Ties That Bind by Phillip Margolin

had been dumbfounded when his son opted for a low-paying job in the district attorney’s office. While she was alive, Tim’s mother had been a buffer between father and son. When she died, Tim was saddled with a string of ever younger stepmothers who showed no interest in him at all, and a father who was around even less than before.
    During the dinners at the Westmont, it was quite common for William to mention business opportunities with high earning potential, which Tim could pursue if he left the public sector. Tim always smiled politely and promised to consider them, while praying that someone would change the subject. Tonight, William was quieter than normal, but Harvey Grant picked up the slack, charming the women with titillating pieces of gossip, prodding the men to embellish their golfing accomplishments, and engaging Megan in conversation so she didn’t feel out of place among the grownups.
    “We had a tea party this morning,” Megan told the judge. “Like Alice and the Mad Hatter.”
    “Were you the Mad Hatter?” Grant asked.
    “Of course not.”
    “Were you the Dormouse?”
    “No,” Megan laughed.
    Grant scratched his head and pretended to be confused. “Who were you then?”
    “Alice!”
    “Alice, but she was a pretty little girl and you’re so huge. How could you be Alice?”
    “I am not huge,” Megan protested with a grin. “Uncle” Harvey was a big tease and she knew he was fooling.
    When Megan’s dessert arrived, Tim’s father suggested that the men retire to the patio for a breath of fresh air.
    “This business with Harold Travis is awful,” said William, who never brought up unpleasant subjects at the dinner table.
    “Jon Dupre has always been off. You have no idea what he put his parents through,” said Burton Rommel, who was trim and athletic, with hair that, at fifty-two, was still jet-black.
    “You know them well?” Tim asked.
    “Well enough to know how much they’ve suffered.”
    “Everyone is shocked,” Harvey Grant said.
    “I hear that the governor is appointing Peter Coulter to Harold’s seat.” William said.
    “Isn’t he a little old?” Tim asked.
    “That’s the point, Tim,” William answered. “He’s going to warm that seat, not fill it. It’s payback for faithful service to the party. Pete will be a U.S. senator for a year, then he’ll step down. He’s safe, he won’t do anything crazy, and it’ll look great in his obituary.”
    Burton Rommel looked directly at Tim. “Listen, I asked your father to invite me tonight. What happened to Harold is a tragedy, but we can’t dwell on that. We’ve lost a presidential candidate, we don’t want to lose a senate seat, too. The party needs someone with impeccable credentials to run next year.”
    It took a moment for Tim to catch on.
    “You want me to run for the Senate?” Kerrigan asked incredulously.
    “You’d be surprised at the support you have.”
    “I’m flattered, Burt. I don’t know what to say.”
    “No one expects you to commit tonight. The election is a year away. Think about it. Talk it over with Cindy. Then give me a call.”
    To Tim’s relief, Harvey Grant changed the subject to U. of O. football, and Rommel and Tim’s father lit cigars. When they decided that they had deserted the ladies long enough, Rommel and Grant went back inside. Tim started to follow them.
    “Tim, wait a minute,” William said. Tim turned toward his father. “You don’t want to turn down an opportunity like this. You’ve chosen a career in public service. What greater way to serve than Congress?”
    “I don’t know a thing about politics, Dad. I’d be in over my head.”
    “You’d learn.”
    “I’d be in Washington most of the year, away from Megan.”
    “Don’t be silly. They’d move with you. Cindy and Megan will love Washington. This is a golden opportunity, Tim. Don’t squander it.”
    Left unsaid was “like all of your other opportunities.”
    “I’ll give it serious thought,” Tim