Chapter 28
Avery - November 5, 2018
“Okay, I’m sick of the news,” I say. I lean back on the couch in our Vancouver apartment. “And I’m sick of the election. I just want it to be over. I don’t want to see my mother or father on TV again.”
Ella is visiting for an impromptu baby shower that I expect isn’t so impromptu. I think she knew it would be hard for me to get through the November election without her. So she’s here, sitting at the kitchen table, chatting with Maddox and eating a hefty portion of his French toast. The news is on mute behind them, and I hide my face from it.
Ella turns it off of mute. “Trust me. I was up last night when I got here, and I saw it before you did. You’re going to like this.”
The Canadian reporter talks with her clipped accent and round Os. I’m falling in love with it here — and the people have a lot to do with it. I feel like everything that happened in California is so far away now.
“… it was found that the Senator from California, Evelyn Thomas was embezzling money from her campaign funds. Yes, that’s right, Stewart. She has hundreds of thousands in misallocated funds.”
There’s a man next to the women, nodding and then shaking his head in disapproval.
“This is impossible.” My stomach ties in a knot, and my mouth drops open. “They paid us to keep quiet.”
“And apparently, they paid you from their misallocated motherfucking funds,” Ella says, taking a triumphant bite of toast. “Just listen.”
Maddox looks at me and shrugs, smiling.
“Yes, it appears that Senator Thomas and General Thomas were using money from campaign donors for a private investigator and for other personal expenses which have not been disclosed,” the man says.
There’s a shot of my mother in her office, face pale, eyes surrounded by dark gray circles. “I told the press I would not speak to them. This is between me and my lawyer.”
Nothing else. She shuts them down just like that. No apology to her constituents. Nothing else.
The TV screen flips back to the woman reporter. “It goes on like this, with her saying nothing and refusing to comment to the press. There hasn’t yet been talk of law enforcement involvement, but it does appear some of the misallocated funds also went to illegal enterprises. There may also have been some voter tampering in her home district of San Francisco. We’re not entirely sure at this point.”
“Oh my God,” I whisper. “What the hell is going on? None of the three of us was supposed to release any of the information we found.”
“None of us did,” Maddox says. “But there were other people who knew about Evelyn’s little games. They might have been nudged in the right direction to spill some information. Not everyone can be bought off by Evelyn and Richard Thomas. There are some people in this country who’d rather see someone honest win.”
“And needless to say, Mrs. Thomas is now withdrawing from the Senate race. I do believe her bid for president is no longer a factor in the next election…”
The woman keeps talking, and the man backs her up with more details. The three of us listen in silence as the speculation continues.
“If they paid us with misallocated funds …” I say at last.
Maddox looks at me and shakes his head. “They didn’t. They paid us from their personal accounts. I made sure of it. And your trust fund is still protected. We’re fine.”
Ella sighs. “I thought we had our hands on some dirty money,” she says, laughing. “Well, we’re okay. Your parents aren’t. How do you feel about that, baby?”
My best friend comes and sits down next to me, putting her hand on my belly.
My head swims. “I’m not sure what to think.” I swallow hard. It’s tough to hear that your parents weren’t even as good as I thought they were. And my opinion of them was lukewarm at its very best. “So they weren’t just spying on me with that money?”
“No,” Ella says gently.
Maddox comes and joins us on the couch. “It appears they were doing a lot more than that. Your dad may well get stripped of his rank, and your mom is likely to lose her job, her bid for reelection, and her reputation.”
I close my eyes and think about what they did to me and more — how they treated Maddox. “Good,” I say. “That’s nothing less than she deserves.”
“That’s a fact,” he says, but he takes his hand in mine. I feel the warmth of his presence, his protection. And I let it give me strength. “But what’s good about being an adult is that you get to build your own life. Your own family. I learned that in the Marines.”
Ella nods. “And here, you’ve got Maddox. And Bebe. And probably me when I finish up this degree. Vancouver is just as good as San Francisco.”
“It’s growing on me,” I say.
The baby kicks — hard — and I put Maddox’s hand to it. “She agrees with you guys.”
Maddox swallows hard, and I see tears at the corners of his eyes. For a tough-as-nails marine, he’s already insanely emotional about his daughter.
“She’ll never have to tolerate any of your parents’ bullshit.”
“I know. I’m not planning to let them have a visit any time soon.”
“I doubt they’ll be able to lift their own heads out of all this crap. It’s all about them. It always has been,” Ella says.
“And this — this baby — she’ll know unconditional love.”
“She already does,” Maddox says.
I hold his hand, and for once in my life, everything seems absolutely perfect.