Chapter 6

Liz knocked on her parent's bedroom, heard Abbey say "Come in", and opened the door.

Only her mother was sitting in a high back chair in the little sitting area by the fireplace. Liz walked over and sat on the sofa facing her mother.

"Where's Dad?"

"He had to go back downstairs. I have no idea when he'll be back. Did you and Doug settle the matter?"

"Not exactly."

"What do you mean 'Not Exactly'?"

"Well, we had a discussion."

"A discussion?"

"Well, actually it was a major fight."

"And?"

"I don't know. I left it with Doug that he had a choice. A choice to resign and try and rebuild his life with us or…"

"Or what…"

"Or he could stay in the campaign and lose me and the kids and his life as he knew it."

"Oh, Liz." Abbey voice caught in her throat. "And what did he decide?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Yes, nothing. I thought he was going to give me an answer as I was leaving but he didn't so I really don't have an answer."

"Oh," was all Abbey could say.

After a brief period of silence, Liz replied. "It felt good, Mom. It felt really good to get this out of my system. It's been festering for two weeks. It was real good to get it all out in the open."

"Uh huh." Abbey took another sip of her wine. "When will he make his choice? I don't think we have much more time."

"Well, Mom, its up to him now. He's the one that's got to choose."

Knock!

Knock!

"Come in."

The door opened and Doug stood in the doorway, looking to see who was in the room. "Where's Jed?" as he advanced in the room.

"He's back in the office. He's got a crisis to resolve before he can get back here."

"Oh, okay. Liz, I need to talk with you."

"You can talk to me in front of Mom." She stood to meet Doug halfway.

"Well. I thought…."

"No. Say what you have to say."

"Liz, honey, I'll…."

"No. Stay, Mom. There's nothing he could say that you can't hear. Doug, have you come to a decision?"

"Yes. I….I….have decided to…"

"Doug, just spit it out. Are you going to resign or not? It's a very simple decision. Stay with your family or start a new life. It's a very simple decision."

Both people locked their gaze at each other. Both people wondering what was next for them.

"I've decided to resign. I love you, Liz and I know I've hurt you so much with my affair. I'm so sorry. The last thing I want to do is to hurt the kids. And you. I really do love you. It was a mistake and I'm sorry."

Abbey got up and passed the couple. She quietly closed the door behind her.

"Doug, I've been hurt deeply by you. There's still a lot for us to discuss. And we probably need counseling. We can either go to a professional or to Father Mark. I'll leave who up to you. And I want you to know one apology isn't going to make it. But I'll give it my best try. Are you okay with that?"

Doug walked the few steps and embraced her. "Yes, I understand. Now who do I call?"

Liz whispered in his ear. "We've got a long way to go, Doug. A very long way."

"Okay."