no for an answer in that regard. We'll get to that later." She drew a deep breath then let it out slowly as she sat facing him, looking every day her age. "How much do you know about me, since I left Shalom, I mean?" she asked quietly. "We've seen each other since then, what? Three times?"
"Twice. Once not long after your husband was first elected governor. Your father held a party when you two came to town and I was invited. You and I shared a glass of champagne though I never did meet your husband. The last time was nearly four years ago, just after the presidential election. I was visiting my parents while you were seeing yours and you invited me to bring my family by the house to meet."
"That's right. I remember. Now tell me what you know about me since high school."
"You went to Radcliffe. I was at Webster College, then the service, then back to Webster. You attended Harvard Law School then worked for the A.C.L.U. You married Richard Tufts and we were all surprised when you moved South with him. He was the second youngest governor ever elected. And you were an important part of his success. He came out of nowhere to win the Presidency. You've been active. You lead the effort to reform campaign financing." He stopped. Her recommendation for an expanded negative income tax which would assure every American a guaranteed annual income above subsistence had been a disaster of sizeable proportions for the Administration, and since before the re-election campaigning had begun, the public had seen very little of Becky Tufts.
"It's okay. You can't succeed at everything. It was the country's loss, not mine. Go ahead.”
“That's about it. No children. You're the most popular, or controversial, First Lady since Eleanor Roosevelt and either way are credited with redefining the role of the President's wife. You've come a long way since Shalom. We're all very proud of you."
"You're leaving out things. Be candid now."
Powers paused. "If that's what you want. You're under investigation by a special prosecutor for fraud, something to do with state bonds and arbitrage. It's mostly been a political issue until now but many columnists are saying you'll be indicted after the election."
She flinched at that. "What else?"
"There's your husband."
"What about him?"
"I don't need to say it."
"That he's a womanizer? No, you don't. You just need to hear me say that it's true. Much worse than the stories you've read." She put out her cigarette. "You understand I'm trusting you here, Danny. Trusting you like I've never trusted anyone in my life."
"No one is perfect, Becky. None of us, I suspect, is ever the kind of adult we thought we'd be as children."
"Is that ever true," she said bitterly as she reached over and drew the pack of cigarettes to her then lighting another. "Do you remember the floating dock at Lake Taneycomo?"
"Of course." The image that flashed before him was not the lake, but the first time he'd seen her naked. It was etched in his memory like a subtle Rembrandt hanging in his living room.
“When we first went up there after school was out, the water was so cold, but none of us would stay out of it. We'd swim to the dock then lay in the sun, goose bumps all over, freezing until the sun warmed us. If it was windy we'd have to swim back to shore and wrap ourselves in towels."
Powers recalled in a single instant the hot Missouri summers on the plateau, the cold of the pines near the lake and that first touch of ice cold water. "We were just kids."
"Yeah. Kids." She was stalling again. "You had a good marriage, didn't you?"
"I'd say so."
"Did you ever cheat on her?" she asked abruptly.
Powers considered lying for an instant but something told him she was about to lay her soul bare. "Once. She was pregnant. I was in uniform then. We had our groupies I guess you'd call them. It was just the one time."
Her look said she was disappointed in him and he felt ashamed. "Did you tell her?"
"No. It seemed bad enough I had
"Twice. Once not long after your husband was first elected governor. Your father held a party when you two came to town and I was invited. You and I shared a glass of champagne though I never did meet your husband. The last time was nearly four years ago, just after the presidential election. I was visiting my parents while you were seeing yours and you invited me to bring my family by the house to meet."
"That's right. I remember. Now tell me what you know about me since high school."
"You went to Radcliffe. I was at Webster College, then the service, then back to Webster. You attended Harvard Law School then worked for the A.C.L.U. You married Richard Tufts and we were all surprised when you moved South with him. He was the second youngest governor ever elected. And you were an important part of his success. He came out of nowhere to win the Presidency. You've been active. You lead the effort to reform campaign financing." He stopped. Her recommendation for an expanded negative income tax which would assure every American a guaranteed annual income above subsistence had been a disaster of sizeable proportions for the Administration, and since before the re-election campaigning had begun, the public had seen very little of Becky Tufts.
"It's okay. You can't succeed at everything. It was the country's loss, not mine. Go ahead.”
“That's about it. No children. You're the most popular, or controversial, First Lady since Eleanor Roosevelt and either way are credited with redefining the role of the President's wife. You've come a long way since Shalom. We're all very proud of you."
"You're leaving out things. Be candid now."
Powers paused. "If that's what you want. You're under investigation by a special prosecutor for fraud, something to do with state bonds and arbitrage. It's mostly been a political issue until now but many columnists are saying you'll be indicted after the election."
She flinched at that. "What else?"
"There's your husband."
"What about him?"
"I don't need to say it."
"That he's a womanizer? No, you don't. You just need to hear me say that it's true. Much worse than the stories you've read." She put out her cigarette. "You understand I'm trusting you here, Danny. Trusting you like I've never trusted anyone in my life."
"No one is perfect, Becky. None of us, I suspect, is ever the kind of adult we thought we'd be as children."
"Is that ever true," she said bitterly as she reached over and drew the pack of cigarettes to her then lighting another. "Do you remember the floating dock at Lake Taneycomo?"
"Of course." The image that flashed before him was not the lake, but the first time he'd seen her naked. It was etched in his memory like a subtle Rembrandt hanging in his living room.
“When we first went up there after school was out, the water was so cold, but none of us would stay out of it. We'd swim to the dock then lay in the sun, goose bumps all over, freezing until the sun warmed us. If it was windy we'd have to swim back to shore and wrap ourselves in towels."
Powers recalled in a single instant the hot Missouri summers on the plateau, the cold of the pines near the lake and that first touch of ice cold water. "We were just kids."
"Yeah. Kids." She was stalling again. "You had a good marriage, didn't you?"
"I'd say so."
"Did you ever cheat on her?" she asked abruptly.
Powers considered lying for an instant but something told him she was about to lay her soul bare. "Once. She was pregnant. I was in uniform then. We had our groupies I guess you'd call them. It was just the one time."
Her look said she was disappointed in him and he felt ashamed. "Did you tell her?"
"No. It seemed bad enough I had
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