Chapter 10

Dale sat on a stool by his basement workbench. Music came from a radio tuned to WNLX-FM. Before him were a ring he had cast along with a separate bezel and a plastic tray divided into small cells. He mounted the band of the ring in a small vise. Looking through an illuminated magnifier and using a pair of forceps he removed an oblong clear stone from the tray and set it in a depression in the ring’s bezel, adjusting it until it was properly seated. Then he attached the top half of the bezel on the ring. That stone fits in that ring like it was made for it, he thought, which it was. Satisfied, he placed the ring into a velvet presentation box and closed the lid.

An announcement came over the radio.

This is breaking news from the WNLX newsroom, senior political reporter Jake Michaels speaking. The Federal District Attorney has announced indictments against Governor Chris Strider on multiple charges of extortion, corruption, bribery, money laundering, election fraud and conspiracy. This is the first time in this state’s history that a sitting governor has been indicted. If convicted on all counts, Strider is looking at a total of one hundred twenty years in prison. For a full report, turn to the evening news here on WNLX-AM and FM, and the News Hour on WNLX-TV. Now, back to our regular programming.

Dale let out a whistle. He picked his phone and placed a call to Tiffany’s personal cell. “Hi,” he said when she answered. “I heard the news.”

“Oh, I know -- this is what happens when you start turning over rocks -- you see all the nasty squirmy things underneath. Jan believes the indictment was catalyzed by the arrest of Rod Roth, but is part of an on-going secret investigation into Strider’s fund-raising activities. We’re super busy here -- I’m working with Jan to prepare a statement and we just learned that Strider is holding a presser this afternoon at four. We may need to revise what she’s planning to release.”

“I won’t take any more of your time, then.”

“We should have some Champagne on hand for tonight,” she added, “just in case. I’ll see you later and try not to be too late. Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

Champagne, he thought. I’ve got that covered. He slipped the ring box into his pocket and began putting away his jewelry-making gear.

Tiffany stepped into the kitchen in her office garb, dropped her case on the floor and sat in one of the chairs. “You might as well put away the Champagne,” she said.

“What’s the matter?”

“Did you listen to Strider’s press conference?”

“Yeah...”

“He was supposed to resign. We heard from one of his aides that he was going to resign. Jan had a statement ready-to-go.”

“Maybe he floated that trial balloon on purpose,” Dale observed.

“I told Jan that Strider’s such a snake he might do something like this, so Jan fell back on her earlier statements saying that we should wait for the process to unfold and that everyone is assumed innocent until convicted.”

“It’s always a chess game in politics.”

“Yeah ... But, this is the first sitting governor to be indicted in the state’s history.”

“It’s not without precedence,” Dale replied. “Rod Blagojevich was a sitting governor who was indicted. He refused to step down, was impeached and removed from office. We were living in Illinois at the time. I was working for a tech firm headquartered in a Chicago suburb. It was right about the time we moved here.”

“What do you think the odds are that this legislature will impeach Strider?” she asked. “Strider owns the majority there.”

“The impeachment in Illinois was bi-partisan, I think a hundred and something to one. Blagojevich was impeached, if I recall, for soliciting bribes in return for filling a Senate seat ... the one vacated by Barack Obama. If the crime is onerous enough, we’ll see bi-partisan support for impeachment.”

“What Strider did...”

“What he’s accused of,” Dale interrupted.

“Right -- what he’s accused of certainly reaches the level of the Blagojevich case.”

“Meets and exceeds,” Dale replied. “If the state Assembly members feel enough heat they’ll abandon Strider like rats from a sinking ship.”

“I hope you’re right. I’m going upstairs to change. How long for dinner?”

“I’ll start the grill. We can put out some snacks if you’re hangry.”

“I am hungry and that never helps my mood.” She headed out of the kitchen.

Dale started the grill and then set a plate of potato chips and onion dip on the living room table. He took the ring box from his pocket and tucked it behind one of the sofa cushions.

Tiffany descended the stairs in a denim skirt and floral blouse. Dale patted the sofa cushion and she sat beside him. “I’m sorry for coming home in such a sour mood. I really thought we’d have something to celebrate.”

“The evening’s young. Tiff -- I wanted to discuss some things with you.”

“What?” She picked up a potato chip and scooped some dip on it.

“Us.”

“Is something wrong?”

“No, not at all. What we discussed the other night -- you joining the Pride House team -- made me think about our relationship. Don’t get me wrong -- I’m extremely proud of you taking that on.”

“Well, I knew this election is a turning point in my career. If Jan wins, she would want me to move to the Capitol and join her administration there. I don’t want to do that. I’m finally in a stable relationship and I love how we’ve made this place our own. If Jan loses, she’s out of a job. Her term as mayor coincides with the governor’s and she can’t run for both offices at the same time. The likely in-coming mayor will be Web Chambers...”

“He’s the head of the City Council,” Dale remarked.

“Yes. I’ve locked horns with him and I don’t think we’d work well together.”

“So this Pride House opportunity comes at a good time.”

“I know we discussed turning the apartment into an Air BnB, but this opportunity surfaced.”

“Something you have to do, I know.”

“It probably will demand more of my time ... not that working for Jan is a slacker job. I’ll probably be on-call. But I’m not giving up living here with you, Dale. I never want to let you out of my life.”

“I’m really happy to hear that. Speaking of making this house our home...”

“Yes?”

“I told you that it’s owned by my parents. Our agreement was that I could live here so long as I covered the carrying costs -- insurance, taxes and utilities; and, help them with their mortgage on the Florida condo.”

