The Longer The Fall
Page 7
She spent 48 hours on the hill, sitting through hearings, giving a few short speeches, talking to press out in the hallways, and occasionally changing her outfit and washing her face when Jane forced her to. She hadn’t slept, hadn’t visited her Washington DC studio where she often slept during the week. She would have, if she hadn’t needed to get back to California urgently that Friday.
Yes, she felt guilty for leaving—the filibuster had not yet ended and exhausted senators were still jabbering on the Senate floor trying to block the vote demanded by a tired and cranky Senator Shuker—but Madeline also had other priorities. So she gave a few last press comments and squeezed a few hands in support before she took a car to the airport, leaving Jane to field any calls or colleagues who would be angry at her absence.
Now, she had slept five hours on the plane, but it was not enough to recover from the 48-hour marathon session. But she didn’t have a choice, she would stop quickly at home to change her clothes, apply her face creams and freshen her makeup so she could make it to Noah’s and Adam’s school for Career Day. For the last four years, Brandon had attended Career Day, giving talks to both boys’ classes about being the CEO of a highly successful software company. He would sit with the other parents, listening to each of them talk about their careers as real estate investors, engineers, doctors, and C-level executives and then the children would talk about their own aspirations for when they grow up. The parents would all finish by patting each other on the back for what great role models they were and then they would eat lunch with their children in the school’s pristine cafeteria which served—special for career day—a buffet that would have been more than adequate at a five-star hotel.
Madeline remembered last year’s Career Day. She had been in Washington working on a bill for tax reforms and hadn’t been able to attend. That evening, Brandon spent an hour on the phone with her, detailing the other parents’ pretentious speeches, as each one believed their profession was Godsent, that society just couldn’t function without people like them! Especially the real estate agents! They weren’t just selling houses, they were helping people live their dream! They were providing an unequivocal service! No mention of what people paid for these services, they were invaluable! Of course every parent at Career Day was highly successful, even the stay-at-home-moms who talked about their life choices, the most profound of them all. Brandon didn’t argue that these moms made valuable contributions to their families, their work was necessary in raising their families and supporting their husbands who worked long hours and generated enough income to pay the exorbitant cost of Highland Academy—one of the top private schools around.
This year, Madeline had promised she would attend Career Day. Not only had the school been asking (they had never had a politician at Career Day before, unless you counted Mrs. Baker who had served one term on the City Council), but also because of what Adam had said in his class on the previous year’s Career Day. He had stood up in front of the classroom and said he was going to be a Majority Whip when he grew up. The other seven-year-olds in his second-grade class all laughed at him. They were laughing too hard to hear when Adam tried to explain the significance of this position—the person in charge of garnering enough votes to pass a bill—which was also the third highest-ranking position in the Senate. For the rest of the year, students made fun of Adam, calling him Major Whip and pretending to flick a whip every time he walked by. Madeline had wanted to cry when Brandon told her this story—both from pride that Adam wanted to follow her footsteps into the Senate, but also from sadness that the spoiled children in her son’s class didn’t understand what it meant to be a politician. This year, Madeline would talk about being a senator at Career Day. She would tell them that being Majority Whip was no joke—it was a worthy aspiration, even for someone with Madeline’s own pedigree. She would also show the other parents—in particular the stay-at-home-moms—who judged her for her career choice, lamented her parenting and clucked their tongues whenever she was near.
Not to mention, attending Career Day made a great photo opportunity for Madeline. Jane had quietly leaked Madeline’s participation to the local press, who would send photographers and reporters who would add to Madeline’s press portfolio of articles calling her the woman who had it all. This type of press was exactly what Madeline needed right now. It gave people a good feeling about her, and was a great way to prep the public for her reelection campaign launch. It also couldn’t hurt to garner more positive press, especially with Madeline’s hanging fear that doom was imminent. That her blackmailer would never be caught and her career would be ruined. Maybe if that happened, someone would remember that she came to Career Day and that her reputation, after being dragged through the mud, would still have one positive attribute. Would that be too much to ask for?
Madeline felt a tap on her shoulder. She lifted her eye mask to see a smiling flight attendant grinning at her. “Mrs. Thomas, are you all right?” the woman asked her. All the flight attendants knew her by name. That was the kind of service received in first class, as well as an occupational hazard for Madeline who flew cross-country weekly.
Madeline nodded and stood up, realizing that the plane was empty of other passengers. She grabbed her purse, thanked the flight attendants who were all standing at the front with abnormally happy faces, and exited the plane toward the car that would be waiting for her. She arrived home to see the boys sitting in the kitchen eating eggs that Molly had cooked for them.
“You made it!” Adam screamed when he saw her.
“Of course I did! I promised I would!” Madeline tried to match his enthusiasm.
“Yeah, but still!” Adam said, the enthusiasm still shooting out of his ears. The comment stung, but Madeline tried not to flinch. She hugged her boys and ran upstairs for a quick shower so she could take the boys to school.
