Memories For Sale

3. Senator Richard McCabe

Senator Richard McCabe

Washington, D.C., December 2027

The trip to Pentagon City went as expected, with Justin and Megan traipsing all over the place and Dennis following not twenty feet behind.

Sometime around eight-thirty Dennis was joined by another agent that Megan didn't know, but he was easy to spot as an agent—at least for her he was. Maybe she'd gotten used to them—their stiff demeanor, almost-identical dress mode, and slight, but noticeable gun bulge under the upper-right or left-hand side of their jacket.

“Don’t look now,” Megan whispered, “But Dennis now has company. We’ve got two sets of eyes on us.”

“Are you saying that even the call of nature won’t let me steal a kiss?” Justin asked.

Megan laughed. “I’m afraid not. I guess you’ll have to behave.”

Justin sighed. “I guess so,” he said. “Another night of frustration.”

Megan playfully tapped his arm. “Get used to it, Buster. You’ve got another few years, minimum.”

Justin and Megan shopped in a few clothing stores geared toward teenagers then, as they were heading to the third floor, the loudspeaker announced the closing of the mall in a few minutes.

Justin turned to face Megan. "We might as well be going," he said. "I need to get back anyway."

Megan looked at her watch. "We've got fifteen minutes. Let's wait."

"Fifteen minutes isn't enough time to do anything. And like I said, I have to get home."

Megan exhaled sharply. "Fine. Just take me home."

Not long afterward, the guards opened the gates to allow Justin access. He drove through, dropped Megan off—making sure to walk her inside—then got back into his car and drove home. It was a half-hour trip, but he didn't mind; it gave him time to think by himself. In fact, he usually turned his cell phone off during the drive so he wouldn't be disturbed.

Things with Megan were moving too fast yet not fast enough, and he didn't like it. He wanted in her pants, no doubt about that. Who wouldn’t? She was a fox.

And he did like her, just not in the way she wanted him to. But because of who she was—or more accurately, who her father was—the relationship was more complex than most. He didn't dare do anything to upset her, or it would cause a scene, and he couldn't do anything physical with the Secret Service always following them. He was even afraid to talk about it on the phone, fearing that someone might be listening. It made the prospect of getting laid a far-off dream, and he didn’t know if he wanted to wait that long.

It took Justin five minutes longer than expected to get home, but that was all right, it was still an acceptable time. His phone began ringing as soon as he turned it on. He answered just before opening the door. "Hello?"

"Where have you been? I've been calling."

"I was driving home. Christ, I just dropped you off."

"Justin, is that you?" came a voice from the other room.

"Hang on, Megan. My dad's calling." He put Megan on hold by hitting the mute button. "Yeah, it's me, Dad. I just got here. And I'm on the phone with Megan," he added.

"Well hang up, for God's sake. You've been with her all day. I need to talk to you about something."

"All right," Justin said, frustration in his voice. He hit the button to take the call off mute. "Megan, I'll have to call you later. My dad wants to see me about something."

"All right, but don't forget. No matter how late it is. I’ll be up.”

"Okay. See ya."

Justin popped into the kitchen full of smiles. "What do you need, Dad?"

"I just wanted to remind you of what day it is tomorrow."

Justin raised his head and sighed. "I know, Dad. You don't have to remind me every year."

"Really? I don't have to remind you? I don't see any flowers. No wreaths for the graves. When did you plan on getting those? Or didn't you plan on it?"

"I planned on picking mine up about the same time as you, from the same flower shop." Justin saw the surprised expression on his father's face. "Yeah. I did get the flowers; in fact, according to Matt, who works there, I got them before you did. And for your information, I've already made plans to take Megan to the cemetery at lunchtime. I'm actually going there, not sending a driver to place the flowers in front of the headstone."

"I'm sorry," McCabe said. "I didn't mean—"

"Yes, you did mean it. And no, I won't forgive you." Justin ran from the kitchen and headed for the stairs. "Goodnight."

He slammed the door to his bedroom, flopped on the king-sized bed, and dialed Megan using the phone on the nightstand.

She picked up immediately. “Yes, this is Megan. Who is this?”

“Cut the s**t, Megan. It's me."

”About time,” she said. “I’ve been waiting half the night.”

“Bullshit. It’s been fifteen minutes.”

“Then maybe I should change my attitude. Justin! Thanks for calling. I was sitting here doing nothing. What are you doing?"

“I’m talking to some snotty b***h that I spoke to a few minutes ago. And she’s acting like it’s been a week.”

Megan laughed. ”You sound a little grumpy. Anything wrong?"

Justin presumed she was going to ignore his comment about how short a time it had been since they spoke. ”Nothing’s wrong. Just my dad. He's a pain in the ass. He was already giving me s**t about the cemetery, and he didn't even ask if I was going."

"Did you tell him we're going tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I told him, but it was an after-the-fact type tell. I had to use that to shut him up. He jumped in on me, assuming I wasn't going. Then, when I told him I had already planned it, he had nothing to say. No apologies either."

"God, parents are a pain in the ass," she said.

"You’re right. If I didn't think we'd end up living with one of them, I'd suggest we get married."

"Maybe we should," Megan said. “Get married, I mean.”

"We will. But not yet. It's not the right time."

"When is the right time? You've been saying that for months."

"I know, but it's not the right time. Neither one of us has a decent job. We're not even out of school. And I don't want to rely on either of our fathers for support. Besides, I don't think I'm ready yet.”

Megan laughed. "You're right about relying on them. But at least your father gives you money. And what do you mean, “you're not ready yet?” How can you say that?"

"Megan, we're not even out of high school. If we don't want to live with our parents, what are we going to do? And as far as my father giving me money, he only does it so he doesn't have to spend time with me. I look at it in a different light. At least your father spends time with you."

"I'll take the money," Megan said.

"And I'll take the time," Justin said. “And another thing, we don’t yet know if we’re sexually compatible. We should try that out.”

Megan laughed. “Dream about it. In the meantime, I’ll see you tomorrow. Luv ya."

"Me too," Justin said. "See ya tomorrow. And don't forget we're going to the cemetery."