CHAPTER SIXTEEN
hey were buckled into their seats on the flight from Miami to TNew York, Jay in the window seat and Kate, with her longer legs, comfortably sprawled in the aisle, having just taken off on the second leg of their journey home. “Kate?”
“Hmm?”
“Can we talk about the logistics now?” Jay was bubbling with enthusiasm.
“Sure.” The anchorwoman looked directly at her tanned lover, whose hair had lightened to platinum in the time they’d been away. She was positively radiant, and Kate’s admiration showed in her eyes. “I meant what I said, Jay. I will go anywhere and do anything to make this work.”
“I know you did, love, and I can’t tell you how much that means to me. I’ve already been giving this considerable thought.”
“Oh you have, have you?”
“Mmm-hmm.”
“And?”
“Okay, here’s the deal.” Jay turned to face her lover fully, her breath momentarily stilled by the sight of piercing blue eyes in a face more relaxed, deeply tanned and beautiful than she’d ever seen it. “Really, I can do what I do from anywhere, as long as I show up in the office for assignments and to meet with my editor when I’m supposed to, which is usually on Monday mornings. Other than that, I can write my stories anywhere I can take my word processor or a pad of paper and pen, if necessary, and do the interviews as I always do, wherever the story takes me, as long as I have access either to my car or major transportation like an airport or a train station. Given that Albany has all of those things, there’s no reason I couldn’t move in with you in your house.” At this point she paused shyly and looked at her lover. “Assuming that’s what you would want.”
Kate was speechless. She had never expected Jay to make that kind of offer. “You’d want to live in Albany? But what about your place?”
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“Well, I’ve thought about that, too. I think we should hold on to my place for now; it will be convenient to have a place in the city for those times when I absolutely have to be near the office or am doing a New York-based story, and the rent is reasonable, for New York anyway, and the location is good. As to whether or not I’d want to live in Albany, darling, wherever you are is home to me and where I want to be. Your house is gorgeous and far more of a home than my apartment could ever be, Fred will be much happier there, there’s plenty of space, I love what I’ve seen of the area so far, and besides, you need to be there every day.”
Jay shrugged as if to say, “It makes all the sense in the world, silly.”
“Huh. Seems to me like you’ve thought this out pretty thoroughly, Scoop.”
“Yep,” Jay said smugly.
More seriously Kate asked, “Are you sure? It’s a lot to ask...giving up your comfortable home and everyday life to fit into mine.”
Shimmering emerald eyes locked on cobalt blue. “I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life, love. What do you think?”
Kate’s smile was brilliant. “I think I love you more than anything in the world and nothing would make me happier than to share my home and my life with you. When do you want to move in?”
Jay laughed. “Tonight would be great. But since that doesn’t seem realistic, how about this: you stay with me tonight at my place, since we’ll already be getting in fairly late, and tomorrow I’ll drive you and the first load of my stuff to Albany before you have to get to work. I’ll stay with you tomorrow night, leave my car at your house since I don’t need it in New York, and take the train back to the city Tuesday morning to be in the office at 10:00 a.m., which was when Trish said I needed to be there.”
Kate shook her head in wonder. “Is there anything you haven’t thought of?”
“I’m sure there is, but I’ve got another,” she looked at her watch,
“three and a half hours to figure it out.”
Kate entwined her fingers with those of her partner, thrilled once again to note the ring on her finger as it sparkled back at the lovers.
“You’re amazing, have I told you that?”
Jay pretended to consider. “Probably, but feel free to tell me again anytime.”
“We could turn the third bedroom into an office for you, unless you’d prefer your office downstairs, in which case I could either give you mine or convert the library.”
“No, I love the library, and so do you. The third bedroom would be fine, it has a nice view of the backyard.”
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“I’ll have a second phone line installed for you, and we can even forward your phone in the city to that so the move will be transparent to anyone calling you, unless you want them to know you’ve relocated.
What do you think?”
“I think that’s a stroke of genius.”
“And the guest bedroom can be your room.”
Jay looked at her oddly.
“For your clothes and when you need space, goofy. I meant that there would be our room, and then you could have an additional room, okay?”
“Aha. I see. That’s more than generous, Kate.”
“What else would make you feel at home, love? Do you want to bring some of your furniture or anything?”
“No, I don’t think so. Can we shop together to outfit the office?”
“I’d love to. Anything you want, you shall have.”
“I want to be clear.” Jay fixed her with a stern look. “I intend to pay my equal share, nothing less.”
Kate scowled.
“I mean it, Stretch. Otherwise, no deal.”
The older woman was taken aback. “You can’t be serious.”
“Oh yes I can. Ours is a partnership, 50-50. I am more than capable of pulling my own weight. Anything less will make me uncomfortable.”
“Okay, but fair share, not necessarily equal share: we pay as a percentage in proportion to our income and assets.”
Jay started to protest.
“Ah, ah, that’s more than reasonable and as far as I’m willing to go.
