I puckered, momentarily despondent. “Don’t you think irresponsibility makes you look lousy?”
“Who’s my staff gonna tell? If anythin’, they’ll work hard as you to keep it wrapped up lika Chicago dog. Literally their job. Havta look good for the press,” Anthony boasted, straightening his tie’s mouth. He propped his feet up on the coffee table, always a little off, a snag too casual for the white collar he’s supposed to be wearing. “That’s what they like. Fourth estate doesn’t like truth. They like a front they can mess with. They can do as much with it as they can carry. Who cares? Not me.”
Knotting our fingers, I echoed, “Not you, not you,” rubbing a speck from my sunglasses, taking in our pleasant suite. “How much better is it gonna be when you’re a bigwig Rep., a real somebody?” I asked, earning his defensive demeanor, running my free hand over the beautiful coat of the ivory sofa.
“Whata ya mean when? Got you and this far, right?”
Bringing my legs up under my polka dot dress, I stammered, “Yeah, I-I guess, but—”
“Don’t worry about it, sweet thing, we’ve got it made.”
“If you say so” was my motto forthwith.
I said it again when he proposed I attend his fundraiser pregnant with generous delegates.
I followed it up, “Sure thing, Daddy-o,” and pranced to the vanity like a smaller child. I had my Humbert, my cover, and ticket away from humdrum Austin. Name a reason not to skip.
~***~
Perfumed and changed into a more conservative evening dress, I prowled tables for an empty seat until I was struck by a pink Victorian gown too stylish to ignore. Moving in quickly and too caught up with the sublime beauty, I was rubbing the beige grape-and-vine pattern and real pearls to get a clue on the material before I could do a reality check. I guess you could say I’m a fashion victim.
“Ohmigosh … hi, sorry, really pretty,” I said to the startled girl about my age. I smiled, embarrassed.
She didn’t seem to mind when I sat next to her; her teeth sparkled and her jade eyes ignited. She admired my sparrow necklace and it made me feel privileged, though it was probably just a polite exchange. She was just the movie star lush I wanted to meet, just the kind of refined spectacle I expected to find and learn from while here.
Though she was too young to be a somebody, I knew she was old enough not to be a nobody.
“So what’re you doing here, who are you, if you’ll let me ask?” I began more eloquently, putting one leg over the other and straightening my posture.
Her lips quivered like she was laughing but no noise came out.
I put my hands in my lap.
“My daddy, Senator Moss, frequents these things and brings me just as much.” She shrugged. “He’s always got somewhere to speak and something to say. Those are two very different things, you know.”
I nodded like I knew who that is and what she meant.
She gestured towards the stage Anthony was hiding behind. I bet he was sweating bullets, not so tight when the cameras are away.
Her father was walking up the steps, a very handsome man, as good-looking as my love but in a different way. Mr. Moss was very robust, even in his old timey waistcoat and bowtie. He looked like a classic gentleman of the Antebellum Era that chopped down wood at sunrise and delivered stirring speeches at sunset.
“I’m so glad he’s not like the other animals in Congress.” Her smile broke and rekindled. “Not to say that’s how everybody is. There are a bunch of creeps, but there are some sweethearts you wouldn’t believe either. I mean, I assume you don’t know; I’ve never seen you before. Name’s Ellie Anne.” She extended her hand and I was a bit ashamed to take it by where she left off. I had to save face.
“Oh, well, I kinda know. I will know. I’m with Anthony,” I blurted, the words sputtering like a bike bound to crash beneath me.
Ellie quirked a petite brow. “That’s who we’re all here for. It’s his gig; he’s the poor new-comer. How are you here for him, exactly? You gotta be too young to donate to him.”
To stall, I pretended to be lost in her father’s soliloquy. Gig, that’s what they call ’em? They won’t like him cuz he’ll be a freshman? I fumbled, twisting my discount rings. That’s not right; they all start somewhere. He said it would be different.
“I’m his daughter,” I eventually perpetuated.
