“I remember it vaguely. I saw a clip of him, he was an absolute mess when they brought her body back to the Embassy, not that I blame him. Poor guy, how is he?”
“He seems fine, though I guess he's still pretty shaken. He's writing a book about it.”
“Sounds like a good story. Who else was there?” She reeled off a few names, but told him none of the personal stories that had been told, she knew she had an obligation not to, and she respected it. And as soon as her makeup was done, she walked into the studio and looked at the stories they'd be covering. There was nothing startling or terrific, it was all fairly run of the mill, and once they were on the air, they ran through it smoothly, and then she went back to her office. There were some stories she wanted to read about, and some research she had to do before the seven-thirty show. And at eight o'clock, she was finished. It had been a long day, and as she got ready to leave the office, she called Jack. He was still upstairs, finishing a meeting.
“Am I getting a ride, or do you want me to walk home?” she asked him and he smiled at the question, in spite of himself. He was still angry at her, but he knew it couldn't go on forever.
“I'm going to have you run behind the car for the next six months, to atone for your sins, and what you may cost me.”
“Phyllis Armstrong doesn't think he'll sue us.”
“I hope she's right. If she isn't, will the President foot the bill? It'll be a big one.”
“Let's hope it never happens,” she said quietly. “The commission was terrific by the way. There are some great people on it.” It was the first real conversation they'd had since Tuesday, and she was glad he was finally unbending a little.
“I'll meet you downstairs in ten minutes,” he said quickly. “I have to wind some things up here.”
And when he came downstairs to the lobby ten minutes later, he didn't look happy to see her, but he looked less ferocious than he had for the past three days, since her “transgression.” And they were both careful not to mention it on the way home. They stopped for a pizza, while she told him about the commission meeting that afternoon. But she didn't give him the personal details either, just the rough form, and what they hoped to do. She felt protective of the people she had met there.
“Is there a common bond among you, or are you all just smart and interested in the topic?”
“Both. It's amazing how violence touches everyone's life at one time. Everyone was very honest about it.” It was all she could tell him, or would.
“You didn't tell them your story, did you?” He looked concerned, as he watched her face.
“Yes, I did, as a matter of fact. We were all pretty candid.”
“That's stupid, Mad,” he said bluntly. He was still annoyed at her, and wasn't pulling any punches. “What if someone feeds that to the press? Is that the image you want out there? Bobby Joe kicking your ass down the stairs in Knoxville?” He sounded critical, and she didn't like it, but she didn't comment on what he'd said.
“Maybe that's okay, if it helps someone else realize that abuse happens to people like me too. Maybe that's worth a little exposure if it saves someone's life, or gives them hope that they can escape.”
“All it'll give you is a headache, and a trailer park image I've invested a fortune to get rid of. I don't understand how you could be so stupid.”
“I was honest. So was everyone there. Some of the stories were a lot worse than mine.” The First Lady's certainly wasn't pretty and she hadn't held back either. They had all been very open, which was the beauty of what they had shared. “Bill Alexander is on the commission too. He told us about his wife getting kidnapped.” It was public knowledge so she could say that much to Jack, but he just shrugged his shoulders in response, and was clearly unsympathetic.
“He might as well have killed her himself. It was a damn stupid thing to do, trying to negotiate for her himself. The whole damn State Department told him that, but he refused to listen.”
“He was desperate, and probably not all that rational. She was held hostage for seven months before they killed her. He must have gone crazy, waiting.” She still felt sorry for him when she thought of it, but Jack was unmoved, which annoyed her. He seemed to have a total disregard for the man's feelings and what he'd been through. “What do you have against him? I get the feeling you don't like him.”
“He was one of the President's advisers for a short time, after he taught at Harvard. His ideas go right back to the Middle Ages, and he's a stickler for principles and morality. The original pilgrim.” It was an unkind way of describing him, and it irked Maddy as she listened.
“I think there's more to him than that. He seems very sensible, and intelligent, and a very decent person.”
“I guess I just don't like him. Not enough life to the guy, or sex appeal or something.” It was an odd thing for him to say because Bill was a handsome man, but there was something very straight arrow and sincere about him. He was the exact opposite of the jazzier crowd Jack Hunter liked to hang out with, but Maddy wasn't sure she minded Bill's style and ideas. Although he didn't seem glamorous enough to her husband.
They were home by ten o'clock, and out of habit, she turned on the news and then stopped dead in her tracks when she saw that U.S. troops had led another invasion on Iraq. She turned toward Jack, and saw something odd in his eyes as he watched the broadcast.
“You knew about this, didn't you?” she asked him directly.
“I don't advise the President on his wars, Mad. Just about media issues.”
“Bullshit. You knew. That's why you went to Camp David last week, isn't it? And why you're going to the Pentagon this weekend. Why didn't you tell me?” There had been times when he shared top secret information with her, but this time he hadn't. For the first time, she felt as though he didn't trust her, and she was hurt by it.
“This was too sensitive, and too important.”
“We're going to lose a lot of boys over there, Jack,” she said, sounding worried. Her mind was whirling. It was going to be an important story for her too, on Monday.
“Sometimes that's a sacrifice you have to make,” he said coolly. He thought the President had made the right decision. He and Maddy had differed on that subject before, and she wasn't as convinced as her husband.
They watched the last of the news as the anchor said that nineteen marines had been killed that morning in an exchange with Iraqi soldiers. Then Jack switched off the set, and she followed him into their bedroom. “It's interesting that President Armstrong let you in on it. Why, Jack?” She looked suspicious as she asked him.
“Why shouldn't he? He trusts me.”
“He trusts you, or he's using you as a spin doctor, to make the American public swallow this without hurting his image?”
“He has a right to get advice on how to handle the media. There's no crime in that.”
“No crime, but maybe not very honest either, to sell the public something that might be a very bad idea in the long run.”
“Spare me your political opinions, Mad. The President knows what he's doing.” He dismissed her summarily, which annoyed her, and it intrigued her that Jack was developing such a position of importance with the current administration. She wondered if that was partly behind his fury over her story about Janet McCutchins on Tuesday. Maybe he was afraid of some embarrassment that could upset the delicate balance of power for him. Jack always kept his eye on the ball, and what it could potentially cost him. He made calculations about everything he touched and even more so about the things that might touch him. But when he climbed into bed with her that night, he was warmer to her than he had been in days, and when he reached out and pulled her closer, she could sense that he was hungry for her.