Page 134 of Where There's Smoke

“I would like to take this opportunity to apologize publicly to my wife for everything I’ve put her through, especially the last few months. Simone has been a tremendous support, devoted to this campaign, even while enduring brutal—at times cruel—scrutiny from the media, when that scrutiny should have been focused on me. She has weathered accusations of abuse and infidelity, and a degree of stress that has led her to serious health problems. Simone, for everything you’ve been through on this campaign, I am truly and deeply sorry.”

Beside me, Simone sniffed. When I glanced at her, there was an extra shine in her eyes.

“You okay?” I asked.

Without taking her eyes off the screen, she nodded.

“Further,” Jesse said, the faintest hint of nerves shaking the very edges of his voice, “I would like to apologize to the people of California. I’ve misled the public regarding my personal life, and—”

Roger came out of nowhere and grabbed my arm. “What is he doing? How could you let him sabotage himself like this?”

“Sabotage himself?” I jerked my arm away. “No, Roger. You sabotaged him from the beginning. You wanted him elected, but you asked him to compromise his integrity right out of the gate. Now he’s cleaning up the mess you asked all of us to make.”

“Anthony, you son of a—”

Ignoring him, I shifted my attention back to the press conference.

Jesse rested a hand on the podium, and though he was still collected and professional, that slight unsteadiness in his voice was more pronounced now. “While we have presented ourselves as a happily married couple, and Simone has tirelessly—and at the expense of her physical health and emotional well-being—played the role of a blissfully devoted wife, she has been keeping a secret I had no right to ask her to keep.”

Simone put her hands over her mouth. “Jesse, no…”

He continued. “The truth is that my relationship with Simone has been over some time, and any relationships she has pursued in recent months have been with my knowledge and my blessing. While she and I remain close friends, we will be divorcing, not because of any infidelity or even disagreements”—pause, a long, loaded pause—“but because I am gay.”

His wife made a choked sound and brushed past me. A moment later, one of the heavy doors banged shut behind her. I glanced toward it, opening my mouth to ask Ranya if she could go make sure she was all right, but Dean followed Simone out the door.

I turned back to the screen. Hands had shot up and dozens of voices tried to ask questions, but Jesse raised one hand, inclining his head just enough to indicate he wasn’t finished. Every hand fell, and the voices quieted. After a moment, Jesse went on.

“I cannot continue to ask my wife to endure what she has, nor can I ask the public to continue supporting my bid for office after my dishonesty.” He took a deep breath, no doubt steeling himself for the second point of no return in this speech. Finally he said, “In light of all of this, I will be withdrawing from the election.”

I exhaled as the entire room exploded with activity. There was no going back now. It was out. Jesse was out. His chances of winning were nil even if he hadn’t withdrawn, because this wasn’t the kind of scandal a candidate could recover from. California wasn’t as progressive as it liked to think it was,and even if he’d waited until after the election to come out, this state wasn’t above a recall vote. If he misrepresented himself over something as volatile as homosexuality, he wouldn’t be a sitting governor for long.

On the screen, Jesse quieted the crowd and went on. “And as for my wife, when I spoke of her in a recent interview, I meant every word I said. Simone is better than I deserve, better than I ever could have asked for, and I only hope everything that has transpired over the last few months have not damaged our friendship beyond repair. Simone, if you can find it in your heart to—”

He stopped abruptly, and his head snapped to his left. A second later, Simone stepped into the frame. He drew back from the microphone enough that it didn’t pick up whatever he said to her just before she threw her arms around him.

I held my breath. The entire state watched. Cameras flashed, voices barked questions, microphones waved, but for a few long, still seconds, I was sure no one existed in his world except her, and I didn’t feel the least bit of jealousy toward her. He needed this. He needed her forgiveness.

When they separated, they both wiped their eyes. She stood up on her heels and kissed his cheek, and as she left the stage, he faced the crowd again.

He cleared his throat, took a deep breath, and cleared his throat again. Once he’d regained his composure, he continued. “My political involvement does not end here, however. I made a promise to the survivors of domestic abuse, and I have hundreds of letters and photos from people who have taken that promise to heart. Rest assured that while I am withdrawing from this election, I am not abandoning those to whom I’ve made that promise. I will continue working for better protection and recourse for you, your children, your family members. I willnotabandon you.”

He concluded his speech and took a few questions from reporters, but kept that part of the press conference as brief as he could. When he joined us backstage, his furious, red-faced uncle greeted him at the door.

“What were you thinking, you idiot?” Roger snarled. “You’ve turned the Cameron political legacy into a laughingstock.”

“I did that by listening to you,” Jesse snapped. “Now I’m doing damage control and trying to salvagemyreputation.”

Roger threw his head back and laughed. “Your reputation? Damage control? My God, Jesse, you’re—”

“Fuck you, Roger,” Jesse growled. He turned to the security personnel standing by the door. “Would you mind…” He let a nod toward Roger finish the thought, then turned back to the rest of us while the two burly men removed the fucking idiot from the room.

Simone hugged Jesse again, and I just barely heard him say, “I’m so sorry.”

“I know. And I forgive you for everything.”

“Thank you,” he whispered.

She let him go, and then she turned to me. My heart jumped into my throat when she smiled and reached out to hug me. As I returned her gentle embrace, she said, “You two take care of each other, okay?”

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