“We’re here because I’m not driving you anywhere else. I’m exhausted by your behavior, and I can’t tolerate a woman who doesn’t listen to me. If we’re in this car, at least I know we’re safe.”
I crossed my arms while listening to his nonsense. “First of all, you’re the one who suggested that I leave the White House to relax, have some fun, and go get a bite to eat. Those were your exact words, so please tell me how going through the drive-through at McDonald’s is fun. Maybe I’m missing something.”
Yet again, Alex ignored me. He lowered the window to place an order. “I’ll have a fish combo and one of those chicken salads with dressing—”
“Fish combo?” I said, interrupting him. “What is a fish combo? You need to be specific when you ask for a chicken salad. Grilled or fried. And please tell her what kind of dressing you would like.”
“The salad is for you, so you tell her—”
“Excuse me, sir,” the McDonald’s worker said, interrupting us. “Can you repeat that again? I didn’t hear what you said.”
I spoke up for Alex. “He said he wanted a fish combo, but that probably means he wants a Filet-O-Fish Meal. But you can cancel that, along with the salad. We’re not eating here, so thank you very much for your time.”
“Yes, we are eating here,” Alex said. He kept looking around. I could tell he was checking out our surroundings. “I . . . I would like twenty-seven Happy Meals for the school bus of kids coming inside and ice cream for everyone. As a matter of fact, I want to pay for everyone’s meal inside. I’ll also take a Sprite soda.” He turned his head to look at me. “Do you want something or not?”
“Sir,” the lady said through the intercom, “there are numerous people waiting behind you to order. We are a very busy establishment. If you’re not going to place an order, please drive off.”
“I just placed an order. Did you not hear me?”
“I did, but if you’re serious, you need to come inside.”
“That may be wise,” Alex said.
Alex drove off to park the car. I didn’t budge once he turned off the engine.
“This is ridiculous, Mr. Big Spender.” I displayed an attitude. “I’m not going inside, and I’m ordering you to take me back to the White House. I’ll have one of the chefs cook something for me instead.”
“You said you wanted to have some fun, didn’t you? So let’s go have some fun.”
Alex got out of the car and then opened the door for me. The last thing I wanted to do was go inside, but since he obviously wasn’t going to take me to the White House, I surrendered and went into the McDonald’s. It didn’t take long for everyone to recognize who I was.
“That’s the first lady,” several of the kids said in unison, pointing to me.
“Oh my God. It’s really her!”
“Were you the one in the drive-through?”
“Can we please take your picture?”
As I posed for pictures and conversed with everyone, Alex went to the counter to pay for all the food. Cheers erupted, and as I greeted more of the people inside the restaurant and played with the kids, I found myself having fun. Many of the kids asked me to autograph their Happy Meal boxes. I took pictures with all of them, as well as with the staff who had brought them there. It wasn’t long before the media showed up, and when the restaurant got too crowded, the manager was forced to lock the doors. I sat at one of the tables, eating fries, while one of the cutest little girls I had ever seen sat on my lap. She, along with everyone else, wanted to know why the president wasn’t at McDonald’s with me.
“Well, the president is very busy,” I said. “But he is going to be so upset that he missed you all. I can’t wait to tell him how much fun I had.”
I was hit with one question after the next. Some were quite interesting, especially one posed by a little boy, who asked me how much money the president made.
“I’m just asking because I want to be president one day. But I want to be sure that the money can pay for my car. I want a Lamborghini,” he explained.
Everyone laughed. I encouraged him to pursue his dreams; he promised me he would. I smiled, and when I looked up, I saw Alex gazing at me with a blank expression on his face. I wondered what he was thinking, especially when he delivered a nod. His eyes traveled around the room. He was carefully watching everyone’s moves. I diverted my attention to another little girl who wanted to share her fries with me.
“Thank you,” I said. “Sharing is a very nice thing to do.”
The kids agreed, and before I announced my departure, I gave nearly every kid there a squeezing hug.