Ellie’s rose and cream complexion melted. Embarrassed, she apologized, “Sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it. It’s just relative. Your father is new and hasn’t the funds to sustain his pull. That’s where we come in, after all. So, your name, what is it? Connors … what?” she scavenged, playing with her pretty white-gold hair.
The security from my lie vanished instantly. “Oh!” I squeaked, unprepared again. Think, think. Can’t be boring Rhea, can’t be an Austin no-name; havta be something more than me, not white trash or Mama’s baby. But all I could think about was Lolita and Humbert, Lolita and Humbert. What life and what name did she leave behind? Was it as Daisy, Dolly? Dolores.
“Dahlia, Dahlia Connors,” I answered, thinking Close enough. I laughed and grinned, momentarily proud of my handiwork. Convincing for now, right?
“Dahlia? Now that’s cute … I always meet up with a couple of boys from Vermont at venues like these, that’s it, all that stuck and not great. One is shy and the other would be better off that way. So I’m glad you’re sitting with me. I’m normally all by myself or with what the rally wombs had to offer. Not many politicos bring their offspring; probably have affairs to keep in order.”
She was a little seedy with the sting in her pronunciation. Besides her father, she clearly has no taste for politicians or their pollution, but I think that’s alright.
That doesn’t mean she doesn’t know how to cheat or how to win or what makes politicos tick.
Chapter Three
6/7
Lying in the wrinkled hotel sheets, my feet thawed from the AC as sunlight dipped between the curtains. From the floor-length window, I watched the ocean curl and uncurl, couples stroll the sand clingy as Esteé foundation, and children bob and dash in their games as I stretched out like a cat.
Anthony coughed on his stump of a cigarette, playing with his shark-mouthed lighter at the table off to the corner, off in his Shangri-La.
“You gonna go out there with me, Anny? It looks like such a lovely day,” I said. “Don’t wanna go by myself.”
“Don’t I always make time for ya, sweetheart?”
“Don’t ya always tell me that and do the opposite?” I yanked, eyebrows vexed.
He pored over me, swallowing, wearing pants but no shirt or tie. Obviously, last night went very well and we had to celebrate.
I smirked over my cupped palm, thinking about all that Ellie had said; the stories of red suits and lipstick-stained collars. “You’re an interesting liar,” I observed. “You’re going to make a great Representative and a suspicious spouse one day.”
“You’re a scream, Rhea,” Anthony sighed deeply before getting up. He strode over and kissed me on the cheeks, for a minute, making me forget about the sunburn dotting them.
I reciprocated the smooch and soon his hands were part of my unsheathed hips and we were running the motions again.
~***~
Fresh, or not so much, from making love with “my father,” I roamed the ocean’s edge alone until my acquaintance (too new and exquisite to be called friend by mistake) joined me.
Ellie Anne walked the mossy planks barefoot in this really fancy one-piece with dangling ruffles and intricate cut-outs. Liking to stay modest, she took kindly to face-eating sunglasses and sarongs, but she could come to the sandbar naked and artists would get on their knees to get perspective to sculpt her, she’s that beautiful.
It gave me another reason to isolate her from Anthony.
She said her father would’ve come (and I woulda liked to see that Fabio meets Johnny Depp in the salty breeze), but he had a conference to conduct.
“That
’s too bad. He woulda liked this. Anyone would.”
She nodded real slightly, flipping over a sea shell with her toes, none too talkative.
I leaned over a pile of seaweed, turning to see through her shades, if she was sad. The blonde didn’t seem to get to see her dad as much as he kept her in the area. “I’m sure he wants to be here and would if he could,” I tried to cheer.
“You’ll see how promises go if Anthony wins” is all she muttered and it scared me. It scared me to think lavish living has to take hits to afford, to balance, and that I could end up one of them.
I changed the subject straightaway: “So … what grade’ll you be in after summer?”
“School? I’m sixteen, Dahlia; I’m done with that, graduated early. It’s not hard. It’s high school, no matter where you go.”
The sun’s bite hid my blush. It’s so easy to feel insecure around her experience and perfection.
Eyebrows squinted, Ellie muttered something about “secondary” and a “shadow” but wouldn’t tell me what.
