such tangled webs we weave

Natalie actually takes a moment to consider the proposal. Jamie Walsh’s life will surely be ruined. It’s clear that his wife– his wife– she wants to laugh at that, at how wretched a marriage they have– will see to it that it is. She now understands why he never wanted to talk about her. She might have pitied him.

Yet for all of Natalie’s internal hemming and hawing that she isn’t evil, not really, she cannot find it in herself to care about what will happen to Jamie. It is obvious, from the sheet of paper in his wife’s hand to the look in her eye, that Evelynn Carmichael will get what she wants with or without Natalie’s help. This really doesn’t have anything to do with her, anyway– she is simply acting as Evelynn’s pawn. They both know Jamie will pay Natalie any sum of money to bury this story deeper than his unborn child, and all Natalie has to do is play along.

What? There are worse things she could do. Besides, she just put a down payment on a condo. High-rise. Chrome countertops. (Thanks, Mr. Vice President.) She can’t turn down a few extra grand now.

“Not yet,” Natalie says, but the real answer is no. Of course she’ll do it, but she’s not a fucking idiot, and she has a feeling Evelynn knows what’s coming next, too. “But I don’t work for free, no matter how fun the motive is.” She drains the rest of her glass. “And since this place doesn’t have lobster bisque…” She trails off, a gleam in her eye. 

“Five thousand, and I’ll even send you a signed copy.”

She didn’t expect Natalie to have any moral qualms with all of this, but Evelynn was aware her request was... unusual, to say the least. She was relieved when Natalie seemed to take it all in stride, keeping whatever opinion she’d formed to herself and simply agreeing to the task. The price was much more reasonable than Evelynn had been expecting, though she was careful not to let that be known. She stayed quiet for several moments, as if contemplating the amount. “....I can do five thousand.” 

Part of her still worried that Natalie would find a way to twist her arm in all of this, the woman seemed tricky. It probably wouldn’t be a problem in the end. Evelynn would get what she wanted, one way or another. Consequences be damned. 

“I’m Vice President,” he says as though that was enough of a reason. An overused excuse, these days. “I’m always stressed.”

Which was only half a lie.

Julian sinks deeper back into the couch, making himself comfortable for the story telling which ensues. Evelynn had these moments— the moments in which she tip-toed freely around the truth which she was meaning to let free, but only for long enough to stir up some curiosity; the welcoming carpet for whatever she said next. He listens, as he did always. He nods in between sentences, and even if he knew how The Little Mermaid’s story ended, that was not the focus point of the tale. 

At her question, Julian just has to laugh. She might as well have walked into the wolf’s lair and asked if he’d rather hunt or take a shot at starvation. 

“…You’re asking me.“ The guy who had made that choice already. “If you have the strength to kill someone, then you should have the strength to live with it.” He shrugs. “In theory, anyways.” 

“That what you’re here for? To ask for help with killing someone?” A metaphor or no, his answer would be the same. Yes. “ ‘Cause I’m sorry, but I don’t believe you’re actually having problems with making that decision.” 

Leave it to a man to miss the point entirely. Evelynn shook her head slightly, a faint expression of amusement on her face. “No Julian, not just anyone.” Someone you loved. Someone you’d built your life with. 

She gave Julian a long look, suddenly appreciative of him allowing her to barge her way into his life. They were far from the only two people in politics with an appetite for destruction, and Evelynn wondered if her friendship was becoming more trouble than it was worth. She offered him a lazy smile, leaning forward slightly. Quietly, as if a child with a secret, Evelynn said, “When everything’s over and done with, Jamie’s going to wish I had just killed him.”

He’d be broken and alone, and face to face with the consequences of his actions. Evelynn only wished she’d be around to see it. 

Juliette was silent while she listened to what Evelynn was up to.  She could only imagine the way her husband would react to an escort showing up at work for him.  Chuckling slightly, Juliette couldn’t help but smile.  Unfortunately, the waitress appeared before to take their order.  She ordered her own coffee then turned her attention back to Evelynn.  “I really hope someone gets Jamie on video when that happens.  The reaction would be priceless.”  She shrugged then, pondering what to say.  “I moved in with Jermaine not that long ago.  That’s been the most exciting thing going on in my life.  Definitely not as fun as joking people with escorts.”

Evelynn nodded at Juliette’s comment, not having considered the idea. “Very true. I’ll have to figure something out.” After several seconds of thinking over the suggestion, a devious smirk came across her lips. “If I can get it on video, I’d just have to play it for everyone at his birthday party next month.” This was actually a great idea, and Evelynn was happy to have been given it. Her smile stayed, although there was questioning in her expression. “Well I guess the best way to find his skeletons is to look in the closet yourself.”

You can’t expect Julian to not be taken aback when the first thing someone does when walking into his home is to insult him. He stares at Evelynn for a long moment, trying to work out what could have prompted it out of her. “What is that supposed to mean?” He looks down at himself then, realizing that this must have been the first time she’d seen him out of a suit. At home in a miraculous day off, there was hardly any need to dress up. “It’s just a t-shirt, Ev. Believe it or not, I do own some.” 

