The Secret Liaison

by Marie, Jessie

  There were three meetings scheduled for today and a fundraising lunch with the League of Women Voters. It was six am when they made their way from the gym ready to tackle the day’s challenges. The two women were also leaving the gym. The bold one approached with a new twist in her hips and got right in Justin’s space saying “I don’t care that you are not a Brent, I would love to go out with you anyway!” Justin decided not to correct her but said “Tell you what sexy, give me your number and I might treat you to a time you will never forget!” Before he could get the last word out she produced her name and number written in lipstick on a napkin and quickly turned to leave putting an extra twist in her step. Justin shot a sly look towards Devlin as they both watched her leave saying “Dev, it’s like taking candy from a baby.” The laughter between the two friends was always welcomed.

  The fundraiser ended well with the Brent campaign moving closer towards its goal. Justin was mingling with constituents and listening to fond stories about their previous dealings with his father. While making small talk he noticed his sister in law, he smiled as he thought about her that way; she was at a table full of women laughing and sipping lemonade. He excused himself and moved with determination towards the lively group. When they noticed him standing there they became even more animated. He walked around the table and greeted Jessica with a short hug and kiss on the cheek.

  Looking around the table he asked “What are you ladies up to? Is it something that I shouldn’t be a party too?” his smile was so infectious that more than one woman blushed. Jessica introduced each woman individually and explained that they were part of the Maryland chapter of League of Women Voters and are in full support of sending him to the Senate. As Justin graciously greeting each woman expressing his thanks for them coming to the fundraiser that was $10,000 a plate; one of the members slipped her number in his hand as he shook hers. She was stunning, a little older than what he normally liked but her dark auburn hair and twin peaks for breast were enough to grab his attention. As the other women discussed politics among themselves she introduced herself as Sharon. Smiling a seductive smile she told Justin that she was a surgeon from Baltimore Maryland. Justin was impressed; it had been a long time since he witnessed a woman with both beauty and brains that was available for the picking. Intrigued he asked Sharon to join him for dinner so that she could tell him all about her adventures. Jessica watched the whole exchange with a slight grimace; she didn’t know what to make of her playboy brother in law thinking “He is going to be a challenge!”

  Night had fallen on the District and Justin was preparing for his date with Sharon. Looking in the mirror he admired his black on black Armani, his dreamy eyes and movie star looks. He was ready, but was she ready for him.

  Justin noticed that something felt different about Sharon, she didn’t appear to be like the normal beautiful bimbo that he banged; he actually wanted to know what she thought. He laughed to himself as he made his way to his Maserati thinking “could I have met my match?” the thought made him smile deeper showing off the sexy dimples that made women cream.

  Sharon was waiting in Minibar, an exclusive thirty course restaurant in Penn Quarter. She, like most, heard about this pioneering tasting menu only eatery but knew that booking a reservation was harder than winning the lottery. She marveled at the exclusivity of the space, only seating six guests; and thought “This guy really has some clout.” Her attention was directed to laughter coming from the front of the room where Justin was shaking hands with Juan Andres one of the most famous chef’s today and the owner of the restaurant. She noticed Juan point in her direction and Justin began making his way over.

  Drop dead gorgeous was what she was sitting there in a form fitting Versace outfit. He noticed she had the prettiest eyes, they were a light shade of blue and they were shaped like diamonds. Once at the table he greeted Sharon with a kiss on the cheek saying “I hope you found this place with no problem?” Looking around he recognized the other four guests and gave them each a head nod. “I found this place just fine. My friends and I have always wanted to come.”

  Turning his attention back to Sharon he smiled that breath taking smile and said “Well I am glad that you can share your first time with me.” There was a sexual undertone to his words which cause her to blush so he quickly changed the topic “So Sharon tell me about you. I mean you know so much about me already!” Sharon told him how she did pre med at Cornell, medical school at Columbia and her residency at John Hopkins. When their food arrived she was explaining that she was a Pediatric Neurosurgeon. Justin was really intrigued. He took a sip of his wine and then asked “what is neurosurgery?” The smile in her eyes told him something deep about her; she loved what she did. Sharon explained that neurosurgery involved the brain, central nervous system and spinal cord. She spun the details of her chosen profession like a well told novel “It really covers all aspects of brain surgery, from pre-operative imaging to removal of tumors.” There was a steady twinkle in her eye that was infectious. Justin couldn’t believe that this petite vixen performs brain surgery. It was all too much for him and he loved it. It had been years since a woman attracted him outside of the bedroom and the feeling was wonderful. The finished their meals talking about music, movies, and hobbies. They steered clear of politics and Justin appreciated the gesture.

