friends as children, had grown closer over the years. Both were remarried months apart, so discussing their upcoming weddings had brought out the happy side of each woman.
âPrecious, thereâs a tray in the fridge. Would you bring it in? And the lemonade and tea, too?â
âOf course.â
Tallyâs maidâreally a majordomoâhad Sundays off.
When Little Mim returned, Aunt Tally gracefully excused herself under the pretext of catching up on her correspondence. Well, she did go to the den and sit at her desk, but not before she swept past the bar and poured a shot of gin in her iced tea. Sounds awful, but tasted divine to Aunt Tally. On Sundays she allowed herself some extra liquid cheer.
âIâm glad you came. Motherâs being a beast, as only she can be, but this time itâs the worst. The worst!â Little Mim launched right in.
âShe does have a habit of living all our lives for us. Must get exhausting.â Harry lifted her iced tea in tribute. âIn her defense, sheâs often right. Look how she bore down on me for years to remarry Fair.â
âShe was right about that,â Little Mim ruefully conceded. âBut not about this.â
âAre you worried that it will look as though youâre breaking from the party?â
âYes and no. We all know that right now the party looks like the Party of Hatefulness and Repression.â She flopped back in the chair, but didnât spill a drop of her drink. âGoing to take us a long, long time to overcome the legacy of Karl Rove and Company.â
âThe problem was, he was effective in getting people elected. The radical Christian right is about five million people out of almost three hundred million, but they are organized and well funded. Rove gave them a political focus. The ends justify the means.â
âDo you believe that?â Little Mim raised her eyebrow, looking very much like her good-looking, perfectly coiffed mother.
âNo, but millions of Republicans do. They arenât right wing, but theyâd rather have a Republican in office no matter what they have to do to get him or her there.â
âItâs going to cost us power, for a long time. Two election terms, at least. I need to walk a fine line. I didnât come in on right-wing coattails, but I soft-pedaled. Well, you know that. You remonstrated with me.â
âWe did have a good fight about that, didnât we?â
âNed Tuckerâs always good for a fuss, too, but since heâs a Democrat thatâs to be expected. Heâs doing a good job down there in Richmond, and Aunt Tally counsels me not to buck him and not to run against him, so we have to divide up who will run for what and when. I fully intend to become the first woman governor of this state.â
âYou will.â Harry relaxed a little.
âGive me your pitch, Harry.â Little Mim smiled slightly.
âOh, you know.â Harry shrugged. âThis terrible shooting of Will Wylde is a Pandoraâs box. Itâs let out fear, recrimination, wild rumor. We need to pray retribution doesnât follow, especially since thereâs no perp in sight.â
âThat scares me. Although, you know, Harvey Tillach was there around the time of the shooting.â
âWell, Sheriff Shaw hasnât arrested him. We have to assume the killer is loose.â
âOr killers. This could be the work of a group,â Little Mim said.
âBecause thereâs so much rumor and fear, you should speak to the press. You donât have to come out in favor of abortion. You only need to decry violence.â
âAny statement I make, Iâm going to be grilled. Iâll be forced into a discussion about abortion.â Little Mim reached for a thin lemon wedge to drop in her tea glass, which she refilled. âMore?â
âNo, Iâm fine.â Harry felt a heavy kitty run right across her