by D J Small
Addison walked over and took the glass from her. “You and the Alliance believed you could make the treaty happen, which is why we’re involved. The only person you can blame for this is yourself. You knew how Hasem was before getting into this.”
“I know, but I didn’t expect him to be this big of an asshole,” Val snapped as she took her glass back. “I’m not going to be able to make shit happen if Hasem continues to be…” She let out a frustrated growl. “If he says something to piss me off tomorrow, I’m jumping across the table and killing him with his tie.” She grunted. “Or I’ll just sic Summer on him.”
Addison sighed. “I see this has you more than riled up since you’re willing to threaten him with Summer.” She placed her hands on Val’s shoulders. “I know you’re feeling some intense emotions right now, but take a deep breath.” Val scowled at Addison, ignoring her suggestion. “We’ll use the rest of the night to figure out what we can do to get Hasem to sign the treaty.”
Addison moved her hands and Val took a drink of her whiskey. “Did you get me any information on him and Nasir like I asked?”
“Val…” Addison trailed off, and Val could tell she didn’t want to have this conversation. Neither did she, but she needed this information.
“I don’t like the way you’re looking at me, Addison.”
Her chief of staff drew in a deep breath. “I honestly don’t want to be looking at you like this, but you’re not thinking clearly, Val.” Addison walked towards the sitting area, then turned to face her. “Looking into the prime minister and the president of Iraq almost violates the Treaty of 2072, and would bring unnecessary trouble that we don’t need.”
Val nodded and pressed the edge of her glass to her lips. She understood Addison’s concern, but the feeling in her gut about the leadership in Iraq wouldn’t go away. “Get me the information, Addison.”
“Yes, Madam President.” Addison said after sighing in resignation. “I guess now is the best time to tell you this,” she paused for a second. “The tax bill has stalled in the House.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Val erupted and her grip on the glass in her hand tightened. “What the hell happened, Addison?”
Addison held up her hands and said, “First, do me a favor and take a few deep breaths. You may be in superior health, but you look like you could have a heart attack at any second.”
Val inhaled several slow, deep breaths through her nose, then blew them out through her mouth. “Explain,” she demanded in a controlled voice.
It took Addison a second to respond, and Val used the time to get her frustration under control. “The moderates we had secured the vote with are a little apprehensive about the reappropriation of military funds to the public healthcare program.”
The public healthcare system had completely changed over the last thirty years, and its funding was secure, but allocating more funds to it put a safety net in place in case the economy became unstable. Val clenched her jaw and closed her eyes while counting to ten.
Today was quickly becoming a pain in her ass, and the temptation to go down to the Hill and give those representatives a piece of her mind was hard to ignore. She opened her mouth to go on a tirade, but was interrupted when someone knocked on the Oval Office door. “What?” Val called out, her tone short.
Manny opened the door and hesitantly said, “Ma’am, the colonel is here to see you.”
Unable to remember any meetings with a colonel today, Val’s eyebrows furrowed. “Colonel who?”
“If you’re forgetting I’m here then I’m clearly not making my presence known,” Summer joked as she pushed past Manny.
Val stared at her. Seeing Summer in the Oval caused her brain to short circuit, and it took her a second to speak. “No, I am quite aware of your presence in the White House.” She sighed, but her lips transformed into a small smile. “It’s just been a hell of an afternoon. What can I help you with, sweetheart?” Val’s eyes widened upon hearing the verbal slip-up, and she quickly corrected it. “Colonel, I meant Colonel.”
Summer eyes had also widened in surprise, and Val mentally swore at herself for the mistake. She didn’t know why it occurred, but it had, and she knew Summer would go running from the Oval once she recovered. Much to her surprise, Summer didn’t, and she simply cleared her throat and said, “If you’re busy, I can come back.”
Val shook her head. “No, no it’s fine. What did you need?”
“I…uh….” She sighed. “I wanted to know if you would like to have a late lunch with me in the Residence.” Val couldn’t keep the shock from her face. Summer currently stood in the Oval Office, inviting her to a late lunch. Completely flummoxed by the invitation, Val could not think of a single response.
“If you’re busy we don’t have to do lunch, perhaps an early dinner?” Summer shrugged. “I’m flexible.”
“No, no. We can do lunch,” Val quickly replied. She gave her a genuine smile. “Give me about fifteen, twenty minutes and I will meet you in the dining room.”
Val felt her heart stutter when a hesitant smile tugged at the corners of Summer’s mouth. “Okay, I’ll see you in few then.” Summer turned and walked out of the Oval, closing the door behind her.
Val stared at the heavy wooden door, not believing the conversation had actually taken place. She looked at Addison. “Did…did that just happen?” Val pinched the back of her hand to make sure she was awake and not in some twisted dream her subconscious had created.
Addison walked over to her, a huge grin plastered on her face. “It did happen.”
Val opened her mouth to speak, but only a soft breath came out. Summer had asked to have lunch with her. First a civil conversation, and now this? It was a little too much for Val. She began to think about what had changed between her and Summer and what this lunch could mean. Knowing she shouldn’t, Val began to hope that this was a turning point for them.
