Pursuit of Happiness

by Carsen Taite

  “Will you be needing me later, Senator?”

  Meredith looked up and saw they were parked outside her townhouse. She met Erica’s eyes in the rearview mirror. “No, I plan to stay in for the night.” She started to open the door, but paused. “Erica, may I ask you a personal question?”

  “Sure.”

  She plunged ahead before she could change her mind. “What are the characteristics you’re looking for in a president?”

  Erica laughed. “Not exactly personal. I suppose I look for things like drive and intelligence. The ability to play well with others without abandoning core values.”

  “You’ve given this some thought.”

  “Something tells me you have too.” Erica grinned. “You mind if I ask you a question?”

  “Go for it.”

  “Are you going to run?”

  Meredith chuckled. “Something tells me you’ve been playing talk radio while you’re waiting for me.” She shook her head. “If I ever run, you’ll be one of the first to know.” She exited the car before Erica could ask another question. As she walked up the steps, she made a mental note to have Jen prepare some scripted answers for questions like Erica’s until she knew exactly what she planned to do.

  Once inside, she shucked off her suit jacket and tossed it on the armchair just inside the foyer and kicked her shoes to the side of the chair. One of the joys of living alone was the ability to make small messes without consequence. She wandered her way to the kitchen and poured a glass of wine from the bottle she’d opened the night before. It was an earthy red, and her first thought was how well it would go with a burger, and her second thought was she was starving. She reached for her phone to order a delivery, and as she scrolled through the options on the app, she thought about Stevie and the burger they’d shared at The Saloon.

  She’d sent a box of chocolates to Stevie’s office with a note apologizing for ducking out of the wedding, but the better part of a week had passed with no acknowledgement. She knew it had been a jerk move to abandon her date, but Stevie’s silence was a clear message she wasn’t interested in forgiving the slight, and Meredith really didn’t have any business dating someone who had a problem with her chaotic schedule. So why was it so hard for her to stop thinking about Stevie?

  She knew the answer. Stevie was the first woman she’d met in who knew how long who was willing to speak truth to power. Most of the single women Meredith crossed paths with were either jockeying for favors or her money. Stevie was different. Outspoken, opinionated, and intelligent—Stevie challenged her and she liked it.

  Her phone buzzed in her hand, and she nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound. She glanced at the display and smiled at the text, taking it as a sign that her fondness for Stevie wasn’t entirely one-sided.

  * * *

  Stevie walked in the door to her office and sighed at the pile of work on her desk that had grown in the three days she’d been away. The NACDL seminar in Chicago had been chock full of great information, but when it came down to it, she and the other public defenders were so busy trying to keep up with the load they had, it was hard to think about adding new skills.

  She sank into her chair and tried not to let the stack of files overwhelm her when she spotted a box from Harper Macaw, well-known DC chocolatier. She shoved the files aside and pulled the box toward her, spotting a card with her name penned in lavish script.

  She was still staring at the box when Joe poked his head in the door, and she crossed her arms over it, unsure why she was bothering to hide it from him.

  “What are you doing?” he asked.

  She jerked her chin at the files. “Getting a head start on tomorrow. I see you didn’t do all my work while I was away.”

  He waved a hand. “Forget all that and come out with us. Hannah’s holding a spot at Quarry House and she won’t be able to fend people off for long.”

  “I can’t. I’ve got a hearing on Friday, and I’ve got to play catch-up with all these files.”

  “Who’s the boss?”

  “Depends. Are you going to tell the judge why I don’t have a solid argument to suppress this evidence?”

  “Tell you what. You come out with us tonight and I’ll carve out some time tomorrow to go through the case file with you. Deal?”

  She shouldn’t, but maybe a reset was what she needed to bridge from inspiring conference to back to the grind. “Okay. I’ll meet you there.” She noted his dubious expression and she crossed her heart. “I swear I’ll be there. I just need to take care of one thing.”

  Stevie waited until the door was shut and his footfalls faded away before slitting open the card. Unlike her first delivery from Meredith Mitchell, this one was on personal, rather than official stationary. The note was simple and short. A woman should never leave a date at a party, no matter what the reason. Please accept my apologies and assurance it won’t ever happen again. Oh, and here’s a little something to sweeten your day.

  She read the card three times before reaching for the box and surveying the contents. Her favorite chocolates. How could Meredith know she had a weakness for these bars? Before she could second-guess the action, Stevie reached for her phone and typed a quick text.

  You made my day.

  She’d barely set the phone back down when it buzzed.

  My goal entirely. I hope you’ve had a good week so far.

  Pleased that Meredith was keeping the conversation going, Stevie thumbed a quick response. Been away at a conference and glad to be home. Ignoring the mountain of work on my desk in favor of a night out. She hit send and immediately questioned why she had shared that little tidbit.

  On a school night? Sounds intriguing.

  There it was. A perfect opening. Stevie stared at the phone in her hand wavering between the safe zone of a night with her coworkers and flirting with the danger that was Meredith Mitchell. Her thumbs hovered over the phone, waiting for her to choose, but she knew before she started typing that the choice had been made the moment she’d read Meredith’s apology. She was irresistibly drawn to Meredith, and the reasons why outweighed any warnings of caution her mind could conjure. Before her brain could overrule the rest of her body, she typed, Join me? Quarry House at seven.

