CHAPTER 6

Lee nodded repeatedly as one of his father's colleagues droned on exuberantly over Lee's choice of law school and the benefit of his military experience rounding out his background. "You know – the military needs lawyers." He clapped Lee on the back good naturedly. "Just something for you to think about." Kara listened to Lee's deftly polite response. He always seemed to know just what to say under any circumstances. Socially, Kara was all sharp angles and irregular indentations while Lee was like a polished piece of stone – not forged by artifice or craft - but through the chance whims of nature. It was that easy sincerity that won people over. Of course, those amazingly blue eyes and dimpled smile didn't hurt either. He could just as easily have been a politician as a lawyer, reflected Kara, as she glanced uneasily again at her mother's empty chair.

Laura had not been the same since the cancer. But, really, it had begun even before that. She had lost too many loved ones in far too short a space of time. Laura's mother had faced a long battle against her own cancer but the disease had cut her life short, despite her valiant efforts. And then just a couple of years later, the drunk driver took away Laura's younger sisters and her father in one fell swoop. Kara had grown up in a house full of music. After the accident, Laura's piano had fallen eerily silent. Her mother blamed it on tendonitis in her left wrist but Kara knew that it was a flimsy lie. It had never stopped her mother from playing before. Instead, Laura poured herself into politics with a fierce tenacity that had kept her mind numbingly busy and constantly working. Laura insisted that she was "fine." She even managed to occasionally make it look good – but Kara observed, sadly, that there was an essential spark that her mother had always possessed that had gone prematurely dark.

And Kara didn't know how to fix it.

"Stop fidgeting," Lee whispered teasingly in her ear once his father's colleague disappeared into the crowd, giving him and Kara a rare moment of privacy in what had been a very busy evening. Lee followed Kara's gaze.

"I'm sure she's fine," he promised reassuringly as he tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. When Kara continued to frown, Lee gave her hand a squeeze. "Would it help if I went to go check on her?"

Kara sighed. "It's that drunk from the parking lot the night that we were at the restaurant. It reopened a lot of scars that never healed in the first place. And she's looked unhappy all night long. Would you? If I go, it'll just put her on the defensive but you can be smooth –"

Lee chuckled. "Flattery will get you everywhere. I'll go work my magic." He squeezed out of his chair and rose from the crowded table.

Kara rolled her eyes. "Arrogant much?"

Lee mouthed a teasing, "You like it," before vanishing into the crowd.

Richard barely suppressed a satisfied smile as Laura froze mid-stride after he pronounced that she was a proposed candidate for the vice-presidency. It wasn't true, although as Adar considered it, he realized that it was a stroke of genius. She was beautiful, likeable, a fantastic speaker, and unfalteringly incisive when the need arose. Laura was more formidable than she realized – if still a trifle naïve – but that, too, was part of her political appeal. Brenner would never approve because the scandal of their affair would be a far too risky liability. As discreet as they had been, if Laura appeared on the ticket with him, their opponents would pry doggedly into every little detail of her life. But truth wasn't important right now. Getting Laura to stay was Richard's sole purpose, and like everything he pursued that he wanted, the means were far less important than the end. He watched her turn slowly to face him.

"I don't want the vice-presidency," she said stiffly. She realized, as she said the words, how deeply she meant them.

Richard sighed. He had been moving progressively closer to her. "You can't just resign before an election year." He smiled that coaxing smile that had once had the power to make her heart flutter and her pulse race. "A few more months. I'll give you your space, I promise."

"We both know that this ended months ago, Richard."

Adar swept his eyes intimately over the slope of her neck and let them linger on her mouth before looking into her eyes. "We've ended it before and we always go back," he reminded her.

It wasn't the right thing to say and it was a mis-step that would cost him. It was true. From the first, he had finally gotten her into bed after a night of heart choking grief, a bottle and a half of wine, and a lot of tears. Laura was beginning to see the pattern of their relationship for what it was; Richard had been her drug of choice after the accident and their unhealthy bond had only been more fully fortified when she had confided to him alone the secret of her cancer. The sex had been good but it was just sex. Richard had made her feel something when she had felt numb from the inside out - but like any high it didn't last - and in the end it had done nothing to alleviate the looming vastness of the void. It only kept it at bay for a short time. She had to end the cycle once and for all. She didn't like giving up her position in office like this but it was clear that they couldn't work together.

"You'll have no trouble finding a replacement for me," Laura said matter-of-factly. Richard grasped the dual meaning in her coolly modulated voice. He perceived the steady flicker of resignation on her face and he knew that he had lost her, irrevocably. He nodded, slowly, his mouth a flat line. For once, Richard didn't have a swift, easy comeback.

"Gods, but I will miss you," he told her finally. Whatever else he had said tonight – that much was true. "For old time's sake," he murmured, taking her by surprise as he cupped her face, leaned forward, and kissed her.

It was that fleeting kiss that Lee observed when he finally found Laura in the dimly lit observation room.

The band was playing a slow love song when Lee returned to the festivities with the smooth sound of the saxophone taking prominence during the bridge. Kara was singing along, her expression much brighter than when he had left her. Lee sat down.

"You were gone a long time," she accused.

"Lot of people here," explained Lee. "I uh….I couldn't find her," he lied.

"Oh, that's okay," twittered Kara breezily. "Somebody else did." Lee followed Kara's happy gaze to the dance floor. He spotted Laura's unmistakable cascade of red hair. She was dancing.

With his father.

"I'm sorry you missed it," continued Kara. "He asked her. She said yes. They look good together, don't you think?"

Lee nodded mutely and picked up his empty wine glass to take a sip, putting it down with a loud thud when he realized that he had already finished the glass.

"She likes him, you know," continued Kara," as she leaned over to chatter in his ear so that he could hear her above the music.

"How do you know?" Lee asked soberly.

Kara whacked her fiancé on the arm and let out a brash laugh. "Oh, Lee….come on! You've seen them together. There's a spark. We could help it catch fire."

Lee continued to watch Laura and his father doubtfully. There was more space between them than any other couple on the dance floor. The bubble of an image floated across Lee's mind that consisted of the President with his hands cupping Laura's face and his mouth….

"And we finally have the table to ourselves," continued Kara. "Adar and his stuffy entourage left."

Laura's personal life wasn't any of his business, Lee reflected. As soon as he had trespassed on what was obviously a very intimate moment, Lee high tailed it out of there; he was pretty certain that the couple hadn't seen him. He'd purposefully taken the scenic route getting back. Kara obviously didn't know about her mother and the President and he didn't have the heart to tell her. She'd never liked Adar.

"I don't think we should meddle, Kara," said Lee. "If they like one another, they'll figure it out on their own."

Kara made a raspberry sound with her lips. "You are way too serious."

Lee looked once again from Kara to his father and Laura dancing their overly polite dance and flagged down a waiter.

He needed another drink.