by Carsen Taite
“You’d never know it to look at you.”
Perry blushed deep following the compliment, and Grace felt the warmth of a flush under her own skin. If any other woman had said those words, she would’ve known they were flirting, but coming from the kid sister of her best friend, she knew that couldn’t be the case. “You’re so sweet.” She glanced away to hide a wince at the silly sounding words and waved toward the food vendors set up outside. “Come on, let’s eat.”
Twenty minutes later, they secured a seat at one of the outdoor picnic tables and surveyed the items they’d gathered—fettuccine Alfredo constructed inside a giant parmesan rind, churros, falafel, and a curried vegetable wrap.
“You didn’t get any meat,” Perry observed.
“Maybe this is just the first round,” Grace said with a grin. “Besides, I figured we could put all this in the middle of the table and share if you don’t mind eating with a flesh-eating heathen.”
“Very funny.” Perry pushed her food to the center. “Help yourself. If I eat all of this, I might never be able to walk again.”
Grace did help herself to the falafel, and used the time chewing to really take in Perry. She was slim like she’d always been, but the lanky kid had been replaced by a trim, well-toned woman, and she settled into her space with a confidence Grace had faked at her age. “Tell me what it was like in Crimea?”
Perry set down the bowl of Alfredo and wiped her mouth. “What do you want to know?”
“Anything you care to share.”
“The country itself is gorgeous. White beaches, crystal blue sea, mountain slopes, ancient ruins. Everything a tourist could want, and there’s plenty of them.”
“Sounds like perfection, but I’m sensing there’s something you’re not telling me.”
Perry sighed. “You’re right about that. Yes, it’s a beautiful place. On the surface. But ever since Russia took over the country, there’s a seething darkness just below the surface, poisoning the people left behind when the tourists go home.”
“And that’s what the journalist, Numeroff, you were representing was trying to expose?”
“Yes, among other things. But freedom of the press is a foreign concept to any place connected to Mother Russia.”
“I guess so if they were trying him for high crimes for the simple act of writing a blog. Tell me how Lawyers for Change got involved in his defense. I mean aren’t there lawyers in Crimea?”
Grace listened while Perry explained how it was difficult to find in-country representation that wasn’t corrupt or ineffective when it came to challenging the government. She was impressed by Perry’s passion about her work, and quickly realized it might be harder than she thought to try to convince Perry to return to Austin. No worries—she loved a challenge. She’d simply treat Perry like a case she needed to win. All she had to do was find some leverage she could use, and she’d start right now.
* * *
Perry paced outside of Grace’s door wondering if she should knock again or return to her own room and wait. She’d checked online and knew the embassy office was already open and she’d considered heading over there herself, but she’d promised Grace she’d wait for her and besides Grace was the one with the contact who might be able to expedite her passport.
They’d spent the rest of the afternoon the day before checking out the vendor stalls at the market until Grace’s exhaustion from travel kicked in late in the day and they’d returned to the hotel. By her count, Grace had now been asleep for over twelve hours—way past time to recover from jet lag and in danger of only making it worse. It was practically her duty to wake her, but as she raised her hand to knock on the door, she remembered how cute Grace had looked sound asleep on the Tube, eyes closed and emitting tiny snores no one else could possibly hear but which had been endearing all the same. Watching Grace slumber, Perry’s childhood crush had come roaring back, likely a by-product of the vacation vibe from their day’s adventures.
But today she was back to the practicalities of life. It was time to get her papers in order so she could rejoin her group and Grace could go home to whatever corporate debacle needed her attention. She rapped on the door before she could change her mind.
“Coming,” Grace called out from within.
Perry paced outside the door until Grace appeared. To her surprise, Grace was dressed and Perry spotted a cart with the remains of a meal behind her. “You had breakfast?”
Grace looked sheepish. “I did. I woke up starving and I didn’t want to bother you, so I ordered room service. If you want to go get something, I could join you for coffee.”
“Actually, I’d rather just head to the embassy. In fact, if I can get my birth certificate from you, I can go on my own.”
