Sara's hand paused with her tea raised almost her mouth. The tone of his voice gave no indication of what kind of thought it had been. "About?"
"The senator's education initiative. I think it could use a few more heavy hitters to endorse it."
Sara sipped her drink, enjoying the taste of the freshly brewed English breakfast tea. "It couldn't hurt. Anyone in mind?"
Christopher reached for a scone and her eyes followed his every movement. "Your sister Callie. She has the credentials as an educator and the public loves her. She's like a modern-day Cinderella in their eyes."
The hunger she'd felt moments ago died. His reasoning held merit. Everything he said was true. How could she possibly ask her though? While their relationship remained cordial they were far from friends. Hadn't she already explained to him about her relationship with Callie?
"I'm not sure, Christopher. She and I don't interact much except when we have to." Sara took another sip of her tea to wash away the bitterness in her mouth. So many times she'd wished to go back and change her initial meeting with Callie.
"Not even for something like this?" he asked, breaking his scone in half. "Think of how many children will benefit if this goes through." The easy-going attitude that she'd come to know disappeared. "It needs as many supporters as possible. If you ask her, I'm confident she'll do it."
If anyone else asked her, Callie would probably do it, Sara had little doubt. But if she asked the outcome didn't seem likely.
"Imagine the publicity it would get if both the president's daughters supported this."
He made a sound argument. Her father's approval rating was at an all-time high for a US president, and he had blown away the competition in the last election and political analysts already predicted he would win hands down in the next one. People liked him. "If you wanted me to ask Jake that would be one thing, but Callie…" Sara's voice trailed off. She considered telling him to ask her himself.
"Sara, you're both adults. I think she'll put aside any personal feelings for something this important. I'm suggesting you ask her to help, not to become best friends."
For a split second she thought she detected annoyance in his voice but then it disappeared, leaving her to wonder if she'd imagined it. Sara focused on her teacup, Christopher's words swirling around in her head. He might be right. The only way to find out was to ask her.
"I'll try, but I can't make any promises, Christopher." Her stomach knotted up at the thought of calling her half-sister. "Maybe I'll talk to Jake too."
Neither spoke much during breakfast. While Christopher polished off a full meal of eggs, fruit, and scones, she merely picked at the fruit—her appetite gone as she envisioned calling Callie. A face-to-face conversation was out. If Callie couldn't see her, she'd never know how uncomfortable Sara was. And she needed to do it soon for two reasons. If she waited too long it only gave her time to reconsider, and if Callie agreed, they could get the word out faster about her support.
For the remainder of the morning, Sara searched for the perfect wording. She knew Callie understood the importance of improving public school education. Callie had been a public school teacher in Massachusetts for several years before moving to New York and the private school where she now taught. But she didn't know if Callie could put aside her personal feelings toward her. During those first few months she treated Callie horribly. She didn't know if she'd be willing to help if the tables were reversed. She'd like to think so considering what was at stake, but an inkling of doubt remained.
In the end though all the careful consideration proved useless. By the time she came up with a speech and called, that night it wasn't Callie that answered the phone but Dylan.
“Callie's not home. She had to attend an event at school,” Dylan said after she asked to speak with Callie.
“Oh, can you can pass along a message for me?” Sara's anxiety level dropped when Dylan told her Callie was gone. “Christopher Hall and I hoped she would contribute her support for the Healy's Education Initiative. It's due up for a vote soon. I could send her all the details.”
“Is that the plan Healy worked on with Senator Kenny?” Dylan asked.
Sara didn't recall telling him about it before, but she was glad he already knew of it. “Yes. The senator pulled in Christopher as a supporter earlier this month.”
“Email her the specific details. I can’t speak for her, but I think she'll do it based on what I already know about it.”
The lead weight on her shoulder slid off. She had gotten out of asking Callie directly, and Dylan felt confident she'd do it. Maybe if she was lucky they could communicate about the project through emails, and make things even easier.