She walked into the master bedroom and could immediately smell Brandon’s aftershave. Steam from the shower was seeping through the bathroom door, which she opened to see Brandon standing in front of the mirror with his towel around his waist.
“Hey babe!” he said with the same enthusiasm as his son. He came to hug Madeline, wrapping his naked and still slightly wet body around Madeline’s suit. She hugged him back quickly before peeling off her dirty clothes to jump in the shower. “Woah there, I didn’t think there would be time for a quickie this morning!” Brandon smiled, placing his strong hands around her waist.
“Sorry, I’m in a hurry,” Madeline responded, giving her husband a quick kiss and jumping in the shower.
“I know, I figured,” Brandon said, grabbing his toothbrush. “Just thought I’d try.” Madeline showered and Brandon finished brushing his teeth. He left her in the bathroom to finish getting ready. She quickly rinsed herself and stepped out of the shower, drying herself off, lotioning her body and face, and going through her intense facial regimen. “See you this evening?” Brandon peeked his head back in the bathroom door. This time, his body was covered in a blue button-down shirt and he had a tie hanging over his shoulders.
“Yup,” she responded, pecking him on the lips. “Have a good day.” Brandon disappeared from the bathroom and Madeline finished her makeup, blew dry her hair and put on a fresh suit. She put on a navy-blue skirt suit and pinned an American flag to her lapel—the ultimate Senator uniform. She was back downstairs in fifteen minutes, to see the boys waiting for her by the front door.
“Mom! We’re going to be late!” Adam yelled. Noah stood next to his younger brother with his arms folded in front of his chest. So much apathy for a ten-year-old, Madeline thought. How did he already learn to care so little?
“I offered to take them,” Molly said, as though apologizing to Madeline. “I told them you could meet them at school, but Adam insisted…”
“It’s fine, Molly,” Madeline responded, giving Molly a thankful shoulder squeeze. Then she turned to the boys. “You ready?”
She drove them to school, where, sure enough, there were already sev
eral photographers and reporters hanging around the entrance. She parked the car and the cameras instantly started clicking as she and the boys started walking into the school. She put on her big senator smile and placed her arms on her boys’ shoulders, gently greeting the cameras without giving them too much acknowledgement. She walked the boys to their classrooms, first dropping off Adam and then going with Noah to his, where she would be talking first. When she walked in, the teacher handed her a nametag with her name and occupation on it.
“Well, well Madeline! Was that circus outside planned just for you?” It was Mrs. Albertson, the woman who they had run into at the park the previous week. The mother of Jamie who had been the victim of Noah’s bullying—Madeline’s brain immediately started outlining the facts about this woman.
“Mrs. Albertson, so nice to see you,” Madeline responded, as Noah took his seat and she found a place at the front of the classroom with the other parents. “What did you say your first name was?”
“Bonnie,” she responded. “But I prefer Mrs. Albertson. What a treat that you joined us this year! Although I am sure everyone misses Brandon! He’s such a great addition to our parents’ group.”
Madeline smiled. “How’s Mr. Albertson? Has he had the privilege of attending Career Day?”
Bonnie scrunched her face together as though Madeline’s question was endearing. “Oh, Pete would just love to come, but you know, surgeries just can’t wait! He’s needed at the clinic all the time.”
“Of course,” Madeline responded with a smile. Pete Albertson was a well-known plastic surgeon. His clinic had even contacted Madeline’s office several times offering discounted services for the senator. Madeline could not, nor would not ever accept his offers. Not only could they be seen as bribes, but she was also fundamentally against plastic surgery. Wasn’t her cream regimen enough? Was plastic surgery also recommended to male senators?
When the bell rang, Noah’s teacher introduced Career Day and thanked all the parents for joining. She then explained that each parent would get 10 minutes to talk about their career and then the students would get five minutes to ask questions. They had many parents to go through, so there would be no going over the allotted time! Madeline listened as a mother talked about her career as an accountant. Then Bonnie stepped forward to talk about her choice to give up her job in marketing to be a stay-at-home-mom. She talked about how many of the skills she learned in college and in her career were so important in what she did at home every day. As she spoke, Madeline couldn’t help but notice most of the parents in the room were women. There were two fathers waiting to speak, one wearing a green polo—Mark, Engineer—and the other in a suit—Dan, Lawyer. She also looked at Noah, sitting in the back of the classroom, studying his hands. She worried about him, his engagement at school. Whether his behavioral issues were her fault as Bonnie less than subtly believed.
After Bonnie spoke, Madeline was offered the front of the room. She began by talking about why she became senator, how she wanted to help people and make America a better place. She talked about her daily life, which included a lot of meetings, talking to people, giving speeches, and her favorite part: thinking about solutions to the country’s problems. When her ten minutes were up, the teacher notified the students they could raise their hands to ask questions.
