And yet I think there are parallels between the two – both moderate, both silver foxes, both married to much younger and richer women, both (until recently) registered Republicans who at times upset their party by acting like Democrats, both suddenly touting conservative as they tried to step up to the next level. While John McCain remained a Republican, C. has sought to serve himself.
Watching the drama play out, I cannot help but remember that stolen summer two years ago, that I, Destiny St. Clair, spent with C. and the torment I felt when our affair became tangled in national politics and a very messy presidential election.
John McCain was all he could talk about. If C. wasn't spending his afternoon on a boat somewhere with yours truly, freaking out that the recession had to hit us during his first term, buying the everglades, or trying to drum up support for that incomprehensible Amendment 5, he was off doing something with John McCain. There were spontaneous trips to the elderly senator's house in Arizona, fan boat trips with the McCain family in the Florida Everglades, and long, long dinners and conversations at upscale restaurants. Sometimes I wasn't sure who he was secretly dating – me or the elderly Republican Presidential Candidate.
It didn't bother me when C. would pretend to hit on Megan McCain in front of the news cameras, I knew it was just for show, but it sure as hell made me mad when our plans were forgotten because John McCain had decided to visit an airbase in Tampa and C. just had to go too.
“John's so great,” C. said one night while we were relaxing in front of the fireplace of the Governor's Mansion. It wasn't lit, it was June, but that didn't stop us from relaxing in front of it. “He's cool. He's pretty moderate, and really maverick-y. You'd really like him. Plus he loves ABBA. You can always tell how good someone is by how much they love ABBA. You can't be evil if you like upbeat Swedish pop.”
I sat up. I couldn't take it anymore. C. had just spent the entire afternoon with John McCain and now that we were finally alone, he was all C. could talk about. “C., can you forget about John McCain for a moment? Can't we just focus on us tonight?”
“You're right, Destiny. I work too hard to take my work home with me. Can you believe I had to sit through a whole meeting about stimulating the tourism industry? Boring. It cut into my tan time.” He took my hand and kissed it. “Let's just focus on us tonight.”
I smiled. C. was finally giving me the attention I needed so badly.
“Because, you know, if I'm going to be running as John's Vice President, we're not going to be able to do this as much.”
“Vice President?” This was the first I had heard of that.
“Yeah. I think I'd be good at it. I'm good at standing in the back and nodding. It's something I picked up during my days as Attorney General.”
C. sensed he had upset me. “I mean, it's nothing official yet. We still have two months until he officially makes his announcement, but I know I'm on his short list. And I've been kissing his ass so much this week, I'm bound to get it.” He paused. “Metaphorically kissing his ass.”
“Look,” he added quickly, “I can tell I'm upsetting you, so I'll drop it. It doesn't matter. Like I said, tonight is our night.” He kissed me, and we made love that night in front of the fireplace, which still wasn't lit. It wasn't our best but perhaps I knew, on some level, that the clouds were already gathering to rain on our little parade ….
Stay tuned for the next chapter of the satirical romance novel, The Governor’s Mistress, by Heidi Lux. Missed the last installment? Read it here.
Follow The Governor’s Mistress:The Charlie Crist Romance Novel on Twitter @destinystclair
Artwork by Elizabeth Johnson. Elizabeth can be reached at [email protected]
