Chapter Five:
11 Days
4:37 AM
Scott Wildman woke up to the phone ringing off the hook. How long it had been ringing was anyone's guess as the Texas Senator had yet to invest in a answering machine. He tried to avoid being in DC as often as he could, prefering his small ranch outside Amarillo.
"Hello?" he groaned into the reciever.
"Scott? Scott?" he heard Allison practically shouting
"Mom?" he asked. "Mom? What is it?"
Allison was crying, or it sounded like crying to Scott. It was a bad connection, obviously from a pay phone of a cell phone. "She went into labor."
"It's four months early!"
"They've reversed it," she said. "But they lost one of the babies."
Scott nearly dropped the phone. He didn't know what to say, what he *should* say. If he should say anything at all. Scott was sure he should say something but...
"How's Annie?"
There was a sniff. "She's okay, considering," Allison replied. "The other three are fine. One has a weak heart beat but they expect it to pick up."
He sighed in... relief? Yes, relieft. That the other three were okay.
"C-can I talk to her?" Scott asked.
"She's sleeping now," Allison told him. "I'll call you later though. When will you be out of Chamber?"
"Call me whenever," he answered. "Whenever she wakes up. Call me."
"Alright," Allison said. "I'll call you later, Scotty."
"Thanks," Scott said.
"Try and get some more sleep," she told him. "You need it."
"I'll try," the Senator lied.
"Good bye."
"Good bye."
Wildman sat on the edge of his bed and exhaled. His mother-in-law was right. He *should* get some sleep. But how do you sleep after something like that? For the rest of the day, Scott knew he'd be haunted by the fact that he wasn't there when Annie needed him.
He got up and groaned. His bad knee, a constant reminder of his service in the military ached. Disregarding it, he got into the shower and got ready for a long day in the Chambers.
***
8:40 AM
"Wednesday."
"What?" Lisa asked.
"Today is Wednesday, Lisa," Sean Bower said as he saw her marking off the Tuesday box on the campaign countdown calender.
Lisa looked at him. "What? You're kidding."
Sean shook his head.
"Damn," Lisa joked. "I missed Tuesday. What the- Petey! Where did Tuesday go?"
"Down the drain," Petey Garrison replied bitterly.
Confused, Bower looked at Lisa.
"Petey and me got pelted by acorns and pebbles when we accidentally walked into a Billings rally," she explained. "And they say Democrats are heartless."
Sean's eyes widened as he noticed the small cut on Lisa's cheek.
"God," she said gleefully. "Yesterday was great." She marked off Wednesday as well. "Happy?" she asked Sean.
The red head college boy nodded then handed her the letter he'd come to give her in the first place.
"Good, boy," she praised him and he walked out.
Lisa looked at the front and saw the name "Senator Karol McShane" as the sender. She carefully opened it and took out the paper inside. It was the information Karol had told her she'd send. Almost tossed aside as a dream, Lisa was holding here, in her hands, the proof that she had indeed been invited to the election party. She might actually be there to see the next president elected. And it said she could bring someone. A date, they'd think.
She'd worked long and hard on this campaign, not that she had any job she'd left to work there. Straight out of college with a bachelors in American History, she'd jumped on board the Seaborn campaign right at the begining, dragging her former classmates, Sean and Petey, along with her.
Now she may actually see her hard work pay off.
"Sean, Petey!" she shouted out her office. "How you two feel about going to the Seaborn election party?"
Petey poked his head into her office.
"You're kidding."
The campaign manager shook her head.
"Let's go see the next President elected."
***
1:50 PM
"It's almost two," Jody Summers complained. "Can't we have lunch at a regular time like the rest of the country?"
"No," Mary Ortz said from the other side of the circular table. (A/N: okay... circular tables don't have sides. Sue me.) "Those of us in the law making business must sacrifice normality."
Jody finished his sandwich and took out an apple.
"What are you? A little gradeschooler?" Ted Rockhimer, New York Senator, asked. "What's with the bag lunch?"