Love, my living expenses are a lot higher than yours, and I won’t have you taking on the burden of paying for my lifestyle. I’ve got more than I need to cover my tab and more on my salary alone, and on top of that my parents made sure that I was well provided for. Please, you don’t know what it’s taking for me even to agree to let you do that.”
Jay chewed her lip. “It’s a start, I guess, but I get the right to re-open the discussion at some point after we’ve had a chance to settle down and see how things are working.”
“You drive a hard bargain.” Kate squeezed the hand she was holding.
“Mmm. And all this negotiating is making me sleepy. Mind if I take a nap and use you as a pillow?”
Kate smiled indulgently, flipping up the armrest that separated the seats and opening her arms, not caring what any of the neighboring passengers might think.
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important enough to her. She had spent several hours after they had gotten back to her place the night before organizing her things and deciding what to bring home in her first carload. Home. She liked the sound of that. It was barely 7:00 a.m. and she was in the middle of packing two suitcases full of clothes and sundries, having already packed several boxes worth of stuff. She had decided to leave some work clothes and some play clothes in the apartment just in case, but she was taking the bulk of her wardrobe with her.
Kate was in the living room. An advance copy of that week’s edition of Time had been waiting for the writer when they got home, and Jay had given it to the anchorwoman just a little while ago to read. She had fretted about having her lover read the story in her presence, but, in the end, she bit the bullet and gave it to her without comment. And then went to busy herself packing since she was so nervous she didn’t know what to do with herself.
Kate looked at her own image staring back from the cover, her soot-stained face, bloody hands, and torn suit testaments to her efforts following the detonation of the second bomb. It was a gritty picture, one that bespoke dignity, professionalism, and humanity, all without a single word. The title on the cover, in big, bold print, was A New Breed of Journalist. In slightly smaller print below were the words, Katherine Ann Kyle of WCAP-TV in Albany, New York.
Inside was a three-page spread including Jay’s story and four pictures: three of her and one of the capitol building following the explosion. The snapshots of her included one of her anchoring taken on the set, one of her interviewing one of the victims, and one of her working with Gene in an editing room. There was also a sidebar story by another writer debating whether or not journalists should ever take an active role in a story they were covering.
Kate read it all in silence, re-reading portions and staring hard at the pictures. When she was finished she nodded to herself and smiled a private smile of pride for her partner. Then she went into Jay’s office and placed a phone call.
Jay was deep in her walk-in closet when long arms wrapped around her from behind. She tensed, not sure what to expect. A low, sultry voice whispered against her ear, “You are the most talented writer I have ever read. I am so humbled by you, love. You wrote an incredibly insightful, lively, interesting piece under incomparably difficult circumstances. It was balanced, and fair, and remarkably objective; you didn’t let your own personal feelings or knowledge color the content, your approach was fresh and unique, and I am impressed beyond words. Thank you.”
Not knowing what to say to that, Jay turned in the circle of her lover’s arms, her eyes bright with pleasure at the unexpected praise and her smile 208
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big enough to light the city without electricity. She rose up on tiptoes and kissed the waiting lips, murmuring, “I’m so glad you thought it was okay, sweetheart. I think that was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.
Maintaining professional distance and detachment from you was a virtual impossibility. It took me quite a while to decide how to avoid letting my personal feelings for you bleed through.”
“Well, I think you succeeded masterfully, and you should be very proud of the job you did. Now about these pictures...”
They pulled into Kate’s driveway at a little after 11:00 a.m., opening the front door to be greeted by a mass of flying fur.
“Hi buddy. Easy, guy, easy, Fred. Yeah, I’m happy to see you too, baby,” Kate cooed as the excited golden threaded his way back and forth between her legs, talking the entire time even though he had a stuffed animal firmly held between his jaws. When he was finished with her, he gave Jay the same treatment as she scratched him behind his ears and on his haunches.
“How did he get here? I thought you said Peter had him.”
“He did; I called him this morning and asked him to drop him off for us.”
“Wow, now that’s service.”
“Yep, it sure is. I told you, he’s a great friend to have.”
They made their way inside, Fred glued to his mistress’s leg.
“Shouldn’t we get the stuff out of the car?” Jay asked.
“In a minute. First, there’s something I want to show you in here.”
She disappeared into her office, smiling when she saw that her instructions had been followed precisely. She owed Peter big time now.
She walked back out into the entryway. “Close your eyes.”
“Why?”
Kate sighed in mock exasperation. “Do we have to go through this every time about you following instructions, woman? Close your eyes.”
She poked her partner.
“Okay, but last time I did that I ended up in paradise, and you have to be at work in a few hours.”
“Don’t remind me. Come with me.” She took her lover by the arm, guiding her carefully into her office. “You can open your eyes now.”
Jay obediently cracked first one eyelid and then the other. When she opened her mouth to speak, nothing came out. She pivoted and looked at her lover in wonder. “There’s a word processor on your desk, and it’s identical to the one in my apartment.”
