More Than Rivals (7 page)

Luke’s shoulders slumped as if he didn’t quite believe he was actually in the clear. He turned to Jack and mumbled, “It was nice meeting you, sir. Thanks for playing with me.”

“No problem, Luke. I had a good time. You’ll do great today.”

As Luke trotted off, Lily’s expression again turned sour and her voice was bitter. “I’m to believe that at no point you knew he was my son?”

“I didn’t. He doesn’t have your last name, and I couldn’t understand his grandfather’s accent.”

Lily looked away as if she were evaluating his evidence. When she turned back, her expression was emotionless.
 
She began walking toward the bench and said, “It doesn’t matter, but don’t do it again.”

For the first few weeks after that day, Jack had no problem doing just as Lily had asked—he left her alone. It was easy for him, because he didn’t want to be anywhere near her. She appeared to avoid him as well, except for the occasional icy glare. Though time had passed, her insults still stung, and her current attitude only reinforced his recent conclusion that she was a raving bitch. How could she have thought he was talking to her just to screw her over?

Unfortunately, even if he didn’t want to interact with her, they were at the same events, and he couldn’t tune her out entirely because, after all, she
was
his opposition. He had to pay attention to what she said in public. The problem was he often liked what she had to say. She was funny, smart, and very gracious, and unlike so many elected officials, she actually cared. She wasn’t faking it. Her facial expressions changed as she listened and spoke, and her speeches were laced with empathy or at least sympathy. He had to remind himself she’d never speak that way
 

He also watched her from afar and saw her private moments with her friends and family. She joked often with Jordan, and they seemed to be more like best friends than candidate and staffer. More than once Jordan caught Jack watching them, so Jack had to immediately stop looking their way. He always wondered if Jordan then mentioned it to Lily.

Usually her mother or father lurked somewhere in the background. He often couldn’t understand what they said because she’d speak with them in Spanish, but the interactions were interesting. Sometimes her parents seemed like helpful campaign staffers who do as she said when she’d assign a task. Other times, they were the supportive parents of an adult child, standing next to her proudly.
 

But on occasion, the parent-child relationship of years ago must’ve come back to life. While he couldn’t understand the conversation, Lily would sneer or pout, dismissing them like a fifteen year old. Jack always wanted to laugh when they bickered.
 

And then there were Luke sightings. He saw Luke two additional times, and at each, Luke waved to him with a smile, but hung close to his mother. Jack would observe as Lily would place a hand on Luke’s shoulder or smooth the back of his hair. Those loving gestures gnawed at Jack. He regretted being so upset by her behavior. He still thought she was being unreasonable, but if Lily really did think he was out to get her, it made sense she wouldn’t want him around her son. Luke was a great kid, and she only wanted to protect him.
 

A month after their blow-up, Jack was cheery as he strode around the high school auditorium in Marin. Though there were other candidates with ties to Marin, this was his political turf, and with every self-confident handshake and back slap, Jack showed up his opposition. He scanned the room as his opponents introduced themselves to people he’d known for years. It was the most affluent and populated county in the entire congressional district, and Jack’s competition would be lucky to get more than a couple of dollars and handful of votes. Feeling smug, he raised his shoulders in pride of ownership.

After he finished speaking to some donors and friends of his parents, a bitter sounding voice came from his right. “Well, she’s certainly working that Spanish thing.”

Jack turned and saw Herb Yancey, standing next to him with his arms crossed in obvious annoyance.

“Excuse me?” Jack said, his eyes squinting to discover the source of Herb’s attitude.

“Lily … or Ursula … whoever she is. She’s only half-Spanish, but she talks to every single Spanish speaker she can find.”

A child of the diverse city of San Francisco, Jack’s racism radar went on red alert. He cleared his throat. “Herb, Lily’s not from Spain.”

“All those countries are the same, right?”

“Uh. No. Just because they speak the same language. They’re different countries. Would you say America is the same as Australia?”

Herb flashed him a look, so Jack continued, “I believe her father emigrated from Mexico. She’s Mexican-American.”