She glared at the other Senator. "Atleast I'm not eating fast food everyday," she growled and then changed the subject. "Anyone heard from Scott or Karol?"
Roy Pentabal of South Carolina nodded and said, "I did." He was the only Republican in the group besides Scott so he was often quiet when the other wasn't around. Political arguments erupt in the mess very often and can be very dangerous. "From Scott anyways."
The other three Senators looked at him almost anxiously.
"He just said he wasn't going to be coming in," he told them. "Something about Annie... he was pretty shook up."
Ted, Jody and Mary were silent for a moment.
"God." Jody was the first to speak.
Silence once again fell over the table.
In an attempt to get everyone out of their morbid mood, Ted said, "I heard from Karol."
"Yeah?"
Ted nodded. "Aparently Utah decided that they didn't like the Seaborn and McShane campaign."
"Uh-oh."
"Yeah," Ted said. "The campaign bus has three flat tires and... six broken windows I think it was."
"I knew Karol shouldn't have made that Mormon comment..." Jody said.
"And they wonder why I'm never going to run," Roy joked.
"Just don't come to New York City," Ted warned. "Northern New York, fine. But NYC... just remember your bulletproof vest and consider changing parties."
Pentabal, now thuroughly afraid of New York State, vowed never to run and if he did, not to campaign in New York. (A/N: I have nothing against NYS. I live there! Hooah! Great place.)
Mary looked at her watch. "What time are we supposed to be back in Chambers?"
"Uh... 2:30?" Jody said.
"Oh, good," she said. "Someone give me 75 cents. I want a bag of potato chips."
Roy handed her three quarters and watched her walk over to the vending machine in the corner. "I wanted some chips too," he mock whined.
Jody pushed three more quarters toward Roy.
He jumped up and ran after Mary.
"He's like a little kid," Jody told Ted. "If the runs, the country will be reduced to Kindergarten status."
"My kindergartener happens to be a genius," Ted said.
Summers rolled her eyes. She looked over and saw Mary and Roy beating up the vending machine and then noticed the 'OUT OF ORDER' sign that had fallen to the ground. "Should we tell them?"
"They'll figure it out sooner or later."
***
4:30 PM
"People are evil."
"Please tell me that's not going into the speech," Eryk Ashcroft, Deputy Director of Communications, said. "Public relations won't like that, Greg."
Greg Tymes shrugged. "I hate people."
Eryk sighed. "What brought this around?"
"I hate people," he repeated. "Nothing brought it up. I just do."
"Should I call a psychiatrist?" Eryk asked.
Greg thought a minute. "Yes, do that," he said. "Because I really need one."
Eryk shook his head and turned Greg's laptop around so he could continue writing the Presidental speech that Greg had given up writing the hour before.
Jobey Naismith walked in a few minutes later to drop some papers and saw the sulking Communications Director. "What's wrong with him?"
"He hates people," Eryk answered, not looking up from the laptop.
"Your car got stolen again!?"
Tymes nodded. "Yes," he answered. "The cops are beging to think I get it stolen on purpose!"
"That ratty old thing?" his Deputy asked with humor. "Stolen?"
Greg glared at him. "Yes! For the sixth time!"
Jobey burst into laughter. He quickly left before Greg could throw anything at him.
"You really need to trade that thing in," Eryk told Greg after Jobey left.
"Don't you think I've tried?" Greg yelled. "They take one look at the car's history and say it's no good if it keeps getting stolen. Who wants a car that has been stolen fifty thousand times?!"
Outside the office, Jobey once again burst out laughing.
"Don't make me come out there!" Greg threatened. He turned back to Eryk. "And you wonder why I hate people."
"God, Greg. If I were you, I'd hate people too."
"Thank you. Now, let's get back to that speech."
"Sure I shouldn't still call the psychiatrist?" Eryk joked.
"Speech. Now. Us. Work." Greg said.
"I'm calling him, right now."
"Good. We'll work while we wait for the Secret Service to let him in."
***
A/N: End of this chapter. Greg, if you're wondering, is based on a real person just like Lisa is and they do act like they do all the time.
