Consequences

looked like models. Just another day sitting around the house! Claire thought as she looked in the mirror at her professional makeup and styled hair.
    Catherine assumed the challenge of the house. It sparkled. Even the weather received the perfection memo. Not realizing it was late February, the sun shone through a sapphire blue sky, and a fresh layer of snow blanketed the gray dingy ground, adding luster to the outdoors.
    Anne Robinson, the reporter from Vanity Fair, arrived promptly at nine. She was accompanied by a photography crew. The Rawlingses were only introduced to the lead photographer, Shaun Stivert. The plan commenced with photos first, while Claire and Tony looked fresh and beautiful. Then they progressed to the interview. The whole process was more work than Claire imagined.
    Shelly was true to her word and omnipresent. She didn’t hesitate to say, “No, I think this would be better,” or, “We went over this. You know that will not be discussed today.” Claire studied her lines well, knowing what to say and how to say it. Tony practiced too. Claire thought they both sounded sincere and spontaneous. The Vanity Fair crew finally left after one in the afternoon with Shelly not far behind. “I think that went very well. I will let you know as soon as I have an approved copy.” Once she left, Claire relished the quiet house again, her head pounded behind her eyes. The headaches weren’t as frequent as they were right after her accident . However, when they struck they could be debilitating. Sleeping in a very dark room was the best remedy.
    Claire accompanied her husband to his office following the interview. Driving into Iowa City would be counterproductive this late in the day, he hoped to accomplish as much as possible from home. Mr. and Mrs. Rawlings sat silently as Cindy brought them their lunch. Claire closed her eyes and enjoyed the peacefulness as Cindy placed their food on the long shiny table. After pouring their coffee she asked Mr. Rawlings if they needed anything else.
    “No, you may go.” And then he spoke to Claire, “How do you think it went?”
    She opened her eyes to focus. “I really think it went well. It was a lot more draining than I’d expected. I can’t wait to see the final article.”
    “Shelly said we should have a draft by next week. It’s supposed to be the cover story for the April publication, so it won’t hit the newsstands for a while.” Claire shook her head. She couldn’t believe that her marriage would warrant a cover story for anything, much less Vanity Fair . The food and coffee helped her head, but she suspected it’d gone too far. A nap was the real remedy. Once they finished eating Tony walked over toward his desk.
    “Do you need me? I would like to go upstairs. The morning has worn me out,” Claire asked as she stood to leave.
    He picked up a manila folder, handed it to her. “I would like you to stay here while you look at these.” She took the folder to the sofa and sat down. The content of the folder was a mystery. She suddenly had visions of Tony with the Meredith Banks interview. Sometimes compartmentalized memories would leak out.
    She opened the folder to find over an inch thick stack of papers. They were printed e-mails. Her mind moved slowly, exhausted from the interview process and dulled from her headache. Confused, she asked, “What are these?”
    “Your invitations.” Granting her another freedom, he watched as she read. She looked at the top e-mail:
     
To: Anthony Rawlings, [email protected]
Date: February 25, 2011
From: Courtney Simmons, [email protected]
Subject: For Claire, attachment
 
Please let Claire know that our meeting is scheduled for next Wednesday at noon, but I would like to get together with her before that so we can brainstorm. We need to get the fund-raising calendar set by the next meeting. Attached is a file she needs to review. If one of you could let me know when a good time to get together is I would appreciate it. Courtney
 
(Paper clipped to the e-mail was a five-page report)
     
    Claire didn’t know what to say, finally she weakly managed, “Thank you.”
    He didn’t reply. He watched and continued to evaluate her response. She went back to the stack. The e-mail under Courtney’s was from Emily. It too was dated February 25, 2011. However, it was a series of correspondences.
     
February 25, 2011
Hi, it is me again. I realize that Claire is busy with her new