DAC_II_GenVers_Sept2013 by Donna McDonald Page A

who aren’t as smart as you. Macy is still mad at me.”
    He ignored the reference to his botched date from hell.
    “Tell you what, I’ll talk to Daniel if you’ll talk to Jane for me. Make sure you tell her all the good stuff,” Walter ordered.
    “Can’t yet. She thinks you and I have a thing ,” Amanda said, grinning as she handed him the office phone.
    “Why would Jane think that?” Walter asked, confusion wiping his smile away.
    “How should I know, Walter? Maybe because she’s a lot older than you, and I’m not,” Amanda suggested, adding a shrug for emphasis.
    Then she pointed to the phone now in his hand.
    Staring at the door Jane had run out of, Walter sighed and raised the phone to his ear. “Hello, Mom. How are you?”
    “ Who’s Jane? ”
    Walter winced at the demand, fighting not to sigh or swear. April Graham would only read either as a sign of his guilt.
    “Jane? No one. Just a friend. What did you need? You said it was important and I’m really busy this morning.”
    Walter quietly cursed the crystal clear phone connection Jane had made sure was in place, despite the age of the facility.
    “How much older than you is she, Walter? Don’t lie to me. I heard your conversation and I want to know what’s going on.”
    Walter sighed at his mother’s escalating tone. He really didn’t want to have this conversation, at least not yet. “Jane is not interested in me that way, so it doesn’t matter.”
    “Are you interested in this older woman? Have you talked to your father about this?”
    “No. I don’t want to discuss Jane at all. . .not with you or Dad. Why are you calling?”
    “Walter, I’m being very serious here. Whatever you do, DO NOT talk to Harrison about her. He will tell you his crazy theories and just make things worse. Please promise me, Walter. Promise me that you won’t confess your crush to Harrison.”
    “Mother—please stop worrying. Now tell me the point of your call?” Walter demanded, irritation in his tone as he interrupted her pleading.
    There was momentary silence, but Walter could tell April Graham was gearing up for the next lecture. He fought valiantly not to sigh loudly in her ear. Any show of impatience would only make her feel slighted and the lecture would be worse. There was a rustling of papers before she came back full force in his ear.
    “You know your father and I appreciate that you do charity work, but really Walter, posing for a beefcake calendar? What were you thinking? My friends in Falls Church are buying it like crazy, but did you have to be on the cover too? I mean, at least you kept your clothes on—which I appreciate—but that undressing pose was a little over the top, don’t you think, Mr. March?”
    “What are you talking about? I didn’t pose for the fire station calendar.” Walter yelled the denial. Then he looked at Amanda who winced and shrugged. “Are you sure it’s me in the pictures? All I did was help the photographer set up for the shoot. The rest of the time I was moving equipment around.”
    There was another short silence, abruptly ending with a frustrated female sigh.
    “Why are you lying about this, Walter? I can’t believe you’re going to pretend you know nothing about the calendar when it’s obviously you in the photos. I actually had someone ask me how it felt to be the mother of ‘Mr. March’. It was embarrassing, Walter. And just what do you expect me to tell your father about this? He’s repeatedly asked you not to make a public spectacle of us. You know scandalous publicity distresses him.”
    Taking the phone away from his ear, Walter held it in front of him. Because he didn’t know what else to do, he pushed the button and hung up. That act would cost him later, but first things first.
    Amanda’s snicker pulled his attention to the door of the office.
    “Here,” he said, handing the office phone back to her.
    “I can’t believe you did that. Did you really just hang up on your mother?”