“Mmm-hmm.”
“That wasn’t here before, I would have noticed it.”
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“Very observant, Watson.”
“But sweetheart...”
“Listen,” she argued, holding up her hands, “it only makes sense for you to be able to do your work in either place and not have to cart a word processor back and forth. I thought we could set you up in here just until we have time to shop for office furniture for your office. You don’t mind, do you?”
“Mind? Are you kidding me?” The writer surveyed the brand-new word processor, the two reams of typing paper lying neatly next to it, the three pads of legal paper and pens resting nearby. Tears sprang to her eyes as she acknowledged the love and caring behind the gesture. She turned into Kate’s arms and buried her head in her chest. “I don’t know if I will ever get used to being this spoiled, love.”
“You’d better start, sweetheart, because I intend to spoil you for the rest of your life.” She wiped the tears from her lover’s cheeks and replaced them with tender kisses. Before long the caresses turned more ardent, and hands began to wander. Kate backed them out of the office and over to the stairs, managing to lead them to the bedroom without losing contact with her lover’s increasingly more naked body.
“You have to go to work, love,” Jay panted in between kisses.
“Not for a few hours,” came the muffled reply. No more talking was heard for the next little while.
At exactly 2:00 p.m. Kate strolled through the newsroom, finding her desk just as she had left it six days earlier. She smiled to herself as she revisited the intervening time; so much had happened and so much had changed in her life in such a short period of time, it was hard to believe.
Before settling down to business she picked up the phone and dialed a familiar number.
“Hello.”
“Hey, Technowiz.”
“Hey, Anchorbabe. What’s happening? Did I get everything right?”
“You are a prince, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”
“So, does this mean that something is officially going on between you and Jay?”
“Um,” she lowered her voice so that no one else could hear, “I’ve asked her to marry me and she’s moved into the house.”
“You’re kidding me?” Peter sounded stunned. “Way to go, Kate! I’m assuming she said yes, then?”
“Yep, she did,” Kate said with a note of wonder in her voice. “In fact, she’s there now and I thought maybe, if you weren’t doing anything, you could drop by and take her to dinner. She doesn’t know anyplace around 210
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here and there’s nothing in the refrigerator. I’d tell you to call her, but I’m not sure she’d answer the phone yet, since nobody knows she’s here except for you now.”
“Hmm.” He pretended to think. “Am I available to take a beautiful woman to dinner? I’ll have to think about that and get back to you.” He paused for a second. “Kate, I’d love to take Jay to dinner. I can fill her head with all sorts of stuff about you and then...”
“Peter?”
“Yes?”
“Stick to the truth, okay? And don’t scare her too much.”
“Geez, you take away all my fun.”
“Yeah, I’m like that.”
“I’ve got you covered, Anchorbabe, don’t sweat it.”
“Thanks, buddy, I knew I could count on you. And thanks again for getting the word processor and supplies. I owe you.”
“Ooh, I like the sound of that. Bye, Kate.”
“Bye, Peter.”
As she was hanging up the receiver, her producer walked by.
“Hey, woman, you look great. You should go on vacation more often; it obviously agrees with you.”
“Thanks, Phil. Anything big happen while I was gone?”
“You mean locally? Nah, no one’s saying anything much about the bombing except that it appears to have been done by professionals. Other than that, it’s been the usual quotient of fires, murders, robberies, and political shenanigans. You know how it goes. Glad to have you back, kid, we missed you.”
“It’s good to be back.” The anchorwoman turned her attention to her inbox and a stack of telephone messages, immediately re-immersing herself in the job.
Meanwhile, at home, Jay was busy unpacking boxes and suitcases, filling the huge walk-in closet in her room and the dresser drawers, as well. So engrossed in the task was she that she was shocked when she glanced over at the digital clock to find that it was 5:58 p.m. She ran downstairs into the family room and turned on the television just in time to catch her lover teasing the upcoming stories for the 6:00 newscast.
“My God,” she mooned. “She is the most gorgeous creature alive.
And she’s mine.” She shook her head in wonder at her incredible good fortune. “Parker, you dreamed about her for years, and now you’re going to be married to her. Never in a million years...” She shut up as the news came on and she turned her complete attention to the chiseled features that she now knew as well as her own.
At 6:30 p.m., the doorbell rang. Jay wasn’t sure what to do. She knew it wasn’t Kate, because she was just getting off the air and wouldn’t have 211
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rung the doorbell anyway. Should she answer it? It rang again. Fred was barking and whining. Whining? Why would the dog be whining? She decided to investigate. Cautiously approaching the peephole, she peered through to see someone familiar on the other side of the door.
“Um, hi, Jay, it’s Peter. Can I come in?”
She unlocked the door immediately and stepped aside to let him in.
Fred danced around him until he petted him and said a proper hello. “Is there something I can do for you, Peter?”
