the honest truth

Mac is mostly relieved to have run into Gracie, and not another stranger to whom he’d have flash a fake charming smile he’d perfected over the years. A familiar face like hers brought him an immediate sense of comfort. “Forget it, that was all you,” he chuckles. “Distracted before his third coffee,” he corrects, and points to himself before putting his phone away. “Come,” he says, taking a step forward. “Let me get your coffee, and you can catch me up on what you’ve been up to since I last saw you.”

“Oh it was all me?” She smiled, the joke tripping off her tongue- a comfortable sarcasm reserved for her friends. Now that she knows it’s Mac, she’s far more willing to joke, the warm up before a day at the office. “I’d point to your caffeine addiction if I knew any better- three cups?” Her eye brow quirks for a moment at what she assumes is a joke, then again he wouldn’t be the only one to have that much coffee before the sun rose. Her drink order has never changed, Cafe Mocha- she tells the barista. At least then she doesn’t have to feel bad about the amount of sugar she’d have to put in a normal coffee.

“What have I been up to?” Her life followed the same pattern no matter the story, energy bill was the new highlight but come next week it could be anything that Washington had cooked up. “My eye’s been on the Senate, but you could have guessed that.” So long as people still wanted to hear about the bill, she’d have no choice but to report on it. “What about you? Anything exciting happening with the AG?”

Her voice was so plaintive that he had to look away, eyes shooting up and over her head to the storefronts on the other side of the street. Jamie focused on the sign hanging above one of the liquor stores, as if it might’ve spelled DELIVERANCE in flashing neon, instead of the word OPEN. 

If there was an answer to her question, Jamie knew he would have thought of it by now. Five years had passed since he ended the affair, and he still came up short on an explanation. “Gracie…” he started, and paused. He was an engine stalling in cold air, thoughts swirling around themselves, as if five minutes would make any difference now. “Marriage isn’t easy. There was… a lot going on,” he said, because even now, saying I don’t know would’ve stung too much like peroxide in an open wound. His brows pulled toward each other, skin a wrinkle between them. “That was a long time ago. It should’ve never happened.”

It’s what she wants to hear; what she hopes the answer is. That no matter what happened before, he’s a changed man, he’s different, he’s seen the errors of his ways and he’s not going to do it again. Marriage wasn’t easy, but there’s no accounting for that in a Catholic upbringing. It’s not the lies or the betrayal, it’s the mistake that stings her, the cardinal sin of knowing what was right and choosing wrong. She’d thought Walsh was synonymous with honest- but she’d been living in a different world.

There’s a sudden influx of emails lighting up the screen of his phone, buzz after buzz after buzz. For a moment, his attention is misplaced as he begins to go over them. The person in front of him leaves the queue, and he starts to take a step forward, but he isn’t the only one. “Oh, apologies,” he says with a smile and looks up. He places a hand to his chest before gesturing towards the space in front of them. “Go ahead, I think you were before me.”

She’s got the New York Times in her hand, so she’s not really looking up when she takes a step forward in line, immediately bumping into someone who seemed to be doing the same. An apology is already on her lips before she sees that it’s Mac, and her expression is replaced by a grin. “I think that was both of us.” Though she’d like to call most of her acquaintances in D.C. friends, there were only a handful of people who actually fit that bill- and he was one of them. “Good to know I’m not the only one distracted befor emy first cup of coffee.”

As she started, Jamie flipped the collar of his wool jacket up around his neck, a barrier against the wind. Hands found his pockets then, and he looked down at her, face unmoved. There were words missing here, falling off the end of her tongue, something about Evelynn, something unclear. Jamie listened, patient. When her question finally fell out, he felt it slice through the cold air. Did you cheat on her? The words burned, as if he’d tried to take a hot pan from the oven and scorched his palms, watching it fall helplessly to the floor.

Jamie prided himself as a man who was never surprised. With the right numbers, he could anticipate just about anything– but not this, and especially not from Gracie, here outside Dunkin Donuts, pinks cheek against cool air. His jaw fell open, breath visible as he exhaled. There was a long silence as he looked at her, face naked in its surprise. “What?” he said, finally getting the words out. Jamie felt something twist in his gut, thoughts racing to their logical conclusions as a sudden nausea overtook him. “She…told you that?” There was no denial. Not to her. 

