Chapter 15
Carrington House
Searcy, Arkansas
"Sounds like the two of you just picked right back up where you left off," replied Harvey Cox.
"Yeah, you know how that is true of close friends? Well, it turns out it is even more true of soulmates," replied Poppy.
"Is that how you see Bennett? As your soulmate?"
"Oh, yeah. Definitely. But even though we were soulmates, it did not mean our love story was easy after this.
We knew we wanted to be together, but we still had a lot of obstacles ahead of us.
One was that when we were together, it was hard to remember he was still married.
I am proud to say we never broke his marriage vows, but we did push it to the limit: stolen kisses, soft touches, and intimate moments that pushed our control.
"The night of the gala, we came so close to losing it. Bennett was supposed to pick up Taylor. Things got out of hand, and he had to call Joules to get her. I felt so guilty walking into that club with him. Everyone could tell we had spent the afternoon necking like hormonal teenagers.
"Greer was waiting just inside the door.
I remember walking in, thinking, how is this my life?
I was so dreading having to talk to Taylor.
But, as you know, that did not happen. Taylor collapsed when she saw me.
I felt so guilty; all I wanted to do was run back to the hotel.
Shockingly to me, Bennett was concerned about Taylor, but he grabbed my arm, held me close, and insisted that I not run.
It took all that I had not to, but I trusted him and didn't."
"What happened next?" asked Harvey.
"I decided to do as Bennett asked. I switched Ben to homeschooling and moved to Caswell Beach in North Carolina.
Bennett rented the house from his buddy.
It had three bedrooms, so there was plenty of room for all of us.
The hardest part was that Ben had to leave his friends and quit his baseball team.
I had to decide between keeping him there and giving him a chance to get to know his father.
I chose the latter. Every weekend, Bennett would spend the weekend with us. "
"You have said earlier that you two never broke his marriage vows. How hard was that once you were settled at the beach?" asked Harvey.
"So hard. When you find the person you want to spend the rest of your life with, you want that life to begin immediately.
Our life was on hold, marking time. For a couple like Bennett and I, who have always had a very strong physical attraction, denying that for weeks on end, after years of being celibate, was difficult.
Not going to lie. There were many nights I wanted to chuck my whole "I don't want to be the other woman" mantra out the window and jump his bones.
But I did not. There is more than one reason I did not, but the main one was I did not want to be that person.
Only I get to decide what kind of person I will be.
I did not want to be a person who cheated, and so I held to that, even when it was hard.
Even when it hurt. Even when it made Bennett mad as hell.
Even when it made no sense to anyone except me.
And, you know what, I am proud of that decision.
Maybe it is because I was so embarrassed my mom did it, but I am glad I can sit here today to say I stuck to my guns.
For all the things I did wrong in my life, and oh my, there are a lot of them, I never slept with another woman's husband. It isn't much, but it is something."
"I agree with you. That is something to be proud of. I must ask; you said there were other reasons you did not cheat. Can you share those?" asked Harvey.
"Well, another reason was that Bennett was killing himself, traveling around the country, campaigning twenty hours a day.
He would roll in every Saturday morning around 4:00 in the morning and get about three hours of sleep.
Get up, play catch, go fishing, play chess, go swim, whatever Bennett wanted to do all day Saturday and Sunday.
Then, he would fly out Sunday night around 10:00 to be wherever he was needed the next day.
On days he was not campaigning, he was in DC trying to catch up on his work there.
The man worked fourteen-to-sixteen-hour days.
He was exhausted most of the time. When he had time to rest, that was what he needed," replied Poppy.
"Changing directions for the moment. What are your favorite memories of that time?" asked Harvey.
"Easy, when Bennett came to the beach, he was all in on Ben.
Of all the decisions I have made, that was one of the best. Going to that little quiet beach and giving them several months to get to know each other was the best. Even if we had never gotten together, it would have been worth it, "said Poppy.
"Okay, anything else you think I should know about your time in North Carolina?" asked Harvey.
"No, actually, I think you have covered it. I love thinking back on that time. It was magical and difficult all at the same time," said Poppy with a sad smile.
"Let's move forward to July of 2012. Tell me about the day reporters showed up at your condo in River Oaks?" said Harvey.
"How did you know about that?" asked Poppy.
"Ben told me. He said that day terrified him."
"Yes, it was a hard day. But, like the rest of the story, we survived it."
River Oaks Condo
Searcy, Arkansas
June 2012
Poppy and Ben got to Searcy early that July morning for a short visit with Bennett.
He was flying in from DC for a fundraiser in Little Rock and could not get to Caswell Beach.
He asked Poppy if she would bring Ben to Searcy instead.
He wanted to show him the town, his home, and start getting him accustomed to it as he would eventually move there once the election was over.
Bennett called Poppy about four hours before he was supposed to be there to say he had been delayed.
He had to fly to Miami. Taylor had been in an accident.
He did not have all the details but would call when he knew more.
Poppy swallowed the giant green monster that threatened to come up and destroy the peaceful place she and Bennett had gotten to in their relationship.
Instead of doubting him, she decided to trust him.