4:37 AM
Scott Wildman woke up to the phone ringing off the hook. How long it had been ringing was anyone's guess as the Texas Senator had yet to invest in a answering machine. He tried to avoid being in DC as often as he could, prefering his small ranch outside Amarillo.
"Hello?" he groaned into the reciever.
"Scott? Scott?" he heard Allison practically shouting
"Mom?" he asked. "Mom? What is it?"
Allison was crying, or it sounded like crying to Scott. It was a bad connection, obviously from a pay phone of a cell phone. "She went into labor."
"It's four months early!"
"They've reversed it," she said. "But they lost one of the babies."
Scott nearly dropped the phone. He didn't know what to say, what he *should* say. If he should say anything at all. Scott was sure he should say something but...
"How's Annie?"
There was a sniff. "She's okay, considering," Allison replied. "The other three are fine. One has a weak heart beat but they expect it to pick up."
He sighed in... relief? Yes, relieft. That the other three were okay.
"C-can I talk to her?" Scott asked.
"She's sleeping now," Allison told him. "I'll call you later though. When will you be out of Chamber?"
"Call me whenever," he answered. "Whenever she wakes up. Call me."
"Alright," Allison said. "I'll call you later, Scotty."
"Thanks," Scott said.
"Try and get some more sleep," she told him. "You need it."
"I'll try," the Senator lied.
"Good bye."
"Good bye."
Wildman sat on the edge of his bed and exhaled. His mother-in-law was right. He *should* get some sleep. But how do you sleep after something like that? For the rest of the day, Scott knew he'd be haunted by the fact that he wasn't there when Annie needed him.
He got up and groaned. His bad knee, a constant reminder of his service in the military ached. Disregarding it, he got into the shower and got ready for a long day in the Chambers.
***
8:40 AM
"Wednesday."
"What?" Lisa asked.
"Today is Wednesday, Lisa," Sean Bower said as he saw her marking off the Tuesday box on the campaign countdown calender.
Lisa looked at him. "What? You're kidding."
Sean shook his head.
"Damn," Lisa joked. "I missed Tuesday. What the- Petey! Where did Tuesday go?"
"Down the drain," Petey Garrison replied bitterly.
Confused, Bower looked at Lisa.
"Petey and me got pelted by acorns and pebbles when we accidentally walked into a Billings rally," she explained. "And they say Democrats are heartless."
Sean's eyes widened as he noticed the small cut on Lisa's cheek.
"God," she said gleefully. "Yesterday was great." She marked off Wednesday as well. "Happy?" she asked Sean.
The red head college boy nodded then handed her the letter he'd come to give her in the first place.
"Good, boy," she praised him and he walked out.
Lisa looked at the front and saw the name "Senator Karol McShane" as the sender. She carefully opened it and took out the paper inside. It was the information Karol had told her she'd send. Almost tossed aside as a dream, Lisa was holding here, in her hands, the proof that she had indeed been invited to the election party. She might actually be there to see the next president elected. And it said she could bring someone. A date, they'd think.
She'd worked long and hard on this campaign, not that she had any job she'd left to work there. Straight out of college with a bachelors in American History, she'd jumped on board the Seaborn campaign right at the begining, dragging her former classmates, Sean and Petey, along with her.
Now she may actually see her hard work pay off.
"Sean, Petey!" she shouted out her office. "How you two feel about going to the Seaborn election party?"
Petey poked his head into her office.
"You're kidding."
The campaign manager shook her head.
"Let's go see the next President elected."
***
1:50 PM
"It's almost two," Jody Summers complained. "Can't we have lunch at a regular time like the rest of the country?"
"No," Mary Ortz said from the other side of the circular table. (A/N: okay... circular tables don't have sides. Sue me.) "Those of us in the law making business must sacrifice normality."
Jody finished his sandwich and took out an apple.
"What are you? A little gradeschooler?" Ted Rockhimer, New York Senator, asked. "What's with the bag lunch?"
