Love Me Tonight

“No? What about you and Judson? Have you seen him yet?”

“Yes, but… We had dinner together last night.”

They stepped off the elevator, and he gently grabbed her left arm. “I don’t get it. I’d have sworn that you two were perfect for each other. Don’t you get along?”

“Stop worrying about us, Scott. He’s… What do I know? I haven’t had enough experience to judge whether it’s right to feel so comfortable with a man you hardly know. I mean, I don’t even bother to put up my guard when I’m with Judson, and that isn’t my style at all.”

“Why shouldn’t you feel comfortable with him? Besides, the real reason you’re comfortable with him is because you trust him.”

“Yes. You may be right. I guess what I’ve needed was a brother.”

A grin spread over his face. “You’ve got a brother. What am I supposed to be?”

She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Scott, that’s the nicest thing you’ve said to me in all the time I’ve known you. If you ever need a sister remember that you have one in me. And if the people on this floor wouldn’t get the wrong idea, I’d hug you.”

He winked at her. “Hug accepted. Save the real ones for Judson.”

“I will,” she said and headed for her office, her steps quick and light. Sitting at her desk, she saw in her in-box a letter, the return address of which told her that this was what she had awaited all of her professional career. With trembling fingers and eyes tightly closed, she pried open the flap of the envelope. And after she forced her eyelids to open, she read that she should make an appointment with her superior for an interview the following morning. Her boss was preparing to appoint an ambassador to Albania.

She wanted the promotion, and it was due, but she did not want to go all the way to Albania. She told Judson as much when he called her a few minutes before noon.

“At least they’re not sending you to Calcutta,” he said. “It could be much worse.”

“It isn’t an appointment. It’s only my first query. They have an opening, and they want to know whether I have the potential to serve as a full ambassador. I definitely do not plan to spend an important chunk of my life in a place that doesn’t have a first-class symphony orchestra,” she complained.

He couldn’t help laughing. “You’ll have to start small, though. At any rate, I’m glad that you’re being recognized.”

“Thanks. So am I. What are you planning for today?” she asked him.

“I have some interviews in connection with that medical malpractice suit. What time do you think you’ll get home tomorrow?”

“Sometime late in the afternoon. Maybe around five-thirty or six.”

“Could we have dinner together at about seven?”

She hadn’t expected him to want to see her again so soon. “I’d like that. Come by for me at six-thirty.” She suspected that she had a lot to learn about Judson. She told herself to be home by five-thirty.

“Thanks. See you at six-thirty. Good luck with your interview tomorrow.” They hung up.

Heather knew that she had no plans to accept a post in Albania, neither then nor ever. Let them give that post to a deserving political junkie. She was a career diplomat, and she had earned their more thoughtful consideration. And if she didn’t get it, she certainly had other, good options.

“I can always practice law,” she said to herself, “or, for that matter, I can teach.”

But the idea of giving up on her dream, as so many of her colleagues had been forced to do, dampened her spirits.

“I’m going to have to postpone our court date,” Judson told Curtis Heywood. “Two of your witnesses don’t want to be involved, and I’ll have to find others. Meanwhile, see if you can locate more evidence. I’ll put my research staff on it, and if there’s evidence of culpability beyond what we have, they’ll find it.”

He put the phone back in its cradle, leaned back in his chair and made a pyramid of his ten fingers. The case didn’t bother him. He knew he’d win it. The problem was to get additional evidence so that it wouldn’t drag on while the defense lawyer manufactured one cockamamy scenario after another.

His thoughts centered on Heather. Her news that she could be sent to Albania didn’t cheer him. Their relationship was too new to withstand a lengthy separation. It was one more reason why he had to get his life in order, beginning with his identity. He left the office an hour earlier than usual, went home and headed for his mother’s bedroom. He’d start there, but, if necessary, he’d search every centimeter of the house and its contents from the basement to the attic. He threw his jacket across a chair, rolled up his sleeves and opened the closet door.

Again, he found nothing of relevance in his mother’s room other than the mysterious birth announcement and the birth and death certificates of the infant who succumbed not long before his parents adopted him. At least that was his impression based on what he knew of the timing of his adoption. He would have to go to Hagerstown and begin the search there.

“I’m going to Hagerstown tomorrow,” he told Heather the next evening as they dined at Chiapparelli’s in Baltimore’s Little Italy. “I hope I have as much luck as you did today.”

“So do I. If you can get one lead, you’re on your way.”

“Will they offer you an ambassadorship if you go to Albania?” He held his breath until he had her answer.

“Probably, but I have the right to refuse any post.”

“Would you really refuse? I’m not sure that would be a good career move, Heather.”

She stopped eating and stared at him. “Are you trying to get rid of me? If you are, I can always make it easy for you.”

“I’m trying not to be selfish. And on the chance that you appreciate my judgment, I’m being as truthful as I can be.”

An expression of pain spread across her face, and she briefly closed her eyes. “Oh, Judson, I’m so sorry. I do trust you, and I trust your judgment. I’m so used to—”

“It’s all right. I imagine that in the world you work in, you always have to watch your back.”

“Yes, indeed. And look what it’s doing to me,” she said as if she’d just realized it.

“How about dessert?” he said. “I think I’ll have a slice of sour lime pie,” he added, glad to be able to change the subject. “What would you like?”

“I can’t sit here and watch you eat it, so I’ll have the same.” Suddenly, she reached across the table and covered his hand with her own. “If you can be patient, we’ll get there.” The waiter took their orders, and refreshed their water, smiled at Heather, then left the table.

“Do you mean that?” he asked her once the waiter had gone.

“I didn’t plan to say it, but it’s the truth.” She smiled. “I’ll always tell you the truth, Judson, even if it makes me look bad, and I hope I can count on the same from you.”

He enveloped her hand with his own. “Of course you can. If you never believe anything else, believe that.”

The waiter brought their dessert, and they savored it without speaking. Later, while they sat sipping espresso, she looked at him and said, “I have to thank Scott for introducing me to you. He’s anxious to find out whether we get along and whether we will see each other.”

He imagined that the facial expression he thought was a grin was more feral than friendly. “Don’t tell him a thing,” he said. “Let him worry.”

“How could you? He means well.”

“Sure he does. Jails are full of well-meaning people. It isn’t often that I’m one up on Scott, so please humor me.”

He held her hand while they walked to his car, and it felt good.

Ten minutes later, he parked in front of her building, walked around and helped her in getting out of the car and accompanied her to her apartment. She gave him her door key without his asking. He opened the door.

“May I come in for a few minutes?”

She didn’t answer, but walked in and flicked on the light.