'"Hang in there, Harriet, " she said. "You're in good hands." There wasn't much Gin could do. Between Conway and Fielding and the ICU staff, all bases were covered. When she came out, she patted Dr. Conway on the back and wished both him and Harriet good luck.
She got behind the wheel of her Sunbird and rubbed her burning eyes.
She was scheduled to assist Duncan this morning. Despite her fatigue, that had its up side, Time would move faster. But first a shower.
She noticed the message light blinking on her answering machine. She hurried over to it but her finger hesitated, hovering above the replay button. Dread and anticipation swirled through her. Was this it? The big turndown?
She shook herself. She was going off the deep end. No way it could be Marsden's office.
She hit the button. It was Gerry. A rush of warmth filled her at the sound of his voice. He'd been so sympathetic yesterday.
Hi, Gin. It's about eleven now. I forgot you were moonlighting tonight, so you probably won't hear this till tomorrow morning. But I want to remind you to call me as soon as you hear from Marsden's office. the .
It's a good bet you'll be hearing early. When you get word, call me at home. I won't be leaving till around nine. Good luck, but it'll be their good luck to get you. Bye.
How sweet, she thought, smiling as she hit the erase button. And how naive. She wouldn't be hearing early from anyone.
Funny, though, how sure Gerry seemed about the early call. And he was anything but naive.
Gin heard the phone ringing as she stepped out of the shower. Still dripping, she wrapped a towel around herself and rushed to the bedroom to grab it. It was Alicia Downs.
"You're in, Gin." Gin was stunned, speechless for a moment.
"Hello? " Alicia said. "You still there? " "Yes. I'm here. I just can't believe this. I'm in? " "You are. I heard Blair telling one of the secretaries to call you and give you the word. I'm doing it for her. ' "But how, ? " "Don't ask me. I put in my vote for you. I don't know about Blair. All I know is that sometime between last night and this morning the senator made up his mind. You're our new legislative assistant on medical affairs." She felt weak. "This . .
. this is wonderful. Thanks for the call. And for your support. " "Don't thank me. I mean, I think you're a nice person and bright and I'm sure you'll do a good job and all, but I want you for other reasons.
You'll be a good PR asset."
"An asset. Wow." Alicia laughed.
"Hey, you're not just a doctor, you're a bright, attractive, female doctor fresh out of training. You're not Washington.
An outsider, no connections to the bureaucracy. You're now. Your presence shows the senator's got a mind open to fresh ideas from the medical profession." Gin felt herself going cold, and not from the water dripping down her legs.
"Look, if I'm just going to be window dressing, you can tell, " "No way.
Not with this senator. He wants you for your medical expertise. I'm the one who's concerned with appearances."
"That's a relief. I think." She laughed again. "Relax, Gin. You're in. And you're in with one of the good guys. I've been earning my living up here for twenty years now, and Senator Marsden is the first guy in a long time to restore my faith in the electoral process. I can't tell you what a joy it is to polish the image of a guy you really like. ' "That's good to hear. Really good."
"Then I take it you accept? " "Of course I do." Great. Our staff is meeting here tomorrow at ten A. M. t sharp.
I hope you don't have any major plans for the weekend."
"Well, nothing firm." She'd been hoping she and Gerry might get together.
"Good. With the hearings opening next week, you can expect to work through the weekend. Welcome aboard. See you tomorrow." Gin hung up and stood in the center of her bedroom, grinning foolishly, absently toweling herself off as she let the reality sink in.
"I'm in. I . . . am . . . in! " She pumped her fist into the air.
"Yes! " As she dried her hair, she began to dance around, shuffling into the front room, blindly turning, gyrating, undulating her hips in time to a regge tune on the radio.
Here she is, ladies and gentlemen! The latest, the greatest, the hottest legislative assistant in the nation's capital, dancing under her stage name, Pasta Primavera, with her own exclusive interpretation of the Hill Rat Hustle!
Gin lowered the towel from her hair and found herself in front of the bay window, standing nude as a jaybird over Kalorama Road.
"Whoa! " She ducked away and hurried back to her room. As she pulled open her underwear drawer she caught sight of herself in the full-length mirror.
She turned to give her body a closer look, twisting this way and that to get different angles on her breasts and hips.
The hips were a little more generous than she liked. But her abdomen was nice and flat. She ran her hand lightly over the puckered scar of her old incision, then traced a fine line of hair down to the dark tangle over her pubes. Time for another bikini wax.
Not too bad, she thought. Not too bad at all for an old broad looking thirty in the eye.
She had two careers now. Why not go for a third as Pasta Primavera, exotic dancer? No . . . there was another term for it, a Duncan word. What was it . . . ?
Ecdysiast flashed into her mind.
Right. Regina Panzella, doctor, legislative assistant, and ecdysiast.
She tried a little bump and grind before the mirror.
Pretty lame.
Ah, well.
She turned away and began picking through her underwear.
Once she was dressed, her high spirits were brought down by the thought of Harriet Thompson. She called the Lynnbrook ICU and learned she was stable. Okay.
Then she called Gerry. He seemed genuinely happy for her, but not as surprised as she'd expected.
"See, " she told him. "Sometimes things work out. It doesn't do you any good to be cynical all the time Hard work and persistence still pay off."
"I knew all along you were the best person for the job.
Now I guess this guy Blair and the senator know it too. But what's really great is that it means you'll be down in my neighborhood a lot more often."
"That's right, isn't it? " She hadn't thought of that.
"I'm glad of that too." She liked Gerry more each time she saw him.
Maybe an FBI agent wasn't as glamorous as a high-powered internist like Peter, but she sensed something deeply caring in Gerry. If this kept up . . .
"By the way, " he said. "I located a death certificate on Lisa Lathram in Fairfax County." Gin felt her breath catch. One part of her wanted to tell him never mind, leave the dead alone, another part wouldn't rest until all her questions were answered. She tried to keep her tone casual.
"That was quick. What does it say? " "It's on its way. I'll let you know when I get it."
"Thanks, Gerry. You're becoming indispensable.
" "I hope so."
"I'm afraid I'm going to have to cut back some of my hours . , , nere.
She and Duncan were halfway through a tummy tuck. Gin had a wide retractor hooked around a six-inch layer of abdominal wall and was positioning it where Duncan could resect the redundant layers of yellow fat. She hadn't planned to tell him until the surgery was over, but he'd begun talking about tomorrow's surgery schedule and it had simply popped out.
' Oh? " he said. "And why's that? " "I . . . I got the job on Senator Marsden's staff." There. I said it.
She watched him closely, remembering his explosion last time How was he going to react this time?
His blue eyes glanced up at her for a second or two, then returned to the surgical field.
. "Congratulations. When do you start? " Gin didn't answer immediately. She'd been steeled for anger. This quiet acceptance was almost as intimidating.