M. Forsythe - While Rome Was Sleeping

She was exactly the type of woman he had always dreamed about. He was determined to overcome his impoverished childhood; and marrying a woman with breeding and education was certainly a right step.

He had entertained such ambitions from the time that state legislator Mike Owens, who would eventually become a U.S. Senator from West Virginia, had taken him under his wing all those years ago at the Greenbrier Resort. Owens had become a surrogate father and advocate for Brad. Something he had seen in the teenager, a hunger and drive for a better life and an intellect that matched the desire, caused Owens to want to contribute in every way possible to help him achieve his goals.

Brad was immediately drawn to Olivia. Besides being bright and beautiful, she had integrity and more importantly, she came from a good family. Brad knew that she would make the perfect career officer’s wife, and he pursued her with an ardor that she found irresistible. And she was the flawless wife that Brad knew beyond a shadow of a doubt she would be.

This morning she had been writing notes as she drank her coffee and waited for Brad to join her for breakfast. “Coffee?” she offered, her dark lashed, violet blue eyes met his. “Did you talk with Charlene this morning?”

“Yes, briefly.” He twisted in his chair to avoid looking directly at her. “She, uh, has had some kind of letter about Paul—she seemed quite upset.”

“What did you tell her? Can you help?” Olivia leaned forward to capture Brad’s eyes.

“Of course, I told her I would try to do whatever I could to straighten out whatever the problem seems to be. Since I’m scheduled to go to the West Coast on business late next week, I’ll move my trip up a day or so and go to Seattle, see her and see what I can do,” he said firmly.

“Do you think it’s serious? We haven’t seen Charlene since Paul’s…” she stopped; it was hard to say the words, even now. Olivia had loved Paul like the brother she never had. His death had been a terrible loss. “I know how busy you are, Brad, but I am so glad that you are going to see Charlene and help her settle whatever questions she may have. It was wonderful to speak with her the other day. Even though it’s been more than two years since we’ve talked; it was almost as though we could pick right up where we left off,” she said wistfully.

“Do I think it’s serious? Well, she thinks it serious enough to call me, but I won’t really know until I get there. I wish you could go with me, my dear, but I will have very little time and I think for the moment that I should speak to Charlene alone. There may be some other things that I have to do connected with this-we’ll just have to see.”

“No, no, you’re perfectly right, Brad; besides I do have to go on to Virginia Beach and see Maureen. She needs at least one of her parents to check in now and then.”

“Now, Olivia, Maureen understands how time consuming my schedule has been,” Brad spoke defensively. “Besides it will do you both good.” He looked at his watch, “I have a round of golf this morning, and I promise I won’t be late for dinner. I’ll call you later.” Finishing his coffee and setting his cup down, he leaned over and kissed her on the forehead before leaving the dining room.

Olivia watched her husband as he left. She was thinking that he looked much younger than 49. He kept himself in reasonably good physical shape. He had never smoked and drank only moderately.

She remembered the first time they met at the Point. He was so different from Paul and yet they were obviously good friends. Brad was quiet and more reserved than Paul. Brad was stocky with a strong athletic build; compared with Paul’s slender and slightly taller frame.

A little older than Paul, Brad was in his second year at West Point when Paul entered. He had already been selected as a cadet leader based on his ability to “get the job done”—to take the initiative, in motivation and participation. In sports he excelled in both varsity and intercompany rivalry.

Taking Paul under his wing, upper classman Brad Coleman also learned a great deal from Thayer. Paul was one of the few people Brad trusted implicitly. Not unlike Mike Owens, he had all the characteristics that a good soldier should embody.

Because of his background, Paul was able to open doors that would eventually help Brad advance in his own military career and in society in general. Social status mattered a great deal to Brad.

When Olivia met Brad she was taken with his intensity, she found his dedication and determination captivating. She marveled at his competitive spirit and tenacity. During a soccer game one afternoon he had been injured and hobbled to the sidelines and after a brief rest returned to the game. After the game he collapsed in pain with a badly injured ankle.

It was the same tenacity to which she succumbed when he asked her to marry him. After thoroughly investigating Brad’s history and learning about this five foot eight dynamo, her parents were won over. They welcomed Brad with open arms into the family he had always dreamed about.

Service was just over at St. Mark’s Cathedral when Andrew arrived. He drove through the parking lot a couple times waiting for Charlene. Parking was always at a premium at St. Mark’s for the 10:30 service on Sundays. Today was no exception so he had to keep moving. It was with relief when he saw her as she emerged from the Church. Her hair was loose and framed her face in soft wisps in a youthful style. She was wearing a Chanel style suit in colors that gave her hair and skin a glow. She looked rested and, she looked good to him.

She saw him and waved; he pulled up and she got in the car. “Hi,” he said. “How are you doing?”

Smiling she answered, “Fine. Who wouldn’t be fine on such a beautiful day? You know, we could have a real ‘Indian Summer’.” She was making light small talk not wanting to squelch any brightness of the day or a chance for some return to normalcy.

Andrew nodded. “Yes,” he said, “This could turn into a gorgeous ‘Indian Summer’; we’re just a couple weeks away from those chilly October mornings. By the way, since it is such a great day, how would you feel about going over to West Seattle? There are some nice little places to get lunch and then we could take a walk along Alki, if that sounds okay. I have some things I want to talk to you about.”

Agreeably she answered, “I think that sounds terrific. I could use a little salt in my diet today,” then explaining, “You know when you’re outside near the water your skin gets salty… you can almost taste it in your mouth. Don’t you notice that?”

He laughed and then in a more sober tone, “Charlene, I’m sorry that I’ve been out of touch for the last few days. There are some things going on with both the George Kelshaw murder and my life at the radio station.

“There’s a small problem brewing with the ‘Councilman Bob’ interview. We’ve tried to keep it low but the station powers that be want me to make some kind of apology; and that is really sticking in my craw. The guy really pulled my chain. I don’t know how he ever got elected. It couldn’t have been because he took a solid position on anything.”

“Some of our officials are elected by default, the lesser of two evils,” she commented. “But I did have hope for Bob Mitchell, Andy, I voted for him. I liked his stand on some of the issues and I liked his support for rapid transit. I believed in his approach.

“You know he’s well connected to the centers of money and power in King County and the state. In my opinion, with the right moves, he could garner enough support to make a solid impact on transportation statewide. And I don’t think he’s beholden to the transportation ‘mafia’.”