Page 25 of Revisions

Jessica sighs again.

“Jess, she needs a friend.”

“Candy can ask me for anything, JD. She knows that.”

“Yes, but she’s worried about how it will affect you.”

Now, Jessica laughs. “Me? I’m the Teflon bitch.”

Jessica’s laughter does little to conceal the underlying hurt in her statement. The kids have largely forgiven Jessica for her role in the break-up with Candace. As much as I know they love me, that transgression hurt them, and not only because of how public Jessica’s affair became. Or how protective they all are oftheir mother. They accepted her as part of their lives. It felt like another betrayal to them. And Jessica got pummeled in the press—unfairly. The media made her out to be a cold, calculating woman who used Candace for access to power brokers. Worse, the kids painted her similarly, as the coldhearted bitch who broke their mom’s heart. Even Grant was angry with her.

“Jess,” I say.

“I can handle whatever anyone throws my way, JD. We both know you’re living?—”

“In a mouse house.”

“What?”

“Mouse house, rat wheel—a tiny cage with a wheel that spins endlessly.”

Jessica laughs so hard she snorts.

“Well? What were you going to call it?” I ask.

“I was going to say under a constant spotlight.”

“Oh. That, too.”

“JD, someone is always looking for ammunition against Candy. Any sense that we’re interacting could?—”

I stop Jessica’s train of thought. “Let them say whatever they want. You were friends long before you were a couple. That didn’t work out. It happens. Fuck what anyone says.”

“JD?”

“I’m sorry. Maybe I could use your friendship as much as Candace needs it.”

That’s the truth. Jessica doesn’t hold back. She can get away with a level of bluntness that I can’t. She understandsmyfrustration better than anyone. Being the partner of a powerful individual—a public figure- isn't easy. Everything I say and do reflects on Candace, whether it should or not. Jessica knows what that experience is like. Candace was considered for vice president and Secretary of State when they were together. I don’t often admit this, but it’s a lot of pressure. I want to defend mywife against the accusations and attacks people hurl at her. I can’t—not in the way I’d like. I have to be cautious, even when I try to be direct. It pisses me off. No one understands that better than Jessica Stearns.

“I get it, and I promise I’ll keep your secret,” Jessica teases me.

“Jess, we don’t have friends outside the family or the political arena these days. She needs someone to vent to—someone who is not me. Webothknow shewillhandle anyone who dares to project anything untoward.”

“I’ll give her a call.”

“Thanks.”

“I know it’s hard,” Jessica says. “Needing to be cordial to assholes.”

“She doesn’t deserve it, Jess. I hate Lawson Klein. I don’t hate people. It makes me feel like shit. I want to hit back so much, I?—”

“I get it. There are ways to hit back that hurt more than a verbal punch, JD.”

“She doesn’t like to play dirty.”

“No,” Jessica agrees. “But Candy also needs to realize the difference between playing dirty and putting dirty laundry on the line to dry. She can’t hold back this time, JD. Klein won’t. Someone wantshimto be her opponent. I think that’s partly because of Laura. They think she’ll be too cautious, and it will give them an opening.”

I never considered Jessica’s observation until now. I’ve learned more than I ever thought I would about politics. Jessica is a political ace. Shegetsit. It’s another benefit to her being part of Candace’s sphere. Candace might fight with Jessica, but Jess is unlikely to back off as quickly as Shell, Dana, or me. Candace needs her for more than one reason.

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