Betrayal (9 page)

“Captain Toles,” President Strickland returned her greeting. “Been a while.” Alex nodded. “I am sorry to see you again under these circumstances,” he added. Alex motioned for Cassidy and Dylan to move toward the group. “Cassidy,” President Strickland extended his hand with a smile. “How are you?”

Cassidy returned his pleasantries. These were circles that she had long traveled in and circles that she missed very little. “Mr. President.”

Stephanie Merrow looked at the teacher and then at the small boy. She and Cassidy had crossed paths a few times on the campaign trail. “Dylan, you grew,” Stephanie offered.

Dylan beamed. “I’m seven,” he said. All three women laughed.

John Merrow’s daughter looked at Alex and took her hand. “I’m glad you are here,” she said fighting back her tears. “And
looking as I remember,” she smiled at the uniform. “My mother is in the other room.”

“How’s she doing?” Alex asked.

The young woman shrugged. “Officer’s wife, you know.” Alex chuckled. Jane Merrow was a strong woman in her own right and she knew the role that she both needed and was expected to play. “Come on,” Stephanie said as she excused the group and led them to the room where the remainder of the Merrow clan and friends waited.

Cassidy felt her stomach beginning to churn wildly. Noticing the apprehension on her face, Alex reached for her hand. Jane Merrow immediately caught sight of the group as they entered the room and a genuine smile swept over her expression. Deliberately and gracefully she walked over and took the agent into an embrace. “Alex,” she said. “How he would love to see Captain Toles.” Pulling back she looked at Cassidy whose face gave away her uneasiness. Cassidy had always liked and admired the president’s wife and she had carried a great deal of guilt in her heart for her betrayal with John Merrow. Jane Merrow moved closer and put her hands on Cassidy’s arms. “Thank you for coming with her, Cassidy.” Cassidy just smiled weakly. The tall, elegant woman looked down at the boy standing between them and studied his face. “Well Dylan, look how big you have gotten.”

“He’s seven,” Stephanie winked.

“Are you?” Jane Merrow asked the boy, receiving an enthusiastic nod. “Now, how did that happen?”

“I had a birthday,” he said plainly.

“I know you did,” the woman said looking back to Cassidy before returning her attention to him. “Alex tells me that you like superheroes?” He nodded. “I’ll bet. Who is your favorite?”

“Batman,” he said.

Jane Merrow’s smile grew wider. “Batman
is
pretty cool.”

“Yeah,” he said looking proudly at the woman standing beside him in her uniform. “He has Alfred and I have Alex.”

“Well, then,” the woman said, “I would say you are both very lucky.” She let out a small sigh and looked at Alex. “I’m glad you are here, all of you.” Jane Merrow looked back at the small boy and then at his mother. “Alex has always been part of this family, and so are you,” she said to Cassidy with a light squeeze of the younger woman’s arm before turning back to the entourage seated around the room.

Christopher O’Brien climbed into the car beside his companion. It was a short ride to the cathedral and his mind was preoccupied now with seeing his ex-wife and her new partner; both with his son. He let out a sigh of frustration that prompted the woman beside him to take notice. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

He shook his head and flashed a smile. “Nothing.”

“You are thinking about her, aren’t you?”

“I’m thinking about Dylan,” he said.

“Yeah, I’m sure that’s it, Chris.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Why does it bother you so much?” Cheryl Stephens asked her lover.

“It doesn’t
bother
me. I’m worried about Dylan.”

Cheryl shook her head. She remained jealous of Cassidy O’Brien, but she did know that Cassidy was a good mother and a decent human being. She wanted to dislike the teacher, but in spite of her efforts it remained impossible for her to do so. Cassidy had never shown the congressman’s new girlfriend anything but respect and kindness. Cheryl was relieved to see that the teacher had a new person in her life. “Well, I don’t know why you would worry about Dylan. Cassidy would never do anything to hurt him.”

“Maybe not deliberately,” he said with a tone of malice.

“Maybe you should ask yourself what this is really about,” she said sharply as she turned to look out the window.

“What does that mean?”

“Just what I said,” she replied. “If you don’t want Cassidy back and if you know Dylan is fine…well, I guess that only leaves one possibility.”

The congressman shook his head. “I’m not the enemy, Cheryl.”

“No. Not mine anyway.”

The sound of the drum cadence as it filtered through from the outside of the car was deafening to Alex. The streets were lined with people watching the procession and she mindlessly shook her head as the car passed them by. “I can’t believe this,” she whispered to herself. Cassidy looked over and put her hand on Alex’s knee. “Cass, look.”