“Actually,” the tall man shifted from foot to foot, “I was wondering if you’ve had dinner yet?”
“No, I haven’t gotten that far. How did you know I was here?” She was starting to smell a plot.
“Um, a little birdie told me.”
“Hmm, I’m thinking it was more of a big birdie, say, oh, about six feet tall with fabulous blue eyes?”
“Well, I guess I’d better come clean. Kate called me this afternoon and told me you were here and that there was nothing in the house for dinner and suggested that you might want to go out to dinner with me, since you don’t really know the area yet. She wasn’t sure if you would pick up the phone if I called, so she told me to stop by.”
“That’s so sweet,” she sighed. “She is the most thoughtful person I’ve ever met.”
Peter noted the dreamy expression on his new friend’s face and smiled. Yep, they both had it bad. He decided to play with her just a little. “Hey, that’s a really nice ring you’ve got there. I don’t remember you wearing that the last time I saw you. Is it new?”
“Um, yeah, it is.” Jay’s eyes were shifting everywhere around the room.
“Huh, you must have found yourself a great guy. That sure looks like a wedding ring to me.”
She didn’t know what to say. She didn’t like to lie, but she wasn’t sure what Kate would have told him or wanted him to know; she knew they were close, but...
Peter started to laugh, and Jay’s head whipped up. “It’s okay, small stuff, Kate told me she proposed and that you’re living here now.” He moved in and gave her a huge bear hug. “I think it’s great. I couldn’t be happier for the two of you. And it is a beautiful ring, by the way. Now, are you hungry, or what?”
“Yes, and I have another job for you, too. Lead on, Technowiz.”
“Ugh, not you too.”
“Oh yeah.”
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At 6:35 p.m. Kate, Gene and Phil were heading out the back door to grab something to eat. The anchorwoman exited first and froze in her tracks as flashbulbs exploded and she was surrounded by fans seeking her autograph on the cover of the Time magazines they waved in front of her face. Both men stepped quickly in front of her to protect her from the crowd as they made their way to Phil’s car. Kate stopped them with a hand on their arms, then turned and graciously and patiently began signing autographs until every one of the two dozen or so fans had been satisfied.
The guys continued to give her grief all through dinner about her newfound goddess status, and she took it good-naturedly, although inwardly she was a bit discomfited by all the attention. Even their normal waitress wanted an autograph. She got the same treatment after the 11:00
news when she exited the station for her car in the parking lot, but this time the powers that be had taken precautions and had hired security guards to escort her and keep her safe.
Nothing felt better to her, though, than arriving home and being greeted at the door by an irresistible blonde wearing nothing more than a lacy negligee and a smile. God, she was going to love coming home to that every night! Within seconds she had been divested of her suit jacket, with her skirt and pantyhose not far behind. By the time she had made it upstairs, she was wearing only her panties and bra, and those quickly became history, too.
A while later, she breathed, “Now that’s something to come home to.” She stroked the blonde head resting on her chest. “How was the rest of your day?”
“Come see for yourself,” Jay said as she jumped up off the bed, pulling her lover with her.
“Where are you getting all this energy, Scoop?”
“Dunno, must be just being here with you.”
They arrived in Jay’s room, which had been transformed from a generic guest suite into a true living space.
“Wow, this is amazing. You did all this after I left?”
“Yep.”
“Incredible.” Kate looked around the room. “You got everything unpacked?”
“Yep. And I had time to play ball with Fred, too, and watch both newscasts and have dinner with Peter in between.”
“I’m impressed.”
“Yeah, me too,” Jay laughed, wrinkling up her nose. “How was your day?”
Kate told her about the overzealous fans, Phil and Gene coming to her rescue, and the security people assuring her safety after the late newscast.
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“You know, I’ve had people approach me before in the mall or at a restaurant occasionally, but never anything like this frenzy. It was disconcerting.”
“Mmm, I bet. Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine, it just caught me a little off balance, that’s all. It turned out all right, though, everybody was nice enough.”
“Well,” Jay said, wrapping her arms around the muscular torso she loved so much, “if anybody so much as lays a finger on you, they’ll have me to answer to.”
“Ooh, that ought to keep them away.” Jay swatted her on the behind.
“Come on, shorty, we’ve got to get you to bed. You’ve got to be on the 6:00 a.m. train, and I don’t want you to be cranky.”
“I’m going to be cranky in any event because I don’t know what the next assignment is or whether I’m going to be able to come back home tomorrow night.”
“Let’s just wait and see, huh? No sense getting our knickers in a knot until we know, right?”
“Yeah, I guess,” Jay sighed. “You’re far too practical and pragmatic, love, you know that?”
“Mmm, I do now.”
Having delivered Jay to the train on time, Kate was just completing her workout and run, albeit earlier than usual, when she noticed the message light on her answering machine blinking. She glanced at her watch: 8:32 a.m. That was odd. She depressed the play button and was surprised to hear her news director’s voice.