“Hmpf,” Herb grunted with a snide expression. “Whatever she is she’s completely exploiting it. She’s so transparent.”

What an ass
, Jack thought, yet he found a civil way to dispute Herb. “You know every time I hear her speak I regret my choice of studying French instead of Spanish, but that’s my fault, not hers. If she can speak Spanish, well, good for her.”

“How can you say that? It’s unfair. She has a leg up on us all.”

“I see where you’re coming from, but do you honestly believe it’s easier for a Hispanic woman to run for office than a white man?”

“Yes,” Herb said flatly. “This is California.”

“Given the composition of the state’s congressional delegation, I have to disagree with you.”
 
Jack gave him the side-eye and walked away.
 

As he headed toward his seat on the stage, he checked his gut as he realized how upset he was. Sure Herb was offensive, but Jack mixed with troglodytes every day—rich political donors who looked down on everyone, occasionally working class whites who needed someone to look down on to feel good about themselves, and even some of his older relatives who were just backwards. Why was he so offended by Herb?
 

After he found his seat on stage, he poured himself a glass of water from the pitchers placed on the long table before him. He took the opportunity to search for Lily in the crowd, and he found her busy in an animated conversation with a local reporter. It was the perfect example of what he tried to convey to Herb. Lily was striving hard to get the reporter’s attention for a few minutes, while Jack already had given the reporter a long interview earlier in the day. The reporter wrote for a paper that had long supported Jack in its editorials. Though Jack had gained the newspaper’s respect by his own work over time, he knew the initial support he received had everything to do with the fact his parents were best friends with the paper’s publisher.

He studied Lily, trying to sort out his feelings. Why did he want to defend her so much? The immediate answer that came to mind was objective—something anyone who’d spent time with her would feel. She simply didn’t deserve Herb’s negative comments. She was a good person who worked hard for everything she’d gotten in life. No one in her situation deserved Herb’s insults.
 

But there was something else though that moved Jack. It was a strong desire to protect Lily. The feeling was overwhelming, and he nervously tapped his fingers on the table, anxious she was under his skin.
 

Over the course of the next hour, Jack was able to forget Herb and focus on the speakers. Yet when a question was lobbed at Lily, he always paid special attention to her answer. He also noticed her profile was quite pretty, and though she spoke about serious matters, her smile could be very sexy.

As the panel wound down, Jack’s mind drifted off as the audience began asking the pat questions for the county. His ears perked up when he heard an older woman say, “This question is for Supervisor Robles.”

Jack recognized the elderly woman standing at the microphone, Ethel Nathan. She was a well known anti-growth gadfly in the county. She called herself an environmentalist, but Jack knew it wasn’t a deeply held conviction to protect the land. Her environmentalism was based on her wealth and desire to keep Marin her own private countryside. Jack’s staff liked to call her Ethel NIMBY because her reaction to any development in the county amounted to “Not in my backyard.”
 

She stared Lily down. “Supervisor Robles, what is your position on George Jones?”

Lily was silent for a moment, her face placid. Leaning into the microphone, she asked, “I’m sorry. I’m not sure what you mean?”

Jack wanted to close his eyes to avoid watching the train wreck that was about to happen. Ethel had brought up a sleeper issue that only people steeped in Marin politics followed, though those that did, were passionate about it. The average person might think Ethel was asking Lily about a country music singer.

Ethel clenched the paper she held as her voice wavered with distain. “George Jones is holding the people of Marin hostage, and you don’t know about it?”

“I’m sorry. I can’t say that I do, but if—”

“How can you want to represent the people of Marin in Congress if you don’t know anything about one of the most pressing issues facing the citizens of Marin County?”

As Lily valiantly tried to take charge by offering to speak with Ethel after the panel, Jack looked down the table at the other candidates. Each one sat motionless as he witnessed an opponent take a beating. Some of them knew what Ethel was talking about, and a few were as lost as Lily. He glanced at Herb who wore a smug smile which Jack wanted to punch. Herb was friends with Ethel.
 

