Page 21 of Twenty-Three Years of Longing

“You don’t want me to be here early?” I questioned.

“If you want, you can ask your brother to stop and give her a ride instead,” she suggested.

Hell no!

“I’ll do it myself. As you said, it gives me a chance to touch base with her on how things are going.” And the more I can keep Mayson away from her the better. “So, there will be me, my brother, Bennett, and Raya here tomorrow.”

“And Finn as well as the news reporters.”

Of course. We need the news to be reported officially and accurately.

“Do they have any idea why they have been invited to your office?” I asked.

“No. But they are very eager to find out. And honestly, I’ll be glad to have it out in the open. The sooner it is, the better for everyone.”

I was sure we were going to have a bumpy ride for the first few weeks. Tabiq doesn’t handle change very well, and Reesa making me vice president was a huge one. There were going to be lots of hard questions for her to answer. Probably plenty for me as well. The difference is, I have no idea how the hell I’m going to answer any of them.

“Speaking of dinner, I guess you better get home to your family,” I said.

“Are you sure you don’t have any last questions for me?” she asked.

I had so many that we’d be here all night. One summed it up. “Yes. Why me? I mean, I know I was the school administrator, but Vice President is a huge jump.”

“You’re right. Not the normal path one would take into politics, but I wasn’t looking or a politician. I wanted someone who was for the people. And you have proven that on many levels. You have demonstrated your international negotiation skills when helping place students in college overseas and finding families to sponsor them in their new countries. And it takes a lot to manage a budget like the one I gave you and yet still make it work. You also give all yourself to your work. I expect you to continue doing so as Vice President. But those are just a few reasons why I picked you,” she said.

“Thank you, Reesa. Your confidence means more than you know,” I replied.

“Would you like me to call Raya tonight or do you want to tell her?” she asked.

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to tell her on the way here tomorrow. Just like Mayson, if we don’t share too early, then we don’t need to worry about anyone else learning before your announcement. What do you think?”

She shrugged. “It sounds like the two of you have plenty of other things to discuss tonight.”

“Like?” I wasn’t sure what she was referring to. Had she picked up on the fact that I like Raya? Because that was going to be an awkward discussion. Especially when Reesa knows all about Joey.

“Like your house and Raya renting it. Why? What did you think I was talking about?” she asked.

Nothing. Not a damn thing.

“Work,” I lied.

“No one should talk about that over dinner. Remember that tonight,” she said as she got up. “Finn and I have strict rules about dinner topics. No hospital talks and no politics.”

I followed her out the door and said, “I guess we can talk about her and Joey instead.”

Reesa smiled. “Oh, she will love that. She misses him so much. I can’t wait for him to join her here.”

“Me too,” I lied for the second time.

Once I was in my SUV, I pulled out my cell phone and started a text message to Raya. I just wanted to let her know I was on my way but changed my mind. A text message gave her the opportunity to change her mind. Even though it wasn’t wise to be alone with her, I still didn’t want her to back out.

I deleted the message, and I headed to New Hope. It was about twenty minutes away, and I had another call to make first. I dialed Mayson’s number.

“Hi, Orion. You calling to tell me what’s going on?” he asked.

“Not tonight. But you will learn about everything tomorrow afternoon. I’m just calling to let you know to iron your suit. You’re going to need it,” I said.

“Damn. Where are we going?” he questioned.

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