Page 22 of The Senator's Wife

Athena watched as Sloane dressed, helping when needed.Overall, Sloane did well. “Okay, how about shoes? Which ones?” Athena asked.

“I bought a pair of slip-on sneakers. They told me they’re good flats for after surgery. The box is on the floor next to the dresser.”

Athena picked them up, noticing they were Prada.

Sloane slipped on the shoes with the help of a long shoehorn and stood, smiling. “Okay. A little out of breath, but ready to go.”

She’d only seen Sloane in sweatpants or pajamas since the surgery, but the woman who stood before her now was the same effortlessly chic woman she’d met that first day. Even wearing casual sneakers, she managed to look elegant.

After they arrived, Sloane was quickly called back. As she stood to follow the nurse in, she turned to Athena.

“Would you hold on to this?” Sloane handed her a small light-blue purse and left.

Athena flipped distractedly through a month-oldPeoplemagazine. She put it down, looked at her watch, and then at Sloane’s handbag, which she’d sat on the chair next to her. It was fine leather, Athena could tell by the feel of it, but very plain, with some metal studs across the front and a small leather loop stamped with a capital D hanging from the handle. Looking around the room first, Athena picked up the bag and opened it. Imprinted on the inside flap was a small crown and the name Delvaux under it—a brand she’d never heard of. Inside was a small leather credit card holder, a mini Montblanc pen and pad, and an Hermès lip balm. She closed the bag and returned it to the chair, guessing it was probably expensive, just like its contents. Understated, not obvious.

Athena scanned the pile of magazines on the table and glanced at her watch again, figuring Sloane should be finished in another ten minutes or so, but when she looked up, Sloane was walking toward her.

Athena got up. “How did it go?”

“A little painful, but my range of motion is increasing, so that’sgood. Let’s go have a nice lunch, and afterward we can drop by the foundation.”

Half an hour later, they sat across from each other at The Warehouse in Alexandria. The restaurant wasn’t far from the foundation offices, and Athena could tell by the warm greetings Sloane received that she came here often. They placed their order, both deciding on the seafood gumbo. Athena watched as Sloane squeezed some lemon into her water glass and took a sip.

“It’s wonderful to be out and about. The four walls of my bedroom were beginning to close in on me.” She laughed.

“It’s hard to be confined, I know, and you’re making great progress. But you do have to be careful not to overdo it.”

“You sound like my husband. So…enough about my recuperation. Let’s talk about something else,” Sloane said.

Athena thought about the best way to get Sloane to open up and to build a good rapport with her so her guard was down. Their love of Greece was common ground, so she decided that would be a good tactic. “You mentioned that you and your first husband honeymooned in Greece. I miss it. I’d love to hear about your time there.”

Sloane stared past Athena. “It was spectacular. I can still see us on the beach, Robert so tall and athletic, standing in the sand, pulling me up from the beach towel. The two of us running, splashing into the water together.” She looked back at Athena. “Those three weeks of sun and surf, those lazy afternoons, were absolutely magical. We had dinner late—nine or ten. We feasted on Greek delicacies, that delicious flaming saganaki cheese, tender lamb with rice cooked to perfection. I still remember the taste of the kumquat liqueur we’d end every meal with.” Sloane’s mouth curved into a small smile. “Some nights we missed dinner altogether.”

“They sound like happy times,” Athena said, wondering if Sloane was as happy with her current husband.

“Yes. The happiest. Robert’s sister, Camille, was my best friend from the time we were little. We went to the same boarding school.He was the cute older brother who teased us and called us little pests. Of course, he never saw me as anything but his sister’s friend, but he was always kind. I’ll never forget the night of his parents’ annual Christmas party. Robert brought Amanda, his steady girlfriend. I was so jealous of her.” Sloane’s rueful laugh filled the room. “Anyway, soon after that, he went off to college and then law school, so I hardly saw him. We reconnected the summer before my junior year at Amherst. He was studying for the bar, and, well, the rest is history. We fell in love and got married a year after I graduated.”

“That’s so romantic,” Athena said. “How long were you and Robert married?”

Sloane sighed heavily. “Almost twenty-five years. He turned thirty the day we got married. Robert always joked that he planned it that way, so that he’d never forget the date of our anniversary. We had a rule…no purchased presents for birthdays or anniversaries. We each had to make something for the other. Our anniversary was a fun celebration every year, even if it was just a candlelit dinner at home and dancing the tango like we were in a scene fromScent of a Woman. We had so much fun together.” She looked down for a few seconds, and when she looked up her eyes shone with tears. “I miss him.”

“He sounds wonderful. Do you have a picture of him on your phone?” Athena asked.

“I do.” As Sloane took the phone from her purse and set it on the table, then tapped in her password, Athena watched carefully and committed it to memory. “Here,” Sloane said, swiping to a photo and handing the phone to Athena.

The photograph was obviously taken when Robert was in his thirties and showed an all-American-looking guy with sun-bleached hair and penetrating blue eyes. “He was very handsome,” Athena said.

“Sloane,” a voice rang out. A tall young woman came rushing over to their table.

“Abby, how good to see you,” Sloane said, but remained seated.

“I heard about your surgery. How did everything go? You look wonderful.”

“It went well, thank you for asking. Abby, this is Athena Karras. Athena, Abby Thompson,” Sloane said.

Athena smiled, uttering a brief hello, and then listened to the exchange between the two women. It was apparent that the younger woman was a little in awe of Sloane, and Athena watched with interest as Sloane put her completely at ease by the time they’d finished. And it didn’t escape her notice that Sloane introduced Athena as if she were a friend, never referring to the fact that Athena worked for her.

“So, Athena,” Sloane said brightly after Abby left. “Tell me what you do when you’re not working.”

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