Look to the Rainbow

by Lynn Murphy

  Evan closed his eyes again and Socrates came and stretched out next to him. Evan scratched him behind the ears and asked Ross, “How many days should I wait to run?”

  “Weeks, Evan, not days. It will take you as long as anyone else to heal.”

  He was suddenly feeling incredibly tired again. “I was afraid you’d say that. Thanks for coming Ross.” How could he need to sleep again so soon after waking up?

  “There wasn’t any question that I would come. Get some rest.”

  Tara was tired of moping around her parents’ house, but didn’t have the desire to find an apartment and she was no closer to deciding what she wanted to be when she grew up than she was when she left Washington. The only thing she thought she might want to be, in all honesty, was Mrs. Kelly O’Brien, but that wasn’t going to happen. Michael offered to call some contacts and get her interviews at a dozen papers or magazines, but she insisted that she wanted nothing to do with journalism and he understood why. She sat at her computer in the study and half-heartedly surfed the internet job boards. She gave up and went to email instead. There were several from members of the O’Brien family. Casey and Janet sent photos of their gowns for the inauguration, so that “just in case you come you’ll know what we’re wearing”. Skip sent a message asking how she was doing, Mary Katherine a fairly long one saying how irritable Evan was as a patient and how mad he was that he couldn’t run. She had attached a cute picture of him and Socrates napping and Tara was glad to see the bruises on his face were fading.

  Julia came in with a fed-ex envelope and said, “Look what just came!”

  She handed the envelope to Tara who pulled out four engraved invitations to the inaugural ball and a handwritten letter from Skip saying they had all cleared secret service screening and were welcome to attend any and all inaugural events.

  She held the invitation and felt the tears well up in her eyes again. She was so tired of crying. She felt as if it was all she had done for weeks. She would love nothing more than to see Kel sworn in as President and dance with him at the balls that followed.

  “Do you want to attend, Tara?”

  “I do, Mother, but how could I? What might happen if I do?”

  “ I haven’t seen one photographer or reporter since you came home. Before Kel made his statement to the press they were here every day even when you weren’t. I think they finally understood what they were doing.” Julia sat in the club chair next to the desk.

  Tara nodded, she had noticed the decline of reports about her as well. Aside from an article with several pictures from the accident in People and a report in The National Inquirer suggesting the whole thing was staged to make it look as if she and Kel had broken up when they hadn’t, she had not seen anything at all. “It’s too late, Mother. I left him. Again.

  “It’s never too late. But it’s up to you if any of us goes. Think about it.”

  “I will. But it is too late.”

  “Well, then,” Julia said, “I guess that just leaves the question about what we are doing for dinner. Jack is at a fraternity meeting and your father is at some associated press event.”

  “Can we just order in and watch a movie?” It was something they had loved to do when she was in high school.

  “There’s a lovely Thai place close by that delivers. Massaman and basil fried rice?”

  “That’s perfect.”

  “You pick the movie and I’ll go order.”

  Tara hesitated and instead of going to the armoire where the DVDs were stored reached into her brief case and pulled out her copy of The American President.

  Kel adjusted his tie, checked his watch and picked up the gray leather Bible on the bedside table. It was the one his mother had entered the family records in, and had underlined verses she wanted him to read. He had never missed his parents as much as he had the last few weeks. Using this Bible seemed the most appropriate choice for being sworn into office. Before he could go downstairs, there was a knock at the door and John and Skip came in.

  “Well, this is it,” John said. “In a couple of hours we’ll all have to call you Mr. President.”

  “Please don’t,” Kel said, smiling. “At least not in private. I guess this is a good time to say thank you to both of you. I wouldn’t be about to do this is it hadn’t been for all the work you put in.”

  “You might have done it without us, “ John said. “But we were glad to be along for the ride.”

  Kel turned to Skip. “So, Skip, have you made any plans? Have any idea what you want to do now that the campaign is over?”

  “The only decision I’ve made s not to return to Hopkins,” Skip said. “Fortunately I’m extremely wealthy so I don’t have to decide right now.”

  “I did have an option for you,” Kel said.

  “Oh, really?”

  “I’d like for you to be my press secretary. I’ve discovered I don’t really trust the press over the last few weeks. And John and I couldn’t see ourselves in the West Wing without you. The job is yours if you want it.”

  Skip stepped forward to hug his uncle and wondered if that kind of close contact would be appropriate in the future. “I don’t think I would have made it without the campaign to distract me. You and John saved me, you really did.”

  John said, “Is that a yes?”

  “Yes,” Skip said. “I would love to serve at the pleasure of the President.”

  “Now that we have that matter settled, I guess it’s time to go.” Kel said. He was grateful for these few minutes alone with John and Skip who had worked even harder than he had to make this happen. He had spent the day before dividing his time between George and Lily, Evan and Mary Katherine and his children. Dinner had been with all of his family. The only person he had wanted to be present and wasn’t of course, was Tara.