What a strange world you come from, I thought, gripping my elbows battered by the sand and wind.
The heat dictated when we were done treading the bumpy beach and dipping our feet in the foamy water, but it was Ellie who decided we visit her vacant room with minimal conversation. I think she just liked having somebody by her side. Maybe she wasn’t around enough teenagers to know what to say.
On several occasions I tried to strike up talk of fashion, movies and TV shows, to which she’d respond: “I just like what I like and try not to question it.”
I was a dollop discouraged with her vague answers and general disinterest but didn’t want to lose her. The things she knows are too valuable and the things she “tries not to” are too mysterious, and I want to uncloak them all.
While she took a quick shower, I explored her room, seeking nude mementos of her past and observing the clothes she left on her bed. Nothing she owned was anything short of stunning; nothing she owned was terribly revealing. Her suitcase probably had some better stuff but I wasn’t gonna find out without a sure-fire plan or her consent.
I wasn’t bold enough when Arthur rung me.
Leaving greetings and kindness at his girlfriend, Stacey’s, he started: “Rhea? Rhea, have you lost it, girl? I just seen your friend, Brittany, in town; you better have a darn-good excuse as to why she’s not with you, why I shouldn’t tell Mom.”
The New World told me to be immune to threats.
“No, I have a nice head on top of my neck,” I antagonized. “What? Brittany can’t have a li’l time to herself? She just went out for a stroke of fresh air before w—”
“You may have a pretty head, but it’s a dull one, Rhea. You’ve got room to improve on your lies. She wasn’t dressed for a trip to the panhandle or where you could be loitering somewhere behind; she was in Lowe’s with her family. Nice try.”
I turned red. “You busybody, it’s none of your business!” I shouted. “All you’ve got to do is checkup on my alibis all day? Some fun that must be! You shouldn’t be telling Mama nothin’ because I still have all that dirt on you from Carla and—”
“Where are you, Ree?” he pressed.
The lump of fury in my throat kept me quiet.
“Where? Who are you with? … Anthony, I bet,” Arthur laughed confidently to himself. “Stop tramping around; you’re gonna get yourself hurt. No one that age is gonna want anything to do with a vain little girl. Remember, you’ve got Mama by t—”
“Enough about Mama!” I returned, more heated. “Everything is about her. Stop falling for it! She’s as helpless as a baby. Cuz you’re her baby, she’s gonna wanna keep you to take care of her for eternity. That’s what U.J. is. That’s what we’ll be if we let her. Thankless fallbacks. Why aren’t you smart enough to see that, Ar? Why aren’t you cool enough to disregard me? I havta go, but you havta say nothin’.”
I hung up before Ellie Anne walked in, drying her honey hair, asking, “What’re ya doin’?”
“Nothing, waiting for you,” I alleged, that moral boy’s voice crawling—burning—under my skin.
Comforted by cartoons and jokes by nightfall, Ellie Anne confided in me that she’s a “stalwart loner by nature and circumstance” and quite apologetic for it. Easily, I forgave her, snuggling closer on the bed, noticing the curious collection of stuffed sheep she idly pet. Instantly, the ease of understanding vanquished when I questioned them. Ellie’s glossy lips shuddered and she quickly advised we leave for dinner. With so many hang-ups, I still wasn’t sure how stable of friends we’d be.
Over seafood, she dispelled these worries with a more amicable approach to her problems.
Twisting shrimp pasta round her fork like a cyclone, the livelier blonde refused to let me pay when the ticket came. “Your father needs every dime accounted for to win,” she chuckled before taking a swig of her water.
My disagreement made her shrug.
“Money’s not an issue in my family. Wait ’til yours is that way to reject gifts. I mean, who doesn’t like a free lunch—or dinner? Everyone, well, every Neo-Con loves my father.”
Mr. Moss, as striking verbally as he is physically, left no place for question.
“His position is secure,” she went on. “Anthony … We’ll see. Some people really rally around a fresh face. Some settle for the RINO who already won. Experience is a two-sided knife, you know.”
