Cliff's Good Deed

33 - A Sunday Drive

Hannah couldn't help obsessing over the outcome of her meeting with Cliff's mother. He tried making light of the incident, but she worried about the underlying impact to their relationship. The two of them were on the cusp of becoming romantically involved. Cliff was proving to be everything James was not. He had defended her to his mother in the most convincing way.

She believed in him.

He was being patient with her, respectful of the boundaries she had set, and he took delight in pleasing her. He was almost too good to be true, but how could they survive when Cliff's mother opposed them. When the time came for Cliff to take an ultimate stand, would he really turn his back on his mother?

The woman clearly considered her an interloper standing in the way of her plans for her son.

She had to find out more. "Who, Cliff? Who is this other woman?"

"Kayla Aguillar, she's Senator Aguillar's daughter."

He had been immediately forthcoming with the answer and hadn't tried to obfuscate. She appreciated that. Not being a follower of politics, it took her a moment to place the name. "Isn't he the United States Senator from Pennsylvania?"

"Yepper, that's him."

"Your mother wants you to court a senator's daughter?"

"It's what she wants. It's not what I want."

"Huh," she let that digest before asking. "How are you supposed to do that? Do you already know her?"

Cliff went into detail about how the two families had been long time friends, their roots going back two generations to their Mexican grandparents. He told her how Kayla and Izzy were the same age, went to the same high school, and even attended the same university. Both sets of parents were members of the country club. He told her how Cliff's mother and father viewed a union between him and Kayla as a business and political alliance.

As he told her those things, an ache built in her chest. How could she compete?

Cliff must have sensed her distress. He said, "Kayla and I could never work out. She's Izzy age making her too young for me. Her father might run for president. I would never want to deal with the paparazzi following our every move if we were in a relationship, the public scrutiny, and the secret service concerns of being associated with that family. I would lose all my privacy. The inevitable pop culture interest would be too high a price to pay."

He stopped to take a breath. "Besides, I have zero interest in Kayla other than a passing friendship because she hangs out with Izzy. Most importantly, I'm interested in you. Only you. I choose you."

Cliff's words soothed the ache in her chest. She sighed and leaned back in her seat. In the distance, redbuds and flowering dogwood trees dotted the mountainside. She tried admiring them, but a question nagged at her. She tried suppressing it, but the question persisted. The answer shouldn't matter, yet she was desperate to know. It was stupid, ridiculous, childish, embarrassing, and beneath her dignity, yet the need was so great, if she didn't ask, the universe itself would scream it out.

"Is she pretty?"

"What?"

"Kayla. Is she pretty?"

"Yeah, she's good looking, but she doesn't hold a candle to you. Pull out your phone and look her up. Judge for yourself. She's all over social media."

She would certainly do so, but not in front of him.

A corner of Cliff's lips turned up. "Anything else you want to know?"

She looked out the windscreen at the looming mountain. "Yes, where are you taking me?" Turning his way, she noticed the twinkle in his eye.

"Izzy and I discovered it years ago when I took her on an outing. It's a vista at the state park overlooking the lake.