Conservative Affairs

by Scott, Riley

  “Oh, now you are suddenly an upstanding citizen, focused on telling the truth and spreading morality? That’s really rich coming from someone pursuing a sinful and disgusting lifestyle,” Ian yelled, losing control once again.

  “You will lower your voice, and you WILL show respect for me,” Madeline demanded in a cold, quiet voice. “I am still the mayor—if only for this very minute. I have apologized for what I have done wrong, and I fully accept what is coming, Ian.”

  “I will not,” he said. “You forfeited all authority in this room the minute you put your desires above the careers of everyone here. You selfishly and foolishly placed us all on the line to fulfill a depraved fantasy. And now you will listen to what we have to say, and you will follow our lead.”

  “I will not,” Madeline echoed. “Sit your high and mighty ass back down on that chair and listen up. My actions were reprehensible, and I have addressed that. You can oppose homosexuality until you are blue in the face, but it does not change the fact that I prefer to sleep with women. Nor does it change the fact that you are a bigot and an asshole.”

  Ian opened his mouth to speak, but Madeline cut him off. “You want to talk about actions that are sinful and disgusting? Let’s think this one over for a minute. Now, you, as I recall, are the one who’s always telling me to quote the Bible, so let me quote some scripture for you. How about ‘Thou shalt not bear false witness’? Is that anything like filling a press release full of lies?

  “Or how about, ‘Let he who is without sin cast the first stone’? Do you remember that one?”

  He narrowed his eyes at her, clearly not amused.

  “Well,” she continued, “if memory serves, two years ago one of our staff members knocked up the girl he was dating. Did the media ask about this? Yes, they did, because it happened at the very time when we were advancing our family values campaign. Did I fire this staffer?”

  Madeline looked around the room to add to the dramatic effect. “No, I did not. He is now my chief of staff and is married to the woman with whom he had a child.”

  “Correct me if I am wrong,” Madeline continued, looking Ian in the eye. “But wouldn’t some church folks call that precious baby boy of yours an abomination, just like you are calling my relationship an abomination?”

  His anger, which had dropped down a notch, was quickly replaced by sheer hatred. No one liked being called out on their own issues. It was easy to make a fuss about someone else’s supposed wrongdoings, but when the tables were turned, it was harder to digest.

  Gabe and Jacquelyn both looked terrified, she saw. And they should be. She had enough on each of them to bury them. As she was about to remind them. She wasn’t done, not by a long shot.

  “Gabriel,” she said. “You had a DWI a year ago, didn’t you?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said.

  “The press inquired about that too. Yet here you are at this table,” Madeline said.

  He nodded his head. There were other issues that she could have brought to the forefront of everyone’s minds regarding Gabe, but he had been the least hostile, so she decided to let them slide for now.

  “Jacquelyn,” she said, turning in her chair. “Have you ever been caught red-handed by the press sleeping with inappropriate people and getting fall-down, pass-out drunk in public?”

  Jacquelyn’s eyes widened in horror. Madeline had been keeping that gem of information pretty much to herself. She had shared with Ian what she had heard. He had cautioned Jacquelyn, but basically it had been swept under the rug. She was never told that Madeline had been informed.

  When Jacquelyn did not answer, Madeline decided to dig a little bit deeper.

  “You see, an old friend of mine who works for the Oklahoman called one night to tell me that he had seen you shooting doubles for an entire evening, to the point that you were about to pass out. Apparently, though, that was not enough to make you go home. Instead, you proceeded to have sex with a stranger in his car outside of the bar. Does this incident sound familiar at all?”

  Jacquelyn cast her eyes downward.

  “Luckily, my friend the reporter told me he was not going to say anything—he just thought I should know,” Madeline said. She swept her gaze around the room.

  “As you see, I am not the only one to have tarnished the reputation of this office. Each of you have too. So, having said that, I will write my own damn statement and each of you can go fuck yourselves.”

  She stood up and pushed in her chair.

  “You can expect my statement by email tomorrow morning,” she said to Jacquelyn. “Between now and then, I’ll be making decisions based on how I want to proceed and on what type of staff I want to surround myself with, should I choose to remain in office or seek another term.”

  * * *

  Jacquelyn felt her heart settle into a normal rhythm, a strange phenomenon, considering everything that had transpired tonight.

  It was highly likely that she would be out of a job as of tomorrow morning, and even if she wasn’t, there was a shitstorm headed their way that could not be avoided. Nonetheless, she felt free.

  Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose. Jacquelyn suddenly understood the words of the old Janis Joplin song, and she sang them to herself for comfort.

  Glancing down in her lap, she clicked on the message notification that had been blinking there for the last twenty minutes. We need to talk. Call me when you have a minute. The message was from Isaac. She tried to care about whatever he might say, but all of her energy was gone. Had the news already come out? Was it coming out tomorrow? She hung her head, realizing she didn’t care. It was as if the Titanic had already hit the iceberg and she was content to go down with the ship.

  She had heard colleagues talk about being burnt out, but she had always thought she was better than that. If you stayed dedicated to your job, you wouldn’t burn out, she had said. She had been wrong.

