Mary Kay Andrews - The Fixer Upper

At the end of the very worst day in my

You need a plan. Stephanie whipped a notebook out of

Id been out in the alley for only about twenty

Id been to Alex Hodders house in northwest Washington exactly

As usual, the minute I stepped out of the Miami

My father slid a yellowed black-and-white photograph across the desk

My mother was just as thrilled with Mitchs project as

GUTHRIE, GEORGIA, THE LITTLE TOWN WITH BIG IDEAS. POP. 2,200.

At first glance, the interior of Birdsong wasnt much of

So this is greater metropolitan Guthrie, Becky said as we

Becky was talking on her cell phone when I came

Ella Kate? I peered around the dimly lit room to

My bathroom had a high ceiling, a yacht-size bathtub, and

I made a quick stop at the Piggly Wiggly for

After Id showered and was changing into some respectable clothes,

When we got in the Prius to go home, Tee

I awoke Wednesday to the slow, excruciating drip of rain,

Thursday dawned so bright and sunny it almost made me

This time my visitor was female. She was a fair-skinned

Dempsey?

Out in the kitchen, Bobby was bent over the kitchen

I hadnt lied when I told Jimmy Maynard about my

When I got out of the shower Sunday morning, I

I picked at my food and sipped my drink, but

My cell phone rang again, just as I was hitting

No, I said flatly. Thats a bug, right? You want

I took a deep breath and looked around the kitchen.

Are you all right? I asked Tee.

It was pitch black when I woke up the next

It was nearly noon when we left the animal clinic

I was hungry. I hadnt had any breakfast, or more

Carter Berryhill was sitting at the desk in the reception

Camerin Allgood and Jackson Harrell walked into Carters office unannounced.

When I saw the feds drive away in their government-issue

Jimmy promised to put away my groceries while I ran

Awwww, sheee-uut, Jimmy drawled. I didnt see he was with

Tee unlocked his front door and pulled me inside. As

While wed been steaming up the windows in Tees shed,

Fuelled by caffeine and angst, I finished sanding all the

It was just getting dark when I heard the clatter

I pressed my forehead against the cold window glass and shut

Weve got to get her out of there, I said,

I walked slowly back to the chair where Id been

When I climbed into the front seat of the Mercedes,

We spent the rest of the morning prying the old

Trey drove the last truckload of papers and magazines and

Jackson Harrell did a double take when I opened the

The three of us were sitting around the kitchen table.

Ella Kate was dressed and sitting in a wheelchair when

I sat at the kitchen table and stared down at

According to my Piaget, exactly eleven minutes had passed when

I crouched down in the shrubbery at the end of

Camerin Allgood stood over the ironing board in my kitchen

I didnt have long to ponder the implications of a

I spent Friday getting Lynda settled in.

I jogged down the block and slid into the backseat

The house was quiet when I got home, although Lyndas

When the doorbell rang, I licked my lips nervously. Stop

Dempsey? Carter tapped me on the shoulder and held out

After a Sunday taken up with driving Ella Kate to

As soon as my mother zoomed away from the curb

I pulled the Catfish up outside the newspaper office, and

Hello, Alex, I said pleasantly. Nice to see you too.

I looked over at the suitcase, which had slid onto

Tee was dressed in a pair of blue jeans and

A t the end of the very worst day in my life up until that point, my roommates and I sat in a back booth at the Filibuster, a crappy bar on a crappy street on the outskirts of Georgetown, as the endless news footage of my public demise played itself out again and again on the television set mounted on the wall directly in front of us.

Id commandeered the remote control for the television as soon as wed scurried into the Filibusters darkened back room, but it seemed that every broadcast outlet in D.C. had decided to lead the days newscasts with the story theyd already dubbed Hoddergate.

Stephanie and Lindsay stared, goggle-eyed, at the television as I poured my first beer of the day.

God, Dempsey, Stephanie said. You never told me your boss was an old man .

I glanced up at the television. They were showing the footage of us leaving our office for a business meeting earlier that day. My boss, Alexander Hodder, strode forcefully down the sidewalk, the vents of his charcoal gray suit jacket flapping in the stiff March breeze, his head up, eyes directed straight ahead, resolutely ignoring the dozen or so reporters and cameramen whod been lying in wait for us. Alex hadnt even bothered to give them a no comment as we ran the gauntlet of reporters waving mikes in our faces and shouting questions about bribes and junkets. Meanwhile, I trailed a few yards behind, clomping clumsily along in my too-high black suede pumps, my steps constrained by the pencil skirt Id stupidly chosen to wear to work that day.

Alex isnt old, I snapped. Hes just fifty. Anyway, nobody would ever guess hes not in his early thirties.

Fifty! shrieked Lindsay, putting down the beer pitcher in midpour. Jesus, Dempsey. The way you always talk about him, I just assumed he was in his midthirties.

Fiftys, like, prehistoric, Stephanie agreed, gazing at the screen. Although, yeah, I see what you mean about his looks. Hes got the whole chiseled chin, high cheekbones, broad shoulders thing going on. Is that his own hair? Or do you think its a weave or something?

Would you all stop? I begged. My life is going down the toileteven as we speakand all you guys can think about is how old Alex Hodder is.

Stephanie, always the analytical one, sat back in the booth and tapped her fingertips on the scarred wooden tabletop. You dont think theyll really indict him, do you? And anyway, it seems to me that his life is the one going down the toilet, not yours.

Theyve already indicted Congressman Licata, I pointed out. And now theyre after Alex. And me. All because of that damned trip we took Licata on in the Bahamas. You guys just heard what those reporters are sayingUnnamed sources claim that prominent Washington lobbyist Alexander Hodder is under investigation for bribing a congressman.

I nodded in the direction of the television, and the girls swiveled their heads to watch. Now CNN was showing grainy footage of Representative Licata, Alex, and me, all of us dressed in formal wear, for a thousand-dollar-a-plate charity benefit headed by Licatas wife, Arlene. Our firm, Hodder and Associates, had bought a table for ten at the dinner, and all the young associates had been instructed to attend.

Nice dress, Demps, Lindsay murmured.

I blushed. I would have asked to borrow it, but you were out of town.

A gleeful-looking CNN reporter was declaring Hoddergate the biggest influence-peddling scandal of the decade, adding that unnamed sources report that Hodders firm, which represents major petroleum interests, among other things, entertained Representative Licata with a golf outing to the exclusive Lyford Cay resort in the Bahamas, where Licata and Hodder were allegedly spotted romping with call girls on the resorts nude beach.

Eeeww, Stephanie said, shuddering and wrinkling her nose. A nude beach? With those two old men? That Licata dude must weigh three hundred pounds. And hes as old as my grandpa!