“I told them it was just a ploy by Angela to get more money out of this divorce. Naturally they think I should go on the offensive.” Elle chuckled. “My mother’s ready to take Angela out to the woodshed.”

  Doug snickered. “I’d pay good money for a ringside seat to that.”

  “Me, too. In the meantime I told them Rory has a top-notch lawyer and it’s only a matter of time before all of this goes away.” Elle figured if she sounded confident then maybe she’d believe it, too.

  “That’s the plan.” He paused. “What are you reading?” Doug asked as he sat down on the bed.

  “Anna Karenina.”

  “Oh, that’s an interesting choice.”

  Elle didn’t like his tone. “What do you mean it’s an interesting choice? You know it’s one of my favorite books.”

  “You’re right. I know.”

  She closed the book and put in on the night table. “I know that tone. What are you getting at, Doug?”

  “Nothing,” he said and shrugged. “I just think it’s an interesting choice considering it’s about a married woman who follows her lover.”

  “And you see a parallel between me and a fictional character who happens to be an adulteress?” Elle’s voice got a little louder.

  “No, of course not. You’re jumping to conclusions.”

  “Is there another conclusion I should come to, Doug? Are you beginning to buy into this crap Angela’s spewing?”

  “No. But I wonder why you…”

  “Why I what? Go ahead and finish the sentence.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me you and Rory were at the children’s clinic together the other day?”

  “What?” Elle was flabbergasted.

  “A reporter from The Bronx Times told me that you and Rory were there and asked me if the Brennan foundation was making a donation or gift to the clinic.”

  “What did you tell him?”

  “Even though it was the first I’d heard of it, I told him the foundation was considering ways to help finance many public clinics to help them get through this fiscal crisis.”

  “Well played, Doug,” Elle said curtly.

  “Aren’t you going to explain?”

  “Explain what? It sounds to me like you’ve already made up your mind.”

  “I’m just asking, that’s all.”

  “No, you’re not just asking.”

  “Listen, Elle, we don’t live in a vacuum. If one reporter saw you, then a dozen saw you.”

  “So? I wouldn’t classify the children’s clinic as a clandestine meeting place.”

  “Maybe not, but it’s not the first time you…” He stopped himself.

  “Go ahead and say it. It’s not the first time people have seen me with Rory without you.”

  Doug didn’t answer.

  “I don’t believe this.” She shook her head. “It’s not like we were seen at some fleabag motel. And besides, I always tell…”

  He interrupted her. “Yes. You usually tell me. So why didn’t you tell me about the clinic?”

  Any other time Elle would have just explained, but her ire was up. “You know, if I didn’t know any better I’d think you were accusing me of something.”

  Doug got quiet again.

  “Oh, my God,” Elle said as her face fell. “You’re starting to believe this crap in the paper. Aren’t you?”

  “I didn’t say that, Elle.”

  “You didn’t have to.”

  “Come on, Elle, I didn’t mean…”

  She put her hand up. “You know what? I don’t want to talk about this anymore. I might say something I’ll regret.” In a huff she closed the book and turned the light off on her side of the bed.

  “You’re just gonna go to sleep?”

  “Yes. Good night.” She pulled the covers up.

  It would have been easy enough for me to tell him why Rory and I were at the clinic together if he would have asked me the right way, but he asked like he thinks there’s something going on. After being a Brennan all of his life I would have thought Doug would know that he has to take the press with a grain of salt. Elle fluffed her pillow. It’s this Senate thing. It’s slowly taking over our lives, and I don’t like what it’s doing to Doug. What’s going to happen when I bring a new baby into the mix? Maybe I should have thought twice before I signed off on this appointment in the first place. Now it seems I’ve gone from the fishbowl to the shark tank, complete with the theme from Jaws.

  Chapter 13

  The next morning, while Doug was in the closet mirror adjusting his tie, he heard his cell vibrate. “Hello?”