“Thank you for the Happy Meal,” the kids said in unison.
I waved good-bye, and after one last group photo with the staff, Alex and I left. On the ride back to the White House, he was silent yet again. I spoke up, just to thank him for suggesting McDonald’s.
“I really enjoyed myself, and I apologize for putting up such a fuss.”
“No need to apologize. I’m glad you had an enjoyable time with the children.”
That was all he said, but when we got back to the White House, I forced him into a conversation after he turned off the car.
“I’m curious about something,” I said. “Why do you always look at me as if you’re looking right through me? I often wonder what your thoughts are, and quite frankly, I don’t know if they’re good or bad.”
He was blunt. “My thoughts are no one’s business but my own. Besides, it would be wrong of me to ask what your thoughts are when you look at me.”
“Excuse me for asking, and just so you know, I don’t mind sharing my thoughts. Here they are. You’re a nerd, and you would look so much better without those glasses on. Two, I think about why you’re so serious all the time. I wonder what kind of cologne you wear, as it smells really good, and I think about how miserable your wife and kids must be, because you’re never at home. And finally, I wonder why you chose a job that puts your life at risk.”
Before responding, Alex removed his glasses, revealing his piercing, mysterious olive green eyes, which reminded me of Daniel Craig’s, the sexiest Agent 007. Alex put his glasses in the glove compartment and removed a bottle of cologne from it at the same time.
“It’s called Jack Black,” he said, tossing the cologne to me. “The next time you go on one of your adventures to the mall, why don’t you buy the president some? It costs only around seventy-five bucks.”
I removed the cap to sniff the nozzle. “Maybe I will. Thanks for the recommendation.”
“As for my wife and kids, I don’t have either. I chose this job because I love to take risks, and it takes a serious person to do what I do. Trust me when I say that you wouldn’t want me to be any other way.”
“Probably not, so thank you for being so serious. I appreciate you for tackling my thoughts, but you still haven’t shared your thoughts.”
Alex tapped his fingers on the steering wheel while looking straight ahead. “My thought is we’d better go inside before it gets too late and the president starts looking for you. Other than that, there is nothing else on my mind.”
I didn’t bother to push, even though I was curious. Instead, I exited the vehicle with Alex, and we both went inside. He followed me to the second level, and right at the Yellow Oval Room was where we parted ways.
“You know how to reach me if you need me,” he said. “Until then, rest well.”
He walked off, and I headed to the bedroom, hoping that Stephen was there. Unfortunately, he wasn’t. My gut told me that it was going to be another long and lonely night. I definitely wasn’t looking forward to that.
President’s Mother,
Teresa Jefferson
See, I wasn’t playing with Stephen or Ina when it came to my grandson. I was already back in St. Louis, waiting for Stephen to come to the cemetery. He and Ina had been arguing all week long, and now it was time to take action. I had a shovel in my hand, just in case there was more stalling. And sure enough, there wa
s. Ina and Stephen arrived at the cemetery within minutes of each other. Stephen was with a crew of men ready to dig, and Ina was there with an attorney who was supposed to stop all of this from going down.
“I don’t care who you are,” her attorney threatened while standing in front of Stephen. “You need my client’s permission, or you will be sued.”
“Sue me,” Stephen said and walked off. Ina ran in front of him, halting his steps.
“I can’t believe you’re going to go through with this. What are you thinking, Stephen? Why are you doing this?”
As he stood there, trying to explain, I marched over to Joshua’s grave site with the shovel in my hand. I wore a sweat suit and my old tennis shoes, so I did not care if my clothes got messed up. With anger and pain in my heart, I stood on top of the muddy section of earth where Joshua was supposed to be laid to rest and started to dig.
“Mama!” I heard Stephen shout. “What in the hell are you doing?”
“What did you think I was going to do with this shovel?” I shouted back. “Dig for gold?”