“Uh, okay.” Grace glanced behind her. “You sure you’re not hungry?”
“Positive.” It was a lie. She was starving, but she cared more about getting a passport than food and she could eat once she was done at the embassy. “Like I said, you don’t have to babysit me.” She instantly regretted the words when she saw the hurt expression on Grace’s face. “I know you’re trying to help, but I also know you probably have other things to do here or you wouldn’t have traipsed all the way across the pond. I appreciate the hand-delivery, but I’m officially letting you know you’re off the hook. Okay?” Again with the slighted look, and Perry wondered why her offer had offended Grace. “I mean you can come if you want, but you don’t have to.”
Grace grabbed her phone and keycard from the counter and pointed at the door. “Let’s go.”
Perry led the way out of the hotel to the nearest Tube station with Grace on her heels. Once they were on the train, she asked, “Did you get a good night’s sleep?”
“I did. The blackout curtains were the perfect remedy to my mixed-up body clock. How about you?”
Perry shook her head. “Not sure why, but it may be that the room’s a little big for just one person. I spent the last few months living in a space half that size with two other people. I think I felt a little…” She paused searching for the right word. “I don’t know. Exposed, maybe. Does that make sense?”
Grace cocked her head. “It does. And based on what Campbell has told me, you’ve been living in Spartan conditions. I’m sure she thought the suite would be a welcome change.”
“I get it. Yeah, our accommodations in Crimea and Afghanistan before that were more third world than first, but I’ve become used to living with less.” She met Grace’s eyes and tried to read the expression reflected back at her. Sympathy? Curiosity? Whatever it was, she wanted to change the subject to something that would take the focus off of her. “So, it sounds like you know all about my exploits. What have you been up to in Austin? Dating anyone special?” She instantly regretted the question when she saw the sad look on Grace’s face. “Not that it’s any of my business.”
“No,” Grace said. “It’s not that. Campbell and Abby are constantly on me for not getting out there and dating more, and I get where they’re coming from since they’re both smitten with their girlfriends. I have been dating more since I left big law, but more is relative and I haven’t met anyone who I was interested in sticking with past the first couple of dates.”
Perry thought she spotted a wistful look in Grace’s eye and she wondered what that was about. Grace was a catch. A prize-winning, trophy on the mantel kind of catch, and she shouldn’t settle for anyone who didn’t understand her value and live up to it, but she hesitated to tell her so for fear she’d come off like that gushing kid who’d snuck around the house to catch glimpses of Grace every time she showed up to hang out with Campbell. No, she was way past silly crushes, and as attractive and accomplished as Grace was, they were completely different people now and probably always had been. “Well, I’m sure the right woman will show up any time now,” she said, settling on a silly platitude.
“What about you?” Grace said. “Does life on the run leave time for dating?”
“Dating?” Per
ry shook her head. “Not even.”
“But there’s something,” Grace said. “Let me guess, a woman in every country?”
Perry felt the burn of a blush creep up her neck as she remembered yesterday morning’s predawn sex with Linda. But that wasn’t dating. Dating was a path to something else. What she had with Linda, or anyone else for that matter, was nothing more than no strings attached, in the moment fun. No expectations and no future, leaving her free to pursue whatever opportunities life would throw her way. Which meant Grace’s assessment was spot-on. Then why did it make her feel uncomfortable to have Grace say it out loud? She shrugged, deciding it was best to own the characterization. “Yep, that’s me. Love ’em and leave ’em.”
Grace stared at her for a second, like she was trying to assess how serious she was and then broke the gaze. “The embassy should be right around this corner.”
Strangely sad, but mostly relieved the conversation was back to business, Perry sped up and strode in front of Grace to reach the building. “What’s your friend’s name?” she said, looking back at Grace.
“Jeff Harmon. Let me talk to him first before you go charging in there.” Grace stepped in front of her, motioned for her to wait, and approached the guard.
