A Political Affair

by Mary Whitney

  “Thank you, Mr. Norwood. I appreciate that.”

  “Thanks, Dad,” Anne said as she walked around to give him a hug.

  As they closed their arms around one another, he finally smiled. “I love you, Annie.”

  “I love you, Dad,” she replied, holding back her tears.

  Mark squeezed her arm as she walked to her seat. “I guess everybody’s cool with it, so I am, too. Congratulations. Good going. Nothing I do in life will compare to this.”

  Anne punched him in the arm. “Yeah, right.”

  “I assume you’re going to make a formal statement,” Elton said.

  “Yes, we will,” Anne replied.

  Stephen looked at his new in-laws with all seriousness. “Let me tell you how we’ve planned this.” He described their plans to go public, but left out the meeting with Langford. Anne would raise that later.

  “Mom, Dad, you don’t have to be there if you don’t want to,” Anne said.

  Elton looked at his wife, and she nodded. Without a wasting a moment, he replied, “We’ll be there.”

  “We will?” asked Mark in complete confusion.

  Elton shrugged. “They’re married now. That changes everything. I don’t want to be estranged from my daughter.” He turned to Anne. “What statement does it make if we’re not with you when you announce this? It makes it look like we’ve shunned you—maybe even for political reasons. It couldn’t be further from the truth.”

  Mary Beth smiled. “We’re still a family, Anne. We want this marriage to work.”

  “Damn,” Mark said as he took a drink of coffee. “I guess it makes sense. I don’t want you hanging out there alone.”

  Anne wiped away the tears that flooded her eyes. “Thank you,” she whispered.

  “I can’t begin to express my appreciation to you all,” Stephen said as he put his arm around Anne. “And I have to say my family is going to be very happy to meet you—my mother especially.”

  As they talked about the plans for the next day, Anne became anxious. It was time to bring up Langford. “Dad, I know you don’t want to talk politics tomorrow, but I wondered if it would be best for you to give Langford a heads-up. Stephen and I think it would be a good idea.”

  Elton nodded. “I actually thought of it myself, but I didn’t want to press it with you. It’s your day tomorrow, not mine.”

  “Well, would you be up for it?”

  “Sure, let me see if I can get some time with him today.” He smiled. “We’re going to Denver anyway.”

  Stephen left Anne alone with her family to organize their meeting with Langford. They would all meet up in Denver later that day. As he drove, he listened to his messages; Megan’s was tense.

  “Call me now. I just talked with the reporter. He’s received a tip about you and Anne.”

  Stephen yelled into the phone, “Fuck!”

  The word was no sooner out of his mouth when the phone rang with Megan on the line. “I got tired of waiting for you. Did you get my message?”

  “Just now. Tell me everything that happened.”

  “I pitched Dexter Olson the interview. After he listened to my whole spiel, he said something like ‘Well, this is very interesting. I was planning to work on a story today about Senator McEvoy. I just got a tip he had an affair with an intern.’

  “So I asked if it was from Langford’s campaign, and he said no, it was from another source not affiliated with the campaign. When I said it must be Walter Smith, Dexter didn’t deny it. Anyway, I told him you and Anne would answer all questions with an in-person interview this afternoon.”

  Alarmed, but still under control, Stephen blew out a steadying breath. “Langford’s campaign has to know. Okay. Well, this is a wrench in our plans, but it’s not the end of the world.”

  “Do you have any idea how someone figured this out? And who it was? Were they following you? Oh God. Did they go to the cabin?”

  “They may have been following me, but I doubt they were at the cabin. Phillip was very careful in orchestrating how we got in and out of there.”

  “So where did things break down?”

  “Helen Sanders,” he replied without skipping a beat and with no second thoughts.

  “Oh my God. Are you sure?”

  “Just a guess . . .”

  As Anne and Elton were ushered into the ornate Colorado State Treasurer’s office, Dan Langford rose from his stately desk.

  “Welcome, Elton. Anne.” He extended his hand.

  “Good to see you, Dan,” Elton said, shaking his hand. “Thank you for squeezing us in on such short notice.”