“I know,” Cassidy acknowledged softly.

Dylan maneuvered himself onto the agent’s lap and peered out the window. “Alex? How come all those people are watching?”

Alex sighed. “Well, Dylan, the president is an important person. In some ways he belongs to all the people and so they all feel they have lost him too.”

“But they didn’t know him,” he observed.

“No. Not really,” Alex said. “But sometimes you can love someone that you never really knew.” He was confused and the agent smiled. “I know that doesn’t make sense, does it?” He shook his head and Alex leaned over and kissed the top of it. “It’s true, Speed.”

Alex and Cassidy walked past the congressman and his girlfriend toward their seats at the front of the cathedral. Dylan looked over and gave his father a small wave, receiving a smile
and a nod in return. Cassidy smiled at her ex-husband and gripped her son’s hand a little tighter when she felt Alex’s arm wrap around her waist. The congressman struggled to hide a surfacing cringe and he slipped his hand into his girlfriend’s. Cassidy chuckled within. “He’ll never change,” she thought silently.

The procession through Arlington Cemetery seemed to last an eternity. Much like the streets from Pennsylvania Avenue to the Cathedral; the sides were lined more than ten deep with onlookers. Mothers held their children as men and women alike wept at the sight of the flag draped coffin passing by. The car could not shield its passengers from the sounds that echoed outside. The drum cadence, the sound of tears as they fell from thousands of eyes, the clipping of shoes as they hit the ground in an eerily timed rhythm; it penetrated Alex’s soul and transported her to another time.

Cassidy watched Alex carefully. She felt as if her soul were somehow being scorched. She could see the deep pain coursing through her lover. Part of it, Cassidy understood, was this place. Late in the night Alex had been awakened by another dream and she confessed to Cassidy that this is where she had gone that afternoon. She had come to see a friend, before she had to leave another behind. There were parts of Alex Toles’ life that Cassidy could only share through the agent’s recollections and there was nothing that the teacher wished more than that she could have held Alex through it all. “Alex?” she called over as the car came to a stop.

The agent turned and offered her lover a solemn smile. “Let’s go.” Dylan followed his mother as Alex turned to meet her new family. She paused momentarily to look up the slight hill at the tall oak tree above. She had hoped it would be many years before she would hear that drum beat again in this place.
The few short steps that they would travel to the president’s final resting place seemed an endless journey for Alex. She stood a few feet behind John Merrow’s family, listening to the clicks of cameras that filled the air and was amazed at how the lights from them eclipsed the midday sun. The words that poured from the minister’s mouth ran over her, never making their way into her mind. She heard the sounds around her, but in her thoughts she could only speak silently to the man she considered her best friend. John Merrow had loved her beyond what was reasonable and she needed to understand why; why she was standing here now. “Colonel, why? What is this all about? You tell me these things and you leave…How can you do that now? What about Dylan?” She combed her silent thoughts for any reason.

To anyone, except Cassidy O’Brien, Alex Toles appeared the picture of confidence and control. She was Captain Alexis Toles and she emanated strength and power. The small, unassuming blonde woman who stood nearby could see every question rolling through the agent’s mind. A bugle was raised and Cassidy watched as the rise and fall in Alex’s chest became more rapid and shallow. John Merrow meant something to them both, in very different ways. It was over almost as quickly as it began. The time for goodbye had finally arrived. Dylan looked up and saw the tear that rolled over the agent’s cheek. Alex did not change her stance, nor did she lift her hand to wipe it away. Straight and proud she stood as the trail of her tear continued. The small boy looked at the woman next to him and he reached for her hand, slipping his into hers as an innocent attempt at comfort. As the Merrow family began to turn, Alex lowered her gaze to his small eyes. His eyes conveyed without a single word how much he loved the woman holding his hand. She squeezed Dylan’s hand gently and then lifted him to her hip. “Don’t cry, Alex,” he whispered. “I love you.”

His mother looked at the pair beside her and immediately noticed the tear that was rolling over her son’s cheek. His
love for Alex was as great as hers. Jane Merrow looked back from her car and regarded the threesome. Alex’s hand was tenderly taking hold of Cassidy’s as Dylan began sliding down the agent’s hip to come to rest between them, breaking their momentary affection with the grasp of each of their hands in his. Three pairs of eyes simultaneously saying only one thing; ‘I love you.’ “Oh John,” she whispered before turning to her silent thoughts. “I wish you were here. How strange they found each other. It shouldn’t have had to be this way.” She slipped into her seat and smiled at her daughters. “So much lost and so much yet to be discovered,” she thought. “I do you love you, John…still.”