  The evening was filled with exciting discussion and delicious food. Justin and Sharon ended the night with a friendly kiss and promised to see each other again soon. For Justin this was a new way to end the evening and he loved every minute of it. He wondered if he had found someone who he could spend a lifetime with. That thought alone was so foreign to him, but he not only thought about her beauty, but about the powerful political asset she would make to him. His father always told him how important the right woman on your arm was in the political game. He wasn’t quite sure at first, but Sharon was causing him to think.

  Turn for the worst

  Jessica and Austin were trying to relax at home. These were the times that they lived for; shutting the world out and putting each other first. Jessica was very concerned because Austin had been really sick lately; along with the loss of appetite and vomiting he was losing a lot of weight. The over the counter drugs were not working and today she would insist that they go to the hospital. Bringing tomato soup on a tray she found Austin sleep in a recliner chair. A slight smile came across her face because he had been trying unsuccessfully to rest and she decided not to disturb him. Jessica promised herself that if he wasn’t feeling any better when he woke up they were going straight to the hospital.

  Stretching her tired muscles she decided that taking a nap might not be a bad idea. They had been working fourteen hour days on the first merger project, both wanting to silence their critics; especially her father in law Joseph Brent. Shaking her head as she made her way to her bedroom she said “That man is impossible.’ Over the years she heard of the feud between the Dublin’s and the Brent’s but it wasn’t her father who told her about it. Lying in bed she recalled the conversation with her mother that changed her outlook on life and sent her on a quest for the truth.

  At twenty eight years old Jessica had accomplished many of her immediate goals in life. She was on point in her career as she worked really hard to one day take over the company. Her personal life was hit or miss but the one man that made her heart skip a beat was Austin Brent. She admired him from afar, but hoped to one day make his acquaintance. The only thing going wrong in her life was her mother’s illness. She was suffering from dementia; Roberta Dublin was no longer the vibrant spirit in the Dublin house hold. One day Jessica was brushing her mother’s hair; this always seemed to relax her. Roberta was having problems with her short term memory but her long term memory was sharp as a tact. The problem was she thought the past was the present. It was hard for Jessica to see her mother this way; she took extra care as she tried to make her comfortable. While stroking her mother’s long graying hair Roberta began to talk

  “I always w
anted a home full of children. Girls for me to spoil and boys for Dirk to raise in his own likeness.” She signed deeply, thinking about this appeared to be painful “When the doctor told me I couldn’t have children we were devastated. I felt so helpless and inadequate. What kind of woman can’t give her husband babies?” She began to cry slightly causing Jessica to wrap her arms around her and say “It’s ok ma, because you had me; and I turned out just fine.” Roberta slowly pulled away from her daughter and said in a shaky voice “The day your father walked in this house with you I was over the moon.

  We both wanted a baby so badly. We hoped that a baby would heal the hurtful wounds that had occurred in our relationship. Dirk thought I didn’t know, but I knew about his affair.” Jessica was shocked she couldn’t even speak; she knew her mother was ill, but was she trying to say that she was adopted, that she wasn’t a Dublin?. Roberta never noticed her daughter’s reaction she just continued talking as if it was important to get these things off her chest “It hurt me to know he was with her, I closed into myself and suffered in silence, but then he came home with you and my whole world change, our whole world changed.” Jessica was now standing in a corner trying to digest what her mother said; she was looking at the wall as if the answers would magically appear. When she turned to see why her mother had suddenly stopped talking she saw that her mother had fallen asleep; she had worn herself out telling her tale. Jessica wrapped a blanket around her and tried to contemplate what this information meant in her life thinking “I can’t believe they would keep something like this from me. Who are my parent’s? Where did I come from? Do I have siblings?” The questions that were running through her mind were causing her to get dizzy.

  Fresh tears escaped her eyes as she sat up in the bed spent from remembering a very confusing time in her life. A week after sharing that information with her daughter, Roberta passed away in her sleep.

  Jessica was devastated, she lost the only mother she had ever known but she also lost her chance to hear more stories from her mother about the families past. Jessica could remember approaching her father with what her mother told her and he completely shut her out.

  He was obviously in pain, but he refused to answer any questions when it came to her past. Her father did not deny what her mother said; but he also did not confirm it. Months went by after her mother’s death and Jessica threw herself into her work to keep her mind off of the unraveling of her world. Her father had retreated from the family business and society in general. They were barely speaking because he held so many answers for her and he refused to give it to her and that pissed Jessica off. But tonight she would go see him, even cook dinner for him, and make every attempt to have a regular conversation with her father that didn’t end in tears and yelling. Jessica made it to her father’s home before 6:00pm with a bag of groceries to make him a huge home cooked meal. He was in the sitting room watching the news. He was so into the program that he didn’t even hear her come in. After putting the bags down Jessica came in the sitting room and gave her father a kiss surprising him “hey sweetheart I didn’t even here you come in, how have you been?” Taking a seat she said “I’m great dad, I missed you and I am about to make your favorite, roast beef, cabbage and rice.” He gave her a slight smile and a head nod and returned his attention to the news.