“Does me living here break that agreement?” she asked with a panicked expression.

“Not at all. I’ve been thinking we should offer to buy the place from them. I’m sure we can come up with a figure that’s fair to both parties. It would allow them to pay off the mortgage on the condo as well as having a nest egg. They could live their golden years debt-free.”

“Sounds great to me,” she replied.

“Over the years I’ve put aside some savings that would make a decent down payment. I’ve run the numbers and I’m sure we can make this work. This place would be truly ours. It would benefit them and us.”

“I want to contribute to the carrying costs. I’ve been feeling a bit like a freeloader.”

“We can figure out the details later. What do you think?”

“I think it’s a wonderful idea, Dale. So far this conversation has been pretty easy. I was kinda waiting for a shoe to drop.”

“I do have something to ask you.”

“What’s that?”

He reached behind the cushion for the box and held it in his palm. “Tiff -- when Brenda passed, I thought I’d never find someone to fill the hole left in my heart. But you filled it to overflowing. I can see great things are in store for you. You said you’re not letting me out of your life. I’m not letting you out of mine.” He held the ring box before her and looked into her eyes. “Tiffany Coxx -- will you marry me?” He flipped the box open.

Tiffany’s jaw dropped. “Oh, my God! That ring is beautiful. Did you make it? Of course you did -- I see your handiwork in it. May I hold it?” He handed it to her. “The Celtic serpents as the band ... the stone ... what’s this mean?”

“The bezel has stylized X and Y -- your chromosomes. The stone is a diamond in a marquise cut, but longer and narrower than usual. It came from some estate jewelry I bought years ago and couldn’t figure out a use for it until I realized if fits perfectly between the X and Y.”

“It’s lovely. I’m feeling all melty inside. May I try it on?”

“No, you may not. But if you say yes -- it’s yours.”

“Oh, yes! Of course I’ll marry you.” She began brushing tears from her cheeks.

Dale took the ring from her and slid it onto her finger. “Something else to show you...” From his pocket he retrieved another ring. “This is the wedding band that mates with it. It has a small cross with a stone in the center. When stacked, the cross joins the circle of the bezel to form the Venus mirror symbol of femininity. You’ll need to say ‘I do’ first, though.”

“I can’t wait. I can’t wait to tell them at the office. They’ll be so happy for me.”

“Well, let’s get dinner going. The grill should be ready.”

“What do you have planned?”

“Surf-and-turf ... lobster tails and beef filets, sweet corn and potato salad.”

“All my favorites.”

“Do you still want me to put away the Champagne?”

“I think we have something to celebrate,” she replied. Tiffany embraced him and they kissed.

“You look happy,” he said.

“I’m not.”

“You’re not happy?”

“Uhn-uhn. I’m deliriously happy. You turned a downer of a day into a super upper of an evening.”

Dale sat at his desk when his phone rang. He saw the call was from Tiffany and answered it.

“Dale -- turn on the TV,” she said breathlessly.

He dashed downstairs and turned on the set to see a press conference from the state capitol. Chris Strider was speaking and claiming to be a victim of a political witch hunt. A chyron at the bottom of the screen announced Breaking News -- Strider Resigns.

“Wow,” Dale said into his phone.

“Just this morning the state Assembly approved the articles of impeachment,” Tiffany replied. “The vote was a hundred and some to two with two abstentions. A nose count in the Senate indicates a similar result.”

“So Strider resigns to avoid the ignominy of being booted out of office.”

“He also is taking himself off the November ballot. His press release accused the impeachment articles as being politically motivated.”

“Of course he’d say that, but how could it be when his party holds the majority and the vote was two nays and two abstentions?”

“Exactly,” Tiffany replied. “He also said that he is resigning to focus his efforts on clearing his good name and promised to be back.”

“That’s going to be an up-hill battle,” Dale remarked.

“His party is going to scramble to find a replacement candidate, especially since the lieutenant governor isn’t interested in the slot. The scuttlebutt has it that they’re considering Wade Fulton for the November ballot.”

“Who is Wade Fulton?”

“He’s the only other governor to serve three terms -- in the late seventies and early eighties. He’s eighty-four and comes from an era when that party was more centrist and progressive. Think Nelson Rockefeller.”

“Sounds like a guy I could vote for,” Dale replied.

“Do that and I’ll never speak to you again.”

“I meant, if Jan weren’t running.”

“We’re pretty sure the plan will fail -- Fulton is too liberal for the party’s current base so they’ll just stay home. Jan has the moderates locked up. Oh, and this hasn’t been announced, but Jan has picked a running mate. Guess who.”

“I hate guessing games,” he said. “Who?”

“Alan Ratliffe.”

“The guy she beat in the primary?”

“None other. He will help her numbers in the minority communities.”

“This pretty much guarantees Jan’s election next month,” Dale mused.

“Jan has said that she doesn’t want to win the election by default,” Tiffany replied. “Besides, there’s plenty of time for things to go wrong, We can’t afford to let our guard down. Oh, another thing ... Jake Michaels wants to interview me for a segment on his Friday night show.”

“One-on-One? How do you feel about that?”

“Nervous. I’m not used to being on the receiving end of that sort of thing. Jan thinks I should do it. I’ll drive to the WNLX studios on Thursday.”

“Good luck with that.”

“Well, I gotta go. Jan needs my help to craft a statement to the press and then I have to write a press release. Love you.”

“Love you, too.” He canceled the call.