Donna and I meet up in the lobby of Ron's office. I give her a kiss on the cheek. It was nice always having her just outside my office, within bellowing distance, but being able to greet her with a kiss is much nicer. Ron's secretary leads us into the conference room. I place my hand on the small of Donna's back as I follow her into the room.
There are about 20 agents standing behind Ron. Seeing them all together is a bit sobering. This is a lot of people working to keep my family safe. I feel a surge of profound gratitude. But honestly, I don't know if I'm going to be able to remember all of these names.
Ron introduces each team and explains how the rotations work. Scott and Phil are my lead agents. Jackie and Kathy are Donna's lead agents. During our waking hours, we will each have one of them with us. Overnight, the number of agents will be reduced, partially because we are choosing not to keep the town car outside of the Brownstone while we sleep. The town car will be waiting for us by 5 am. Ron wants additional agents back on the detail starting then. Once we get to the White House, they will do shift changes and have breaks as we are in the building. I'm not sure I understand all the details of how this works. I guess all I really need to do is try to remember these faces and trust them to protect us.
Ron dismisses the agents and asks Donna and me to step into his office. Donna looks nervous, so I take her hand. She smiles tentatively at me.
Once we are seated. Ron begins by addressing Donna, "the email you opened this morning was sent from a public library in Arlington. As far as content, it is about what we expected."
"WHAT EMAIL?!" I can't help but raise my voice, looking between Ron and Donna. I feel like I've been left out of the loop.
Ron raises his eyebrows at Donna and she makes a face. It's her "oops, I forgot to tell you something" face. She turns to me and starts talking quickly.
"I opened an email this morning right as Helen was arriving, once she found out about it she called Ron, and he came up and looked at it, but then we had this meeting and I didn't have time to call you."
"So you didn't call either Ron or me as soon as you opened it?" I pin her with a stern look. I'm not happy about this.
"No." She says in a small voice. She knows she's in trouble.
"How long was it before you told anyone?"
"Not quite two hours." She looks fairly contrite.
"Donna." I sigh. What am I going to do with her? I just don't get the sense that she's taking this seriously. If she's not going to take it seriously, how am I supposed to let her out of my sight? It's too bad I can't just wrap her up in bubble wrap and keep her on the couch in my office while we are at work.
"Ron already read me the riot act. I'm sorry. I didn't know that I needed to report new emails immediately. I thought the secret service was monitoring them. We are all busy! We have a country to run."
This situation is so stressful. I'm torn between wanting to be cross with her and being proud of her for not letting it get to her. I'm not sure where the balance is. At least it doesn't sound like she was trying to keep something from me. I feel slightly calmer.
"Okay, someone want to fill me in?" I look at Ron.
"The email is a copy of the picture from the Washington Post of the two of you dancing. That mean's it's likely that the stalker was not present at any of the balls."
"Well, that's good, right?" I ask Ron.
"Well, yes, obviously we prefer a situation where this individual doesn't have direct access to you or Donna." Ron goes on-
"The text of the email was "How many chances do you think I'll give you?" which tells us that the stalker is still hopeful that Donna will accept him."
I don't like that some loser wants my wife, but in a small way, it is comforting that he's not actually threatening her. We just have to find out who this is and stop him before this becomes more dangerous.
"He photo-shopped the picture so that Donna's dress is red. But what we find troubling is that he erased your face from the photo. He sees you as something to be eliminated. You are in as much, if not more, danger than Donna."
As Ron finishes describing the email, Donna starts hyperventilating.
Ron pulls a paper bag out of his desk drawer and instructs Donna to breath into it. This is apparently not the first time this has happened in his office.
Her eyes have a wild, scared look in them that is crushing me, but I lock eyes with her and try to get her to match her breathing to mine.
"Baby, breathe slowly. In . . . out. In . . . out."
After a few minutes, she doesn't look quite so freaked out. Although she is still pretty pale. Well, I guess the reality of this situation just came crashing down on her.
"Sorry. I never considered that Josh could be in danger."
I'm once again blown away by my wife. When it's her life, she's as cool as a cucumber. When it's mine, she has a panic attack. She has things so backward.
Ron gives us both a steadying look.
"We are still checking out the libraries from where the emails were sent. Hopefully that will give us user names and perhaps security footage will give us a photo."