  Seconds passed. Long, slow, excruciating seconds, shredding the easy confidence that had driven her to issue the invitation. She considered turning off her phone to avoid further embarrassment and even moved to do so, but before she could slip the offending instrument away, it buzzed again.

  Make it seven thirty and I’ll be there.

  This time Stevie was the one to wait, not out of payback but out of sheer wonder at what she’d just done. She’d invited Meredith to join her on a lark, but now that she’d accepted Stevie had to face the reality of Meredith showing up at a bar with a bunch of public defenders, most of whom would be teasing Stevie unmercifully the next day about her surprise guest. She didn’t care as long as she got to see Meredith again.

  Sounds perfect.

  * * *

  Meredith changed into jeans, loafers, and a sweater. She took out her contacts and put on her glasses, relieved to relax her eyes and change her appearance ever so slightly. She shoved a credit card and some cash into her wallet and grabbed her phone and headed for the door, instinctively looking for her car before she remembered she’d told Erica she was in for the night. It was for the best. The Quarry House wasn’t the type of place you showed up with a town car and a driver.

  When she stepped outside, she hugged her arms around her chest and walked briskly to generate heat. The Metro stop was only a block away. She had to buy a card from the machine, and it took a second to dig up the muscle memory to accomplish the task, but within a few moments, she pushed through the turnstile and boarded the train bound for Silver Spring, Maryland.

  Dressed as she was, she blended in with the rest of the people on the train, which was a rarity. After giving the opening speech at the last Democratic National Convention, her face had been plastered
on the national news, and she’d been tagged to serve as spokesperson for numerous other candidates in her party. Things had died down a bit since then, but she rarely made it across town without being recognized and spoken to by either a colleague or a curious onlooker.

  When she reached the bar, she paused at the top of the steep stairs that led to the basement destination and took a moment to experience each of the emotions churning through her. Excitement about seeing Stevie again. Apprehension about how she would be received after having abandoned her at the wedding. And nostalgia. She’d come here many times when she was just another face in the crowd, eager to escape the trappings that came with the expectations of her family dynasty.

  She’d barely stepped off the last stair when she heard Stevie call her name. She turned slightly and was relieved to see Stevie wearing a broad smile, warm and welcoming. Meredith wanted to slip into the warmth of it and stay there for the rest of the evening, far away from the growing buzz of whether or not she would enter the presidential race.

  “Glad you could make it,” Stevie said. She stepped back and swept her gaze over Meredith. “This is a nice look.”

  “Thanks. I call it Metro chic.”

  “You took the rail? What, no Erica?”

  Pleasantly surprised that Stevie remembered her driver’s name, Meredith grinned. “Everyone needs a night off once in a while, don’t you think?”

  “I do.”

  Stevie reached to grab her hand and Meredith followed her across the room, noting that it felt nice to be led around instead of leading. As they approached a table of rowdy patrons, Stevie let her grasp slip. The absence of her touch was distinct, and Meredith went on alert. Did Stevie know these people?

  She didn’t have to wait long for an answer. Stevie turned back with an apologetic look and whispered. “I’m feeling a little guilty now that I didn’t mention this was a group activity. You ready to meet my coworkers?”

  Meredith wasn’t, but from an early age she’d been trained to do things she didn’t want to do. She plastered a smile on her face and prepared for the worst, thinking this was likely payback for the wedding stunt.

  “Hey, gang,” Stevie said. “I’d like you to meet a new friend of mine. Senator Meredith Mitchell, this is the gang.”

  While Stevie introduced her to each of her coworkers, Meredith made mental notes. The stylish office manager. The scruffy-looking but affable boss. The just-graduated from law school intern with her harried, but still enthusiastic glow. She shook all their hands and filed their names away for future use.

  “Senator Mitchell, nice to meet you in person,” Boss guy, Joe, said. “Although I have to say this isn’t the type of place I’d expect to run into you.”

  “It’s a basement bar with a great spread of beer. Where else would I be?” Before he could answer, she pressed on. “Believe it or not, I used to come here when I was in law school. Best post study group sessions ever. We solved all the problems of the world. I’m glad to see the restoration kept so much of the original charm.”

  Meredith caught Stevie’s grin and Joe nodded his approval.

  “Stevie tells me you are reconsidering some of the mandatory minimums in the sentencing guidelines,” said Joe.

  “She made some good arguments during the committee hearing. The least I could do was look into it a little further. And it’s Meredith, please.”

  “Meredith it is, although I hear there might be a new title in your future.”

  She knew where this was going and sought to deflect it fast. “I’m happy with where I am for now, but as for your question about the sentencing guidelines, I think Stevie made some excellent points and I like to keep an open mind.” Her words echoed in light of her upcoming meeting with the DNC, and the choices she would have to make in the coming weeks threatened to overwhelm the laid-back nature of this evening. She pushed back. “But I get the feeling you’re here to decompress, not talk shop.”