Perry watched the exchange, at first chafing a bit over being left out, and then settled into enjoying Grace in take-charge mode, but when Grace disappeared farther into the building, she started to feel fidgety on her own in the midst of all of the armed personnel. When she caught the guard eyeing her, she turned and headed back out of the building. The level of official authority in the building gave her the willies. She’d give Grace fifteen minutes and then she was on to plan B, whatever that was.
Chapter Five
Grace greeted Jeff Harmon, the deputy chief of public affairs, with a big hug. She’d met Jeff when she’d volunteered on President Meredith Mitchell’s first campaign. When Mitchell had soared to victory, Jeff took a job at the state department and scored this dream placement soon after.
“How’s your father doing?” Jeff asked. “Still champion of the underdog?”
“You know it.” Grace smiled to cover a mild annoyance that everyone she knew mentioned her father the senator every time they met, like he was a currency they traded back and forth. The truth was, she could’ve called his office and asked one of his staffers to contact the embassy about Perry’s passport, but there was no guarantee he’d help, and it was easier to handle it herself than ask and be rebuffed. She could hear him now: How can I take a hard line against corruption if I grant favors to my family and friends? He needn’t have worried since she couldn’t remember the last time he’d treated her any differently than one of the many others who’d helped elect him to the Senate and she’d learned not to expect any special treatment from him.
“He and Mom have been spending a lot of this term in DC,” she said. “I haven’t seen them much, but I’m sure he’ll be making a trip back after the next recess. Mom prefers to be in Texas for the summer. She says while the heat is the same as DC, it’s only half as humid.”
“I do not miss the heat.” Jeff invited her to sit down. “Now that we’ve discussed the weather, let me see if I can help you. Tell me what you need.”
Grace sat on the edge of the chair and launched in. “Perry is my best friend’s sister and she’s stubborn as hell. She’s been practicing law with an NGO in underserved aka hotbed areas, and they had to leave their last one so quickly, she lost her passport in the process.”
“I’m guessing, this last hotbed wasn’t here in the UK?”
“It wasn’t.” Grace raised a hand, palm out, hoping he didn’t ask which country they were talking about. “Don’t ask me how she got here without a passport. I don’t know and I don’t think either of us want to know. But she needs a new one so she can resume travel as quickly as possible.”
“The normal process is for her to complete a form swearing to the circumstances under which she lost her current passport. I’m guessing you don’t want her to have to answer a bunch of extra questions?”
“What I want is, I mean what her sister wants, is for her to come home to Austin as soon as possible and settle down for a while. If you could issue her an emergency passport that she could use to travel back to the US, then we’d have time to convince her to stick around and stay out of these kinds of scrapes. I know I’m asking a lot here, and I totally get it if you can’t make it happen.”
“Actually, I can make it happen.” He grinned. “You may be a big shot lawyer, but I’ve got a few important connections. As long as you vouch for Perry and promise to stick to her like glue until she’s back in the States, we could get her an emergency passport as quickly as tomorrow.”
“That would be fantastic,” Grace said, hoping she sounded enthusiastic. She’d kind of hoped the process would take a few more days to give her time to both explore London and warm Perry up to the idea of accompanying her back to Austin. “What do we need to do?”
“I’ll need proof of a booked flight back home. You’ll need her passport number to do that, but I can get that for you if she doesn’t remember it. Once I have that, I’ll rush this through and if all goes well, I can have it ready for you in the morning. You can spend the rest of the day exploring the city.”
Grace held up her phone. “I’ll book the flight right now. I owe you for this.”
“How about dinner tonight? The ambassador is hosting the prime minister for a shindig tonight. Any chance you want to be my plus-one? I can’t promise it won’t be stuffy, but the chef here is next level so at least the food will be good.”
Grace opened her mouth to say absolutely, but then memory kicked in and she felt silly for almost forgetting she’d left Perry in the lobby. Any other time, she would’ve loved to attend an embassy function with highbrow food and the chance to rub shoulders with people in power—people who would send business to the firm—but she’d promised Campbell she’d keep Perry in her sights until she was back in Austin. “I’d love to, but I’ve already got a commitment for tonight.”
