King of the Mountain:
Part 2


Lynn Jepsen


I'm halfway down the hallway before anyone notices me. I would have
thought jeans and a sweater would look more out of place. Obviously not.
I hear Diana call my name, but I've got a destination in mind. I hang a
left and pop open the door to Josh's office. He's talking to Ramon and
when I slam the door, they both end up on their feet. "Ma'am." "Lisa."
Ramon, out. He grabs his papers off the desk and hurries out the door.
Josh's assistant du jour sticks her head in to apologize for letting me
through, but he shoos her out again. Smart boy.

"Look, Lisa, I'm sorry. It's just that..." No, I talk. You listen. I've
known you for a long time, and I understand that as Chief of Staff you
have to look at things from a certain angle. Fine. If you ever try and
handle me again, I'm going to pull your spleen out your throat.
Understand? He nods mutely, but I'm not quite through yet. My personal
life.... Sam's personal life - that's our business. He should know me
well enough to know I won't hurt Sam's career, won't hurt Sam. So don't
handle me. The door slams behind me and I know tomorrow I'll apologize...
maybe, but for now, Josh can quake a little.

*

Lily left me three messages about the press conference and two messages
about the green suit. I wonder if she tells Sam what to wear. No matter,
I like the green suit. Sam bought it while we were in Europe. It's been
six, no seven years, and it's still my favorite. Funny, the gift
outlasted the sentiment behind it. The troops will be here in an hour,
and I need to get out of my jeans and shake off the jet lag first.

The shower wakes me up, and the phone yanks me out of my warm steamy
cocoon. I know, even before I answer it, that Diana will be online and
she's going to want me to listen to the speech. "Mrs. Seaborn, it's
Diana. Do you have a minute?" Sure. Sure I do. I put her own speaker
phone and grab my suit out of the closet. ".... the second line still
bothers me, but...." She keeps reading me the script as I dress, and by
the time I start fixing my makeup, we're polishing. Whoever decided on
the theme obviously didn't run it by Sam, because he'd scream if he had
to read this.

"Lisa?" Speaking of Sam... "It's good to see you." It's... it's good to
see him too, but I'm going to keep that bit of information to myself. I
ask him if he's been taking all this medications, and he gives me this
look. Oops! I think I've been found out. "You gave Margaret and Diana
orders to mother me. What do you think?" I take it they've been making
sure he's taking care of himself. Good. Just because.... because we're
falling apart doesn't mean I want Sam to fall apart. "Are we ready for
this?" Probably not. It's been a long time. It's been a long time since I
had anything to do with politics. The only thing I've done since he was
elected is occasionally help Diana with his speeches. I'm not sure if I'm
ready to play the candidate's wife. Having said that, Sam has been my
best friend for nearly sixteen years. If he wants to be President, I can
play the candidate's wife, even if the idea of being his wife doesn't sit
too well with me any more.

He crosses the room and clicks off the phone. Diana will forgive him. "I
missed you." Can we not do this now? Instead, I pick up this awkward
banter thing we've established. It's safe. It's safe, and after... after
the thing, it's the best I can do. "Did you hear about Lionel?" He shakes
his head, and we hold hands - it's not about public appearances. We're
friends. Even when we're falling apart, we're still friends. "Yeah, he's
finally retiring. You guys going to throw a bash?" I nod. The governor's
invited too. It took me almost a week to find a tape of H.M.S. Pinafore,
and we're having drinks with little umbrellas and shish-ka-bob at the
party. He'll get the joke, I'm just not sure if he'll beat me with his
cricket bat or not.

"Are we going to talk about this?" We've talked, Sam. I've talked myself
blue in the face. She was twenty-three, Sam, and I thought Josh was the
cradle-robber. I love you. I respect you. I will not transform into my
mother. Phillip has mistresses. Mother doesn't care. I care, Sam. You're
my best friend, but I'm not sure you're the same man I married. I drop
his hand and turn towards the mirror, giving a last ditch attempt at
pinning my hair up. The pins slip from my fingers and I shake my head. "I
like it better down anyway." Okay, so he's sweet, and most of my anger
evaporated thanks to CJ the shrink. That doesn't mean he's off the hook.

He takes my hand then, and his fingers slip between my own. I'm still mad
at you. I'm still really mad at you, but at least I'm less angry than
when I left. We walk down the hallway, and I wonder if this is really
what I thought I'd be doing at forty-six. Meghan and Evan are laying in
wait in the hall. I'm almost surprised Sarah isn't here. "Mom's outside."
That answers my question. "She thinks you guys need a chaperone." Evan
has such a straight face when he delivers that line that I think he needs
to study something other than politics. Sam slips an arm around his
niece's shoulders and his nephew falls into step with us. "So, since you
said Seaborn for America sounded too much like President Bartlet's
campaign, we thought something simple, you know, Seaborn - President in
2010, would do the trick."

When we hit the stairs, Josh appears at Sam's side, and Diana and Lily
jostle for a space beside me. We're trying to review the theme, when Sam
reaches over, cuts the paragraph, and tells Diana to jot down a new
paragraph. If it sounds half as impressive in the speech as in the
hallway, he's going to hit it out of the park. What am I saying? If
nothing else, Sam can speech. My Sam is eloquent. Now, let's see if he's
presidential.

*

The crowd of supporters outside actually dwarfs the reporters, and once
Sam finishes his speeches, I step away. Sarah is standing off to the
side, and as soon as I step off the platform she hugs me. I hear the
whisper in my ear above the sound of the crowd - "Are you and Sammy
really getting a divorce?" She looks like the even the thought is a
personal attack on her. That's really not fair. I didn't say a word when
she and Michael got a divorce, and they had five kids holding them
together - Sam and I, we've got history and politics. "Lisa!" And Josh,
we've got Josh.

Sarah pulls away from me then, and she smiles at Josh. Whoa! That was
flirting. True, after twenty years of marriage and motherhood she's a
little rusty, but that was a definite attempt at flirting. Josh is
oblivious. Men! "We need you for a photo op." Duty calls. Sam reaches out
an arm, and I smile sweetly for the camera. Her name was Valerie and I
would have preferred the call girl. I slip my arm around his waist, and
the flashbulbs explode in front of my eyes. I blink away the stars and
clutch Sam a bit tighter. I can almost see his concerned look, but I
can't turn and see it. If I do, I might fall apart. Explosions of light
aren't exactly my friends.

Speaking of friends, I suppose now would be the time to rally the troops.
First thought, we have to round up the troops.

King of the Mountain: Part 3

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