“What?” Tranquility said. “Perfect, you know he’s in Washington.”
“Yeah, but I heard… I thought I heard… that he was going to be in town,” Perfect said.
“Well, you must have heard wrong. But since you called…”
“You aren’t keeping anything secret from me, are you?” Perfect asked.
There was a tiny hitch, an almost inaudible intake of breath, and then Tranquility said, “Don’t be silly.”
“Mother all but told me she doesn’t like me spending time with Daddy because then he might find out what a spazz I am,” Perfect said. “Do you think that, too?”
“Perfect, I don’t, and neither does Mother,” Tranquility said. She was good. She was in control, her voice perfectly modulated. Perfect was on the alert, though, and she could tell that her sister was telling the truth more on the first part than on the second part, because her control tightened up towards the end.
“Listen, Trey, I know I didn’t mishear,” Perfect said.
“Then somebody misspoke,” Tranquility said. “Father’s working. He’s not coming home.”
“There aren’t any major votes coming up,” Perfect said.
“Yes, but you know that hardly matters to him,” Tranquility said. “He has one of the best attendance records in the senate. I’m sorry, Perfect, but if you want to spend more time with your family, I’m here and I want to…”
“Look, Trey, I know he’s coming to town,” Perfect said. “The person I heard it from is an important businessman and he’s in town to meet with him. I don’t know why everyone is lying to me, but…”
“Perfect, honey, take a breath… you’re hyperfocusing,” Tranquility said. “Step back and think about what you’re saying. Did the businessman mention Senator Jones by name?”
“No, but he did say he was meeting with the senator,” Perfect said. His description… a man of integrity and courtesy… hadn’t been very specific, but it still fit the reputation of Senator Theodore Jones, Jr. perfectly.
“Perfect, you do know we have two senators, right?” her sister said.
“Of course I know that!”
“And you know that one of them is a businessman himself who has a residence actually in Star Harbor? And he’s frequently in town to deal with his holdings? ”
That stunned Perfect. She had known that. John Lydia, the junior senator, had made his money through his extensive business dealings before going into politics. He’d recently pumped a lot of money into Star Harbor’s economy. His ongoing ventures took him away from Washington way more often than his colleague.
Perfect hadn’t even considered that Prather might have been referring to him, but it seemed perfectly logical. If she hadn’t been so fixated on the idea that her father was coming home, she might have thought of that possibility… she might even have asked Prather.
“I… I…” she stammered.
“You hyperfocused,” Tranquility said. “It’s a danger for any of us, if we let ourselves lose perspective. You’re too young to remember when Divinity was in her ‘math phase’… anyway, as I was saying, even if he can’t be here, I’d be more than happy to spend some time with you. What do you say to lunch? Say tomorrow?”
“I’m busy,” Perfect said.
“Listen, we don’t have to talk about law school, we can talk about… anything. Anything you want,” Tranquility said.
“What if I want to talk about my bunnies?” Perfect asked.
“If that’s what you want,” Tranquility said. “You can tell me all about them.”
“I’m busy,” Perfect said again. “Sorry, absolutely booked up.”
The idea that any member of her family would want to hear about her stuffed bunny collection was just too farfetched to be credited. The whole thing had to be a set-up. She wasn’t going to drop the lawyer thing, clearly.
“Perfect, please don’t hang up,” Tranquility said.
“Call me if you hear that Daddy’s coming home,” Perfect said, and she snapped the phone shut. Tranquility rang her back almost immediately, but she hit ignore and started dialing the number Prather had given her. She wasn’t sure if it was a direct line or not, but his own voice came on after a few rings to announce that he was unavailable. “Hi, it’s Perfect, Mr. Prather,” she said at the tone. “I was just curious about something you said last night. Was it Senator Lydia you’re meeting with, or Senator Jones? Please call me back. It’s important but not urgent.”
Discuss this story on the Livejournal feed.
« « 67: All In The Family 69: All In The Family III » »Note: I'm trying out a new comment system. It's new and subject to jiggerypokery. It's moderated. Detailed guidelines to come but follow the general rule: be excellent to each other.
If you enjoy reading, please consider a financial contribution.
« « 67: All In The Family 69: All In The Family III » »