Progression
Mallory had spent most of her life trying to escape her father's shadow. As a child she acted out in school. As a teenager she cleaned up her public act, worked hard and did well at school, all the while acting out at home. She registered for college under her mother's maiden name, and grew used to that identity. As a teacher she tried not to flaunt her family connections, preferring to do her lobbying behind the scenes.
But the White House chief of staff casts a long shadow, and the day came when she had to put some distance between herself and her father and her job.
She couldn't live in Virginia anymore. She thought about Baltimore, but that was too close. She thought about California, but then Sam Seaborne decided to stay there after he lost the 47th. And so Mallory ended up in Seattle, teaching at an inner-city school and living in an inner-city apartment.
She called her mother on Saturdays and her father on Sundays, which didn't stop him from calling every other day of the week. Mallory began screening her calls through the answerphone.
It got to the point that when the phone rang, she expected it would be her father. One night, it wasn't. Instead of her father's slightly gruff voice, there was silence on the end of the line.
After a moment or two, a female voice spoke hesitantly. 'Mal?' The next words were a little more confident. 'Mallory, it's Mandy Hampton.' Mallory couldn't help but react by swivelling her head in the direction of the phone. 'I've been in Seattle for a little while, and someone told me you were here now, and I thought maybe we could catch up some time.' Mandy began to rattle off her phone numbers, and then Mallory reached for the phone.
'Mandy?' she said, 'What on earth are you doing in Seattle?'
'Mal!' Mandy's hesitation was audible. 'Have coffee with me tomorrow and I'll tell you,' she said eventually.
'Only coffee?'
'It's a place to start,' replied Mandy.
Mallory paused for a moment or two. 'I guess it gave us a good start last time.' She heard a throaty laugh from Mandy's end of the phone, and smiled.
Mal was still new enough to Seattle to laugh when she realised that Mandy was taking her to the original Starbucks. They sat at a table in a corner, having bought the largest coffees they could, and they caught up on each others lives.
'I never expected to see you in this particular Washington,' Mallory said.
'I can't say I thought I'd see you here, either,' replied Mandy.
Mallory shrugged. 'You know what things are like these days.'
'And it's the furthest you can go without really moving to Canada, right? I know the feeling. So,' Mandy said, 'how are they all back on the Beltway?'
'You don't know?'
'I don't really keep in touch,' Mandy admitted.
'Whereas I don't have a choice...'
'Daddy's little girl,' said Mandy, with a smile in her voice that Mallory recognised.
Later she recognises a lot more. She recognises the way Mandy smiles, and the spark in her eye when they leave the coffee shop. She recognises the warm pressure when Mandy takes her hand, and the way her own pulse quickens when the taxi stops and Mandy says 'This is my place.'
She recognises the gentle brush of Mandy's fingers against her cheeks: the way Mandy nibbles at her lower lip when they kiss, the way Mandy's hands drift down her chest, caressing and teasing and stroking.
Mandy's lips trace a path down her body: teeth graze nipples. Skin glides over skin. Tongue slips over and around and in and hangs clutch sheets and each other and vocal chords whimper and scream and whimper again.
She breathes deeply, and sees Mandy grinning back. She pulls Mandy up against her, kisses Mandy, shifts her weight so Mandy is beneath her. Her hands slide down Mandy's body and she holds Mandy's hips. She slides her hands between Mandy's thighs and her fingers wriggle and slide and rub and pinch and she smiles as Mandy writhes. Mandy cries out, and her lips cover Mandy's mouth and sounds mingle between and within them.
Mallory kisses Mandy gently before she leaves.
'So, what happens now?' asks Mandy. She is lying naked in the bed, and it takes all Mallory's willpower to keep walking towards the door.
'I go to school.'
Mallory keeps walking. She is at the door when she turns, relents. 'Friday?'
Mandy nods and Mallory leaves, smiling as she shuts the door behind her.
It isn't that she has been pining for Mandy, and she is certain Mandy hasn't been sitting around waiting for Mallory to show up in Seattle. That simply isn't Mandy's style. But they fit together, in an odd way. They've always known that. And the world just keeps throwing them together.
When the phone rings Friday evening, Mallory will answer it.
It won't be Mandy. Mandy will be lying on the sofa with her head in Mallory's lap, her hand across her mouth, trying not to laugh. Mallory will try to talk calmly with her father, will dredge up stories from her second grade class and their amusing interpretations of American history. But Mandy will be nuzzling against her breasts.
'You sound different tonight, honey,' Mallory's father will say.
'Do I?'
'Yeah. What's up?'
'Nothing new,' Mallory will respond, while Mandy will pretend to pout.
'I love you, honey,' he'll say. 'And I miss you. I wish you'd come back home.'
'Dad, you know I can't.' She'll almost be able to hear his sad nod through the phone line. 'I'll call you on Sunday,' she'll says before she hangs up. Mandy will sit up.
'You can't what?' she'll ask, while she slides her hands beneath Mallory's blouse.
'He wants me to move back to Washington,' Mallory will reply, shuddering a little at Mandy's touch. 'My life is here now.'
Mandy will slip Mallory's blouse off her shoulders before she says anything more. She'll kiss Mallory's breast through her bra, tugging the nipple gently with her teeth. As Mallory gasps, Mandy will ask, 'And when did you decide that?'
Mallory will be pulling Mandy's sweater over her head when she answers. 'About the time you showed up.'
'I could always move, you know,' Mandy will say. When she does, Mallory will push Mandy back on the sofa and pin her there. Both women will be smiling faintly, because they know what will be said next.
Mallory will play her part in the script, the way she always does. 'Tonight you're not going anywhere.'