Southern Lights: A Novel

“That’s an interesting question. Thank you for asking.” She appreciated the relationship she had with her daughter and Alexa’s thoughtfulness toward her. “I don’t want you turning a job down for me.” Her mother smiled at her. “I’m not that old. I’m still working and busy. It’s like Savannah leaving for college. You have to let go and let your kids move on to where they’re supposed to be. I had to face that when you married Tom and moved to Charleston. And Washington’s not that far away. I would miss you,” she added, “but I can visit, and so can you. How do you feel about Washington? That’s more important. You don’t have a lot going on here. These haven’t been happy years for you. And I think you’ll get bored with the job you have now eventually.”

“I already am,” Alexa admitted. “It’s been dead since the Quentin case, and before that really.”

“Maybe you need a change, and with Savannah leaving, this is a good time.” And then she smiled at her. “Maybe you’ll meet a guy in D.C.”

“I’m not worried about that. I’m thinking about you and Savannah.”

“She’s gone, and I’m fine. And she can just as easily visit you in D.C., from Princeton. And if she wants to come to New York, she can stay with me. I think you should do it.” She was being selfless and honest because she would miss her.

“Me too. I think I should do it. Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

“Yes.” And then her mother sighed too. “Stanley’s been bugging me about living together. We don’t want to get married, but he thinks getting older, neither of us should live alone, and he wants to live together, in his place or mine.” It had taken seventeen years to ask her, and Muriel had been happy the way things were till now.

“What do you want, Mom? Never mind what he wants.”

“I think I like the idea. I was afraid you wouldn’t approve.” She smiled at her daughter, looking a little embarrassed.

“I think he’s right. And I approve. I worry about you too. So is that settled?” Alexa grinned at her mother.

“Maybe. I want to think about it some more. I don’t want to rush into anything.”

Alexa laughed out loud. “How long have you two been dating?”

“I think it’s seventeen years. Stanley says it’s eighteen.”

“Either way, I don’t think you’re rushing.”

“I’ll probably do it. I’d rather he move in with me. I don’t want to give up my apartment, and I don’t like his. He says he’s fine with it. Maybe after Christmas. I’ve got a lot to do before that. What about you. Think you’ll do it?” Alexa nodded.

“Yeah, I think so. Thanks, Mom.” She leaned over and kissed her, and they walked out of the courthouse together.

Alexa thought about it that night, and called Savannah. She was doing homework, and Alexa told her about the offer. She was surprised and impressed. She thought the move to Washington would be fun and good for her mother, and she agreed with her grandmother, she could stay with her in New York, if she wanted to see her friends there. It was a time of transition for all of them.

“Change is a good thing, Mom. Have you heard from the senator, by the way?” Savannah liked him. So did Alexa.

“I think he was staying in Europe till mid- or late August. He’s probably busy.” But in any case, Savannah had given her full approval for the move, and she thanked her mother for asking her too.

Alexa gave Joe McCarthy notice the next day. She felt terrible about it, but he said he understood. He said he figured it would happen sooner or later. He had always assumed she would go into private practice with a big law firm. He had never thought of anything like the FBI.

“They’re smart to hire you.” He gave her a hug. “So when are you leaving us?”

“Does a month’s notice sound reasonable?”

“Very. That gives me time to reassign your cases.”

She thought of something then that she wanted to thank him for again. “Thank you for fighting to let me keep the Quentin case, and not just giving it to the feds.”

“Maybe I should have,” he teased her. “Then they wouldn’t be offering you a job.” And then he hugged her again. “I’m happy for you. I think this is a good career move for you. I hate like hell to lose you, but I approve.”

“Thank you.”

Word of her leaving spread like wildfire in the office. Jack was glaring at her from across her desk by four-thirty that afternoon.

“What the fuck is that about?” he said unhappily.

“I’m sorry, Jack,” she said apologetically. “They made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.”

“It’s going to suck around here without you,” he said miserably, and walked out of her office again, too depressed to talk about it any further.

She was thinking about all she had to do, find an apartment, break her lease on this one, move, start a new job, get her cases reassigned here, when Edward Baldwin called her just before she left the office.

“Can I talk you into a last-minute hamburger? I’m in town for the night. Sorry I haven’t called you since I got back. I’ve been dealing with about four hundred headaches, and I had to spend a week in Charleston. How’s Savannah doing at Princeton, by the way?”