  “Well, there is one more thing,” Skip said, handing him a typed list. “These are the people on your private list who accepted invitations to tonight’s festivities.” Kel scanned the list, Evan and Mary Katherine, everyone named O’Brien and Lansing, a dozen friends from Newport, members of his polo team, and then, Mr. and Mrs. Michael McCaffrey, Jack McCaffrey and Tara Kristin McCaffrey.

  “Thank you, Skip.” He put the list on the bedside table and walked downstairs. She might not be present as he took office, but he would see her tonight. It would have to be enough.

  Evan was the first person to greet him as he stepped into the front living room and the thought that Kel couldn’t let go was how thankful he was that Evan was there at all to witness this event. There were still remains of his cuts and bruises and he still had some pain, but he was alive and he was here with the rest of his family for one of the most important days of Kel’s life.

  “You still believe in miracles, don’t you?” Evan asked.

  “I’d say you’re proof of that,” Kel responded.

  “I’m not talking about me,” Evan said and Kel followed his gaze.

  There she was, standing across the room looking more stunning than ever in a purple wool suit trimmed at the collar and wrists with fur and a matching hat. For a few seconds he didn’t move. He wasn’t sure she wasn’t a figment of his imagination. And then he forgot everyone else and crossed the room and stopped in front of her.

  “Am I dreaming?” he asked and everyone around him laughed.

  “No,” she said. “But I decided to follow the fellow who follows his dream.”

  Only then did he kiss her and he didn’t care who was watching, which was everybody. Janet came forward and said, “Daddy, if it’s okay with you, I’d like for Tara to hold the Bible while you take your oath of office.”

  Kel looked down at her. “Do you want to? It means you’ll have to be up there in front of the world with me. They’ll be photographs and media coverage.”

  She smiled. “There always will be Kel. And yes, if it’s okay with you I would love to be beside you when you are sworn in.”

  “Come with me to the White House to meet with the outgoing presid
ent and his wife.”

  She knew that would cause a media sensation, but he had asked her to go and she had decided to follow his dream wherever it took her. “Okay.”

  She took his hand and they went together to the waiting car that would take them to The White House.

  She was waiting for him in the residence when he came out in white tie, looking very handsome and very Presidential. She still couldn’t believe that she had stood beside him in the nation’s capital and seen him sworn into the office of President and had then walked back to the White House beside him to the cheering crowds lined up along the streets. And now, here she was, wearing the most beautiful dress she could ever imagine waiting to attend his inaugural balls with him.

  “How do I look?” she asked, turning around.

  “Gorgeous,” he said, taking her in his arms and kissing her once again. She had lost count how many times he had done that today. “There’s just one thing missing, I’m thinking.”

  “What?” She couldn’t imagine.

  He knelt down on one knee in front of her and reached in his pocket and brought out Fiona’s engagement ring. He took her hand and said, “I’m not willing to ever be without you again. Would you please do me the honor of becoming my wife so that I never have to?”

  “Yes, yes.” He put the beautiful ring on her finger and stood and kissed her again.

  “You know what’s interesting about rainbows?” he asked.

  “No, what?”

  “They always come out after storms. You just have to remember to look for them.”

  They had somehow managed to weather the storms . She knew there would be more to come, but she had learned to look for the rainbow. She kissed him again and then said, “You know they are going to write some horrible story about how we spent the night together in the Lincoln bedroom to celebrate your inauguration.”

  Kel laughed. “And anyone that matters will know it’s a complete lie, even though I would very much like to forget the whole round of parties and do just that. But we’ll keep that on the list of things to do to celebrate after we married and not before. Besides, John and Kim have dibs on the Lincoln bedroom tonight.”

  It was her turn to laugh. But she appreciated that he had strong beliefs and was willing to stick to them and said so.

  “I made a lot of mistakes the first time around that I won’t make this time. The only thing Alise and I shared was the physical part of our relationship. Maybe if we hadn’t let that get in the way of everything else things would have been better for us. I know that we go way beyond just the physical attraction but it is easy to get caught up in passion when you’re madly in love with someone, so we will have to be careful when we’re alone together.”

  “You’re madly in love with me?”

  “Completely.”

  “Let’s not wait a long time to get married,” she said as he pulled her closer still.

  “No,” he said, between kisses, “let’s not.”

  “Kel,” she said, pulling away just a little.

  “I know. Let’s go. The Lincoln bedroom is entirely too accessible here.”

  She took his hand and they stepped into the hallway where the secret service was waiting just outside the door. Something else she would have to get used to. At moment she realized none of it mattered, not the press, not the secret service, the office or the address. He might be the President of the United States, and certainly the handsomest, kindest one there had ever been, but what mattered wasn’t that. What mattered was that he was Kel.

  He paused and kissed her once more and they started down the stairs and to whatever their life together might promise.