She glared at the other Senator. "Atleast I'm not eating fast food everyday," she growled and then changed the subject. "Anyone heard from Scott or Karol?"
Roy Pentabal of South Carolina nodded and said, "I did." He was the only Republican in the group besides Scott so he was often quiet when the other wasn't around. Political arguments erupt in the mess very often and can be very dangerous. "From Scott anyways."
The other three Senators looked at him almost anxiously.
"He just said he wasn't going to be coming in," he told them. "Something about Annie... he was pretty shook up."
Ted, Jody and Mary were silent for a moment.
"God." Jody was the first to speak.
Silence once again fell over the table.
In an attempt to get everyone out of their morbid mood, Ted said, "I heard from Karol."
"Yeah?"
Ted nodded. "Aparently Utah decided that they didn't like the Seaborn and McShane campaign."
"Uh-oh."
"Yeah," Ted said. "The campaign bus has three flat tires and... six broken windows I think it was."
"I knew Karol shouldn't have made that Mormon comment..." Jody said.
"And they wonder why I'm never going to run," Roy joked.
"Just don't come to New York City," Ted warned. "Northern New York, fine. But NYC... just remember your bulletproof vest and consider changing parties."
Pentabal, now thuroughly afraid of New York State, vowed never to run and if he did, not to campaign in New York. (A/N: I have nothing against NYS. I live there! Hooah! Great place.)
Mary looked at her watch. "What time are we supposed to be back in Chambers?"
"Uh... 2:30?" Jody said.
"Oh, good," she said. "Someone give me 75 cents. I want a bag of potato chips."
Roy handed her three quarters and watched her walk over to the vending machine in the corner. "I wanted some chips too," he mock whined.
Jody pushed three more quarters toward Roy.
He jumped up and ran after Mary.
"He's like a little kid," Jody told Ted. "If the runs, the country will be reduced to Kindergarten status."
"My kindergartener happens to be a genius," Ted said.
Summers rolled her eyes. She looked over and saw Mary and Roy beating up the vending machine and then noticed the 'OUT OF ORDER' sign that had fallen to the ground. "Should we tell them?"
"They'll figure it out sooner or later."
***
4:30 PM
"People are evil."
"Please tell me that's not going into the speech," Eryk Ashcroft, Deputy Director of Communications, said. "Public relations won't like that, Greg."
Greg Tymes shrugged. "I hate people."
Eryk sighed. "What brought this around?"
"I hate people," he repeated. "Nothing brought it up. I just do."
"Should I call a psychiatrist?" Eryk asked.
Greg thought a minute. "Yes, do that," he said. "Because I really need one."
Eryk shook his head and turned Greg's laptop around so he could continue writing the Presidental speech that Greg had given up writing the hour before.
Jobey Naismith walked in a few minutes later to drop some papers and saw the sulking Communications Director. "What's wrong with him?"
"He hates people," Eryk answered, not looking up from the laptop.
"Your car got stolen again!?"
Tymes nodded. "Yes," he answered. "The cops are beging to think I get it stolen on purpose!"
"That ratty old thing?" his Deputy asked with humor. "Stolen?"
Greg glared at him. "Yes! For the sixth time!"
Jobey burst into laughter. He quickly left before Greg could throw anything at him.
"You really need to trade that thing in," Eryk told Greg after Jobey left.
"Don't you think I've tried?" Greg yelled. "They take one look at the car's history and say it's no good if it keeps getting stolen. Who wants a car that has been stolen fifty thousand times?!"
Outside the office, Jobey once again burst out laughing.
"Don't make me come out there!" Greg threatened. He turned back to Eryk. "And you wonder why I hate people."
"God, Greg. If I were you, I'd hate people too."
"Thank you. Now, let's get back to that speech."
"Sure I shouldn't still call the psychiatrist?" Eryk joked.
"Speech. Now. Us. Work." Greg said.
"I'm calling him, right now."
"Good. We'll work while we wait for the Secret Service to let him in."
***
A/N: End of this chapter. Greg, if you're wondering, is based on a real person just like Lisa is and they do act like they do all the time.