If any of his opposition were hanging in the wind like Lily was at that moment, Jack would’ve thrown them a lifeline.
 
Ethel was raising a stupid issue that only a bunch of very wealthy people cared about—not to mention Ethel was a pain in the ass. At that moment, Jack wanted to crack a joke to diffuse the tension, move the conversation forward, and above all, shut up Ethel.

But Jack thought better of it. Lily probably wouldn’t want his help, and knowing her, she’d probably take it the wrong way. So rather than lending a hand to a friendly rival, Jack watched as Ethel took one last shot at her.
 

Leaning close to the microphone so her voice boomed throughout the auditorium, Ethel said, “I’d be happy to educate you on these issues, Supervisor Robles. You clearly aren’t prepared.”

“Thank you,” said Lily with a frozen smile.
 

After the event was over, the usual mingling occurred, but Lily didn’t mingle. Instead, she stood off to the side, looking earnest and nodding as Ethel lectured her. Ethel’s finger wagged, her arms waved, and occasionally she overstepped the boundary of Lily’s personal space. When that happened, Lily would give a tense smile and take a step backward.

Jack kept an eye on their conversation while he worked the room. When he looked up as he spoke to the owner of a local car dealership, he expected to see Ethel and Lily still speaking. Instead he saw Ethel talking to Herb, but no Lily. He surveyed the auditorium and found her happily shaking hands, but with her bag on her shoulder as she headed toward the door.
 

Spying the clock above the stage, he saw it was still early—too early for a candidate to leave such a large gathering. Jack understood why she was leaving though. If he’d endured a round with Ethel Nathan, he’d want to skulk away too. As he watched Lily push through the auditorium’s double doors, he again felt badly for her.

An impulse struck him, but this time, he didn’t question himself before he acted. After a quick excuse, he spotted an exit sign pointing to a side door, which he hoped led straight outside. He slid out and closed the door behind him, as his eyes adjusted to the bright sun. He was happy to be right about the exit and even more pleased to see Lily talking on her phone and heading toward the parking lot.
 

Jack walked toward her, but he stayed back a bit until she ended the call. When she tucked the phone in her bag and quickened her step, he jogged to catch up with her. “Hey!” he said in a teasing voice. “You’re not going to leave me alone to deal with Ethel Nathan.”

Lily spun around, and her expression went from surprised to sour. She muttered, “You can have her. She’s your constituent.”

“Do you know how many times she’s done that to me?” he asked with a smile, trying to cajole her out of her pissy mood.

“She’s a piece of work.” Lily closed her mouth as if that would be her final word. She stared at Jack for a moment, and he noticed her dark eyes softening. She sighed with an air of defeat. “To be honest, I still don’t get what she was talking about. Something about the military industrial complex invading Marin, but how that relates to a guy named George Jones, I don’t understand.”

Jack laughed and scratched his head. “Did she really call it the military industrial complex?”

“Yes.”

Jack almost snorted at the thought, but he composed himself. “Do you know George Jones?”

“Oh, now you’re sounding just like her,” she said with a scowl.
 

“I didn’t mean it that way.” Her annoyed expression told him he better apologize or the conversation would end. “I’m sorry. I meant to say do you know which George Jones she’s referring to. That will explain a lot.”

“No. There have to be ten of them in Marin alone.” Her mood didn’t seem to improve. “Or is he not from here? Is it the country music singer?”

“Not him. George Jones, the movie director.”

“The Sci Fi guy?”

“Yup. He wants to build a giant studio complex on his property up here. He’s got a thousand acres, but Ethel and her crowd don’t want any of it developed.”

“Okay,” she said. Her voice changed to a policy-setting tone. “Is it zoned for development?”

“Of course, but Ethel doesn’t care. She claims it’s too fragile of a landscape to have such an industrial use.”

“I heard that. I don’t believe conservation is her motive. She just doesn’t want to see any change.” Lily crossed her arms in thought. “What was she saying about being held hostage? She kept talking about riff-raff.”