“She is crazy. I want everyone out here arrested!” Ina yelled as she rushed up to me, then attempted to snatch the shovel out of my hand. This time, I threatened her.
“Back up before I use this shovel to knock some sense into you! This is serious business, fool. You need to stop all that crying and think about Joshua right now. What if his body is not in that casket? Don’t you want to know?”
“It is in there,” she said through gritted teeth. “Stop trying to convince me otherwise. You need to get the hell out of here with that shovel.”
Stephen agreed and told me to put it away. He asked the diggers to come forward, and it wasn’t long before a Bobcat digging truck came revving through the cemetery.
Ina’s attorney pulled out his cell phone. “I’m calling the police, unless I see some kind of legal paperwork that gives you the authority to do this,” he warned. “This is not right, and if you’re talking about abuse of power, this would be it.”
Ina’s attorney was a clown. Not only that, but he was useless. We all ignored him, because at the end of the day, not one police officer in this city would come here and arrest the president. A lead detective from the FBI was there, as well as Levi. All Ina could do was shut her fat mouth and allow the digging to begin.
“How long is this going to take?” I asked Stephen. His face was scrunched up as he watched the Bobcat dig up several scoops of mud.
“Thirty minutes or so. Back up and please don’t get in the way.”
I moseyed several feet away from Joshua’s grave site, hoping and praying that the casket was empty. Ina had finally shut her mouth, and as the digging proceeded, more tears fell from her eyes. Her body trembled; it seemed difficult for her to catch her breath. Stephen moved in her direction, then tried to console her by wrapping his arms around her.
“I know this is hard, and I never would have done this if I was a hundred percent sure Joshua was dead. If he is, please forgive me. If he’s not, then all of this will be worth it.”
Ina didn’t respond. She was so distraught, and when Joshua’s casket was lifted from the ground, she couldn’t take much more. She turned her back, while clutching her chest. Unable to stand on her own, her attorney held her up. Stephen moved closer to the casket, with a look of worry, confusion, fear, and pain trapped in his eyes. As for me, I sucked in a deep breath and held it. My eyes filled with tears; legs were weaker than they had ever been. The last thing I wanted to see was my grandson’s body in that casket. I couldn’t bear to look, but when Stephen said, “Open it,” in no way could I turn away. The casket top was flipped upward, and everyone gasped. More confusion appeared on all our faces, as it appeared that someone was in there. But when Stephen lifted an effigy with a noose around the neck, my whole body felt as if it had deflated. A white sheet around the effigy’s head read ONE LESS NIGGA. HA. HA. HA.
We were all stunned, but no one more than Ina. Her eyes were wide; mouth was wide open.
“Who . . . ? What in the hell is going on?” she cried out as she rushed up to Stephen. “Tell me what is happening! Where is my child?”
Ina’s whole face shook. Much anger was visible—I had never seen her look so irate. Stephen, however, remained calm. He released a deep breath while looking at the effigy, shaking his head.
“I can’t explain this, Ina, but I will find out where Joshua is.” His eyes shifted to Levi and the FBI agent, who stood stunned. “Please, do whatever—”
Ina interrupted. She wouldn’t allow Stephen to speak. “You darn well better find out. None of this would’ve happened if it wasn’t for you! We were doing just fine without you, Mr. President. What are you doing in that White House, and why are so many people out to get you? Why is Joshua in the middle of this? I want him home with me right now!”
This bitch was getting totally out of hand, yelling at my son like she had lost her mind. What in the hell did she think he was trying to do? I refused to sit back and let her attack him like that. I marched right back over to where they stood to give her a piece of my mind.
“You need to shut the hell up and let Stephen handle this. How dare you stand there and blame him for this mess? It wouldn’t have ever happened if you had told him about his son to begin with. Instead, you chose money, remember? My money. Instead of doing what was right for Joshua.”