  “Talk shop is all these lawyers know how to do,” the fashionable one, Hannah, said. “Can I get you a drink?”

  “That would be great.” Meredith pulled out her credit card. “And a round for the group?”

  Hannah waved away her card. “Your money’s no good here. Any friend of Stevie is a friend of ours.”

  Meredith watched her walk to the bar, and she felt a tug on her arm. She followed Stevie a few feet away. “Hannah seems nice.”

  “You haven’t seen her try to wrangle us at the office.” Stevie ducked her head. “I suppose I should’ve warned you I wasn’t going to be alone.”

  “Like I warned you I might ditch you at a wedding? I’m sure that I’m way ahead of you in the jerk moves column.” Meredith replayed the words in her head and scrambled to recover. “Not that this was a jerk move by any means. Everyone seems nice, and it’s fun to see you in your natural environment.”

  Stevie’s face flushed slightly. “Speaking of natural environment. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you photographed in anything but a sharply-tailored suit.” She waved a hand up and down. “I like this look. You seem relaxed, approachable.”

  Meredith felt her own cheeks warm. “And here I was going for the I can’t pick her out in a crowd look.”

  “Seriously, I like it. It’s a side of you I wouldn’t have predicted.”

  “I might be full of surprises.” Had she really just said that? What a corny line.

  “You might be.”

  “And how about you?” Meredith paused for effect. “Is the Stevie Palmer you see the one you get?”

  “Depends on who’s doing the getting.”

  Before their flirtatious banter could continue, Hannah returned with their drinks. “Come on, you two, let’s get back to the table before someone tries to steal our seats.”

  Meredith dutifully followed as Hannah led her away, and next thing she knew, she was caught up in lively conversation with Stevie’s coworkers. Everyone was nice and ostensibly treated her like one of them, but she couldn’t help but notice the raised eyebrows and curious stares when they thought she wasn’t looking. It was obvious these people were like family to Stevie, and Meredith wondered what had motivated Stevie to invite her to meet them. Was it so she could see firsthand some of the impact her work as a senator had on the lives of the people who had to work with the laws she passed or was it something more personal? Whatever it was, she was glad to be here.

  They’d just finished the tie-breaking game, when Stevie appeared at her shoulder. “Come with me for a sec?”

  “Sure.”

  They walked toward the bar. “I invited you tonight because I wanted to see you, but I also wanted you to meet these people. They work hard in the trenches every day, and everything you do—”

  “Affects them. I get it.” Meredith forced a smile, disappointed to hear Stevie’s motivation for the invitation wasn’t more personal. “I appreciate the way you put a face on the things you’re passionate about. It’s one of the reasons I was drawn to you in the first place.”

  “And I appreciate that you were willing to hear me out.”

  Meredith reached a hand over to Stevie’s arm. “And I really was sorry to leave you at the wedding. I may have been a jerk, but I’m a dedicated one.”

  Stevie waved her off. “Forgiven. Completely. But I have a question that’s been bugging me ever since you asked me to the wedding.”

  “Fire away.”

  Stevie opened her mouth, but she was interrupted by a shout from her boss. Everyone’s phone started dinging with alerts, and Meredith felt the buzz of her own phone in her pocket. She resisted the urge to check it for as long as she could, but as all eyes in the bar started to look her way, her resistance started to wear.

  “Go ahead,” Stevie said.

  Meredith paused, curious if this was a test. She wanted to pass, more than she wanted to know the breaking news, but before she could test her resolve, a shout from Joe sealed her fate.

  “Drudge says you’re running for president. Is it true?”r />
  Meredith met Stevie’s eyes and held her gaze, willing the world to stop for just a moment so she could figure out what came next, but chimes were dinging and the air crackled with anticipation. She would have to answer the question sooner or later, but now all she wanted was to lose herself in Stevie’s eyes.

  * * *

  “Sorry about the mob scene back there,” Stevie said, watching Meredith’s expression for any sign she was annoyed. They’d walked across the street to where the Uber driver was slated to pick Meredith up, and Stevie felt the evening begin to slip away every time Meredith’s phone refreshed with new info on how far away he was. “It was a bit of a catch-22. I was worried that if I warned them you were coming, they would’ve acted goofy, but I’m thinking they were pretty goofy anyway.”

  Meredith’s smile was warm. “It’s okay. Really.”

  “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather call Erica to come get you?” Stevie glanced at Meredith, but the shadows from the streetlight hid her expression, and Stevie wondered if Meredith could read her true intent.

  Meredith shook her head. “I told her I was staying in for the night.”

  Stevie rolled the words over in her mind, examining all the angles before asking what she really wanted to know. “I’m guessing you thought this would be a secret rendezvous? The outfit, no driver—I get it now. I suppose I spoiled that by dropping you in the middle of a batch of my coworkers who can’t seem to help but make a very public scene.” She struggled to keep her tone from being wistful but wasn’t certain of her success.

  Meredith reached for her hand. “Not even. It’s true, I did slip away and was hoping not to be noticed for what I do rather than who I am. When you live your entire life in the spotlight, you learn to seize moments of anonymity.”