  She tried to figure out exactly when she had stopped caring. Was it the moment when Madeline chose to lean on Jo rather than her? Was it earlier when Madeline announced she would not hide the truth and she would not apologize, thereby sinking her political career? Or was it a moment ago when she realized Madeline was right in stating that she had nothing to apologize for—not to the public, not to anyone?

  Madeline Stratton was a giver of second and third chances. She always had been and, as a result, over the past few years she had built somewhat of a family in this office. Everyone had their share of baggage and dysfunctional relationships, but when times were tough, they stood together as one.

  Usually, that is. This time, they had turned their backs on Madeline, leaving her and Jo out in the cold alone.

  She fought the urge to chase after Madeline and apologize. It would do no good now, just as Madeline’s confession to the public tomorrow would do no good.

  Looking across the table at Ian, she wanted to slap him. What right did he have—what right did any of them have—to judge so harshly? Sure, it had been inappropriate for a mayor to sleep with a staff member—but it happened all the time. The truth of the matter was, had it been a man and a woman, everything would have been swept under the rug.

  And what did it matter in the end? Political careers were tumultuous and unstable at best. She and the other staffers would hit the campaign circuit, or they would find another official position. They would be fine.

  She took a deep breath and decided that she had to call Isaac back. If only for tonight, she was still communications director for Mayor Madeline Stratton. She fought the urge to laugh. Which one of their titles would vanish first? Would she become the former communications director before Madeline became the former mayor?

  “I have a call to make,” she announced, making Gabe and Ian jump. Everyone had been lost in their own thoughts.

  She stood and walked to the hallway. It didn’t really make a difference since she knew pretty much what Isaac was going to say, but at least she would find out when everything was going to all c
ome to light.

  She dialed his number. After only one ring, he answered, out of breath. “Hello?”

  “Hey, Isaac. It’s Jacquelyn. You told me to call,” she said.

  “Oh, right,” he answered, clearly both intoxicated and happy. “I got a bonus today.”

  “You called to tell me you got a bonus?” she asked. “I mean, congratulations,” she added, unsure of why he had bothered to call if that was all he had to say.

  “Well, you may not be congratulating me for very long.”

  “Why is that?” Jacquelyn asked, already suspecting the answer. Of course he had received a bonus at work. He was about to help break the story of the year, possibly the decade.

  “We got a tip on your boss today, and man, it was a big one. We’ve got a story—and an eyewitness who will blow the minds of our viewers,” he said, not even trying to disguise his celebration.

  “That’s what I thought,” she said, unable to feel anything about the fact that everything was crashing down around her. “When will it run?”

  “So you knew about this?” he asked.

  “It’s my job to know,” Jacquelyn replied.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked.

  “I didn’t think we were at the point of full disclosure yet, okay, Isaac?” She let out a sigh. “Anyway, when is it going to run?”

  “Well, I thought we had a deal. Maybe I shouldn’t even tell you when it’s running,” he slurred.

  “Cut the crap, Isaac. We slept together a few times. Don’t act so hurt. When is it running?” She didn’t have the patience to deal with this tonight.

  “First thing tomorrow morning,” he said, and she heard the phone click dead.

  She guessed that settled the question of how long their little fling was going to last. Stretching to the side, she let the stiffness in her neck crack.

  Tomorrow morning was the beginning of the end. She knew she should feel something—anything. It took a while, but finally she thought she did. When she tried to define it, though, only one word came to mind—jaded.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  An empty bottle of wine sat on the kitchen table, and Jo sat in her living room staring blankly at the walls. She heard the periodic click-clack of Madeline’s laptop keys. It did little to silence her fears.

  What would her parents think? Would she be cut off from her family for good? And what would she do for work?

  It wasn’t the financial side of things that worried her, it was the relational side. She was not overly close to her parents, but she loved them deeply. Without them in her life, things would change significantly.

  She had contemplated calling them tonight, but she wanted to see what Madeline was going to say first. That would be the true test.

  She picked up her phone again and scrolled through her contacts until she reached the one labeled Mom. Her finger hovered over the SEND key, but then, with a sigh, she set the phone down. No amount of explaining could help them understand, not any time soon anyway. She had heard, time and time again, the things they said about the gay and lesbian community.

  Abomination. Sinful. Disgusting. Awful. Horrible. Dirty. Despicable. Depraved. Gross.

  The words revolved through her head like a carousel. Many of them were words she had heard tonight from Ian’s mouth. She knew that they also would be words tossed about by the general public after tomorrow’s announcement.

  Not ready yet to face their shock and condemnation, she opted to send a text to her mother.

  “I just wanted to give you a heads-up that there will probably be something big on the news tomorrow that will affect us all. I can’t say more, but I want you and Dad to know that I love you very much. If the press comes to you with questions, give them my cell phone number. I’ll call you when things settle down.”

  It was simple and short on details, but she knew she needed to prepare them. And she hoped it would give them something to hold on to when it all hit—a reminder that their daughter was the same girl they had raised, regardless of what the media might say.