“Why?” She asked seconds later. “I mean, we did have a civil conversation earlier, but it barely constituted as an actual one. What am I supposed to do with this? I want to think it means something good, but at the same time I think she only wants to yell at me and put me through even more misery—”
“Stop,” Addison said as she took hold of Val’s shoulders, putting a halt to her verbal downward spiral. “Take a breath.” Val drew in a breath and released it. “Okay, you are going to go to lunch and find out why Summer invited you. You’re not going to stress over something you have no idea about. So, take one more breath, then go to lunch.”
Val took another breath, and after she released it she asked, “Can I even go to lunch? I mean there is the tax bill, fucking—”
Addison shook her head and chuckled. “Cut it out. Yes, you can go to lunch.” She smiled. “I’ll reschedule some things, and we’ll go from there. You’re the president, people are on your time.”
A wide smile broke out on Val’s face, just thinking about her lunch with Summer gave her butterflies. Val’s mind drifted to the possibility of them reconciling and she gave her head a slight shake, stopping it from getting caught up in the wild, fantastical thoughts. “Before I go, other than the tax bill, is there anything else you need to update me on? What’s going on in the Middle East?”
Addison sighed and moved away from her. “Jabir has ordered two aircraft carriers in Guam to be deployed. They’re going to position themselves in the Indian Ocean.”
“Has something happened?” Val demanded. The fact Addison hadn’t shared the development first irritated her.
“No, Madam President,” Addison rushed to assure her. “He is placing them there in case something does happen, and you and Congress decide to act quickly.”
Val set her lips in a firm line. This may have been a precautionary measure, but she wanted to talk to Secretary Kanaan about his decision to deploy the carriers. The situation was already a precarious one, and they could possibly make it worse. “If something happens, I want to be notified immediately, Addison.”
“Yes, ma’am.” She smiled. “Go have lunch. There is nothing you can do right now. Jabir is on the Hill, and several members of the NSC are not available.”
Val blew out a deep breath. “Fine, but I don’t like it.”
“You don’t like half the things you have no control over,” Addison muttered, and Val glared at her, but she flashed her a grin. “You should probably get going, or Summer may actually go off on you.”
Val glowered at her for a brief second then she left the Oval Office. As she strode out of the West Wing and headed to the Residence, her nerves took hold of her. The sudden lunch was disconcerting on several levels, and going into the unknown scared Val. She liked to be well-prepared and two steps ahead of everyone else. Val inhaled a steadying breath through her nose then carefully expelled it.
What she didn’t want to happen was for her and Summer to get into another argument. She lacked the energy to go a round with her after dealing with Hasem. Just thinking about it exhausted Val, and she hoped whoever was listening would give her this one.
~~~
The dining room felt like it had begun to close in on Summer as she paced around it. She still couldn’t believe she was doing this, and for the hundredth time since inviting Val to lunch, she questioned her decision. The idea for lunch had come to her when she had been filled with determination to change her life and get out of the hole she had fallen into the last two years, but with each minute that passed Summer could feel her anxiety getting worse, and she was unable to overcome the self-doubt filling her mind.
She walked over to the table and picked up a glass of water, taking a long drink from it. This wasn’t just lunch. Summer planned to tell Val what she wanted to do, and it exacerbated her anxiety. Giving her head a slight shake, Summer placed the glass down on the table as she doubted her ability to go through with this. There were too many unpredictable variables to factor in. There was a high possibility of her not going through with treatment, or she could start it but give up and runaway, or she could just runaway altogether. Summer sighed and retrieved the glass of water once more, taking another drink from it while thinking of an excuse to get out of lunch.
“Hey, sorry it took so long. I had to sign some documents for Addison,” Val said as she entered the dining room. The moment Val flashed Summer a smile, her chest seized up and her body temperature rose. Her peripheral vision got fuzzy, and Summer felt like she was having a lethal heart attack. “Oh, shit,” Summer heard Val distantly swear, and somewhere in a far part of her mind, she knew Val was helping her sit down in one of the dining room chairs.
Val rubbed her back, and in a soft cadence she murmured, “Breathe, Summer. You’ll be okay. Focus on my voice and your breathing. Slow, deep breaths; in and out.” Summer let Val’s gentle voice and soothing touch ground her as she paid rapt attention to her breathing. Several long minutes passed before the height of Summer’s attack diminished and she was able to take another drink of water. Keenly aware of Val kneeling beside the chair, Summer did her best to pretend she wasn’t there.
“How long have you been having panic attacks?”
Summer lowered the glass and cleared her throat. “Since the crash.”
“I thought you only had nightmares?” Val asked.
Summer forced out an indignant breath. “I have it all. Nightmares, anxiety attacks, disorientation,” she grunted softly and repeated, “I have it all.”
Val sighed. “Do you know what triggered it?”
Summer pressed her lips together and stood from the chair. She placed the glass down on the table and turned to face Val. “This isn’t why I asked you to lunch.”
Val stood with her and countered, “It may not be, but if I am one of your triggers, then there is no way we can have a productive conversation and us having lunch will be pointless.”
