The guys continued toasting and slapping each other on the back, anyway. In spite of the party being a daytime gathering, the alcohol was really flowing. Luckily, none of us had to drive back to the city. Our drivers would be handling that for us.
I excused myself for the men’s room, but was only halfway there when another group of movers and shakers stopped me.
“Sumner!” I was offered several high-fives. “Heard about your latest victory. Congrats, brother.” Various other ambitious, successful guys chimed in.
“Thanks, thanks. Yeah, we’re really pleased with how it all worked out,” I said, nodding. Those mechanics would find other jobs.
Right?
“Dude, it is true your dad’s a U.S. Senator?” one of them blurted out.
Shit. I hated this question. It came up every now and again, but always too often for my liking. Yeah, my dad was a U.S. Senator. He was also a fucking asshole.
“Yup, he’s retiring this year, though,” I said, nodding and hoping that would be the end of it.
But it wasn’t. It never was.
My interrogator continued, “That is so cool. Have you ever met a president?”
Oh, for Christ’s sake.
“No, I have not. My mom raised me. I barely ever saw my dad.”
A couple of the guys in the group nodded. Most people knew my family story and were smart enough to talk about it behind my back instead of to my face.
That’s the way things worked around there.
One of the guys nudged my questioner, who looked surprised, shrugged, and shut his trap.
“Hey, there she is,” someone said, pointing.
Everyone turned toward a woman with long black hair, sitting alon
e on a bench, tapping away at her phone screen. I realized I knew her from somewhere when she looked up long enough to catch us checking her out.
Busted.
“Is that Avril Crane, wife of Devon Crane?” the nosy bastard asked.
“Well, she’s his wife at the moment,” someone snickered.
Christ, another one of those stories. They never ended with this crowd. I continued my walk toward the rest room, the conversation behind me fading.
“…wait ‘til she finds out…”
“…she’s a hottie, I’ll take her out…”
“…that Devon sure is an asshole. She’s better off without him…”
My phone vibrated in my pocket.
“Hey, Mom,” I said, moving away from the crowd for privacy.
“Hi, sweetie, how are things?” she asked.
I decided not to tell her about the mention of my father.
“Good, Mom. What’s up with you?”