  “Hello, Mr. Langford,” Anne said politely.

  “Well, sit down. You said it was urgent. What can I do for you?”

  After they took their seats, Anne looked at her father for moral support. He nodded, and she spoke with confidence. “We wanted to tell you something important before you heard it in the press.”

  “We wanted to do this as a courtesy to you and as a sign of the friendship between our families,” said Elton.

  “What’s that?” Langford asked with deep suspicion.

  The tone of his voice and his entire demeanor told Anne and Elton something important—Langford wasn’t in the know. Someone had told The Denver Post about Stephen and Anne’s relationship, but no one had told the candidate yet. They’d be springing the news.

  Anne was confident and forthright. “Stephen McEvoy and I were married this weekend. We’re announcing it tomorrow.”

  Blinking rapidly as he absorbed her words, a sneer slowly curled Langford’s lip upward. “Stephen McEvoy. You married him? You’re just a girl! And you work for him.” He looked at Elton in disgust. “Why did you allow this?”

  Elton shrugged. “Obviously, it wasn’t my decision.”

  “It would be my decision in my house!” Dan stared at Anne. “Why would you do this?”

  “We’re in love. It’s been a complicated relationship, and we wanted to get married. It’s that simple.” She was going to end it on that final note, but she remembered a crucial fact. “Oh, and of course, I no longer work in his office.”

  Langford’s anger turned to Elton. “What are you going to say about this?”

  “That I support my daughter.”

  “I don’t understand how you could ever say that,” Langford replied.

  Elton shook his head. “Aw hell, Dan. I’m a prosecutor. I know a defendant is in a world of hurt if his family isn’t with him in court. Mary Beth and I are standing by our daughter. She’s married. We want the marriage to work. We’re not talking politics here. This is a family matter.”

  The room was silent for a moment, until Langford stood up. Anne and Elton did the same, also without speaking. Langford extended his hand to Elton. “Thank you for telling me,” he said flatly. To Anne, he was equally emotionless. “I wish you the best.” He nodded to the door. “I need to get back to work now. Thank you for stopping by.”

  “Thank you, Dan,” said Elton as he guided Anne to the door.

  She forced a smile, but Langford ignored her and walked to his desk. “Thank you, Mr. Langford,” she called out.

  As Elton closed the door, Anne heard Langford’s voice on the phone. “Get Trey . . . now.”

  The day became increasingly surreal for Anne as she sat with Stephen, awaiting The Denver Post reporter. Stephen held her sweaty hand and stroked her hair, trying to ease her mind. “It’s okay. Everything is going to be okay.”

  “How can you say that? This day just gets worse and worse.”

  Stephen shrugged. “I don’t know. I talked to Mom. She’s a little upset we’re behind the eight ball with Walter, but she’s hopeful. We’ll learn what he’s up to as we talk to the reporter. He’ll give us information. We just need to tell him our story.”

  “I know, I know.” She smiled. “It is a pretty good story.”

  He kissed her cheek and whispered in her ear, “Of course it is. It’s a love story, after all.”

  Cha
pter 27

  That afternoon, Langford arrived at his humming campaign office. Patriotic campaign signs, bedecked with sheriff stars and his name, covered the walls. When he walked in, he was greeted like a celebrity, only with more deference. While he appreciated the attention, he simply tipped his straw cowboy hat as he strode to his private office.

  As he entered, he saw Trey sitting on the sofa while texting furiously. He shut the door and spewed, “You said you knew . . . When? Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I didn’t know for sure . . . I just had suspicions,” Trey said with a shrug.

  “When, though?” Langford sat down in his giant desk chair and placed his hat at its corner. “When did you first suspect something? What made you think of it? When we saw her in D.C.?”

  “No. I thought I saw McEvoy with Anne at the Boulder commencement.”

  “McEvoy was at the graduation? I was there. Why didn’t you tell me?” Langford pounded his fist on the desk, making the pens jump.

  “With fifty thousand people, you can’t be sure,” said Trey, sounding defensive. “I called Walter. Then he—”

  “You called Walter before me? I should have been told right there, on the spot.”