“Kate, this is Les. I need you to come in as soon as possible to meet with me. It’s 8:15 now. I’ll be waiting for you in my office.”
It was the first time in memory that Les had called her at home, and certainly the first time in the five years that she’d been working at WCAP
that he had been in the office before 9:00. He had sounded gruff, but that was nothing unusual; he always sounded gruff. Well, there was no sense speculating, she would just get showered and get to the office.
When Kate arrived at the station forty-five minutes later, the same two security officers from the night before greeted her at her car. “Hi, guys. It’s okay, I don’t see any unruly fans this morning.” She smiled at them.
Neither one of them smiled back; in fact, neither would even look at her. “Boss’s orders, Kate. We’re to escort you to his office.”
“Okay.” She drew out the word. The uneasy feeling she’d had since hearing the phone message was blossoming into a full-fledged knot in her stomach.
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The security guards waited with her as she knocked on Les’s door.
“Come,” he growled.
The anchorwoman poked her head in. “You looking for me, boss?”
“Yes, Kate, come in.” To the guards he said, “It’s okay, fellas, you can wait outside.”
Stepping across the threshold, Kate closed the door behind her. She was beyond shocked to find the station’s general manager, the owner, and Phil all seated around the room. “Wow, this is quite a welcoming committee. Randy, it’s good to see you,” she acknowledged the owner.
“How’s your daughter doing with tennis?” The little girl had an aptitude for the sport, and the station owner had asked Kate one day to talk to her about training and the finer points of the game. She had done so and from that moment on the girl had sought her advice on any number of topics.
“She’s doing fine,” he mumbled, not shifting his gaze from a spot on his trousers.
None of them would meet her eyes, which was making her angry, although she was careful not to let it show.
“Have a seat.”
“No thanks, Les, I’m fine.” She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes.
This felt suspiciously like an ambush, and she intended to use every advantage; towering over the four men in the room was certainly one of them. “What can I do for all of you fine gentlemen?” Whatever this was, she had no intention of making it easy for them.
The news director fidgeted in his seat, picking up and then dropping his pencil. “Um, our switchboard started lighting up kind of early this morning with some rather ridiculous nonsense, but it raised a flag, so the receptionist called me.” He still hadn’t looked up. The anchorwoman remained silent, forcing him to feel even more uncomfortable.
“We know it’s just garbage, Kate, but still we have to take it seriously.” John Isaac, the station manager, picked up the ball. When she said nothing but continued to regard each of them steadily in turn, he stumbled on, “There were some pretty irate callers, you see, and they were insistent that we do something.”
Kate merely raised an eyebrow.
“We know it’s a hoax, I mean, we know you, right?” Randy chimed in. “I mean my kid idolizes you, for God’s sake.”
“Anyway,” Les picked up the thread, “I had Phil here go out and get a copy of the thing so we could see for ourselves how trumped up it was.
But when the receptionist started babbling at me as soon as she saw me about how sorry she was and how she thought the guy was really a friend of yours and she only told him where you were because she was trying to be helpful, well...”
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Kate was truly perplexed. What the hell were they talking about? She was tempted to tell them just to spit it out, but she had a sinking feeling she wasn’t going to like where all this was going, so she decided to play it cool and wait them out. Outwardly she maintained a relaxed posture, seeming as though she hadn’t a care in the world, even as her insides were churning.
“Oh heck. Here.” The station manager threw something down on the desk.
Glancing down, she saw that it was that week’s edition of the National Enquirer, with the headline in huge bold print, A New Breed of Journalist? Indeed! There were two large, grainy pictures side by side underneath the headline. One of the pictures showed two women kissing on a beach. The second snapshot showed the women playing in the surf.
In each picture the tall woman was clearly visible and identifiable; the other woman’s back was to the camera and her face was almost completely obscured with the exception of a tiny bit of her profile. The caption underneath the photos read, What Time magazine didn’t tell you about stunning journalist/heroine Katherine Kyle, seen here getting up close and personal with an unidentified blonde in celebration of her cover girl status.
“We know they probably just took a picture of you and pasted the other woman in there, I mean, geez. Right, Kate?” Randy looked at her hopefully.
The anchorwoman knew she could probably get away with agreeing; after all, it’s what they wanted to hear. But she wouldn’t do that. She loved Jay too much to cheapen their relationship by hiding or lying about it. In the past she had chosen to remain silent because there wasn’t anyone worth fighting for, but to deny that the kiss with her lover that had been captured on film was anything other than what it was, was to deny her own heart, and Jay’s importance in her life. Kate wouldn’t do that, no matter the cost or the consequences.
Her silence made the men in the room exceedingly uncomfortable.
“Hell, you don’t even know who that other woman is, right? You’ve probably never even seen her, never mind—well, you know.”
