Free A Different Light by Mariah Stewart Page B

be Rossi’schoice to succeed him.
    Justis, too, stayed behind closed doors for about ten minutes before emerging with a hopeful look about him. Until Jack Sheldon, the front-runner from the third ward, stepped out of the elevator, smiled, and walked confidently into the mayor’s office.
    And so it went till noon, resuming again at two. Prospective candidates in, prospective candidates out.
    The usual Council meeting was subdued, lasting less than an hour before Dan stood to indicate the session had concluded. As an apparent afterthought, he added that he’d come to no final decision on “that other matter.” Wolmar and Justis both seemed inclined to linger for as long as possible, as if waiting to see if Rossi had words of encouragement for either of them. Both were disappointed when it became clear there’d be no further discussion that day.
    Athen was in the process of gathering up the used coffee cups when Dan closed the office door.
    “Can you sit and talk with me for a few, Athen?” He slumped into his chair.
    “Of course.”
    He motioned to a chair close to him, and she sat.
    “I have a terrible dilemma, Athen, a terrible decision to make.” He shook his head as if the weight of the world rested upon it.
    “The election?” she ventured quietly.
    “Yes, of course, the election. How insightful of you to pick right up on that. I have to choose the right candidate, and my heart’s burning over it. There is no clear choice here, you see. Jim is a good man, but he’s never developed a true feel for the people. Harlan’s years away from being the man he needs to be to lead this city. Ah,and the worst of it, Athen, is that in my heart I know I haven’t finished the job. There’s so much more I’d wanted to do for all those good people out there.” He gestured vaguely in the direction of the windows that fronted on the town square.
    He turned his head from her, as if to shield her from his display of emotion.
    “And the saddest part is that I know all the good things I’d planned will go undone.”
    “Well, surely your successor . . . Jim, Harlan, whoever . . . will follow your agenda.”
    “Ah, Athen, you’re so naïve.” He smiled kindly, as a father might at his child. “Everyone has their own priorities. No, I’m afraid that Dan Rossi’s plans for a better Woodside Heights will leave this office with him.”
    “But, Dan,” she reminded him, “you’ll still be head of the party, you’ll still be able to influence how things are done.”
    He shrugged, cavalierly waving his right hand. “There will be other appointees to Council, Athen. Whoever is elected will force a retirement here, challenge a position there, until he has his own people in place. It breaks my heart to say it aloud, but there’s not a man among them who won’t use this office for his own gain. Not one person who won’t put his own interests ahead of the city’s.”
    “Maybe you should look around a little more, Dan, maybe there’s someone else you hadn’t considered.”
    “Ah, now there’s an idea.” He smiled quickly, almost, she thought, as if the idea had been his own and perhaps not a new one. “Perhaps someone who’s outside the realm of the obvious. Yes, you may have hit upon something, Athen. You’ve given me something to think about.”
    “There are a lot of bright people in WoodsideHeights. I’m sure you’ll find the right one.” She glanced at her watch and stood, preparing to leave. There would be open house at Callie’s school tonight, and she didn’t want to be late. “There’s Ted Raspanti in the finance office. Julian Taylor in the solicitor’s office. Jeff Keegan, Harold Greenly …”
    “Yes, yes.” He nodded. “But who knows where their loyalties …? Ah, well, I’ve kept you too long. I’ll see you in the morning. And thank you for listening to an old man whose days in public office are running out.”
    Poor Dan, she thought as she drove home through the late rush hour