I Do Solemnly Swear by D.M. Annechino Read Free Book Online Page B

Fathers always knew. She smiled her most convincing smile.
    “What’s the matter, honey?”
    She wanted to tell him. Perhaps in his vast wisdom he’d find a way to comfort her. But how could a teenage girl talk to her father about her
breasts
?
    He sat on her bed and patted the mattress. “Come sit beside me.” He was wearing the blue flannel shirt Kate’s mother had given him years ago. The collar and cuffs were severely frayed. The left pocket displayed an ink stain the size of a quarter. In spite of its raggedy appearance, Kate was certain he’d never throw it away.
    She ambled over and sat next to him.
    He slid his arm around her shoulders and fiddled with her hair. “There’s a story I’ve never told you about your mother. I wanted you to remember her as a perfect woman, but it’s time you hear the truth.”
    Kate was three when her mother had died. Her only remembrances of Victoria Williams were through the colorful stories her father had painted throughout her childhood. She could see the urgency in his eyes, so she quietly listened.
    “Your mom, lovely as she was, had her share of misfortune. Her left leg was almost two inches shorter than her right. She’d hobble around with the strangest limp. I told her it was quite sexy. Your mom said I was nuts.” He pulled her closer. “You’d think that her bad leg would be enough for any one person to deal with, but no...God had not been kind. Your mom was stone deaf in her leftear.” He grasped Kate’s hand and pressed it to his lips. “Nobody’s perfect, sweetheart.”
    A gust of anxiety gripped her. Was he referring to her breasts?
    “Kate, you’re a remarkable young woman. God has blessed you with a lovely face, a keen intellect, and the figure a fashion model would die for. But Mother Nature doesn’t always play fair.”
    He paused for a moment, and she watched his eyes well with tears.
    “A piece of your mother lives in you, Kate. When you’re feeling insecure about your body, think about your mother and her physical problems. Through her, you can find comfort and strength.”
    Kate thought there was more to the story, but he left her with a delicate kiss. She walked to the vanity and sat in front of the mirror once again, reflecting on her father’s compelling words, trying to envision the hobble she couldn’t remember. Like sitting beneath a heat lamp, a rush of warmth filled her face. Her body tingled as if a tiny charge of electricity flowed through her veins. In her mind’s eye, she could clearly see her mother’s face. That gentle smile. Those adoring eyes. She couldn’t explain it, but from this day forward, Kate felt certain her mother’s spirit would be with her whenever she needed her.
    ***
    Although the hot bath had helped to relax Kate’s muscles, her senses were still numb from McDermott’s shocking announcement. Before entering the Cabinet Room, she paused for a moment and evoked every ounce of strength to maintain her composure. She opened the door, and a chorus filled the air: “Good morning, Madam President.”
    She stood before the Cabinet members and sucked in a deep breath. Also in the room were Vice President Walter Owens, Press Secretary William Riley, Executive Assistant to the Chief of Staff Olivia Carter, Director of Central Intelligence Victor Ellenwood, Deputy Director of Central Intelligence Carl Kramer, and Director of Secret Service Albert Cranston. Unconsciously, Kate wiped her sweaty palms on her suit jacket. She could tell by their troubled looks that the group suspected this meeting would not be business as usual. Rarely had any president assembled such a wide spectrum of staff members without significant purpose. Kate didn’t want to begin her first administrative meeting with a morbid announcement, but President Rodgers’s apparent assassination took precedence over everything.
    “Good morning, ladies and gentlemen,” she said. “I’m afraid that I am the bearer of ghastly news.” She pointed to