“Good. We need some breathing room,” Dot said, taking a minute to pull herself together.
Early that week, Dot had interviewed with the American Progress PAC. She’d approached the meeting with a mix of curiosity and seriousness, determined to ask them as many questions as they asked her. She tried to tone down her New York attitude, not wanting to make it seem like she was one of those Manhattan snobs who looked down on Washington. She wore a white button-down and a gray blazer to show how professional she was. It’d been ages since she’d interviewed for a job.
Bailey Bickle, the one who’d sent her the original email, was on the video call, along with two other staffers—one in comms and one in operations—to see if they’d be a match. At the end of a good exchange, they seemed eager to have Dot join them in Washington. Soon after, they sent signals that they were likely to offer her the job. And while it was enticing and paid well, she just couldn’t see moving to D.C. instead of returning to Manhattan. She was a New York girl. She’d never pictured herself working in the capital city. That was more for the Kitty Bells of the world—the navy suit and pearl earring types. At least she’d come to that conclusion during her time in Wisconsin. Knowing that she didn’t necessarily want to live inside the Beltway was worthwhile, she guessed.
But if she didn’t have any work in New York, would it be better if she just moved to D.C. to check it out? It didn’t have to be forever. Besides, if she was going to work in politics, didn’t shehaveto live in D.C.?
The biggest complication—and the one she had no idea how to handle—was knowing in her heart that she was in love with Danny Dawson.
And, at his invitation, for the nights she slept over, she’d kept a toothbrush, face oil, and sunscreen in his bathroom. He loved to make her coffee in the mornings, and she’d sit up in bed reading the headlines until he brought her a coffee, and they’d talk about the next time they’d see each other.
She always stayed for the second cup. He’d been right. That was when the good stuff came out in their conversations.
Still, they hadn’t yet had a talk about their feelings. And while she believed he might feel the same way about her, they both held back. Neither of them brought up the future and both just tried to ignore that the clock to Election Day and her departure was ticking down.
Because there was one thing she knew for sure—come mid-November, Danny was not going to be in Washington, D.C.,orNew York City. He would be in Cedar Falls. She had to come to terms with that.
And so, Dot held her breath. Her mind was on a loop.
In the kitchen that night, she twisted Anne’s bracelet on her wrist and sighed, ready to mentally move on with her evening.
“Wine?” Dot asked Mary, getting two glasses out of the cupboard.
“Thought you’d never ask.”
Dot poured them each a glass of Sauvignon Blanc. They clinked glasses and turned their backs to the kitchen island to look out the big window to the backyard, where the autumn leaves were turning from yellow to gold and orange to copper. They were beautiful, but they also signaled the end of their season in that house.
“So, counselor, what are we going to do?” Dot asked, leaning her head against Mary’s.
“That’s a good question. I don’t know. We’ll figure it out.” Though even Mary didn’t sound as confident as usual. And Dot had her doubts as well.
Chapter 62
That week, Dot bumped into Jeanie Jankowski outside of Flour Power after running an errand to FedEx for the campaign.
“Oh, Dot. Hello! Say, I was hoping to run into you. Do you have a few minutes to sit?”
Dot did not have a few minutes, but she couldn’t say no to Jeanie.
“Of course. Want to pop into Mimi’s?”
“Perfect. It’s nearly teatime anyway.” Jeanie was fully a Wisconsinite, but she held true to some of her favorite British customs.
Dot opened the door to Flour Power and ushered Jeanie inside. “I’ll get us a table.” Dot shot a text to Fletcher and Rose that she’d be a few minutes late.
She waved to Mimi and led Jeanie to a seat by the window. It was chilly outside but cozy in the bakery. Jeanie unwrapped her burgundy shawl from around her shoulders and Dot peeled off her bright blue puffy jacket. It was that time of year when you left the house with an extra layer but then accidentally left it behind because the temperatures rose higher than expected.
Mimi called over to them. “English breakfast?”
Dot nodded enthusiastically and turned to Jeanie. “It’s so good to see you. How are you and Ted?”
“Oh, we’re great. We have our aches and pains, but we can’t complain,” she said. “And the shop is doing very well. Ever since you and Danny redid the store, we have so many customers that we can’t keep up. Books are flying off the shelves. After a few lean years, that’s been a welcome development.”
“I love to hear it,” Dot said, pausing a moment before asking what was on her mind. “Have you thought any more about what you might do... you know... in the future?” She didn’t want to use the word “retirement” because Jeanie had said that she believed the best way to stay healthy was to keep working.
“Not really. Mostly we just avoid the subject, though we will have to figure all that out soon. We either sell it or close it at some point. Ted wants to have things organized for when...” Jeanie didn’t finish the sentence. Instead, she changed the subject. “Anyway, he’s at the diner with his men’s group this afternoon. They sit around and try to put the world to rights. He took Danny with him today. They’re trying to get younger people to join them to carry on the tradition.”
“Danny mentioned that. He was looking forward to it.”