  Later while they were eating dinner her father asked her if she was dating. Jessica went into a long drawn out spiel about her work taking up most of her time and not finding any men worth dating when her father interrupted her “Jess, please don’t waste your life away with work and have nothing to show for it in your personal life.” There was a sadness in his eyes that tugged at her heart so she thought she would attempt to lift his spirits “Well dad, there is this one guy who I am extremely smitten with. His name is Austin Brent and” Before she could finish her sentence her father was up from his seat and around the table yelling and pointing in her face “You will not date a Brent is that clear?” Jessica had never seen this type of fire in her father’s eyes; she was scared but she wanted answers “Do you want to tell me what has you so upset dad? You were just saying how I should date.” Grabbing hold of a chair to help steady his balance Dirk was still yelling “Stay away from them Brent’s. They don’t care about anybody but themselves and in the end you will get hurt beyond measure. Now don’t fight me on this, just let it be.” With that he slowly left the room, seemingly drained of energy. A shocked Jessica sat at the table wondering how her nice dinner with her father had once again turned into a shouting match.

  Jessica stretched as she rose from the bed. She concluded that her much needed nap was nowhere in sight. Her mind wandering over all of her life’s tragedies. That last dinner with her father was the beginning of a long period of silence between them. It would be almost a year before they saw each other again and when she did see her father his health was not good. Jessica stood in the picture window with tears rolling down her eyes as she thought about the call she received the following year alerting her of her father’s death. In two years time, she lost the two most important people in her life. The emptiness that she felt could not be measured. Add that with the uncertainty about her real parents and she was a wreck. A loud thump grabbed her attention, wiping her tears she ran down the hall only to find Austin on the floor sweating profusely. Jessica screamed as she ran to his side “Austin baby can you hear me?” Feeling his head he was cold as ice. Jessica ran to the phone and called 911. She then ran and got a warm towel and a blanket to attempt to warm him up. Jessica was attempting to pick Austin up when her doorbell rang; it was the ambulance. They immediately went to work on Austin starting a IV and placing him on the gurney. Austin was conscious but he was not lucid. On the ride to the hospital Jessica was able to share the symptoms that he had been experiencing and their plan to go see the doctor if he wasn’t feeling better. In the midst of the chaos Jessica was able to forget about her problems and concentrate on her husband.

  In the private waiting room Jessica was pacing back and forth. She called Justin and told him what happened and he was there with her within fifteen minutes. Justin was worried about his brother but he needed to be strong for Jessica “hey sis come over here and sit down before you break those heels you are digging into the carpet!” His attempt at humor broke some of the tension in the room. Jessica laughed and sat down next to her brother in law and exhaled “I’m glad you are here Justin, cause I was going crazy. They haven’t come back out and said anything to me.” Shaking her head she pulled her knees into her chest and rocked. Justin pulled her over to him and she rest her head on his shoulder and silently sobbed for what seemed like hours. The door to the room swung open and a short man in scrubs entered making eye contact with Justin, “Mrs. Brent” Jessica jumped and moved quickly to the doctor asking “how is he Dr. Roberts can I see him?” Reaching out and shaking Justin’s hand as he approached, the doctor said “With the symptoms that you explained of back pain, weight loss, poor appetite and digestive problems we ran some test on Mr. Brent’s blood, urine and stool.” The doctor had their undivided attention as he continued “The blood test detected high levels of carcinoembryonic antigen and bile duct blockage.” Noticing the confusing looks on their faces he said “There are more test that need to be ran, but when we normally see this in patients it is normally pancreatic cancer cells.”

  The quick intake of breathe coming from Jessica caused him to stop talking as she said “Are you saying that Austin has cancer?” Justin pulled her into his arms as tears began to fall from her eyes. Jessica didn’t know if she was ready to accept another loss in her life. Dr. Roberts attempted to ease the tension in a difficult time by saying “We will keep him overnight, run some more test, and get some fluids in Mr. Brent. You can see him now for a short time, but he has to get some rest and he is heavily medicated.”

  Austin spent two weeks in the hospital and in that time Justin has been a rock for Jessica. In the midst of everything Jessica had to make business decisions and deal
with Austin’s disrespectful father, “I swear the next wrong thing comes out of his mouth I plan on letting him see the real Jessica and he is not ready.” Julia was much better, she was helpful with filling in time at the hospital so that someone was always there and she kept Jessica abreast of any changes. Jessica came to the hospital every day after work to relieve her mother in law. On this day Julia didn’t leave instead she said “I think it’s time we talked.” Jessica leaned down to give Austin a kiss, he was sleeping soundly. Taking off her coat and swinging it on the back of a chair she turned to Julia and said “Sure, let’s talk.” Jessica was trying to keep her tone neutral, but she was not planning on taking any shit from her mother in law.