Page 369 of Edge of Eternity (The Century 3)

George nodded. She was so right that it was difficult not to cry.

"Work is the best cure," she said. "That and time."

She had survived, George realized. Her loss was the greater, for Jack Kennedy had been her lover, not just her friend.

"You helped me," she said. "You got me the job at Justice. That was my salvation: a new environment, a new challenge."

"But not a new boyfriend."

"No."

"You still live alone?"

"I have two cats," she said. "Julius and Loopy."

George nodded. Her being single w

ould have helped her at the Justice Department. They hesitated to promote a married woman who might get pregnant and leave, but a confirmed spinster had a better chance.

Their food came and they ate in silence for a few minutes. Then Maria put down her fork. "I want you to go back to work, George."

George was moved by her loving concern, and he admired the steady determination with which she had rebuilt her life. But he could not work up any enthusiasm. He gave a helpless shrug. "Bobby's gone, McCarthy lost the nomination. Who would I work for?"

Maria surprised him by saying: "Fawcett Renshaw."

"Those bastards?" Fawcett Renshaw was the Washington law firm that had offered George a job when he graduated, only to withdraw the offer because he went on the Freedom Ride.

"You'd be their civil rights expert," she added.

George relished the irony. Seven years ago, involvement with civil rights had debarred him from working at Fawcett Renshaw; now it qualified him. We have won some victories, he thought, despite everything. He began to feel better.

"You've worked at Justice and on Capitol Hill, so you have priceless inside knowledge," she went on. "And, you know what? Suddenly it's become fashionable for a Washington law firm to have one black lawyer on the team."

"How do you know what Fawcett Renshaw wants?" he asked.

"At the Justice Department we have a lot to do with them. Usually trying to get their clients to comply with government legislation."

"I'd end up defending corporations who violate civil rights legislation."

"Think of it as a learning experience. You'll gain firsthand knowledge of how equalities legislation works on the ground. That would be valuable if ever you returned to politics. Meanwhile you'll be making good money."

George wondered if he ever would return to politics.

He looked up to see his father approaching across the restaurant. Greg said: "I've just finished lunch--may I join you for coffee?"

George wondered whether this apparently accidental meeting had in fact been planned by Maria. He also recalled that old Renshaw, the senior partner at the law firm, was a boyhood friend of Greg's.

Maria said to Greg: "We were just talking about George going back to work. Fawcett Renshaw wants him."

"Renshaw mentioned it to me. You'll be invaluable to them. Your contacts are matchless."

"Nixon looks like he's winning," George said dubiously. "Most of my contacts are with the Democrats."

"They're still useful. Anyway, I don't expect Nixon to last long. He'll crash and burn."

George raised his eyebrows. Greg was a liberal Republican who would have preferred someone such as Nelson Rockefeller as presidential candidate. Even so, he was being surprisingly disloyal to his party. "You think the peace movement will destroy Nixon?" George asked.

"In your dreams. The other way around, more likely. Nixon isn't Lyndon Johnson. Nixon understands foreign policy--better than most people in Washington, probably. Don't be fooled by his dumb-ass talk about Commies, that's just for the benefit of his supporters in the trailer parks." Greg was a snob. "Nixon will get us out of Vietnam, and he'll say we lost the war because the peace movement undermined the military."

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