“Are you coming up with something?” He asks, sinking down onto the nearest couch. “Or is the feeling like shit emotional?“ Not that he could help with either.

“Sorry, “ She waved a hand before using it to prop up her head. “It’s not been a good week.” The first of many ‘not-good’ weeks she was sure to have. “No, it’s not the shirt. You look... stressed. Genuinely stressed, I mean.” For as much as they knew about each other, it still felt as if there were infinite secrets. Evelynn lifted a brow, giving him a look of sarcasm. “No offense Julian, but I’m not sure you’d be my first choice for emotional consolement.” Not that she had many options. If any. 

She sifted in the chair, sitting up to look at him seriously. “You read fairytales to Camilla, right? Remember the little mermaid?” Talking was about the only distraction she had right now, and she needed it. She was feeling quite ill, and there was a distinct fear building in her chest at the reminder that things were only going to get worse. “The original is much darker.” Evelynn paid no mind to the fact Julian probably had no idea where she was going with this. “She sells her soul to the sea witch, knowing she has to win the prince’s heart before time's up. She loses her voice, but she still has a chance to make the prince love her. She can dance you see, and the prince thinks it’s the most beautiful sight. So she dances and dances all for him, but each step feels as if she’s walking on sharp knives.” 

“But in the end the prince decides to marry another princess, instead of the mermaid. On the day of the wedding Ariel’s sisters appear and offer her a magic knife. Hope is not lost for her--she can kill the prince and return to her life in the sea. She can’t do it. She kills herself instead.” Evelynn narrowed her eyes, looking at Julian for any sign of understanding. Not that she expected to find it. 

“Definitely.  I love the whole charm of it being family owned,” Juliette replied as they moved towards the table.  Once they reached it, Juliette sat down and focused her attention on Evelynn.  “How’ve you been?” she asked the other woman.  “Up to anything interesting?”  Life kept moving even when you weren’t around people and Juliette’s had changed a lot within the last month.  Regardless, she was always more eager to hear how things were for her friends than to dwell on her own life.

Evelynn gave an expression of deep thought at Juliette’s question, “Well, I’ve actually just become very acquainted with the ‘proprietor’ of a high profile escort service. Once the case is done, they’re going to owe me a favor--at the very least. So I was thinking, as a birthday joke, to have a escort visit Jamie at work.“ A waitress walked over just as Evelynn was speaking, giving a very surprised look before catching herself and clearing her throat. ‘hi, welcome to megg’s, can i get you ladies some drinks to start?’ Evelynn ordered a coffee, making sure to request extra creamer. Once Juliette had ordered and the woman disappeared once more, Evelynn turned her attention back to the redhead. “What about you?”

“Go on then.” The answer came out on impulse, probably ill considered but he could hardly bring himself to care. He nodded in the direction of the door before turning back to face Evelynn, his expression patronising and fake in its friendliness. “If you’re that insistent on wasting your own time — driving all of the way here and back home again,  not to mention all the time wasted in your car, then be my guest. I’ll just enjoy a meal to myself.” 

She simply rolled her eyes, not bothering to give a response. Because if she did, they’d spend the entirety of this little get together bitching at each other with neither backing down. “Clarify something for me, Nick.” Evelynn began, propping her elbows on the table and leaning forward on them. “Are you this much of an asshole to everyone, or am I just special? Because, while I’m well aware you’re a complete prick, it feels like you’re trying a little hard.” A hint of a smirk tugged at the corner of her lips.

what do you think a person has to do to go to hell?

she watched what evelynn was doing more than she listened to what she was saying. although she hardly discounted evie’s opinion on the situation (rather the opposite, when it came to these events she thought her sister-in-law was often one of the more level headed to talk with) but she couldn’t figure out what evelynn was looking for until the coffee pot was in hand.

“i don’t have any decaf.” she opened a cabinet to show where all the coffee was sitting, ready for use. “but help yourself.” she moved out of the way, trying to make herself as small as possible in her own kitchen so that evie could do what she wished. at least for a moment it bought her time to think about the question that had been asked. it was strange timing, but it had to be harmless- after all this was jamie’s wife.

“i don’t- i wouldn’t really know.” though the two of them were close, there was forever the fourteen year expansion for which some secrets would never cross. high school sweethearts and college flings would be lost, and yet she wanted to give evie some answer. for whatever reason, the question seemed to be important for her. “there’s no one he’s ever been as serious about as you.”

