A Political Affair by Mary Whitney

Author:Mary Whitney
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: The Writer's Coffee Shop Publishing House
Published: 2012-10-04T15:26:49.644000+00:00

Chapter 15

Thanksgiving week was hard on Stephen and Anne. For Stephen, Thanksgiving Day was his only time off, spent at their traditional family dinner and watching football with Marco. The remainder of the week, he was in full campaign mode, with meetings and events. Throughout the days, his thoughts turned to Anne, and rote campaign events were especially hard.

As he waited his turn to speak at an event for the state firefighters’ organization, he tuned out and wondered what it would be like if Anne were at his side. His gut reaction made him smile—everything would be better. They could joke and endure the painfully slow events together, and she’d be supportive in a less-than-welcoming crowd.

Surveying the largely male audience before him, he was sure she could work the room. The firefighters were all chronically disaffected Reagan Democrats-turned-Obama Republicans. Down-to-earth and pretty, Anne also understood how a more conservative mind worked; they would eat her up.

Yet she had another side, and she moved easily in well-heeled circles. Thinking of the fancy fundraiser he attended the previous night, he was sure she’d also have done well there. He sighed to himself. If she weren’t so young—if she weren’t an intern—she’d be a perfect political partner. He wished she were there with him.

While Stephen was in Colorado, Anne missed him terribly, but she became even more troubled on Thanksgiving when she spoke with her parents. The initial lies she told her family at the start of their relationship seemed innocuous. She told herself they weren’t really lies, but rather omissions. Yet, the more time she spent with Stephen, the harder it became to simply leave out important details of her life; omissions turned into white lies followed by outright lies. Thanksgiving Day proved to be the worst conversation of all.

“So, this Keith . . . you’re having Thanksgiving together. Are you dating?” her mother, Mary Beth, asked.

“No. He has a girlfriend. We’re just friends, and lots of people will be at the dinner.” Anne cringed. She worried she sounded defensive.

“Well, are you dating anyone?”

“Sure. Sometimes.” Anne closed her eyes. Lie number one.

“Well, that’s okay to casually date. At this point in your life, you don’t want to be tied down with a serious relationship.”

“Right,” Anne mumbled. Lie number two.

“Oh, I wanted to ask if I should buy your plane ticket for Christmas. When do you think you’ll be coming in?”

She held the phone away and grimaced, thinking about Lillian McEvoy’s offer to fly in their plane home for the holidays. She wanted to go with Stephen, but it meant the lies were stacking up. She punted the decision. “It’s okay, Mom. I’ll buy my own ticket. I’m not sure when I’m leaving.”

“Are you not sure because of school or the internship?”

“Both.” If only she could get off the phone and run away from the deception, but it was too soon to end the call. She changed the subject. “So what are you bringing to the Walkers for Thanksgiving?”

As her mother detailed her oyster dressing and cranberry stuffing, Anne closed her eyes in sadness.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.