Kate shifted her gaze discreetly to Les, and then to Phil, realizing that even they, who had met Jay and spent time with her, didn’t know who the blonde was. Good. She straightened to her full height, looking each man in the eye before responding.
“No, you’re wrong, John. As you gentlemen can see, that is clearly me, and the woman you see with me is my fiancée.” She lifted her chin and stared at each man defiantly.
“Your what?” Les exploded.
“I believe you heard me, Les.”
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“Who the hell is she? What the hell is going on? What are we supposed to do now? You’re a lesbian? You’ve got to be kidding me!
Why didn’t you tell us? You’re going to ruin us.”
With a calmness belying the anger seething in her veins, Kate said,
“To answer your questions in order, Randy: None of your business. I’m in love and getting married, and I was on vacation on a remote Caribbean island with my soon-to-be wife when some lowlife obviously hunted us down and invaded our privacy. I have no idea. Yes. No. I think it’s obvious given your reaction why I didn’t tell you, apart from the fact that it has no bearing on the job I do. And finally, I’d like to think that the job I have done, the consistent number-one ratings we’ve gotten since I’ve been anchoring, and the recent positive nationwide publicity for WCAP
that resulted from my coverage of the bombings speak for themselves.”
John had his head in his hands, Randy’s mouth was opening and closing but nothing was coming out, the veins were popping out of Les’s neck, and Phil simply stared at his shoes, unable to look his friend in the eye. Finally, Les spoke up. “You know there’s a morals clause in your contract, Kate.”
“Yes, I’m aware of it. I believe the clause states that I must maintain dignity and the upstanding reputation of the station and myself.”
“Right.”
“Are you saying I haven’t done that?”
“Well, um, ah, Kate, you’ve done a great job for us and we all know it,” John said. “It’s just that this is going to create a landslide of negative publicity. Already there are people threatening to boycott the station and advertisers are talking about pulling spots.”
“We just can’t afford to lose that kind of money, Kate. Nothing personal,” Randy added. “Listen, we’re going to honor the remainder of your contract, which is another two years, and pay it out to you in a lump sum. In fact, here’s the check.” He handed her an envelope that he pulled from an inside pocket of his suit jacket.
She glanced down at it and up into his eyes, cobalt blue burning into him. “Are you firing me, Randy?” Her voice was low and measured, without a hint of the anger, incredulity, or disappointment she felt.
He looked to the others for support. “Um, I’d rather not call it that, Kate. I’d rather just say that you have decided to pursue other opportunities and leave it at that. In fact, we have prepared a statement to that effect that we’re ready to release as soon as you agree.” He handed her a piece of paper.
With a shock she realized that this had all been rehearsed and choreographed; they were just going through the motions. “In fact,” she emphasized, using Randy’s terminology and taking a step forward, “I’m guessing it doesn’t really matter one way or the other what I want or how 217
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I want to play this. You seem to have everything figured out.” There was no rancor in her statement, just a frank assessment.
“I’m sorry whom I love or how I love offends some of your viewers.
That’s most unfortunate for them. I have always had the utmost respect for all of you and this news operation. I wish you all the best.” She started to leave. With her hand on the knob, she turned back and said,
“As for what you say in the press release, you do what you feel you must, but I will not be quoted in it, is that clear? You may lie or put a pretty face on it if you choose, but I will not demean my credibility for the sake of expedience. Good luck, gentlemen, I will always be grateful for the opportunity you gave me. Thanks.”
With that, she was gone.
The men waited until the door clicked closed, then slumped back in their respective chairs. “Whew. Glad that’s over with,” Randy said, running two fingers under his shirt collar.
“Yeah, you got that right,” John agreed. “That was easier than I thought it would be. I thought she would put up a fight. Well, you can’t say we weren’t prepared for anything. Sitting down with the lawyers in that conference call before she got here was a stroke of genius, boss. I’m sure they’re right and paying off her contract will keep her from suing or making a public fuss; heck, we treated her better than most places would’ve.”
“I’ve got to admit,” Les threw in with a note of grudging respect, “I thought she was pretty classy and pretty gutsy about the whole thing. She never once lost her cool.”
“Like an ice princess,” John agreed.
“I can’t believe she’s really a lesbian. She’s so hot; she could have any guy she wanted. What a waste,” Randy intoned. “I don’t know what I’m going to tell my kid when she asks why she can’t talk to her anymore.”
Phil just sat there glumly, knowing that the station had just lost the finest anchorwoman and one of the best reporters it had ever had and that he had lost a good friend. He didn’t know how he could ever face her again, or if he would ever get the chance, but he hoped he would, someday.
At 9:34 a.m. Jay was riding the subway on her way to the office. She was standing in one of the middle cars, as was her custom, thinking about what she wanted to outfit her home office with when her stomach suddenly clenched. Caught off guard, she nearly doubled over. What the hell? Just as she was regaining her equilibrium a surge of adrenaline pumped through her, as if she were responding to some sort of 218
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threatening situation. She looked around her for the source of her discomfort, but could find nothing.