  “Hello, Mayor Brennan, it’s Seth McNeal returning your call. I hope it isn’t too early.”

  “No. In fact early is generally better for me. I’m glad to hear from you.”

  “I have to admit I was surprised to get a call from the mayor of New York City.”

  “My uncle told me you were the best in the business and I should call you if I wanted to insure my appointment to Senator Clemson’s Senate seat.”

  “I didn’t think there was any doubt.”

  “As you know there’s no such thing as a sure thing in politics. And now with the power of the press weighing in on me, I can’t rest on my laurels.”

  “If you don’t mind me saying so, your family has been a right-wing target for a long time.”

  “It’s more than that this time.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Have you read the papers lately?”

  “To be honest I’ve been out of the loop for the past three weeks. I just got back from a European getaway with my wife and daughters.”

  “Lucky you.” Doug grinned.

  “It was good to get away.” He paused. “So I assume you have some poll data, amongst other things you’d like me to look into..”

  “Yes. Are you saying that you’ll work with me?”

  “Let’s just say I’m intrigued enough to review things. Can you email me what you have?”

  “Sure, or I can fax it to you.”

  “On second thought, don’t bother. I can do the research from my office. I’ll get back to you.”

  “Thanks. I’ll wait to hear from you. Have a good one.”

  “Thanks. You, too.”

  Doug walked back into the bedroom where Elle was pretending to be asleep.

  “Elle?” Doug tapped her on the shoulder.

  “Yes?” She pretended to be groggy.

  “Are you going to your office today?”

  “No. I’m going with Melissa to an appointment.”

  “Oh, okay.” He leaned down and kissed her cheek. “We’ll talk later.”

  “Okay,” she said quietly.

  Elle waited a few minutes before she got out of bed and headed to the bathroom. After a quick shower, she went to the closet and pulled out a pair of black slacks and a sweater. Any other day she would have stressed over her fashion choices, but given the state of the media and Doug’s attitude, getting a ticket from the fashion police was the least of her problems.

  Once she was dressed, Elle sat on the bed and stared at her laptop. I’m not going to do it. I’m not going to torture myself. “What the hell? It couldn’t be any worse than what is already in the papers.” Elle said aloud as she got her laptop and booted up. A few minutes later she was surfing all the newspaper websites and blogs that were devoted to deconstructing the scandal. Elle was hurt and flabbergasted by what she read but couldn’t bring herself to sign off.

  Melissa knocked and then walked into Elle’s bedroom. “I tell you all I needed was the Mission Impossible theme and Tom Cruise to get through all those reporters outside. Jeez, I can’t believe I had an easier time driving through rush hour traffic.” Melissa looked at Elle. “Have you heard a word I said?” She walked over to the bed. “What are you looking at?”

  “I’m reading a blog.”

  “What blog?”

  “Someone set up a blog dedicated to the mayor’s cheating wife.”

  “Elle,” Melissa groaned.

  “No, it’s fascinating reading, actually. Here’s one that says for women to forget Jenny Craig and to go on the Mrs. Smith’s or Sara Lee diet like the mayor’s wife. This one says this happened because I married into a white family. And this person says we should go on Jerry Springer or audition for All My Children.”

  “Close the computer,” Melissa said sternly.

  “I’ve never really understood why people are so into gossip, but it’s been around since the dawn of time. Heck, even the founding fathers used it as political tactic. I think Jefferson and Hamilton set the precedent when the Jeffersonians used James Callender’s History of the United States for 1796 to report Alexander Hamilton’s financial dealings as Secretary of the Treasury as well as his 1792 adulterous affair with Maria Reynolds, the wife of James Reynolds, a United States Treasury employee. It was effective.”

  “Elle, this isn’t an empirical study. I know you want it to be.”

  “Well, I figure if I keep reading, I’ll understand why.”

  Melissa closed Elle’s laptop.

  “Hey, I was reading.”

  “No. You weren’t just reading.”