“Have you met the president?” a kid in the front row asked.
“I have,” Madeline responded. “A very honorable man.”
“Do you want to be president?” a kid in the back asked. Madeline could hear Bonnie tsk her tongue.
“It’s not about whether I want to be or not, it’s about whether the citizens think I can help them in that position. I would love the honor if it’s possible.”
“Can a woman even be president?” a girl called out without being called on. “My dad says that would be a disaster!”
“Gemma!” the teacher snapped. “Raise your hand!”
“Of course a woman can be president,” Madeline responded, ignoring the teacher’s outburst. “It just hasn’t happened yet.”
“Why not?” the girl questioned, again without raising her hand.
“Gemma! It’s someone else’s turn!” the teacher yelled out.
“There are many reasons, but it’s much more difficult for women,” Madeline responded.
“Couldn’t you pass a law that it has to be a woman every other time?” Another girl called out.
“Ava!” the teacher screamed. “Raise your hand!”
“That would be a great idea,” Madeline said with a smile. “I will look into that.”
“I think we’re out of time and the students are forgetting to behave!” the teacher said. “Mark, I think it’s your turn. Tell us what it’s like being an engineer! So fascinating!”
Madeline thanked the students for listening and left the classroom. She walked through the halls to Adam’s class where another mother was standing up talking about being an interior decorator. This time, when Madeline was called to speak, she gave a similar talk about being a senator. When it was time for questions, all the hands shot up. She called on a small boy in the middle of the classroom.
“My dad said you’re ruining our country,” the boy said in a soft voice that seemed incongruent with his words. “Isn’t your job to fix things instead of making them worse?”
Madeline was used to hearing from people who were against her politically, but not used to hearing these things from sweet eight-year-olds in glasses. The question took her aback a moment and she placed an armored smile on her face. “My goal is always to fix things, but some people have different opinions on how to fix things. Your dad probably has different opinions than I do.”
“My dad says you’re a bitch and you’re going to get what’s coming for you,” the boy said in his sweet little voice.
“Clark!” the teacher called out. “Language! Mrs. Thomas I am so sorry!”
“It’s fine,” Madeline responded. “Clark, I’d be happy to talk to your father. You can tell him I’d love to hear his opinions about how I could be better at fixing things.” The boy nodded and Madeline answered a few more questions before stepping back to the edge of the classroom to listen to the Director of Creative at an advertising agency begin his talk.
Chapter 11
“Sorry about the confusion last time,” Officer Austin said as he stepped into Madeline’s office. “Things get so hectic sometimes.”
“I can only imagine,” Madeline responded as she stood up to offer her hand. Officer Austin gave it a quick shake and then dropped into the chair across from Madeline’s giant wooden desk. It hadn’t been easy rescheduling with the regional director of the Fraternal Order of Police. In fact, it had been rather difficult and Jane had started believing that Officer Austin was avoiding a meeting. After all, he rarely answered his phone—shouldn’t police officers be better about that?—and he always seemed to be busy—how did he have so much time to complain to the press about Madeline’s SAVER Bill? But finally, Jane was able to get a meeting on the books. Even more surprising, was that Officer Austin showed up for the meeting. “And it was a good thing our last meeting was postponed,” Madeline continued, choosing the word ‘postponed’ very carefully, rather than mentioning that Officer Austin had stood her up.
“Yes, what a strange situation,” Officer Austin commented. “Probably some kids pulling a stupid prank. They seem to do that a lot these days, especially at schools. Every time there is a big test, we get tons of anonymous bomb threats coming through.”
“Yes, but you can usually find out who called in the threat in those situations, can’t you?” Madeline questioned.
“Oh yes, that’s usually pretty easy,” Officer Austin responded. “Our squad is great at that.”
“But not so great that they found out who called in the threat for this building.” Madeline softened her tone to not sound accusatory or condescending. This was an important skill for a woman speaking with a man who believed he had all the power.
Madeline quickly changed the subject. “I really appreciate that you are able to take the time to meet with me about this important issue.”
“Of course,” Officer Austin said. “I want to help, I can see you really need it. Although I don’t understand why you didn’t talk to us before you proposed the bill. We could have told you how unrealistic it is and what a waste of your time it is to pursue it. It will never pass.”
“I’d like to discuss your concerns and I think if I can explain it properly, you might actually change your mind,” Madeline responded, using every technique she knew for being a convincing speaker. She was ready to address every concern Officer Austin had detailed in multiple interviews for different newspaper. Her arguments had been running through her head all morning and they were ready to be let loose and attack every counterargument.
“It’s not necessary,” Officer Austin replied. “I’m here as a courtesy, but the FOP won’t be supporting this bill. In fact, we’re actively fighting against it. We’re actually fighting pretty hard to ensure this never sees the light of day.” His tone became sinister and deep. “In fact, I think it would be best for you if you’d just drop it altogether."