After getting off at her stop, she made her way into the building and onto the elevator. She was alone in the car when she was bombarded with a rush of anger so strong it scared her. What was going on? She shook her head to clear her mind. What could she possibly be angry about? She was completely puzzled. Nothing like this had ever happened to her before.
Once at her floor, she went directly to the ladies’ room, where she splashed her face with cold water in an attempt to alleviate the pressure in her head. When she reached her desk she relegated the odd sensations to the back of her mind, focusing instead on organizing her workspace and seeking out Trish to find out what her next assignment might be.
“Hiya, kid. Hey, that’s some tan you got there. You look great. And it’s a good thing you’re well rested, ’cause I got a doozy for you. How do you feel about being a globetrotter?”
“Okay, Trish, now you’ve really lost me.”
“I know you were hiding away somewhere and probably didn’t pay too much attention to the news, but did you hear about the Stark?”
“The what?”
“The USS Stark. Got blown up on Sunday, killed thirty-seven and another five or more were injured. They’ve been taken to the military hospital at Wiesbaden, near Frankfurt, Germany. I want you to go over there and interview some of the injured.”
“Okay. Now I remember seeing something last night about it. The USS Stark, hit by two Iraqi Exocet missiles in the Persian Gulf while out protecting the shipping lanes for oil.”
“Right. I want you to do a little research and then fly over there tonight. We’ve got you clearance to be on the base tomorrow for the interviews. Then I need you to be flexible, ’cause we’re thinking there might be a memorial service somewhere. If there is, you’re going to cover it.”
“Okay. I’ll get right on it.” Making her way back to her desk to plan her next steps, Jay tried to order her thoughts. She needed to get the newspapers for the last several days, as well as the Associated Press wire reports, and talk to sources at the Pentagon to see what she could find out about the injured sailors ahead of time. And she’d need to make plane reservations for later that day.
But first, she wanted to call Kate and tell her that she wouldn’t be home that night, and probably not the next night either. She might not be able to get home for the rest of the week, which was a depressing thought. Dialing the now-familiar number, she was surprised when the answering machine picked up. She looked at her watch: 10:22 a.m. That 219
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was odd, her lover should have been home. One thing Jay had quickly discovered about the anchorwoman was that she was a creature of habit.
By 10:00 a.m. she would have worked out and run, played ball with Fred, and been inside reading the newspaper or a book in the library, or out on the deck.
“This is Kate. I’m not home right now to take your call, so please leave a message after the beep and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Thanks.”
Beep.
“Hi, sweetheart, it’s me. I can’t imagine where you are, but I’ll try you again in a little while. Seems like I’m heading to Germany to interview injured sailors from the USS Stark, which was attacked in the Persian Gulf over the weekend. Unfortunately, that means I won’t be home tonight, and probably not tomorrow night, either. I’m bummed.”
She thought about mentioning the unsettling emotions she’d been experiencing all morning, but decided to wait to tell her in person.
“Anyway, I’ll try you again, or you can try me at the office. I’ve got some background research to do, so I may be away from my desk for a while, but you can leave a message if you want.” Lowering her voice, she added, “I love you, Kate. Bye.”
At 12:30 p.m. Jay was just getting back to her desk from the research room. She couldn’t shake the roiling feeling of misery and despair that had seeped into her consciousness for the past couple of hours, replacing the anger that had preceded it. Was she just upset at having to go out of the country and not being able to see Kate? It seemed to her as though the reaction was out of proportion to the situation, if that was the case. But she didn’t think it was. Something else was going on, although she couldn’t imagine what, and it was really disconcerting.
Trish appearing at her elbow interrupted her ruminations. “Hey, kiddo. Have you seen this yet?” She pointed to something she held in her hand.
Jay glanced at the newspaper and shook her head.
“Well, it seems there’s a little something we didn’t tell our readers,”
she said glibly, offering the writer the newspaper.
Jay unfolded it and realized that it was the National Enquirer, hardly something she would have taken notice of. Then she saw the big, bold headline, caught a glimpse of the pictures, and read the caption. Her face drained of color.
“Are you okay, kid? You look like you saw a ghost or something.”
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to find Kate. God, what if she had seen it? What if her bosses had? Did that explain the strange emotions Jay had been experiencing all day? She looked again at the pictures with a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Kate was clearly identifiable, though anyone would have been hard-pressed to know that it was Jay with the anchorwoman. She refocused on Trish. No, she didn’t seem to have figured it out.
Trying to control the quaver in her voice and the angry sparks in her eyes, Jay pointed at the pictures and said, “I didn’t think that was something the reading public needed to know. It wasn’t germane to the story. Does it matter to you?”
“What, that the woman is gay? Nah. Love is love. I told you we were only interested in her professional life, and I meant it. This kind of crap isn’t anybody’s business but hers and her lover’s.”
