. If he does that?
He’s learned.”

“If
he doesn’t?”

“He
better just not piss them off. I learned about Pearl my first month on the job.
He’s got double the trouble,” she laughed heartily.

“You
are enjoying this; aren’t you?” Susan asked.

“Every,
single, solitary second,” Dana admitted. “This is going to be
an awesome
year.”

Dana
disappeared through Candace’s office door and Susan shook her head. “It’s going
to be a year all right. I just wonder how we’ll all survive it.”

***

Jameson collapsed her
head into her hands on her desk. There simply were not enough hours in the day.
She had four projects that she needed to oversee. She had three meetings that
had run long and put her behind. Now, she was supposed to go shopping, of all
things, with Michelle and her mother. She pounded her desk lightly in silent
defeat.

“See
you for dinner?” she heard a familiar voice outside her office.

“Wouldn’t
miss it. Seven still
good
?” she heard
Michelle’s voice answer.

“Seven
is perfect,” Melanie responded. Jameson picked her head up slowly and strained
to listen. She could hear the faint sound of their voices, but they had dropped
to a whisper and she could not make out the words.