I thrive on these moments of insight, adore Ellie’s composed concession. Her subtle condescension was sweeter than rock candy to me and I know her jargon will slip through my teeth if I follow close enough.
“Daddy’s doesn’t want me bored on these trips, so he gives me a healthy allowance to keep me placated; it’s no problem … So will you be coming to the House-Senate Dinner too?” she sprung on me, causing me to choke on my Coke without a story.
“Um … I don’t know. I mean, I haven’t really discussed it with my—”
“Daddy’s got PACs to pay and press to do all around the city. Yours probably does too. I’d love it if you’d come. We can go catch a film or shop while they do all that. You’d like that, wouldn’t you, Dahlia?” she reeled, reminding me who I’m supposed to be. “Those boys from Vermont will be there too. Their fathers are Democrats but they like to weasel into the red affairs. ‘Amateur spies,’ Papa calls them.” The blonde laughed in her memories, inviting me to join new ones.
At once, I was touched and flustered by consideration.
“You might like them, Dahlia; Cris anyway, he’s cute in a brotherly kinda way, real genuine. Gilbert, well, he’s a whole other story. Very flirtatious and inappropriate, but if you get him on the right day or subject, he’s a true intellectual. Plus, he’s older. He can drive us around more discreetly than a chauffeur. And, in the evening, we can hang around all that Congressional glitz. It’ll be exciting, a night to remember. It’s a ball! And it’ll do Anthony some great good too, rubbing elbows with all those rich men. You’ll need a dress, of course, a really long one.”
“I just don’t know if—”
Ellie’s teeth waved me in with a sly grin, knowing she already had me sold. “I saw you eyeing up that one on display in Monti’s. C’mon, Dahlia, let’s just get you it! I bet ya look swell in midnight green.”
Even if I wasn’t able to go, there’s no way I’d skip out on a fashion detour with Houston’s resident princess.
~***~
“But why not?” I whined to my unfazed lover. “It could get you serious acclaim and connection chances. Skylar Moss, the freakin’ legendary Senator, will invite you.”
The DA eyed me like he really was my father. “Rhea, this childish color on you really isn’t flattering.” He put down his book with emphasis. “Stop making a spectacle of yourself, honey. I know what’s good for my career. Don’t ya worry your pretty, little head over it; I got it all figured out. I g—”
“Then why are your funds thin as spider legs? You’ve had the same five suits since I’ve kn
own you’ve and—”
He took his eyes from the book cover this time. “Who said any of that?” he rasped, gaze as hard as U.J.’s usually is.
Mouth dry, I stiffened. Angering him wasn’t a good first step towards any kind of wringing. I never saw Anthony upset and, frankly, it was rather chilling. I thumbed the counter behind me and swung my eyes left.
He grew more defensive. “You don’t believe me, baby doll? Don’t think I can win? Heck, that’s a blow to the ego; own girl doesn’t think I got a shot to win. You know something, I—”
“Never said that,” I excused, stepping backward as he neared, not quite gathering the depth of his power before. He sounded so raw and wired.
His voice only got nastier: “Well, what the hell are you sayin’, Rhea? I didn’t bring you here to belittle me. I thought you were different. Didn’t think you were so childish and material. That you were gonna be so stereotypical of someone your—”
“Stop it, Anny! I’m not trying to be any of those things! Some friend I made at the fundraiser last night seemed to think you’re more precarious than you let on. That’s all. Damn it, I’m trying to help you is all! She simply stated that—”
“This friend, how much does she know?” he interrogated. “What’d you say to her? You played your part, right, agree with her? Goddamn it! How credible is she anyway? Only a pipsqueak.”
“Why don’t you ask former Speaker Moss?!” I countered. “It’s his daughter, his real one.” Fingers squirming nervously, I took in a large breath, holding it until he backed off.
As I leant against the backsplash in anticipation, Anthony threw his hands beside his head and growled, “Get lost, Rhea. Can’t deal with you right now. Trouble, I knew this’d be.”
Nowhere else to go but the obvious, knowing Ellie probably had more exciting things to deal with, I circled the hotel five or six times to build up the courage to shadow her doorstep.
Imperative Fate Page 2
