It was after eleven when everyone made it back to the hotel after the State Dinner. Although the schedule indicated it would be over by 9:00, most of the two hundred and fifty attendees were determined to individually talk with the President of the United States. A three-hour dinner turned into a five hour talk a thon. And everyone was tired.
They had a four-hour flight in the morning to Lima and the opening session of the OAS was scheduled for noon. That meant leaving the hotel by 5:30 am for departure by seven. No one was looking forward to that.
The President quickly said good night to Leo and Charlie and closed his door. Leo said goodnight to Charlie and closed the door to his room. He took off his tux jacket and shoes, and sat down in the chair to glance at the messages on his phone.
"Damn, six messages from Josh just in the past four hours. What the hell is going on?"
He knew that with whatever was going on meant that Josh wouldn't be in bed yet, no matter what time it was in Washington. He dialed his number and waited for the connection, praying it wasn't as bad as he feared.
"Josh, what the hell is going on?"
"Leo, where the hell have you been? I 've been trying to reach you all night."
"Josh, calm down. I couldn't call you from the dinner. Now tell me what's going on back there."
"The bill was voted down."
"What bill, Josh?"
"The Rural Communication bill, Leo."
"HOW THE HELL DID THAT HAPPEN? We had the votes, Josh. We had the DAMM VOTES."
"Yeah, I know we did. But somehow we lost Wilson and Starr, even after I had promised them new federal buildings in their states. That's all they said they wanted. I swear, Leo. That's all they said they wanted. The vote was 52-48 against passage. When I left the Hill late this afternoon, the Senate Whip had the vote count at 50-50 with Hoynes scheduled to break the tie to pass the bill."
"Oh God, how am I going to break this to the President? This was going to be a legacy for him. He is going to be so pissed."
"I'm sorry, Leo. I tried. I really did."
"I know, Josh. Listen, try and find out why they voted against the bill at the last minute, will ya? I have to be able to tell the President some reason. 'I don't know' won't cut it."
"I will, Leo. Again, I'm sorry. I promised them exactly what they said what they wanted."
"You did, Josh. You can't read their minds. Something else happened and I need to know what."
"Thanks, Leo. You're going to Lima tomorrow?"
Leo looked at his watch. 12:15 am. "Well actually, we leave the hotel in five hours. So we leave today."
"Let me get off the phone then so you can get a little bit of sleep. I'll let you know when I know something."
"Thanks, Josh. Bye."
"Bye, Leo."
Both men hung up. Leo stayed in the chair, blown away by the situation. How the hell was he going to tell the President about the bill being voted down when everyone thought it was a sure thing to pass? How was he going to explain how they lost the votes they thought were a sure thing?
As he sat there, worried about politics, he noticed an increasing tightness in his chest and a radiating pain down his left arm.
'Damn, I don't need this right now' he thought. He fished around in his pants pocket for his bottle of little pills. Not finding them, he got up and went over to his small travel bag. Digging around in it, he finally found the bottle. He took one out and put it under his tongue. He sat down on the bed and tried to get his emotions under control. He knew his anger over the bill was not helping his pain.
After a few minutes, and getting no relief, he took another pill. Again, no relief. So he took a third. Finally, the pain eased off. He got off, changed into a set of pajamas, set the clock for 4:30, and laid down.
But he tossed and turned more than slept, so when the alarm went off, he reluctantly got out of bed, more tired than when he went to bed. He took a quick shower, dressed in a fresh suit, and put his suitcases out by the door for pick up.
He went down the hall and knocked on the President's door. Hearing a "Come in" he opened the door and walked in.
"Didn't I just see you a few minutes ago, Leo?" the President joked.
"It feels like it, Sir."
"Here, get yourself a cup of coffee."
"Thanks, Sir."
About that time, Jed got a good look at his best friend and was shocked to see the dark circles and deep lines on Leo's face.
"Damn Leo, did you get any sleep last night?"
Leo started to answer, but right then Charlie knocked and entered. "We're ready to leave, Mr. President."
"Thanks, Charlie. Let's go, Leo. Next stop on our South American tour, Lima, Peru."
"Yes, Sir."
