Chapter 11
Abbey turned toward the trail that would take her past one of the two lakes and into the 180 acres of land surrounding Camp David. Although civilization was not that far away, the appearance of remoteness is what had drawn every President since Eisenhower.
She crossed the bridge covering the stream meandering through the compound and quickly found her way in the thick underbrush that signaled her arrival in the foothills. Abbey walked on, enjoying the peace and quiet and no one saying "Yes, Ma'am, No Ma'am." She knew people were required to address her that way, but it did get tiring to hear it a thousand times a day.
She progressed up the trail, rocks and sparse trees replacing the underbrush she had just gone through. Just as she turned a corner, a red hawk flew out of a nearby tree and soared on the wind currents swirling around the mountain. She stopped for just a minute to enjoy the sight. It was a magnificent bird, its dark wing feathers outstretched as it searched for a meal.
She started walking again, this time coming off the path so she could get a better view of the valley below. Sitting down, she looked over the valley with several homes scattered about. The homes of Americans with their daily lives, their daily troubles. Sighing, she knew that that part of her life was over. Not that she regretted being First Lady, but sometimes, if she was honest with herself, she regretted not being able to just have a normal, everyday life. And the hardest part was that she knew that even when Jed left office, her life would never return to that kind of normal.
She came out of her dream as she heard the rustle of the bushes above her. Looking up, she saw a doe with a fawn, chewing the leaves off one of the bushes. Abbey stared at them for a few minutes before a quick glance at her watch indicated that she was already a half hour late for her check-in. The Service had probably already swung into high gear and a search party put together. She knew that the Service was a stickler for time. If she said that she would be gone two hours, two hours and one minute later the Service would have been alerted and a warning already put out.
Standing, she brushed the dirt off the back of her jeans. Knowing that the path would take longer, she decided to see if there was a shortcut down the mountain that would bring back to the compound faster.
However, the footing was not the best and she slid in several places. She placed her foot in a hole in an attempt to get better footing and stumbled. Crying out in pain, she fell and hit hard on a protruding rock, knocking her breath out.
When she was able to breathe again, she pushed herself up and grabbed her left ankle. Quickly undoing the boot's laces, she pulled her foot out and began to assess her situation. The ankle quickly swelled, increasing the pain dramatically. "Damn, a broken ankle is not what I needed." She looked around to see if she could find a branch to push off on but quickly realized the rocks and surrounding brush was not going to provide her that.
Seeing nothing, she sat there trying to determine the best course of action. She knew of course that the Service would quickly find her but since she was off the path, she didn't know how long it would take. In the meantime, she had to do something to help herself.