  “It’s just words. They can’t hurt me.”

  “Do you really believe that?”

  “Yes.” She shrugged. “I don’t know anymore.”

  “Then why are you torturing yourself reading this junk?”

  “My whole life is torture right now, Melissa. I’m practically a prisoner in my own home. This is nothing compared to…” Elle’s voice caught.

  Melissa sat down and put her arm around Elle. “Compared to what?”

  “Compared to having your husband look at you like he doesn’t trust you?”

  “That doesn’t sound like Doug at all. Did something else happen?”

  “A reporter told Doug that Rory and I were at the Bronx Children’s Clinic together after Thanksgiving and he’s upset that I didn’t tell him.”

  “What?” Melissa was surprised. “Why did Rory meet you there?”

  “Rosario, Dr. Campbell, is a good friend of mine, and when she told me about the high number of cleft palate cases she sees at the clinic I wanted to help. The thing is with so many budget cuts happening across the board, I couldn’t get Doug involved. So I asked Rory to come down and meet with her to talk about donating his services as a plastic surgeon and maybe recruiting some of his colleagues.”

  “Oh, I thought you only worked with clinics in Manhattan.”

  “I only work with clinics in Manhattan for the hospital. This is something I’m doing on my own outside of the hospital.”

  “I think that’s great.” Melissa grinned. “Did you tell Doug that?”

  “I was going to, but I didn’t like his tone.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Maybe I’ve seen too many episodes of Law and Order, but he sounded like a man conducting an interrogation and not like a husband asking his wife a question.”

  “I’m sure he didn’t mean it that way. With everything that’s happening, he’s under a lot of pressure.”

  “And I’m not? It’s bad enough I have to deal with the media and Angela’s accusations. Now I’m supposed to deal with Doug’s?”

  “You’re right,” Melissa agreed. “Did you tell him how you feel?”

  “No. I was too upset and I didn’t want to say something I’d regret.” She looked down. “Doug is in spin control mode now. Whenever he speaks he sounds more like a press release than my husband.”

  “I’m so sorry, Elle.”

  “Thanks.” She wistfully looked over at Kevin and Kyle’s pictures. “Remember when I found out I was pregnant with the twins?”

  “Yes.” Melissa smiled. “You were so excited.”

  “I couldn’t wait to tell Doug we were bringing two babies into a world of love and joy.” She sighed. “And now here I am fourteen years later, pregnant again, and instead of bursting with excitement I’m filled with dread. This baby deserves to come into a world filled with love, not scandal and doubt.” Tears began to stream down her face.

  “Elle.” Melissa hugged her.

  “Thanks.” Elle grabbed a couple of tissues and wiped her face. “Well, I’ve got to pull it together and get to Dr. Aranow’s.” She stood up. “He usually begins seeing patients at one o’clock, but given the circumstances he’s made an exception for me.”

  “That’s good.” Melissa looked at her watch. “I guess we’d better get a move on then.”

  “Right.” Elle put on a large coat, sunglasses and a hat. She and Melissa slipped out the back way to her car. Lucky for Elle, Melissa’s car windows were tinted so they were able to drive right by a group of reporters unnoticed. Elle breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “No. But what choice do I have?” She paused. “I just want to confirm the pregnancy, tell Doug and get on with our lives in relative peace.” The frustration in her voice was palpable.

  Melissa rubbed her leg. “Calm down, Elle. You don’t need to get worked up any more than you already are.”

  “You’re right. I have another person to think about.” She patted her stomach.

  “Exactly.” Melissa reached into the seat compartment and pulled out a CD. “How about a little music for the ride over?”

  “Sure.”

  “I don’t have Tori Amos. Is Beyoncé okay?”

  “That’s fine with me.”

  Melissa put the CD in and began moving in her seat to “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It).”

  Elle couldn’t help but laugh. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m doing the ‘Single Ladies’ dance.”

  “In the car?”