  Trey walked to the desk and leaned against it. “Boss, I’m sorry we kept you in the dark. We didn’t want to distract you. It might’ve been nothing.”

  Langford grimaced and leaned back in his chair. “Humph.” After a moment he sighed and resigned himself to the fact that if he wanted to win the election, he needed to be managed. “I suppose it was the right thing to do, though I feel like a fool. I would’ve had a lot more to say to Elton and Anne if I’d known.” Trey’s mouth twitched, and Langford caught on immediately. “Okay. I get it. It might not have been the best thing if I’d taken them to task.”

  “That was our thinking.”

  “So what have you learned?” asked Langford, getting down to business.

  “Walter has discovered that they’ve been together for a while . . . since last fall. It’s kind of crazy how they’ve been able to keep it secret.”

  “Since the fall? That can’t be. McEvoy has been with . . . well, with everybody.”

  “Yeah . . . who knows what disease she’s caught from him.” Trey chuckled. “Not to mention, there’s a chance she’s pregnant. It’s unlikely, but wouldn’t it be great?”

  “I thought of that myself,” muttered Langford.

  “Regardless, we don’t have much time.” Trey said with an eager pat on the desk. “We have to make a statement.”

  “So what are you thinking?”

  “Well, we need to be as transparent as they are, or this could blow up in our faces. They’ve been pretty cunning by telling you first. I’ve talked with Walter, and he’s adamant we need to disclose that. He suggests something like, ‘Elton Norwood is a fine man who was decent enough to inform me of the news.’ I think it sounds pretty good.”

  “Okay. This is what I want to say.” Langford began scratching out his statement on a piece of monogrammed paper.

  He handed it to Trey, who read it aloud. “ ‘The Norwoods are longtime friends. Elton Norwood was decent enough to inform me of the events. I wish Anne Norwood the best of luck in life, but I fear she is the victim in this situation. As for my opponent, I am very disturbed by his obvious lack of ethics and potential violation of the law. His actions should be thoroughly investigated. The people of Colorado deserve better in a senator.’ ” When he finished, Trey bobbed his head in agreement. “I like it.”

  “What’s Walter doing?”

  “Oh, he’s got a few television spots in the works already.” Trey smirked.

  As soon as The Denver Post website went live with its exclusive interview with Senator Stephen McEvoy and his former intern—now wife—Anne Norwood, the twenty-four-hour cable news cycle kicked in. Reporters around the nation and even the world scrambled for any bit of novel information they could find. Megan was glued to the television listening to predictions of her brother’s uncertain future.

  “Hey, Marco,” she called out from the bedroom. “CNN has already tracked down the Pocahontas County clerk who issued their marriage license.”

  “Don’t worry. I’m listening,” Marco answered from the bathroom.

  Unfortunately for the media, Judge Clements had picked the right clerk for Stephen and Anne. When CNN’s Brian Nester met Shirley on her way into the county courthouse, she happily agreed to be interviewed.

  His first questions were friendly, but pointed. “Can you tell me more about Senator McEvoy and Anne Norwood? What were they like as a couple?”

  “Oh, they were real nice,” she said in her deep West Virginia accent as she smiled for the camera.

  “There must have been something that stood out—something different from the average couple coming in for a marriage license.”

  “No. They paid cash, just like everybody else,” she said without missing a beat.

  “Is there anything else you can tell us?”

  “Pocahontas County is just about one of the prettiest places in God’s creation. It’s a lovely place to get married.”

  Marco guffawed with laughter and walked into the bedroom, wearing only a towel and holding a razor. “Well, she shut him up. I love that woman. She reminds of me of my Aunt Maria, who works in a library in Pueblo. You couldn’t get her to tell you what books people checked out of that library if you threatened to skin her cat.”

  “And no one gives people like her enough credit. They’re smart. They know what they’re doing,” Megan said as she pulled a blouse over her swollen belly. She sighed. “The press isn’t that bad yet, but it’s only the beginning.”

