Five days ago, Chris Rhoades thought that nothing would keep him from Donna. Delusional fool. I patiently waited for over 8 years for the timing to be right for Donna and me. I truly believe that we are soulmates, we will spend the rest of this life together, and then find each other again in the next. But this is our time now, and nothing will keep us apart, especially the Ultimate Gomer who still lives with his Mother.
Donna was still in good spirits on Monday, even after the Hazmat protocol. She laughed off the [Nothing will keep us apart] email. She looked me right in the eye and said "Well clearly, he's never met you." Damn straight. I don't find this a laughing matter, but I'm glad she knows that I'd never let a gomer get between us. When she went back to her office for her 4 o'clock meeting. I went back to mine and got down to business.
I'm a political operative. I know what it takes to win. Power. And 99% of power comes from knowledge or money. If you have both, it's very hard to lose. The first thing I did was hire a private investigation firm. Not a guy. A team. Not just any team. The best team. I wanted to know everything there was to know about the Ultimate Gomer. And I wanted to know it as soon as possible.
By the time we went to bed Monday night, I had a game plan. I held Donna, looked her in the eyes and told her not to worry, I had everything under control. She looked at me and smiled and slept peacefully through the night.
On Tuesday, the Ultimate Gomer's email read [I'll rescue you from him.] She wasn't laughing when she said, "I'm not a damsel in distress." I kissed her hand and told her she was a queen. If she needed to, she's capable of saving herself. God knows, she's saved me more than once. But this time, I told her it was my turn. "If there is any saving to be done. I'm the man for it." Then I had our lawyer file the paperwork for a personal protection order. The copies of the emails and affidavits from the agent and PI were enough to convince the judge that Chris Rhoades had sent them. When the PI served the Ultimate Gomer with the PPO, I had him deliver a little personal message as well. "The only way to have her is over my dead body."
On Wednesday, the Ultimate Gomer got bold, telling Donna- [You will be mine] and stupid, challenging me as well. His email telling me [You're not invincible] made me laugh. Donna went pale. But I reminded her, that while I'm not invincible, I am strong, and I am smart and I am powerful. And I will win. Ron added more agents to our detail. Our lawyer filed a motion to show cause on Donna's PPO. And I had him obtained a PPO on my behalf as well. I don't need a PPO to protect me, but since I won't be leaving Donna's side when she's out of the White House, any violation of her PPO has double the consequences. During her four o'clock meeting, I went shopping. I've got a little surprise planned for Valentine's Day.
On Thursday, the Ultimate Gomer sent me some advice- [Better get your affairs in order.] It's almost comical that he thought he was in control. His email to Donna said [It won't be long now.] He didn't know how right he was. I had my affairs in order. I'd lined up an easy way to deal with him and he walked right into it. Donna looked at me funny when I chuckled at the email. Then she'd asked- "Why are you so calm? You were freaking out more when the emails were less intimidating." I'd just smiled at her, "when we didn't know who it was and the emails were so vague, we didn't have enough knowledge to be powerful. Now we do." When we got home, I double checked the grocery list, there are a couple new recipes I think we should try. I'm thinking stew this weekend.
On Friday, Donna got a red dress in the mail and the Ultimate Gomer warned me- [You'll be spending Valentine's Day in the afterlife.] And that was the ball game. Because of the round the clock surveillance, I knew exactly when he headed toward the Brownstone. Donna and I were listening to Yo Yo Ma and making dinner. We had decided to make a 3 Cheese Souffle. It's a little time consuming, it requires planning and concentration, but the pay-off is worth it. When the Ultimate Gomer showed up outside our apartment, Ron was there to arrest him immediately. I don't know why the Ultimate Gomer thought that he could get by the Secret Service with a Beretta in his hand. It's lucky for him they didn't shoot him. Although Ron thinks that maybe that's what he wanted. He had already sealed his fate when he sent the email to me. It's a federal crime to send a death threat to a Government Official. The local DA is also prosecuting for the PPO violations. That's a big pile of charges against him. There won't be any bail. There will, however, be a suggestion that he plead guilty in order be committed to a mental prison instead of general population. In theory, he could be treated and eventually released, but in reality, I can promise that will never happen.
I love Saturday mornings. I get a lot of work done while Donna sleeps in, then I wake her up in a mutually satisfying way. Part of me thinks I should get out of bed, run on the treadmill, turn on the news, read some briefing memos. But I'm pretty content just to sit here, watching Donna sleep. There will be plenty of time this weekend for the other things. Maybe we'll go out to breakfast, or more likely, lunch. I'm sure she'd enjoy a Starbucks run. But until she's awake, I'll stay right here and thank god that she's mine. We have an amazing future ahead of us. We're already figuring out how to balance our jobs, our devotion to each other, and all the craziness that life can throw at us, we just have to take it one day at a time.