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After a day of reading and re-reading the letter from Will, Elizabeth reluctantly concluded the words wouldn’t
reveal much more about the man’s thoughts. However, the exercise wasn’t a total loss. With each re-reading she found fresh evidence of how she had misjudged the man and made false assumptions.
The next day she called and confessed everything to Jane—except the part that involved Bing. After listening sympathetically to Elizabeth’s word vomit, Jane asked only one question: “Do you believe him?”
Elizabeth didn’t hesitate. “Yeah. Do you think I should?”
“It’s unlikely someone would invent all of that, and a lot of the letter doesn’t show him in a good light.”
Elizabeth blinked, trying to keep the tears at bay. “Not only did I misjudge him, but I yelled at the President of the United States!”
“I’ll come over and cheer you up,” Jane said immediately.
“Thanks, but I don’t think they make Hallmark cards for this.”
“I’ll be right over.”
During the intervening time, Elizabeth re-read the letter only twice. To distract herself, she straightened an already tidy apartment. It wasn’t large by Washington standards, and the building was on the old side. But at least she had a separate bedroom and a well-appointed kitchen, which shared space with the living/dining room.
Finally, there was a knock at the door. She opened it to reveal Jane holding up a 7-Eleven bag containing several pints of Ben and Jerry’s. “Want to drown your sorrows?”
Elizabeth smiled wanly. “You know me so well.”
Twenty minutes later, they were sprawled on Elizabeth’s couch, the ice cream on the coffee table along with several bowls so they could scoop as they pleased.
Elizabeth licked her spoon, dwelling on the delicious flavor so as not to think about the calories. It was never beneficial to think about calories in such a situation. “I don’t think there’s a single flavor of Ben and Jerry’s I don’t like. They are like ice cream geniuses. Gods among men. Ice cream gods.”
Jane scraped the bottom of her bowl. “Mmm,” she agreed.
“I mean…can you imagine life without Chunky Monkey or Cookie Dough or Phish Food?” Elizabeth eyed the pints, planning her next assault. “It wouldn’t be worth living.” She scooped some Brownie Batter into her bowl and took a big bite, swooning against Jane’s shoulder. “You are my favorite sister, did you know that?” She took another bite of ice cream. “You’re kind and you listen to me whine, and you’d give me a kidney if I needed one.”
Jane grinned. “I totally would.”
“But most of all…you bring me Ben and Jerry’s. That gets you the best sister prize right there.” Elizabeth swallowed another spoonful, savoring it as it went down.
“Are you drunk?”
“Yeah, drunk on Ben and Jerry’s.”
“So now is the time for some sage sisterly advice.”
“Okay,” Elizabeth sighed, setting her bowl on the table. “Lay it on me.”
Jane stared at her for a moment, and then her eyes fell to the floor. “I got nothing, actually. Pretty sure they don’t make I-called-the-president-a-jerk-and-now-I-regret-it cards.” Elizabeth stuck out her tongue at her older sister. “And I’m not even sure that’s what you’re so unhappy about.”
“Yeah. Sorta. My judgment was so skewed. I thought George Wickham was a good guy and the president was a jerk.” Elizabeth hugged a throw cushion to her chest. “I said some terrible things to him, Jane. Hurled all kinds of accusations.”
“If that’s the biggest problem, then you should apologize to him—and move on.”
She squeezed the cushion harder as her body tensed. “It’s not that easy. How do I get in touch with him? A letter or email would almost certainly be read by someone else. I don’t have his cell phone number, and the White House operator isn’t likely to patch me through.”
“Yeah, that’s true…” Jane said thoughtfully.
Elizabeth’s eyes lit up. “But you have Bing’s number! Maybe I could get Bing to relay a message somehow.”
Jane shook her head. “I deleted it. I didn’t want to call him in a fit of weakness.” Elizabeth hated the shadow of sorrow in her sister’s eyes. “It’s a shame you can’t call the president; who knows what might happen?” Jane grinned lasciviously.
Elizabeth chuckled as she scooped more ice cream. “I guess few women have the chance for sex in the White House China Room.”