“Raincheck for next time you’re in London?”
“Absolutely. And if you’re ever in Austin and need a favor, let me know.”
Back in the lobby, Grace spotted Perry leaning against a counter with her legs crossed, like she didn’t have a care in the world, and again Grace couldn’t help but notice she was nothing like the gangly kid who used to follow her and Campbell around, practically begging them to include her in whatever they were doing. They’d rebuffed her most of the time, telling her they were doing grown-up things and she was just a little girl. Grace let her gaze roam over the confident young woman Perry had become and realized she was all grown-up now, but hopefully not so grown-up that she couldn’t be persuaded to come back to Austin. She merely had to find the right moment to broach the subject.
Perry looked up as she approached, her eyes questioning. “How did it go? How long do I have to wait? Do they need to talk to me?”
Grace smiled at her eagerness even though she knew the real purpose behind Perry’s anxiousness to get her passport was the exact opposite of what she needed to convince her to do. She motioned to the door, deciding it was best that if there was going to be a confrontation, that it happen outside the walls of the embassy. Once they were clear of the gate, she turned to Perry. “Okay, I have some good news and some other good news.”
“That sounds suspiciously like you have good news for me and good news for someone else.”
Mildly impressed with Perry’s ability to see through her opening, Grace pressed on. “The first piece of good news is that you should have a new passport by tomorrow.”
“That is better than good. It’s fantastic,” Perry said. “I was scared it was going to take much longer.”
“It would’ve under other circumstances, but we worked out an agreement.”
“And this is where I hold my breath while you tell me the other news.”
Grace sighed. “You’re boo
ked on a flight with me back to Austin Friday morning. Now that isn’t so bad, is it?”
“Austin?” Perry shook her head. “Not in the plan. Not even remotely on the way to where I plan to go.”
“Where exactly do you plan to go?”
“Wherever I’m needed. I should get my new assignment any moment, and as soon as the passport comes through, I’ll be heading out.”
“It doesn’t work like that,” Grace said, barely trying to hide the exasperation in her voice. She’d used up a big favor with Jeff and who knows if she’d ever need his help for anything again, yet Perry was so quick to brush it off like it was nothing. She was tempted to tell her just that before she remembered she was supposed to be cajoling Perry, not pissing her off. “Booking a flight back to the States is how I was able to get you a new passport without you having to answer a bunch of questions, like for example about how you entered this country illegally. It’s also the only way I was able to get them to expedite it.”
Perry huffed, but Grace could see her brain was whirring. “Fine,” she said. “I’ll fly to Austin, but I’m booking the next flight out of there.”
Grace wanted to point out all the reasons it would make more sense for Perry to spend some time in Austin, reconnecting with Campbell and her brother, and figuring out a plan for her future, but the fierce expression on Perry’s face told her now wasn’t the time to push. Getting her to agree to go home, even if only to the airport, was the first step. She had twenty-four hours to seal the deal. The best thing she could do right now was pretend it didn’t matter what Perry decided to do. “Well, we’ve got a day to kill. Feel like sightseeing with me? We can each pick one thing. I’ll do whatever you want.”
“What if you pick something boring and paternalistic like the Tower of London?”
“What if you pick something silly like hopping on and off one of those double-decker buses packed with tourists?” Grace smiled. “Look, it’s a risk for both of us, but you’re guaranteed at least fifty percent of a good time, and I’ll spring for dinner tonight. What do you say?” She waited, hoping Perry would agree to the plan rather than going back to her room to pout about having been outmaneuvered into returning to Austin even if only for a connecting flight. Perry had every right to feel disappointed at the detour in her plans, but Grace was going to be disappointed too if they didn’t get to spend the day together. More than she would’ve expected. If she was left to explore London on her own, she would, but the idea of seeing the sights without Perry left Grace feeling inexplicably empty and a little bit agitated as a result.
