LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, FEBRUARY 1948
As soon as the plane reached its cruising altitude and leveled off, the charming young stewardess began to take drink orders. Admiring her slim, tight figure as she moved on, he thought, I love it when people recognize me. The life of a congressman may have its limitations, but I certainly seem to enjoy the notoriety.
* * *
SAVORING HIS FIRST DRINK, BAILEY BEGAN TO REFLECT ON THIS PAST morning’s meeting. Pleasing this group of corporate executives can’t be the dumbest thing in the world I have ever done . . . How many congressmen, particularly ones early in their career, have the opportunity to meet these men who are considered to be the true “Voices Behind the Curtain,” much less, to have the opportunity to win their approval and support? Who knows where all this could lead.
* * *
AFTER ORDERING HIS SECOND DRINK, HE BEGAN TO SPECULATE, I wonder how long it took, after I departed, for them to get around to discussing my personal life. I would hope any suspicion about the true basis of my marriage would have long been forgotten. If they knew or suspected anything about my tattered past, why would they have supported my candidacy for Congress? Hopefully, all my past indiscretions are behind me, and I am free to concentrate on my political career.
* * *
DEEPLY ETCHED IN HIS MIND WERE THE EVENTS OF 3 YEARS AGO when he returned home from the war. No one has questioned the problems regarding Barbara’s and my marriage. If they knew or suspected anything about our strange arrangement, I would have to believe someone would have mentioned it by now.
* * *
SOMETIMES, I WONDER WHY I WASN’T MORE SURPRISED WHEN I RECEIVED a letter in England from one of my old friends and teammates reporting Barbara was openly conducting an affair with an old friend of hers. Being so strong willed and so committed to pursuing our individual interests, I couldn’t remember her objecting to the long hours and my abstraction with the early stages of my law career. I don’t recall paying any particular notice to how much time she was devoting to playing tennis, playing bridge with some of her Kappa-Kappa-Gama friends from college, and showing me off at the Friday night dinners at the Los Angeles Country Club. Somewhere along the way, we must have lost interest in each other.
* * *
I WONDER IF I WILL EVER REALLY UNDERSTAND IF MY DECIDING TO enlist in the army didn’t represent the path of least resistance that would allow me to remove myself from an impersonal marriage. Rather than react, from 7,000 miles away, I decided to leave the entire matter alone, at least until I could return home and judge for myself what had really happened.
* * *
EXPECTING TO SEE BARBARA WAITING WHEN I DISEMBARKED FROM the train in Los Angeles’s Union Station, I was surprised to see my father-in-law patiently standing on the crowded platform, one car up. Why would he come to greet me? Outside the office, as long as I showed up for our Saturday morning golf games, I sometimes wondered if he really approved of me and wanted to spend as little time with me as possible.
* * *
NOT KNOWING WHAT TO EXPECT, I WAS SURPRISED WHEN HE SHOOK my hand and proceeded to engage me in a strong hug and whispered in my ear, “Welcome home, son. The ladies are waiting at home, excited to welcome you back. It’s been a long time.”
* * *
MY INTUITIVE SUSPICION THAT SOMETHING MUST BE VERY WRONG was confirmed when he turned right on Wilshire and headed downtown in the opposite direction from where we lived. He then announced, “I’ve made reservations at Brown Derby.”
* * *
WE WERE SEATED AT HIS REGULAR TABLE, THE FIRST DRINK HAD BEEN barely served, when he said, “You may need that drink after you hear what I have to say. Barbara is 3 months pregnant. As strange as it seems, she claims she still is in love with you, and has asked me to try to find some way of convincing you to remain married and agree to raise the child as if it were your own. She doesn’t know what to say or how to face you. She has asked her old man to do the dirty work.”
As braced as he was for talk of infidelity, Dick was caught completely by surprise. Taking a minute to collect his thoughts, he decided to wait before saying anything. Almost immediately, his father-in-law continued.
“Dick, you have a brilliant political career waiting for you. With the support of my friends, me, and the clients of our law firm, you could become the man that we have been waiting for to represent our interests inside the government at the state level, and someday, possibly, at the national level. We have the wealth and influence to help you make it happen. All you have to do is remain married to my daughter and stay out of trouble. Perhaps I need to be more specific. I am prepared to place $5 million into a trust account in your name that will mature in 10 years, providing you and Barbara are still married and you have avoided embarrassing her, your family, or any of the people who have faithfully supported you. After that, you are free to do as you wish. Obviously, this arrangement has to remain secret. Not a word to my daughter—not to anyone. Any hint of our arrangement would destroy her, your career, and your $5 million.”
* * *
STUNNED, NOT ONLY BY THE NEW INFORMATION, BUT BY THE AUDACITY of his father- in-law’s proposal, Dick couldn’t help but think, Am I being asked to commit myself to a marriage, to a child, and being an obedient servant of the “Voices Behind the Curtain”? Dick, ole buddy, you better think fast. You are being given a choice. You can walk away, use your military savings to help start that new law firm you and your friends have spent so much time discussing, and be free to pursue a new way of life. Or, you can accept his offer of financial independence, making a family happy, and enjoy the opportunity to pursue a high-profile political career. Talk about selling your soul to the devil . . .
When his thoughts were disturbed by the sound of lowering flaps and descending landing gear, he shifted his thinking back to the present. Today has been a pretty good day. I wonder if the day will ever come when I regret my decision.