The expression on his face, all the shock left her swallowing cold air where there should have been words. She didn’t know what she’d been expecting his reaction to be, maybe she’d thought that there would never be a time to find out, that she would never bring herself to ask. Instead they stood staring at each other and she wished the earth would swallow her up so she didn’t have to comprehend the fact that he hadn’t said no- i would never, he said she told you that.

Finca Wölffer 2017 fresh from the Hamptons. Holiday edition, natch. And when it runs out, you can use it as a water bottle on your desk at CNN. Multitasking.

Cheers, Freddie.

[ SMS : —] How’s the party going?  [ SMS : —] I’m sorry for flaking. Connection flight still delayed, ugh :/ 

[ SMS : Maribel (Ackerman CS) ] Nothing exciting yet

“Nice to see you too mate, let’s catch up later tonight yeah?” Nick smiled at his companion as they parted ways, his expression only dropping when he was safely out of view of whoever the fuck it was who had just addressed him like they were best friends. It wasn’t long until he spotted a familiar face, one who clearly noted his confusion, and he was able to ask— “do you have any fucking idea who that was?”

She craned her head to see if she could catch a glimpse of who Nick was talking about, but only caught the back of a head. If only she’d had an answer for him, it might have been funny but instead she just shrugged, figuring based on the crowd it could have been any assortment of politicians. “Stay neutral and they can’t say anything right?” She took a sip of her wine, almost laughing but taken by the truth of her own statement. “Staying in the States this Christmas?”

Julian had managed to distance himself from the party already, something which his mother would reprehend in due time; but until then, this felt more natural, as this was his home after all, to instead take his place at the bar— casual even if just a way to overlook the guests. 

“I know this isn’t what the night is about,” he starts to his unwilling-perhaps-willing drinking partner, “but all I can think of is how we actually survived a year in the administration.” How she had. Julian laughs and offers his glass for a toast, “But, Merry Christmas, I guess.”

She knew her invite had likely been sent out not because of her job, but because of her brother- a distinct disadvantage when it came to impressing the hosts of the charming Christmas party she found herself at. But that didn’t seem to stop Julian Berkeley himself from finding his way over to the bar and striking up a conversation with her. “Cheers to that,” She smiled, her own glass of white wine clinking with his. “The year isn’t up yet, don’t jinx anything.” But with only five more days to go, she figures its more of a laugh line than anything serious. “I think it’s safe to say that we’re looking forward to quite a bit in the new year though.”

they’re not quite my type. but i like their company!

“That sounds perfect,” Juliette told her.  “I am definitely not opposed to you coming over.  A bottle of wine while Jermaine is busy working.  Sounds like the best recipe for a girls night, Gracie.”  Honestly, Juliette loved having company even if she doubted Jermaine did.  He seemed to like having everything in the apartment in exactly the right way.  It made Juliette nervous when she was first redecorating, but he seemed surprisingly okay with the moderate changes to their living space.

“I haven’t had one of those in a while.” The more Juliette talks the more she realizes that a girl’s night might be just what the doctor ordered to combat some of the stress that’s come everyone’s way because of the new bill.  “I think it’d be great. I’ll start picking out movies.” Ass though she had the time to spare on a Netflix queue while people ran around the newsroom trying to find everyone in a hundred mile radius to interview on energy mandates and climate change. “I’m holding you to that, the second you know you’re free you have to call.”

Alan nodded at her statement. “Yes the President and her Cabinet have made that a priority,” he agreed, but decided not to expand; that would best left to the President or the President’s executive to address. “As for final thoughts, I would say that change can seem frightening, there are many opportunities and good things that will come from this bill if it passes.” He nodded again, indicating that she could turn off the recorder now.

It had been a fairly short interview, if this indeed was the end of it. He actually expected it to go on a little longer than that; it could have been done over email if he’d known that she was only going to ask a few questions. Nonetheless, it was good to further their working relationship. “I hope you’re not going easy on me, Miss Walsh.” He’d meant it as a friendly remark, though he did want to make sure that she was going to be producing something that people felt was trustworthy and worth reading if he wanted to use her to release information for whatever reason. “Are you satisfied that you have enough for what you need, or is there anything else you wanted to ask, not necessarily bill related?”