Ron gives Donna a sympathetic look before he continues.
"We are going over the names on Donna's list. Hopefully we can quickly eliminate some of them because they haven't been in the DC area recently. If this is an ex-boyfriend, I really don't expect this to be someone from more than five years ago, but it's possible that your recent public appearances rekindled some desire. If it is someone you know, it's more likely within the last year or two. But we will want to look at every possibility. I know you had trouble remembering some of the names of the older one-time dates, even though it's probably not one of those, please let me know if you end up remembering anything more."
Ugh. I don't want to spend a lot of time rehashing those dates with Donna, especially if Ron doesn't think it's likely to be one of those Gomers. On the other hand, I want to do everything we can to resolve this situation as quickly as possible.
"I also want to remind you that this situation still appears to be more like what we call a "famous stalker." Usually with an ex-boyfriend stalking, it's not a mystery. They are very blatant and possessive. This still looks more like someone who saw Donna on TV and became fixated. There is nothing in these emails to indicate that Donna has previously met this person. That's why we need to be extra vigilant when you are out in public."
"Was the Starbucks run this morning a bad idea?" I haven't asked Donna how that went, but I'm wondering what Ron thinks of it.
"Not necessarily. It was impromptu, so the only way the stalker would know is if he was following the motorcade. The agents are watching for that kind of behavior. It is easier for us to protect you here, and it's easier for us to protect you together. An occasional coffee run isn't a problem, but right now we'd rather not have it become routine or predictable. Okay?"
After Donna and I both nod, he says "There's really nothing else we can accomplish right here, right now. Go get some lunch. Spend a little time together before you need to get back to work." He gives me a look that says "Take care of your wife."
I give him another nod and wrap my arm around Donna as we leave the office.
"What should we do about lunch?"
"I'm not really hungry."
That has me frowning. I don't like it when she doesn't eat. On the other hand, I don't necessarily want to be in public right now. We were going to pick something up and eat in her office. Maybe I can send her assistant to get us some soup from the Mess?
"Do you have a couch in your office?"
"Not yet."
"Maybe we should go to mine? I can have Margaret get us some soup. I really want you to eat something."
"But I wanted to show you my office," she pouts.
I give her an appraising look. "Hold out your hand."
She looks at me inquisitively, but does as I said. Her hand is still shaking slightly.
"My office. Soup. Rest." I state firmly. Then I kiss her forehead.
"I'll come see your office tonight before we head home." I place my hand on the small of her back and guide her toward the West Wing.
As we are walking, I flip my phone open and call Margaret.
"Change of plans. Donna and I are going to eat in the office. Can you go to the Mess and get a bowl of chicken noodle soup with a roll and a Turkey Sandwich. Thanks."
Once we are in the office, I steer Donna to the couch. I sit down and open my arms. She gives me a small smile and then practically falls into my lap and nestles her head against my chest. I lift her legs on to the couch and turn her so she's more comfortable, then I wrap one arm firmly around her waist and one around her shoulders. I've perfected this position. This way I can hold her tight while still stroking her head.
After she's listened to my heartbeat for several minutes, she sighs deeply. I'm still in awe that my heartbeat is the thing that provides her the most comfort.
"Better?"
"Yeah." She says, but it still comes out a little shaky.
"What happened back there?"
"I just didn't really feel threatened until Ron said you were in danger."
"Well, I guess now you know how I feel. I want you to take this seriously because I'm worried about you."
"It just didn't feel like that big of a deal. Just another stupid guy that doesn't quite know when to stop."
My eyes narrow. "How many of those stupid guys have you had to deal with over the years?"
She sighs. "Too many. A lot of guys think when they buy you two drinks it means they can put their hands wherever they want. And a second date with dinner means you are willing to sleep with them."
I feel my blood start to boil. I knew I was right to sabotage her dates. Stupid gomers.
"I'm sorry."
"What are you sorry for?"
"For not sabotaging more of your dates."
She gives me a real smile then. "You really were something."
"Which was your favorite?" I ask her, and she knows exactly what I mean.
"The time you told me you stapled your tie to your desk and there was no one around to get you free."
"That one was kind of pathetic- why'd you come back?"
"Because I knew a reason like that was really a choice. Stay on the date if I wanted or come back to you if I wanted an out."
"You always came back."
"Yes. I did."
