3

H e wasn’t hiding, not at all. Ben had to give him credit for that. To the contrary, Senator Glancy was sitting alone at a table square in the center of the main Senate Dining Room, a linen napkin in his lap, slowly sipping a drink. It would be virtually impossible for anyone to pass through the room without seeing him, and, as Ben watched, several men he recognized as fellow senators did come by and pause briefly to smile, say a few words of encouragement, slap Glancy on the back. But none of the women, Ben noticed. None of the women in the room came within three tables of him.

“Let me introduce you,” Bressler said, as he wheeled his way through the maze of tables to the senator. “Todd,” he announced, “your legal eagles have arrived.”

Glancy immediately sprang to his feet, his hand outstretched. “Ben! Great to see you again. How long has it been?”

“Well… a long time.”

“Too damn long. Particularly given all the good work you’ve been doing.” He shifted his gaze. “You must be Christina McCall.”

She nodded and took his hand, wincing slightly at the grip. “Good to meet you.”

“The pleasure is all mine. Ben told me he was bringing his partner. He didn’t tell me she was a beauty.”

Christina’s lips parted, but she remained silent, nonplussed.

“I hope you don’t mind me being blunt. I know we’re supposed to keep our mouths shut about such things these days. Don’t want to be accused of being sexist. Or worse, get slapped with a sexual harassment lawsuit. Which is why I’ve asked you to come here.” He glanced down at his administrative assistant. “Marsh, will you join us for lunch?”

“Are you kidding? With all the pandemonium upstairs? I’ll grab a Snickers bar on my way back to the office.” He swiveled his wheelchair around and headed out.

“Great guy,” Glancy said, as soon as Bressler was out of earshot.

“Certainly seems like an asset,” Ben commented.

“You don’t know the half of it. I wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for him. Brilliant strategist. Like one of those chess players who can anticipate what’s going to happen six moves ahead. And so loyal. He’s always stuck by me-even after his accident. His legs are paralyzed.”

“Permanently?”

“I’m afraid so. He tried physical therapy-I went to the sessions with him myself. Didn’t take. He’ll never walk again. And yet, he’s never let it get to him. Never complained, never indulged in self-pity. He works out regularly-he’s very fit from the waist up. You might wonder why he bothers. Well, I’ll tell you why-because this is a man determined to take care of himself. The epitome of self-reliance. Never married, never even dated, as far as I know. And given his current physical condition, probably never will. But he’s still the most productive person I’ve ever met.”

“What a profile in courage,” Christina said. “No wonder you’ve kept him all these years.”

“I’d do anything for the man. Anything at all. But enough about Marsh. How the hell are you, Ben?”

“Can’t complain.”

“Your mom still in that huge mansion in Nichols Hills?”

“Oh yeah. She’ll never move.”

“My folks are the same way. Jesus-how long has it been-ten, twelve years?”

“Something like that. Since law school.”

“Right. How come we didn’t hang out together more?”

Ben shrugged uncomfortably. “Oh… I suppose we just traveled in different circles.”

“Yeah, like you were in the ‘make-good-grades’ circle and I was in the ‘party-down-pretty-mama’ circle.”

“Well, I don’t know…”

“You were on law review, weren’t you? And you won the big Moot Court competition?”

“That was a long time ago.”

“You did all that while I was schmoozing profs and local politicians. My dad wanted me to take over his oil empire, of course, and I did for a while. But I always had my sights on the political arena.” He snapped his fingers. “Didn’t we intern at the DA’s office at the same time? You worked with Jack Bullock.”

“Yes. But I… left early.”

“Right, I remember. Your father passed on. That must’ve been tough.”

Glancy obviously didn’t know or didn’t remember the half of what had really happened, and that was fine with Ben. “It was. But I moved on. And you launched that crusade to stiffen the sentences for domestic abuse. Launched your political career while you were still an intern. Not even out of law school.”

“I was very fortunate. Everything just fell into place. I’ve been lucky-I know that. Until now, anyway.”

The assistant restaurant manager appeared with a pen and order pad. “Three for lunch, Senator?”

“Exactly, Jonathan. What delectable viands have you got for us?”

“It’s Hawaii Day, sir.”

Glancy turned to Ben and explained. “Here in the Senate Dining Room, the menu is based on the food of a chosen state. Different state each day. They rotate through all fifty of them, then start over again. Equal time for every senator.” He turned back toward the manager. “Good God, I hope this doesn’t mean we have to eat poi.”

The manager smiled slightly. “No, sir. I would recommend the grilled mahimahi, mango and coconut on the side.”

“Sounds good. Ben?”

“I’m… not much of a fish eater. And coconut makes me break out in hives.”

“Sounds like you should have the bean soup.”

“I’ve heard the Senate is famous for it. Must be quite good.”

Glancy and the manager exchanged a look. “Not really. And there are potentially embarrassing aftereffects, if you plan to be around people later in the day. But it’s like jumping out of an airplane. Once you’ve done it, you can spend the rest of your life telling people you’ve done it. Christina?”

“I’m not afraid of fish. Mahimahi for me.”

“Done,” the manager said, making sparse notes on his pad. “I’ll have that out right away.”

“Thank you, Jonathan.” Glancy smiled as he departed. “Wonderful man. Keenly mediocre dining room, but great service. Did you see what a straight face he kept? As if he hadn’t seen the video. But we know better, don’t we? And that’s what we need to talk about. Ben-”

Glancy was interrupted by another man whom Ben recognized. A congressman from Arkansas, he thought.

“Hanging in there, buddy?”

Glancy turned, beamed, and put out his hand. He had the gift, Ben thought. When he was talking to you, his attention was entirely focused on you, as if nothing else in the world existed. “Best I can. What are you doing on this side of the dome, Shawn?” That was the name, Ben recalled. Shawn MacReady, R-AR.

“Just schmoozing. Given any more thought to what we talked about day before yesterday?”

“Believe it or not, Shawn, I’ve had a few other things on my mind.”

“I can imagine. Anything I can do for you?”

Glancy chuckled. “Yeah. Vote no.”

“I hope it doesn’t come to that. Remember the wisdom of the ancients: Illegitimis non carborundum.”

“Sorry, Shawn. My Latin is a little rusty. Any chance of a translation?”

MacReady smiled. “Don’t let the bastards get you down.”

“That must be gratifying,” Ben remarked, after MacReady departed. “When people stand by you. Even after… something like this.”

“That perfidious cockalorum?” Glancy snorted. “Don’t be fooled. Politicians can be civil without actually being friendly. He’s just consolidating support for his latest Arkansas boondoggle. He’s got no business being here in the first place-he’s a congressman, not a senator. But he thinks because he heads the Appropriations Committee, that puts him on par with us.” He smiled at Christina. “Don’t mean to sound snobby. But it’s kind of like a legal assistant who acts like a lawyer.”

“Heaven forbid,” Christina deadpanned.

“Why is leading the Appropriations Committee such a big deal?” Ben asked.

“Because they decide what gets paid for and what doesn’t. We can pass a bill and the president can sign it, but unless the appropriators earmark money for it, it isn’t going to happen. So MacReady gets to play Big Man on Campus, for a little while, anyway, and we’re all forced to engage in a gigantic horse trading session, endless pieces of pork in exchange for the munificent gift of funding our own legislation.”