name on the list. âHeâs loaded, and he likes to give to educational causes.â
âTeresa Chandler,â Haley said, picking out another name on the list. âShe runs Princetonâs financial aid office. Plus she just got divorced, and Mort Jarvis is a widower, isnât he?â
âPerfect,â Alex said, jotting down notes. âWeâll put them at table five, with the head of the Rutgers philosophy department and Alice Shaw, who gives a lot of money to the ballet.â
âThe Rutgers philosophy departmentâyou mean Brian Hooper?â Haley asked. Alex nodded. âThose two canât be together. They used to date!â
âWhoops.â Alex crossed out Alice Shaw. âWhat about Catherine Yardley? Sheâs Mrs. Etonâs press secretary.â
âI guess thatâs okay,â Haley said. âAs long as shedoesnât bring up Mrs. Etonâs cuts to the education budget.â
âDonât worry, she wonât,â Alex said. âEverybody knows thatâs a touchy subject.â
They worked their way through the guest list until all the tables were filled and all potential snubbings and feuds avoided. Haley insisted that Alex sample all the hors dâoeuvres the caterer was serving before the ball and that every vendor, from the decorator to the musicians, was triple-confirmed a week in advance to avoid unpleasant surprises.
âYouâre really amazing at this, Haley.â Alex leaned back, tired and ready to relax. âI had no idea you knew so much about local politics.â
âHa,â Haley said. âYou know what? Neither did I!â
âWell, Iâm impressed,â Alex said. âI couldnât have pulled this off without you.â
âThanks,â Haley said. âIt was fun.â
They retired to the kitchen. âIâm starving.â Alex opened the freezer and pulled out a gallon of vanilla ice cream. âJoin me in a hot fudge sundae?â
âJust what Iâm in the mood for,â Haley said. She scooped ice cream into bowls while Alex heated up the sauce.
âYou do deserve a reward for helping me out,â Alex said.
âAgreed,â Haley said flirtatiously.
âThe thing is, I had something a little more meaningful in mind,â Alex said. âHaley, would you like to be my date to the inauguration? Before you say no, you pinko commie bleeding heart liberal, you should know youâd be doing me a huge favor, from heading off any unforeseen seating chart disasters, to helping me remember all those people on my flash cards.â
âIs that the only reason you want me to go, my right wing neocon friend?â Haley asked, smirking.
âN-no,â Alex stammered. âItâs just, this whole event would be a lot more fun if you were by my side. There. I said it. So what do you say, Haley? Be my date?â
Wow, the inauguration! A high-profile, black-tie affair and probably the biggest social event of the year. Thatâs some fancy date for our little Haley. But, as Alex said, she deserves to go after all the hard work sheâs done on the preparations. If you think Haley would love to go to the ball with Prince Alex, turn to, INAUGURATION .
But is the inauguration really a romantic date, or is Alex just using Haleyâs sociopolitical smarts to make himself look good? Maybe you think Alex is not foremost in Haleyâs mind at the moment, and that other boysânamely one Reese Highlandâhave been secretly dominating her thoughts in recent days. Alexâs offer is tempting, but if Haley lets too much time pass before dealing with the Reese issue, he could slip through her fingers for good. If you think Haley needs to speak her mind to Reese and get a few things off her chest before she can move on, turn to, MAN DOWN .
Finally, Haley must be wiped after all this volunteer work. To have her take a breather, send her home for a rest, ON
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