Summer clenched her jaw and counted in her head in an attempt to keep her anger in check, but her frayed nerves had her losing control. “Fucking leave it alone, Val,” she snapped. “I don’t want to talk about it.” Val tensed, and Summer saw her emotional walls go up. She grimaced and gave her a shaky apology. “I’m sorry, I—”
“Save it, Summer. You don’t even mean it.” The tension in the room worsened, and Summer didn’t know what to say next. “Why did you ask me to lunch?”
Summer bit the inside of her lip and drew in a deep breath. “I didn’t want to argue,” she admitted after releasing it.
“We’re not arguing,” Val returned in a clipped tone. She gestured towards Summer and added, “Since you’re obviously mentally tormenting yourself to get through this, let’s get to the reason for this so-called lunch then you can go back to hating me.”
“I don’t hate you,” Summer said, a slight frown marring her face. Val’s eyes widened in amazement.
For a brief moment, it seemed like Val wanted to delve into the matter further, but she sighed in resignation and asked, “What do you want, Summer?”
Summer let out a deep breath and ran a hand through her hair. There was no good way for her to say what she needed to. “I don’t want anything.”
Val snorted. “That’s hard to believe, considering the last two years.”
Summer sighed. How she had treated Val, the way she left, and her behavior over the last two years was going to have an impact on any conversation they had. Summer almost thought about lying to her, but she couldn’t do it. No matter how bad things got between them, bullshitting Val was something she could never do. She could bend the truth a little, yeah, but outright lying to her wasn’t possible, and it wasn’t something Summer planned to start doing. Though if she examined the last few years she would see she had been doing just that.
Summer moved to put some more distance between her and Val. “Okay,” she said, leaning back against the dining room table. “I do want something, but I’m certain it’s not what you think.”
Val folded her arms over her chest and shot Summer a pointed expression. What is it?”
Summer blew out a forceful breath and took the plunge. “I’m creating a mental health initiative for veterans through the foundation, and I would like it if the White House partnered with us on it.”
“You have got to be…” Val muttered. “The White House can’t be partnered with the foundation on this. I do not have the time, or staff, to dedicate to it.” She released a frustrated breath and gestured toward Summer. “If you were still first spouse you would be able to do this of your own accord, but you blew it all to hell when you divorced me.”
Summer swallowed hard, pushing down the panic starting to build in her chest. After drawing in another breath, she felt like she could say what she needed to while avoiding another attack. Summer swallowed again, and with some hesitation, softly said, “I can handle the program, as well as the other duties of the first spouse.”
Val’s lips parted slightly as a stunned expression took over her face and uncertainty and tension filled the dining room. Summer didn’t know how Val would respond to the agreement, but the duties of the first spouse was a stipulation she would concede to if it meant she got a cover for her treatment. The silence continued to drag on, and Val’s eyes remained wide with shock. Summer almost believed they would fall out.
Val suddenly came back to her senses and unleashed her irritation and frustration on Summer. “What the hell do you mean you’ll handle the duties of the first spouse?” Her eyes narrowed, and she took a step forward. “You can’t just resume the duties you abandoned and think you can pick them back up whenever the hell you feel like.” She stopped and pursed her lips. With her gaze boring into Summer, she folded her arms over her chest. “Does this mean you want to get remarried?”
The question left Summer speechless, and for a moment it felt like the world had begun to fall away. She broke the intense gaze she shared with Val and stared down at the floor while drawing in slow, steady breaths. When she felt like she could respond, Summer swiftly shook her head. “No, I don’t want to get remarried.”
She let out an exasperated breath. “Another reason why I can’t allow you to do this, Summer, is because you aren’t able to. I believe wholeheartedly that you will not be able to handle a partnership with the White House as you are now. You couldn’t even make it through last night’s state dinner without a panic attack. Being involved with the White House will put you back in the public spotlight, and you cannot be in it as you are now.”
Summer clenched her jaw, and her vision began to blur as she stared down at the rug covering the floor. Val had a valid point, but the way she presented her argument lacked tact, and Summer felt she was being vilified for something she had no control over. Her head snapped up and she met Val’s incredulous stare with a determined one of her own. “I know what will happen if I partner with the White House.”
Val threw her hands up in frustration. “If you know what will happen, why would you approach me with this? I don’t know what’s going through your head, Summer, but we both know you are not stable enough to handle something of this magnitude.”
Summer pushed off the table and moved closer to Val. “So what? This program would be good for the White House and your legacy no matter what you say.”
“No, it wouldn’t,” Val countered in a slow, biting tone. “It would lead to another scandal that would take away from the real work I am trying to do, especially if you’re involved.”
Summer and Val stared at each other for a long, tense moment then Summer asked, “So you will not consider my plan?”
“No,” Val replied, her tone short.
Summer gave a curt nod and said, “Fine.” She exited the dining room, and as she headed for the grand staircase, Summer couldn’t help but to feel like an idiot. Why she had bothered to involve the White House was beyond her. A treacherous, uphill battle needed to happen between her and Val before they would be able to work together, but Summer didn’t know if she possessed the perseverance and drive to fight it.