Ina pouted and rolled her eyes. “Whatever, Teresa. You’re not going to put all of this on me. You had your hands in all of this—”
“We all have dirty hands,” Stephen said, interrupting her this time. “And if the two of you want to stand out here and keep pointing fingers at each other, go right ahead. Meanwhile, I have other important matters to tend to.”
He walked away, talking to Levi and the FBI agent as he went. I stood next to Ina, who continued to display a tight face. I honestly did not think that I could despise a person as much as I did Raynetta. But this trick here was slowly but surely crawling to the top of my list. Without saying anything else to her, I walked away to find out what we were going to do next to locate Joshua. When I was a few feet away from Stephen, my cell phone rang. I was shocked to see Raynetta’s phone number flashing on the screen. I assumed she couldn’t reach Stephen; she knew he was with me.
“What do you want?” I said in a nasty tone.
“Hello to you too, Teresa. I was trying to reach Stephen, but he’s not answering his phone. I’ve been waiting to hear the news about Joshua. I’m sure everyone must know something by now.”
“What nerve do you have calling me, especially after our last encounter? If you were that concerned, you would’ve been out here digging up dirt with me. Since you wasn’t, I’m not telling you anything. If Stephen wants you to know, he will call you.”
“You are such an evil and ugly woman. But if I were in your shoes, I’d be real careful. You wouldn’t want anyone to find out what really happened to Claire, would you? I wouldn’t, either, and as long as you play nice, your secret is safe with me. Until then, if you happen to see my husband, please tell him to call me.”
“Wait on it,” I said, then ended the call.
Stephen talked too much. Why in the hell would he tell her the truth about what had happened to Claire? Didn’t he know she would use something like that to her advantage? I didn’t know what in the hell my son was thinking. My patience was running real thin with him.
Putting aside for a moment what Raynetta had just said to me, I pulled Stephen away from the men he was talking to and inquired about his next move.
“I will call you later, I promise,” he said. “And for the last time, I don’t need you getting involved in this.”
“I’m already involved. And when you get time, the two of us need to have a long talk. I had thought that what happened with Claire was between us. Not between you, me, and Raynetta. She’s been calling me and making threats. I don’t appreciate that one bit.”
“Making threats about what, Mama?”
“About going to the police and telling them what I did. I haven’t said one word to her. Been trying to avoid her, but every time I look up, there she is, trying to stir up trouble. Even while I was at that crazy place you put me in, she brought her tail there, making threats. You always want to blame me for everything, but when are you going to tell her to back off?”
The frown on Stephen’s face told me that he didn’t approve of Raynetta’s actions. That, indeed, was a good thing.
“I’ll handle Raynetta, and I’m going to find Joshua soon too. You and I will have a lengthy discussion whenever I can squeeze in some time. For now, I have to get back to Washington. There’s a lot going on, and in addition to all of this, I still have a country that needs me.”
I didn’t want to hold him up much longer, so I gave him a hug and kept my mouth shut. I looked at Ina, who seemed to be engaged in a heated conversation with her attorney. Instead of going off on her again, I got in my car to go do my own investigation regarding Joshua’s disappearance. I expected to find him before anyone else did.
President of the United States,
Stephen C. Jefferson
As of now, there was only one person who could tell me where Joshua was: Mr. McNeil. But according to a source who had been keeping an eye on things, Mr. McNeil was unconscious and still in recovery. I would be notified whenever his condition changed. Meanwhile, I had numerous people working on this for me. Phones were being tapped, certain people related to Mr. McNeil were being watched, and there were plenty of eyes and ears open. I predicted that Joshua would be found soon. It was such a relief to know that he was possibly out there somewhere, still alive.
In addition to all that had been going on, VP Bass had been trying to meet with me, and we finally scheduled a time for that. Things needed to get done. She was upset with me for taking matters into my own hands and not communicating with her. She certainly knew why that was the case, and according to her, this was her last effort to try to make things right. As always during our meetings, Andrew was there to lend support and to offer his advice.
Trouble in the White House Page 16