PLAYING IT OUT
A CAL McAFFREY STORY
By Atonia Walpole
Cal McAffrey stopped just outside the door of the Washington Globe and pulled his arms through his coat.
“Why did you do it, Cal,” Della Frye asked, “why did you add my name?”
Cal adjusted his coat, “It was your story, too. We did it together.”
Della looked up at him. “Thanks, but somehow I don’t think my end of the story would have turned out quite like yours did. You did a good job and I know it wasn’t easy for you.”
“Yeah, well, you stick with the facts, sometimes it leads you where you don’t want to go. You can’t let that stop you, though.”
“Feel like a celebratory drink?”
Cal picked up his shoulder bag and slung it over his shoulder. “I’ll take a rain check on that. I don’t feel much like celebrating.”
“I’ll hold you to that, Cal. Well, good night, then. See you tomorrow.”
“Have a good evening, Della.” Cal walked on to the parking garage. He looked around before getting into his car, wondering if he’d ever feel comfortable in a garage again.
Once upstairs in his apartment he found a clean glass and poured a drink. He sat down and stared at the wall where just a few days ago Stephen had sat, his friend Stephen Collins. It hurt, of course it did. He let it run out to the end of his fingers as he lifted the glass, taking a good swallow of the throat-burning whiskey. He was just starting to think about where it had all gone wrong for Stephen when there was a knock at his door.
“Anne,” he said, stepping aside as Anne Collins walked past him into the room.
“I’m probably the last person you expected to see tonight. What have you done, Cal? Stephen’s been arrested. They’re going to hold him…” a fist to her mouth she whirled around dropping her handbag on his table.
“I’m sorry, Anne; truly sorry it had to come to this. Did you know?”
“Know? Of course I didn’t! I only know what he told me about Sonia. I can’t believe it, Cal. It can’t be true that he had her killed.”
Cal stared at her a moment, found a another clean glass and poured out a dollop of whiskey. “Had his plan worked the story wouldn’t have run tonight. I would be joining Sonia in whatever hell he sent her to.”
“No, no, he would never have! No, Cal, I don’t believe it. It was just some Pointcorp maniac. Stephen has done a lot of things I haven’t approved of but he would never resort to criminal behavior.”
Cal sat down. “I was trying to figure out when it started to go downhill for Stephen, when he started down the road to corruption. It’s a crowded highway. Maybe he just got swept along with the traffic.”
Anne sat down and picked up the glass, looking at the contents. “He wasn’t like that, Cal. You know he wasn’t like that when we came to Washington. He was full of ideals and had started to put in place some needed changes. He worked hard…he,”
“He tried to have me killed tonight, Anne,” Cal said quietly.
“No…no, oh, Cal, what am I going to do?”
“Get him a good lawyer.” Cal downed the rest of his drink and poured another. This was not what he wanted to do tonight. “You’ll go on TV and do the stand by your man act, garner some sympathy.”
“You’re cold. You’ve lost the human touch, Cal.”
“I lost a good friend tonight. Let me drink to his demise in peace. Look, Anne, I loved Stephen. Do you think it didn’t tear me up inside, the more I found out? When the pieces began falling into place I was sick, but I had to see it through. Four people died because of him, Anne. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”
“If it’s true…”
“It is.”
Anne downed her drink, catching her throat with her hand. “I’m sorry, Cal, sorry you had to cause his downfall, sorry.” She began to cry.
“I didn’t cause it. He did that himself. Oh, Anne...” He reached over and she fell against his shoulder.
“I know that. I’m just so mixed up,” she wept against his shoulder, wetting his crumpled blue shirt. “Can I stay here tonight? I can’t go home. The media will be all over my front door.”
Cal hesitated. “You know it wasn’t long ago Stephen stood in my doorway saying the same thing. You don’t want to be caught here. That would stir up a whole other mess of bees.” The thought crossed his mind she might be planning that, a lovesick journalist causes the downfall of prominent congressman and gets the girl. Della’s buddies would have a field day with that.
“I’m going to divorce him, Cal,” Anne said, straightening up and pushing her hair back.
“After the trial, that’s the way it’s usually done, right?”
“You are cynical, aren’t you? I thought you might be glad to hear that. You loved me once.”
“I still do.” He looked at her a moment and then picked up his glass, swirling the amber liquid around. “You should get a hotel room tonight.”
“Will you come with me?”
“No.”
“I knew you’d say that. What did we lose, Cal?”
“Trust. It would never work between us. Stephen would always be the elephant in the room. You can’t use me anymore, Anne.”
“Is that what you think, that I used you when Stephen and I were having problems? I loved you. I always have since we met in college.”
“I think we’ve already had this conversation, Anne. Let it die. Stephen is going to need you.”
“So I just walk out of here and play my part until it’s over…then what?”
“I don’t know.”
“I don’t either. Is there a place where wronged congressmen’s wives go, a home somewhere out of the limelight where they get their heads straight? My life is a shambles right now. I don’t see it getting any better.” She picked up her coat. “Thanks for the drink.”
“Anne…I’ll still be here when it’s over.”
She looked at him a moment. “But will I?”
After she left Cal poured another drink. Looking at the bottle, he knew in his mind there wasn’t enough whiskey in the bottle to erase the last 48 hours. Nothing would. He’d been shot at twice and hurt a hurt that went deep beneath the bandage on his hand. It went to his heart.
He raised his glass. “To what might have been…to what was lost.” Then he turned up the glass.
ON TO PART 2
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