Rather than focus on being sad, Poppy took Ben out to the ballfields and let him watch several games, and then they took in a late movie.
The next day, Ben had his first golf lesson.
By the end of the day, he was hot and sweaty and needed a snow cone.
Poppy took him to Cream & Sugar. They were enjoying their cool treats and singing to the radio as they pulled into the drive of the condo that Joules had rented for them for the weekend.
At first, neither saw the reporter or news crew that seemed to appear out of nowhere.
Poppy did not roll down her window, but she had to go slowly to avoid hitting anyone as she pulled into the garage.
She opened the door, and the reporter followed the car into the garage.
They continued to yell questions at the car.
Poppy turned the music as high as she could.
All you could hear inside the car were isolated words: Bennett, Taylor, Pregnant, Love Child, Mistress, Divorce.
Poppy started putting the door down with the reporter and crew inside the garage.
She ignored them and told Ben to do the same.
When they saw the door going down, they quickly pulled back.
Poppy thought they reminded her of vultures she had seen at the beach.
Once all of the reporters were out, she put down the garage door and turned off the car.
She tried to call Bennett, but it went straight to voicemail.
She next called Joules, who told her to stay there until Bennett returned.
He was on his way. And that was what she did all day.
But then, panic set in when she looked out around 8:00.
The mob outside had grown. She really did not want Ben to wake up to that.
Making a split-second decision, she decided to pack up the car and get them as far from Searcy as possible. She hated to leave but she saw no other option.
She rolled into Memphis around 11:00. Pulling in for gas, she took a minute and called Joules. She explained where she was and that she and Ben needed a safe place to hide for a few days.
Joules promised to make some calls and find her something. Not ten minutes later, Joules called back.
She had a friend from college named Julie Craft, a real estate agent who lived about forty minutes from where Poppy and Ben were.
Julie promised she would have a house in Bolivar ready when Poppy and Ben arrived.
True to her word, they rolled in just before one.
Julie was there with the key and a stocked fridge. Poppy cried when she hugged her.
Helping her unload the car, Julie said, "You are safe now." And she was.
The next day, Poppy woke early. In the rush to leave, she had left her phone charger.
She fed Ben, and then they made a quick trip to a store to get a new one.
Back home, her phone, which had been dead for hours, was plugged in to charge.
It took only a second, and messages started rolling in from Joules and Bennett, one after another.
Before Poppy could listen to them, Ben yelled for her to come into the living room, where he was watching television.
That was when Poppy saw it. Across the bottom of the screen, it read, Senator Carrington of Arkansas, a leading supporter of Presidential Candidate Larry Anderson, has resigned effective immediately as Senator amid a possible marital scandal. More details to follow.
At that moment, Poppy's cell phone rang.
It was Bennett. "Why did you run? You promised you would not run?
Damn it, Poppy. When are you going to trust me?
What more do I have to do? The baby is not mine.
" All of his words came out in a rush. Poppy could hear the hurt and desperation in his voice.
And something new. Defeat. All of this had defeated him. He had been running on fumes for weeks.
"Baby, I did not run. I just tried to get someplace safe, so Ben would not be scared. I know you are not the father. How could you be? It's you and me. All the way."
Hearing her calm, sweet words and total faith in him broke him. He started crying. Crying like he hadn't since Tatum died. She trusted him. She loved him. She hadn't left him. A weight was lifted off his shoulders.
Hearing him cry caused Poppy to tear up.
She hated the thought of her sweet, dear Bennett thinking she had left him again.
She was his forever. "We miss you. Come and get us.
We are in some tiny town in West Tennessee called Bolivar," replied Poppy, crying harder each second she talked.
Now that she had opened the floodgates, there was no stopping it.
Wiping the tears from his face, Bennett said, "Poppy, baby, please don't cry. It is all over now. We can be together. I will come and get you and take you home."
Worried that the reporters might still be there, she asked, "Do you think it is safe? Are the reporters gone? I do not want to expose Ben to that again," said Poppy.
"I don't know. You are probably right. Maybe we should hide out there for a few days until this settles down. I have missed you both so much.”
“We’ve missed you. We love you. See you soon.”
Carrington House
Searcy, Arkansas
November 28, 2023
“So, is that what you did?” asked Harvey Cox.
“Yes, we actually stayed there for over a week. After that, Bennett filed for divorce. He then flew Ben and me back to Caswell Beach for two weeks. We packed up the house and came to Searcy. His divorce came through the last week of August. We were married on the first day of September at our little church. It was a beautiful wedding,” said Poppy.
“What a journey your love took you on,” said Harvey, almost in awe.
“Yes, it did. Looking back, I sometimes wonder how I survived it all, but you do what you must,” replied Poppy.
“I do have one last question. You have yet to explain how you, Bennett, Ben, Taylor, Greer, and the girls became one big family. Given how it all went down, one would have expected you to go your separate ways and never cross paths again if you could help it.”
“Oh, that. I was wondering when you would ask about that,” replied Poppy. “You are right. Most people would have reacted that way. But there is one piece you are still missing. One piece that would have always remained missing if it had not been for Rosie.”
“Rosie, what does she have to do with it?”
“Everything.”