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So she told him. Not all of her ideas—that would have taken hours—but some of them. The more she talked, the more excited she got, and the more she believed in what she was saying.
He began to look slightly dazed. “You’ve got the quirkiest politics of anyone I know. Left wing here, right wing there, then middle of the road. It’s a wonder you can walk straight.”
“I’ve never believed in labels. I only believe in looking at what’s best for the country. Partisan politics have stolen our legislators’ backbones.”
“In Washington, real backbone only comes from personal power.”
She smiled. “I know.”
He shook his head. “You’re too much of a featherweight. You lead with your heart. The big boys would chomp you up and spit you out.”
She laughed. “For all your talk, you’re incredibly naive. The big boys have watched me grow up. I’ve sat on their knees and played with their children. They’ve patted me on the head and danced at my wedding. I’m one of their own.”
“All that gets you is patronized.”
“You forget that I hold trump.”
“What do you mean?”
She picked up her wineglass, took a slow sip while she thought it over, then set it down. “I’m a national icon.”
For a long time, he simply stared at her. Then he gradually began to soak in what she wasn’t quite ready to put into words. He looked slightly dazed as he leaned back in his chair. “You could really pull it off, couldn’t you?”
She propped her chin on the back of her hand and gazed dreamily off into the distance. “If I set my mind to it, I imagine I could assemble the biggest power base anyone in Washington has ever seen.”
“And like a fairy godmother, use it only for good deeds.”
His cynicism was back, but she didn’t flinch from it. “Exactly.”
“That’s not the way the game’s played.”
“I may be the only person in the country who doesn’t need to play the game. I’ve already won.”
“How do you figure?”
“I’m not ego-driven, and when you take the ego out of the politician, what’s left is a public servant. I have instant, bone-deep credibility.”
“This past week has put a big dent in that.”
“Not if I spin it right.”
“The spin,” he drawled. “I was wondering when we’d get to that.”
“There’s nothing wrong with spin as long as it’s honest. People understand job dissatisfaction. I had to escape a job that was strangling me. That’s something everybody can identify with.”
“A lot more is involved than escaping an unsatisfactory job. There’s the matter of where you’ve been and what you’ve been doing. The press won’t give up until they have the whole story.”
“Believe me, I know more about getting around journalists than you can imagine.”
He began studying the tablecloth.
“You have to trust me, Mat. I love the girls. I’d never let any harm come to them.”
He nodded, but he didn’t look at her.
The waiter arrived with their salads, and she decided it might be best to change the subject. “I’ve gone on and on about myself, but you’ve hardly told me anything about your own work.”
“There’s nothing much to tell. Do you want a roll?” He picked up the green wicker basket the waiter had brought earlier.