Relieved beyond measure by her boss’s attitude, Jay considered telling Trish that she was the other woman in the photo, but she didn’t want to take anything away from the story she had done about Kate. It had been a fair piece, a good piece, and she didn’t want to taint it, or the anchorwoman, by raising questions in her editor’s mind of objectivity.
All she could think about was getting to her lover as soon as possible.
Then she remembered that she needed to be on a plane in five hours.
Damn. She needed to get moving.
“Thanks, Trish. You know, I’ve got to hustle if I’m going to catch that plane. I’ve got to go home and pack. I’ve done all the preliminary research I can from here. I’ve got three or four interviews lined up for tomorrow at the hospital in Wiesbaden and I hope to catch up with some of the family members of the injured, as well. I’ll call you when I’m done with that to find out if you want me to cover the memorial service, if there is one, okay?” She was already gathering her things and putting them in her briefcase.
“Sounds good. You have a safe flight, you hear? Be careful over there.”
“I will. Thanks, Trish.”
As the editor moved away, Jay immediately picked up the phone, looking at her watch. It was just after 1:00 p.m.; surely Kate would be at home. She dialed the number and was greeted by the answering machine.
She hung up and tried Kate’s work number.
The receptionist picked up. “WCAP-TV, may I help you?”
That had never happened before; Jay knew that she had dialed Kate’s personal extension. “Is Katherine Kyle there, please?”
“I’m sorry, Ms. Kyle is not available at the moment.”
“Is she in? When will she be available?”
“I’m sorry, Ms. Kyle is not in today. Would you like to talk to the news director?”
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The news director? Not in today? What is going on? “No, thank you,”
Jay said distractedly, hanging up the phone and hustling out the door.
After leaving the station, Kate had gone directly home. She put on her favorite pair of ripped jeans and a black t-shirt, then went into the yard to play ball with Fred. She was furious, but not surprised, at the spinelessness of the station management. When she had taken over the anchoring chair the station had been number three of the three major networks in the market. Within a month she had taken them to number one, where they had remained the entire time she had been in the hot seat.
Even so, they were unwilling to stick with her and ride out a little adverse publicity that probably would have increased their ratings anyway; she had no doubt that people would have tuned in just for the curiosity factor. But viewers didn’t account for profits, advertisers did, and a threat to pull ads was the kiss of death. The thing that stung the most was not even that they had fired her; it was the machinations and the premeditation of it all. It was clear to her that the station lawyers had been consulted and had called the shots. Did those idiots honestly think she was going to sue them? Fools; the job was never about the money to her.
Well, this wasn’t getting her anywhere. Her biggest concern at the moment was Jay. It was clear that Les and Phil hadn’t put two and two together and figured out who the other woman was, but what about Jay’s boss? Would she see it and would she know? Kate couldn’t bear the thought that this could jeopardize her lover’s career. She needed to get to Jay as soon as possible and make sure she was okay.
Within a half-hour she was on a train bound for New York City; she would be at the apartment by 1:30 p.m. The question was what would she do once she got there? As she sat looking out the window at the river passing by, she considered her options. Some things she knew with absolute certainty. The first was that her face had just become one of the most recognizable in the country. And the second was that she would protect Jay no matter what, which meant that she had to stay away from her. It was the only way to guarantee that no one could connect them.
She knew that making this decision unilaterally without getting Jay’s input would likely destroy any trust that she had earned; after all, walking away without explanation would no doubt make her lover question Kate’s true feelings for her. And hadn’t she promised that whenever trust issues came up they would discuss them until there were no doubts? Tears formed in her eyes and leaked out as she thought about the idea of leaving her lover and breaking that vow, even if it was the 222
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right thing to do to preserve Jay’s privacy and career. Kate replayed every conversation in which she had assured Jay that she could always trust her, never foreseeing a circumstance where she would break that solemn promise for any reason. God, I never envisioned something like this happening.
Leaving this open to discussion would be impossible; loyal to a fault, Jay would never agree to Kate’s plan and she knew it. I love you, Jamison Parker, and nothing and no one is going to change that. But I don’t see any good alternatives here. I have to do this.
As a writer, Jay had the advantage of anonymity, something Kate would never have again. So far, no one knew who her lover was; the anchorwoman intended to make sure it stayed that way, which meant that she couldn’t take a chance on them being spotted together. It would be hard for both of them, but at least Jay could move on and continue to advance professionally.
Kate’s heart ached. How could she say goodbye to the other half of her soul so soon after she’d found her again? She closed her eyes against the pain, wondering how she would survive without Jay, and hoping against hope that her lover’s road would be easier. After all, she would still have her career, and, as gorgeous and outgoing as she was, Kate had no doubt that the emerald-eyed blonde could have any woman she wanted.
Wiping her eyes, she exited the train and took the subway downtown to the Village. She knew what she had to do. I hope someday you’ll understand and forgive me, Jay.
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