  Jo closed her eyes, hoping Madeline was typing out something truthful and meaningful. She had not said anything when she got to the car, but Jo was pretty sure what they wanted her to say—that it was all a lie. If Madeline did deny it, Jo would too—at least regarding her relationship with her former boss. But if she owned up to it, Jo would stand beside her, tall and proud, and make known publicly for the first time exactly who she was.

  The part that puzzled her was that she wasn’t sure which would be worse, having Madeline stand up and equate everything they shared to a malicious rumor or having her life on display for all to see—and denounce.

  At least they now knew when the news was coming. Jacquelyn had emailed to say that Channel 4 would be breaking the story on the morning news.

  She heard the typing stop in the other room, and Madeline walked into the living room to stand in front of her. Looking at the deep smile on her face, suddenly Jo had the sense that some way, somehow, everything tomorrow would be all right again.

  “Do you want to hear my speech?” Madeline asked, looking like a schoolgirl who had completed a particularly difficult assignment. “I made some edits to the one you drafted.”

  Jo nodded, curious to hear how many changes she had made and what kind. Was it still a resignation speech, or had she tailored it to hide the truth?

  As Madeline read it aloud to her, Jo stared at her, amazed. How could such great strength come from one woman? When she finished, she stood and hugged Madeline. Her intuition had been right. Somehow, something good would come from all of this, and one day in the future, all would be right again.

  “I’ve got a couple of emails to send to my family, my dad’s company, and a few others,” Madeline said. “They deserve to know something is coming before it hits. Then, it’s time to turn off the phones and get a little sleep before mayoral Armageddon.”

  * * *

  The next morning they sat hand in hand on the couch to watch the Channel 4 news. Jo squeezed Madeline’s hand in support when Natalie’s face came on screen. Lead Investigative Reporter Angie Rhodes sat across from her, her face looking ever so serious.

  “I am joined here in studio with Natalie Longworth, who has been in the news off and on for the last month after allegedly having an affair with Mayor Madeline Stratton’s husband, John Stratton. This morning, Natalie has unveiled some new facts to the story.”

  Angie turned to face Natalie. “So, Miss Longworth, is it true that, despite Mayor Stratton’s statements to the contrary, you have known her for years?”

  Natalie put on her most charming smile. “Yes, that is true. We were roommates in college. Roommates, best friends and a little more.” Her smile broadened.

  “Would you care to expand on that last part?” Angie asked.

  “Sure. We were lovers. It happened during the time that we were living together. You know, it was college. Everyone experimented, but our experiment lasted longer than most.”

  “How long did your relationship with Mayor Stratton last?”

  “Well, from the time we first slept together until we called it quits, I would say it was about two years,” Natalie said.

  “So was this two-year relationship just a phase the mayor went through? I mean, after all, she has been an advocate for protecting the sanctity of marriage by defining it as being between a man and a woman. She has actively spoken out against same-sex unions, and she has even had numerous fundraisers with groups that advocate for traditional family values—which is almost always code for antigay political activity. Was this just something she experimented with in college?” Angie asked, setting things up for Natalie’s next revelation.

  “I have reason to believe it was not,” Natalie said. “When John first came to me, he was looking for a friend—someone to talk to. He said he felt like his wife—Madeline—had never actually wanted him. He said that it was like she always hoped he was someone else.”

  “Someone fe
male, perhaps?”

  “That was my first thought,” Natalie replied. “I mean, given my memories of Madeline, I had always assumed she would just end up with a woman. It shocked me when I heard she had ended up with John, honestly. But now I hear she has gone back to what she loves.”

  “What do you mean, ‘gone back to what she loves’?”

  “She has found ways to heal after her very public breakup with John. Just tonight, I mean last night…” They had obviously tried to make this appear live. “I went to her hotel room to talk to her—to apologize about this whole thing. I cared about Madeline Stratton deeply. She was a big part of my life in college, and I wanted to smooth things over. I know what I did was wrong, and I wanted to offer her my deepest, most sincere apology.”

  Of course, she would put on her sweetest face for the cameras. Jo was getting more pissed with every second of this interview.

  “When I got there, she cut me short. I figured it was just because she was angry. But right after I left, I saw someone come out of the shadows of the other room and embrace her. It was a woman. I saw the two of them engage in a very passionate kiss.”

  Jo tried to remember if they had kissed last night in front of the window. She doubted it, but then again, she had thought she had given Natalie plenty of time to get out of the parking lot when she had come to comfort Madeline. For all she knew, the whole thing could be fabricated—but then again, it could be true.

  “You saw the mayor kissing another woman last night?” Angie’s face carried an expression of carefully calculated shock.

  “That’s right. I was curious, so I asked John about it. He suggested I research the people on her staff. I visited the mayor’s website, scrolled through the pictures of the staff and there she was, Madeline’s new girlfriend. At least the picture matches the person I saw kissing Madeline last night.” Natalie turned to the camera. “Can you believe it? The mayor is dating one of her staff members.”