  “Why not? I have booty like Beyoncé. In fact, I have a lot more booty than her.” She continued to bounce in her seat.

  “Leave it to you to make me laugh.”

  “What are friends for?”

  “You do realize that neither of us are single ladies, right?”

  “Neither is Beyoncé, but that didn’t stop her. Besides, it’s a good song and it will drown out your thoughts, at least for a few minutes.”

  “That sounds good to me. Calgon isn’t quite cutting it for me these days.” Elle was grateful for the musical interlude and the chance to put her thoughts on hold, even if it was only for a little while.

  * * *

  Even though it was already yesterday’s news, Doug couldn’t stop staring at the photo in The Post. He rubbed his eyes. No matter how long I stare at this, it doesn’t change.

  “Staring at it won’t help,” Ki said as he walked in Doug’s office.

  Doug put the paper down. “I should shred it.”

  “Then why don’t you?”

  He tossed it in the garbage. “Who ever thought that I’d welcome a chance to defend the cuts to the new city budget?”

  “I think it would be novel for the press to focus on the issues instead of salacious gossip and innuendo.”

  “It’s hard to call it innuendo when there are photos.”

  “Wait a minute, Doug. You don’t believe it’s really Elle in that picture, do you?”

  “No. Of course not.”

  “Good. Then what’s eating you?”

  “It’s her relationship with Rory.”

  “What about it? They’re friends and in-laws. They went to lunch at a diner, Doug. I wouldn’t call it an illicit meeting.”

  “I know, and I’ve never had a problem with them spending time together, but now it’s come back to haunt me. I should have put my foot down a long time ago.”

  Ki folded his arms. “Is that you talking or the latest poll numbers?”

  “What?”

  “Don’t pretend like you don’t know today’s Daily News poll shows Carver with a four percent lead.”

  “Not too long ago we were in a dead heat.”

  “The margin of error in a scientific poll is two to three percent. While I’m not denigrating the Daily News, it’s not The Times. Are you saying that not only do you believe the tales Angela and her lawyer have concocted, you think it’s hurting you in the polls?”

  “No, I don’t believe Angela.”

  “But you are concerned that it’s hurting your bid for the Senate.”

  “No. But…”

  “What?”

  “Then there’s the meeting at the Bronx Clinic.” He tapped his desk.

  “Did you ask Elle about it?”

  “Yes, and she wouldn’t answer me.”

  “Did you ask her as a husband or politician?”

  “What?”

  “You heard me,” Ki said pointedly. “Because if you asked her with the same attitude you have now, I can understand why.”

  Doug was a little taken aback. “You’re one of the people who encouraged me to go for the Senate seat. You know the press is already all over me for any little thing since I’m a Brennan.”

  “Sure, I encouraged you. Do you know why?”

  “Why?”

  “For the last seven years I’ve watched you successfully balance being a politician, husband and father. Granted, I might have given you a little grief for making out with your wife in public, but it really made me feel good to know that no matter what went on here, you never really brought it home. So I thought being senator would be a piece of cake for you.”

  “It will be.”

  “It won’t be if you let your public image come before your family. Elle is a big part of the reason you’ve been a successful mayor. You need to remember that.”

  “God, Ki, why don’t you tell me how you really feel?” Doug asked somewhat jokingly.

  “Listen, Doug, my nose is brown because I’m black, not because it’s stuck up your butt.” He looked at his watch. “I have some business to attend to outside of the office. I’ll see you later.”

  Ki walked out.

  Doug turned and faced the window. I don’t know what Ki is talking about. If it was nothing, why couldn’t she tell me? He sighed aloud. I know she’s pissed. She barely said a word to me this morning. Am I supposed to feel guilty? I wasn’t the one with the secret. His cell phone was vibrating.

  “Hello?”

  “Mayor Brennan? It’s Seth McNeal.”

  “Seth, I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon.”

  “I figured I’d call you with my preliminary findings. I’ll follow up with a detailed hard copy report.”

 

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