“She was an elegant First Lady,” Maura added.
Dennis knocked and entered with Justice Wood, Maura’s escort for the evening. “Madame President, it’s time.”
“Thank you, Dennis.” She turned and took Pontowski’s arm, leading the way into the hall.
“Your daughter,” Justice Wood murmured to Maura, “is going to set the fashion industry on its ear, not to mention a few tongues wagging.”
The dinner party was, by White House standards, a semi-official event in honor of the new president of the Académie Français, that convocation of France’s intellectual elite dedicated to preserving all things French. The elderly gentleman was touring the United States with his new wife, the former Elena Martine, who was thirty years younger. As the guests of honor they sat at the head table with the presidential party. Elena had intended to be the star of the evening in a shimmering gold and dark red gown that had been created by a Parisian fashion house for the occasion. But Maddy upstaged everyone. Elena tried to recover by charming them with her French accent while Justice Wood trotted out his rusty French. Then Pontowski joined in, his French near perfect. Elena’s husband was impressed that an American could carry on a conversation in the language and said so.
Bender and Nancy were seated at a nearby table with Senator John Leland and his wife. “Robert,” Nancy said, “isn’t she the woman Matt was involved with during the South African peacekeeping mission?”
“I believe,” Bender said, “she was head of the UN Observer Mission at the time. He had to interact with her.”
“I mean romantic involvement.”
“She’s very attractive,” Leland’s wife said, joining the conversation.
“She’s too flashy,” Leland said grumpily. “And far too young for that old fool.”
“They are French,” Leland’s wife said. “Look how she keeps touching Pontowski. Maddy must be furious.”
“The president is absolutely gorgeous tonight,” Nancy said, leading away from the president’s frame of mind.
Leland humphed. “She shouldn’t dress like that.”
“You might say she’s upholding the national honor,” Bender said, deadpan.
Nancy reached out and touched her husband’s hand. “Robert. I believe you just made a funny.”
Leland’s eyes narrowed as he considered the possibilities. In the low-pressure atmosphere of Washington ethics, a boyfriend was fair game.
In a show of gallantry, the guest of honor asked Maddy to dance when the music started. She rose gracefully and they walked onto the dance floor. “Matt,” Elena said, “shouldn’t we join them?” Reluctantly, Pontowski stood and offered Elena his arm. “Do you remember when we first danced at the state dinner in Cape Town? You were wearing the same uniform and ever so dashing.”
He allowed the memories out of their carefully walled niches where he would return them as soon as possible. “And you were wearing dark pink.”
“You do remember,” she cooed in French. “Do you remember afterward?”
He didn’t answer but the memory of her standing nude by the big window overlooking the South Atlantic as golden firelight played on her skin was vivid and fresh as yesterday. He made a mental resolution to keep it all in the past where it belonged. Elena moved into his arms and they started to dance. Other couples joined them and soon, the dance floor was full. When the music ended, Maddy and Elena’s husband joined them. Maddy touched Matt’s arm, establishing her rights for the next dance and when the orchestra started to play a waltz, most couples left the floor. Maddy arched an eyebrow as if to ask if he knew how to waltz. “Tosh taught me,” he answered. “She loved to dance.”
Maddy stepped into Pontowski’s arms and they picked up the beat, moving in perfect step. The waltz is a formal, stylized dance meant to showcase the couple’s skill and the woman’s gown. But when it is done right, the couple blend into one and move with a sensuous grace. Unlike the tango where the dance is a graphic reenactment of seduction and sexual conquest, the waltz can be a public, but very proper, display of courtship and hidden affection. The other couples on the dance floor moved aside and watched as they spun around the floor. Finally, the music ended and the audience applauded. Maddy’s face glowed with emotion. “Oh,” she finally managed, breaking contact. “That was nice.”
Elena watched them return to the table, determined to have her time in the spotlight — and with Pontowski. “Be careful, my pet,” her husband cautioned in French. “We’re here to build bridges.”
The evening turned into a rare success, partly because of Maddy’s new image and partly because of the vivacious Elena who knew how to work an audience. But mostly because everyone knew who Matt Pontowski was and wanted to discover if he was more than just the president’s escort for the evening. From all appearances, Maddy was the perfect hostess, but, inwardly, she knew that Elena was encroaching on her territory. She fumed with anger.
Late in the evening, Maura leaned her head next to her daughter’s. “Don’t let her upset you,” she murmured. “She’ll be gone in a few days. Besides, he’s not interested in her.”
“Whatever are you talking about?” Maddy replied, a little testy. She glanced at Pontowski, not knowing how to read him. Was Maura right or was he infatuated with an old flame who was almost offering herself to him? A commotion in the far corner caught her attention. Someone had collapsed on the dance floor. Maddy stood and saw Bender hovering over his wife. “Get Dr. Smithson,” she ordered, calling for the White House doctor who was on duty. Within moments, Smithson was with Nancy Bender and she was sitting in a chair. Then Bender and Smithson helped her into another room.
“Let’s call it a night,” Maddy said. She motioned to an aide to start the farewell protocols. Twenty minutes later, she was in the residence with Maura and Dennis as Pontowski said good night and left. “Dennis, please check on Mrs. Bender.” He hurried out to do as ordered. Now Maddy could give full play to what was bothering her. She paced back and forth in long strides, her legs whipping at the gown’s skirt. “That woman will never step inside my house again. Can you believe it? The obvious way she fawned over Matt? And he liked it! You would’ve thought they were lovers and her husband a blind dolt.”
“Cuckold, dear,” Maura said. She had to suppress her laughter. “There’s nothing between them.”
But Maddy wouldn’t let it go. “There may not be — now.”
Maura touched her daughter’s arm. “Everyone has a past. She was long before you.”
“Mother! I know what men think with.”
Dennis knocked and entered with Dr. Smithson. “Mrs. Bender is fine,” the doctor said. “We’ll run some tests tomorrow. I imagine we’ll find she needs vitamins and perhaps iron.”
“That’s a relief,” Maddy said. Then, “Iron? Is she anemic?”
“Most likely. She may be expecting.”
“She’s pregnant? At her age?”
Maura chuckled. “It does happen.”
Maddy glared at her mother. “What is it with these Air Force men? Do they run around with permanent erections?”
“It’s the women that make them that way, dear.” Maura collapsed on a couch as her laughter finally broke through. “What a wonderful evening!”
Nancy Bender leaned across the breakfast table in the elegant guest house the State Department maintained for VIPs. She touched her husband’s hand. “Quit playing the great stoneface and say something.”
“Are you sure?”