‘I’ll write what really happened in my memoirs,’ she told Edward. ‘Only by then who will care?’
‘In truth, no one,’ replied Edward. ‘How many Americans could tell you the name of Harry Truman’s Vice President?’
The next day, Pete Parkin flew into Los Angeles to join Florentyna for one of their few joint appearances. She met him at the airport. He walked off Air Force II holding up Missouri’s Unterrified Democrat, the only paper that had run as its headline ‘Parkin Wins Debate’: Florentyna had to admire the way he could make a rhinoceros look thin-skinned. California was to be the last stop before they returned to their own states and they held a final rally in the Rose Bowl. Parkin and Florentyna were surrounded by stars, half of whom were on stage for the free publicity they were guaranteed whichever candidate was in town. Along with Dustin Hoffman, Al Pacino and Jane Fonda, Florentyna spent most of her time signing autographs. She didn’t know what to say to the girl who, puzzled by her signature, asked: ‘Which was your last movie?’
The following morning, Florentyna flew back to Chicago while Pete Parkin left for Texas. As soon as Florentyna’s 707 touched down in the Windy City, she was greeted by a crowd of over thirty thousand people, the biggest any candidate had had on the campaign trail.
On the morning of the election she voted at the elementary school in the Ninth District, in the presence of the usual group of reporters from the networks and the press. She smiled for them, knowing she would be forgotten news within a week if the Democrats lost. She spent the day going from committee room to polling places to television studio, and ended up back at her suite in the Chicago Baron a few minutes after the polls had closed.
Florentyna indulged herself with her first really long hot bath in over five months and a change of clothes that was not affected by whom she was spending the evening with. Then she was joined by William, Joanna, Annabel and Richard, who, at the age of seven, was being allowed to watch his first election. Edward arrived just after ten-thirty and for the first time in his life saw Florentyna with her shoes off and her feet propped up on a table.
‘Miss Tredgold wouldn’t have approved.’
‘Miss Tredgold never had to do seven months of campaigning without a break,’ she replied.
In a room full of food, drink, family and friends, Florentyna watched the results come in from the East Coast. It was obvious from the moment that New Hampshire went to the Democrats and Massachusetts to the Republicans that they were all in for a long night. Florentyna was delighted that the weather had been dry right across the nation that day. She had never forgotten Theodore H. White telling her that America always voted Republican until 5 P.M. on Election Day. From that time on, working men and women on their way home decide whether to stop at the polls; if they do and only if they do, the country will go Democratic. It looked as though a lot of them had stopped by, but she wondered if it would turn out to be enough. By midnight, the Democrats had taken Illinois and Texas but lost Ohio and Pennsylvania and when the voting machines closed down in California, three hours after New York, America still hadn’t elected a President. The private polls conducted outside the voting places proved only that the nation’s largest state wasn’t wild about either candidate.
At the George Novak Suite in the Chicago Baron, some ate, some drank, some slept. But Florentyna remained wide awake throughout the whole proceedings and at two thirty-three, CBS announced the result she had been waiting for: California had been won by the Democrats, the returns showing 50.2 to 49.8, a margin of a mere 332,000 votes, giving the election to Parkin. Florentyna picked up the phone by her side.
‘Are you calling the President-elect to congratulate him?’ asked Edward.
‘No,’ said Florentyna. ‘I’m calling Bella to thank her for putting him there.’
Florentyna spent the next few days in Cape Cod having a total rest, only to find she kept waking at six each morning with nothing to do except wait for the morning papers. She was delighted when Edward joined her on Wednesday but couldn’t get used to his affectionately addressing her as ‘V.P.’
Pete Parkin had already called a press conference at his Texas ranch to say he would not be naming his cabinet until the New Year. Florentyna returned to Washington on November 14, for the lameduck session of Congress, and prepared for her move from the Russell Building to the White House. Although her time was fully occupied in the Senate and Illinois, it came as a surprise to her that she spoke to the President-elect only two or three times a week and then on the phone. Congress adjourned two weeks after Thanksgiving, and Florentyna returned to Cape Cod for a family Christmas with a grandson who kept calling her Grannie President.
‘Not yet,’ she told him.
On January 9 the President-elect arrived in Washington and held a press conference to announce his cabinet. Although Florentyna had not been consulted on his appointments, no one was expecting any real surprises: Charles Lee was made Secretary of Defense and would have been everyone’s choice. Paul Rowe retained his position as director of the CIA. Pierre Levale became attorney general, and Michael Brewer, national security advisor. Florentyna didn’t raise an eyebrow until Parkin came to his choice for Secretary of State. She sat in disbelief when the President declared:
‘Chicago can rightly be proud of having produced the Vice President as well as the Secretary of State.’
By Inauguration Day, Florentyna’s personal belongings in the Baron had been packed up and were all ready for delivery to the Vice President’s official residence on Observatory Circle. The huge Victorian house seemed grotesquely large for a family of one.
For this inauguration, Florentyna’s whole family sat in seats one row behind Pete Parkin’s wife and daughters, while Florentyna sat on one side of the President and Ralph Brooks sat immediately behind him. When she stepped forward to take the oath of office, her only thought was to wish that Richard were there by her side to remind her she was getting closer and closer. Glancing sideways at Pete Parkin, she concluded that Richard would still have voted Republican.
Chief Justice William Rehnquist gave her a warm smile as she repeated after him the oath of office for the Vice President.
‘ “I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic...” ’
‘ “I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic...” ’
Florentyna’s words had sounded clear and confident, perhaps because she had learned the oath by heart. Annabel winked at her as she returned to her seat amid deafening applause.
After the Chief Justice administered the Presidential oath to Parkin, Florentyna listened intently as America’s new Chief Executive delivered his inaugural address. She had not been consulted about it and she hadn’t even seen its final draft until the night before. Once again Parkin referred to her as the greatest little lady in the land.
After the inauguration ceremony was over, Parkin, Brooks and Florentyna joined congressional leaders for lunch in the Capitol. Her Senate colleagues gave Florentyna a warm welcome when she took her place on the dais. After lunch they climbed into limousines for the drive down Pennsylvania Avenue that would lead the inaugural parade. Sitting in the enclosed viewing stand in front of the White House, Florentyna watched floats, marching bands and assorted governors roll by, representing every one of the fifty states. She stood and applauded when the farmers of Illinois saluted her, and later after making a token visit to every one of the inaugural balls, she spent her first night in the Vice President’s house and realized the closer she got to the top, the more alone she became.