She thought for a moment, before reaching over and switching off the recorder. He was right, it had been short and while she’d prepared a few more questions about how he planned to support the bill, most of it would likely be answered or reiterated in a press statement or conference being held later on in the week. There was a push to always keep things feeling fresh, people didn’t want to hear the same news twice, and she didn’t need the article up in a hurry. It must have felt like she was a grade schooler, unsure of what to ask when the goings got tough, so she smiled laughter on her lips. “Not going easy on you- I promise.”

When he realized she wasn’t a Jehovah’s Witness, his face softened. For her only, Gracie, who he’d first held when he was a long-limbed high school sophomore, baby sister a pink wrinkle in his arms. He locked his phone and shoved it in his pocket, looking up at her from the hard-backed wooden chair. There was something in her voice. Even Jamie could sense it. “Uh, sure. You okay?” He wouldn’t have cared about the answer if she were almost anybody else.

When he stood, his full height overtook hers again. He motioned to the exit. A shiver of cold air slipped between them as a stranger walked through, bell ringing in silence over the door. “Wanna go outside?” As Jamie took a sip of his coffee, he looked at her carefully over the plastic lid. 

“Sure- yeah.” Her answer is distracted, questioning only until she realizes at least if they’re walking she won’t have to look at his face when she says what she knows. Whatever expression, set to shatter her heart and make her regret having ever tried to say anything, at least it will forever be hidden. A moment that she’ll have to fill in with guess work. For once she’s fine with not knowing the facts, she’ll focus on the outline of trees.

The question surprised her but she nodded regardless.  People weren’t often interested to hear about her love life.  Except perhaps Mari.  “Yeah, he’s alright.  He went home to see his parents for awhile.”  While Juliette would have gone with him, she understood why he didn’t ask her.  They’d only been together for a few months.  It was a little soon for the meet the parents.  Then again, Juliette wanted to bring Jermaine home for Christmas.  Perhaps that wasn’t too soon.  “It’s not that exciting.  I redecorated while he was gone though, so that was fun.”

"You redecorated? I have to see!” Her own apartment had started with a minimalist theme, plants in the window and counters that she focused on keeping clean. But now it seemed to fit somewhere between cozy and cluttered, the kind of place she would spend some time organizing, if she had some time. “Sorry- it sounds like I’m inviting myself over,” If there was anyone she thought she could be candid with though it was Juliette she doubted the other woman would take it as an intrusion. “But new places are always exciting, I’ll bring over a bottle of wine.”

Alan chuckled at the comment about energy reform being comparable to walking on the moon. “Well, to some, perhaps. But I don’t think it’ll be quite like that,” he smiled.

As to the next question, he knew he had to be careful. He didn’t want to show their hand to earlier to the Republicans than they had to; the whole thing was a negotiation process after all. “Without change - it may be silly to think that, but not implausible.” It was important to make it clear that they would go in ready to fight for every word of the bill, not to already be in a state of foregoing parts of the bill. No one got what they wanted by being upfront about what they could live without. 

“To pass the bill, your assessment is probably accurate in that we will be negotiating parts of the bill. However, I am not at liberty to say which parts mostly because I don’t know what the Republicans will choose to specifically target.” The statement wasn’t a complete lie; who had a crystal ball and see into the future? As far as he was concerned, the Republicans would go after every part, and it was best not to give them any additional ammunition to shoot holes through the bill. “Each part is very important. Like one of those jigsaw puzzles. You can have most of the puzzle put together, and that’s okay but it’s not complete. The more of the bill that is accepted, the better off the country will be.”

"Oh,  sure, of course." She nodded as he tried to skirt past the question.  Though it could always be pointed to as weakness ( you let the senator off the hook, again ) she preferred to keep things polite, only pushing when it was absolutely  necessary. People didn't normally do follow up interviews with someone who was only going to harass them. And there was plenty of time to reask the question, preferably once conversation of the bill hit the Senate floor. It was her job- her duty to make sure people received the most up to date information, and some times there was nothing to report except for the fact that the majority leader supported the president's plan for the foreseeable future. At least it wouldn't be a surprise.

"I think it's safe to say that from reading the bill, energy has become a major focus for this administration." She paused for a moment giving him space to add any additional thoughts, just in case. She hated to think that whatever she said would somehow fall into the category of ‘generalizing his words’ and so always wanted to give space for corrections. “And we’ll have to keep an eye on things from here.” Her hand hovered over the audio recorder, “Unless you have any final thoughts?”