  When Helen woke up that morning, she started her day as she always did and immediately picked up her phone. The number of messages surprised her, so she went to the first from her state director back in Idaho, Joe Riggs. Next to her chief of staff in D.C., Joe was her closest confidant. Since he lived a few time zones away, he often had news that came in after she’d gone to bed.

  Catching her breath in shock, she placed her right hand on her chest as she read Joe’s first text.

  Unbelievable! McEvoy eloped w/ his intern on Sat. Announcing today. Rumor is she’s pregnant. Another Dem bites the dust!

  She scanned her remaining texts and e-mails; every one of them was about the scandal. She gasped aloud, “Oh my God. What did Stephen do?”

  At once, she turned on the television, and Fox News appeared. The plastic morning news show personalities filled up airtime by picking apart Stephen and Anne’s Denver Post interview, which posted online only hours earlier. As the female announcer read a quote from Stephen or Anne, her male counterpart batted it down.

  “Let’s be honest here. Senator McEvoy has been quite the high-profile ladies’ man. He’s been linked to everyone from Hollywood starlets to Members of Congress. Why would he pick an intern to marry unless there was something else going on? Is she pregnant? The interviewer never really asked.

  Only a few months ago, actress Jennifer Hamilton called the senator her, and I quote, ‘boyfriend.’ Now, she’s saying it was just to get some animal-rights bill through Congress. Was he seeing both of them?

  The senator started seeing this girl while she worked in his office. You have to wonder if he’s been with other staffers. Is this really a one-time incident? That’s not usually the way these things turn out. The Senate Ethics Committee is going to have to investigate.

  How will the voters in Colorado view a sex scandal? Is this the kind of behavior they want in a senator? Not many voters in the United States would put up with this. After all, this is America, not France.”

  With the chatter in the background, Helen raced through her other messages and listened to voice mails. As she learned more, she wondered if they’d gotten married because they’d been found out or if Anne was pregnant.

  When her phone rang, it showed her fiancé’s name. She let it go into voice mail. He probably wanted to gossip, but he woul
dn’t have any new information. Instead, she tapped away on her phone and pulled up the newspaper interview.

  She shook her head as she read because Stephen came across as completely honest. When she finished, she was shocked. “I think he’s in love with her.”

  Her lip curled in disgust. Why would he want her when he could be with me? Everyone wants to be with me. She wondered if Stephen married her in part because she’d disclosed Anne’s name to Walter, but she felt no guilt.

  “Serves him right,” she said to the empty room.

  A few hours later, the briefing room inside the Denver Federal Building was packed with local, national, and international media holding cameras, microphones, and reporters’ tablets. The small space was loud as they shared information with one another and awaited the start of the press conference.

  In the anteroom, the McEvoy and Norwood families spoke in hushed tones, and Anne rubbed the sweat off her hands. Looking down, she squinted with anxiety and centered herself with a deep breath of determination.

  Ever punctual at nine sharp, Stephen led Anne into the room, with Greg and the rest of the McEvoy and Norwood clans filing in behind them. Stephen looked his daily senatorial self in a dark blue suit, white shirt, and red tie. He stood at the podium with Anne at his side. She looked svelte in a pencil skirt, with a wide belt tightly cinched to counter any pregnancy comments. Stephen wasted no time in making his statement.

  “Good morning, everyone. Thank you for coming for what we view as a very happy announcement. We’d like to make short statements and then open it up for questions.” Letting the press corps nod in agreement, he said, “I’d like to introduce you to my wife, Anne Norwood McEvoy.” Pausing for a moment and beaming with pride, he looked at her, and they shared a smile. “We married on Saturday at my family’s cabin in West Virginia. A longtime family friend, Federal Judge Worthington Clements, performed the ceremony. Our witnesses were my father’s best friend, former colleague, and my current colleague in the Senate, Senator Grayson York and his wife, Laura. It was important to me to have a reminder of my father at our wedding, as his presence has weighed heavily on my mind since I first met Anne. It’s true Anne worked as an intern in my office. I was taken from the moment we first met, but I denied my feelings for her. I continually asked myself, ‘What would my father do?’ The answer was always the same. Patrick McEvoy would stay away from such a politically dangerous relationship.