“as if i’d ever drink decaf.” she scoffed. 

it was surprisingly easy to play the paranoid housewife. years of suppressed emotion boiled inside of her, making it all the more realistic. she didn’t expect gracie to have answers to her questions--it didn’t matter, really. evelynn didn’t care. she’d already passed her judgement on jamie and the details of it all were irrelevant. 

gracie’s comment brought out a disgruntled snicker in evelynn, who paused with her back turned to the other woman. “oh that’s rich.” she tensed her hands around the countertop, taking several seconds before she released her grip and began to move again. as the coffee machine worked, evelynn continued looking in cabinets and finally found what she was looking for atop the fridge. she reached up and grabbed a mostly full bottle of liquor, giving grace a semi-satisfied look. “knew you’d have something around here.” 

she was drawing this out. evelynn really wasn’t sure how gracie would react to this--or how far the blonde would have to go to get her sister in law on her side. finally, she let the words out quickly, like a breath of air. “he had an affair.” 

evelynn opened the bottle, taking a very long sip before sitting down across gracie. “after we lost the second baby. i don’t know....i guess he was done grieving. and i wasn’t." 

she shook her head, waving a hand to stop whatever grace was thinking right then. “it’s...that’s not what matters. i’ve accepted that it happened.” as if acknowledging it made it any easier to live with ( it didn’t ). her gaze was fixed on the bottle of liquor that sat on the table in front of her, her grip still irontight. 

“i think      --i know he’s seeing her again.”

Picking some of the crumbs that the bunny had collected, Alan chuckled at the comment. The bunny was held in a way that its unanimated black beady eyes stared back up at him. Carrot cake, what an absurd thing, and yet, he couldn’t disprove that an actual bunny wouldn’t eat a piece of carrot cake. In the spirit of the party, he continued with it. “I think you might be right. This fellow, I’d say, hasn’t missed many meals though.” 

Alan appreciated it when people told him who they went as. Sometimes it was easy to tell, and other times not so much. Bonnie and Clyde was a good idea for a couple’s costume. It gave him an idea to see if his wife would agree to something like that next year. “I think doing a couple’s costume is a great idea, but I certainly can see where you’re coming from.” He paused and then briefly furrowed his brow as if trying to place her. “I don’t believe we’ve formally met. I’m Alan Ross, Senate Majority Leader,” he introduced himself. Placing the bunny into the hat, he extended his hand.

Evelynn met his outstretched hand with her own, giving a gentle handshake of introduction. “Ah, yes I’ve heard the name.” She never would have been able to match it with a face, though. From what she’d heard of the man, he was too much of a straight arrow to be of any real interest to her politically. “Evelynn Carmichael, DC district attorney. My husband is Jamie Walsh, President Wright’s political strategist.” Jamie’s position was....admittedly more noteworthy than Evelynn’s, not that she was bothered by that fact. Evelynn, however, tended to have some degree of notoriety for simply being the woman she was. 

Somehow Evelynn & Jamie didn’t have the same ring as Bonnie & Clyde, but it tasted just as sweet on his tongue with a hand curled around his wife’s waist. They stood off in one corner of the room, whispering in each other’s ears as people walked past. Their costumes were almost enough to pretend it was the two of them against the world. In that moment, it felt like it was. Jamie rested his other hand on the toy gun in his waistband, the edge of his jacket pushed open at his hip. His eyes tracked a figure as he walked past, biting back a laugh that spilled out as soon as he’d vanished back into the crowd. Turning to look at Evelynn, he asked, “Is Montgomery’s kid supposed to be… Solis?” 

Evelynn liked the suit--really liked the suit. And maybe if she ended the night drunk enough, she’d make sure to show Jamie once they got home. For now however, she was content to lean against him, smirking in the darkness and joking about nothing and everything. She nodded to his question, giving a sigh before saying, “Yes, and he’s quite proud of it too. He asked me if I wanted to take a picture.” Evelynn was more amused by the elder Montgomery’s costume though. That had taken a certain ‘no fucks given’ attitude to pull off. “Did you see Juliette and Camilla? Even I have to say that was pretty damn adorable.”

There was always something to look forward to at the Halloween party. Mostly, he found it amusing to see grown men and women dress up as if they were kids on Halloween. Sure, he participated and dressed up, though nothing really out there. This year, he was glad he picked something that wasn’t so easy to guess - he did remember that there would be kids at the party, and kids loved magic. So, he hid the stuffed bunny in his top hat to avoid the attention of eager ankle biters.

Alan removed his hat, which was now getting too warm to wear. In doing so, the bunny fell out and rolled to someone’s foot. “My bad,” he apologized and bent down to pick up the stuffed animal. “I suppose he was trying to escape,” he joked, picking up the white bunny and brushing it off. “Just don’t tell the kids. I’d rather not get swamped.” He looked up from the bunny, “Nice costume you’ve got there.”

Evelynn always had a difficult time with the holidays. Halloween was one of the particularly hard ones, yet she did her best not to let that be known. Seeing children everywhere, happy and laughing with every fright always made her heart ache. But, thankfully, there were plenty of distractions here tonight. She’d been trying to make her way through the crowd to find Jamie once more, but was instead met by a unfamiliar man and a plush bunny. 

She let a snicker escape her lips at his comment, finding it actually amusing ( probably thanks to the open bar that she had been taking advantage of ). “Maybe he smelt the carrot cake.” Evelynn replied, scrutinizing the man’s own costume. It took her several seconds but she finally put together what he’d been going for. It was rather quaint, compared to the other costumes that seemed either too flashy or trying too hard. “Thank you. I’m Bonnie, and my husband--who’s God knows where right now--is Clyde. Every year he manages to talk me into a couple’s costume. At least he has good taste--we could be running around as Ketchup & Mustard.”