King of the Mountain:
Part 22


Lynn Jepsen


"Lisa, can I talk to you?" CJ stands in the doorway, and I wave her
inside. What can I do for you? "How's Sam holding up?" He's doing okay. I
mean, he's still in negotiation with the unions, and the political
fallout from last month's riots is still pretty damn intense, but he's
doing okay. Of course, he also reciting from Julius Caesar about the Ides
of March. Tuesday, March 16, 2010. Two days from now we're either going
to be the most popular losers in the nation or the democratic nominee,
well, the unofficial democratic nominee.

"You know how hectic things have been....." Yeah, I do. CJ, you're
squirming. What's going on? She glances around the room nervously, as if
crowds of people congregate in my hotel room, and when I walk past her to
shut the door, she relaxes slightly. "Can I ask you a personal question?"
Okay, what's going on here? You can ask me whatever you want, I just
don't expect it to show up in a press conference. "When you were, uh, I
mean did Sam... Could you tell me about....ARGH!" I tried to hide the
mystified look that was plastered to my face when CJ sprawled backwards
across the bed and stuffed her head under a pillow.

Okay, CJ, either you spill it, or I'm going to go get Toby. She sits bolt
upright then, and her mouth hangs open, suspended in midair, then she
rushes through her explanation. "The last time I went to go see my OB-GYN
I wanted to talk about menopause, you know, so I'd know what to watch for
and things just got completely insane and Josh and Toby keep giving me
strange looks about the food and....." I hold up my hands and she stares,
takes a deep breath, and concludes in her press secretary voice. "I'm
pregnant. Three months. I can't figure out how to tell Toby." Now it's my
turn to stand there with my jaw hanging down.

The knocking at the door propels us back out of the twilight zone and
into campaign mode. Diana's voice carries through the wooden barrier, and
I grab my bag and CJ's arm during the rush out the door. Zoey catches me
halfway down the hall with a bagel, my schedule for the day, and the top
five news stories in Illinois today. Diana shuffles a speech into my
hands, and I have to wonder if maybe, just maybe, I'm not the best person
to speak to the local DAR chapter. I mean, wouldn't I have been the
enemy?

"The Governor has a speech at three but he won't be back from Sacramento
in time. Josh suggested you take it." Who exactly would I have to speak
to? I mean, do they really care who I am?

*

"When are we going to do this?" Why not after the primary? If we win, it
will just blend in with the rest of the insanity.... "And if we lose,
which we won't, it'll cheer everyone up." Exactly. "She's not going to
like it." Oh, she'll love it, and if she doesn't, we'll just blame Josh.
Diana laughs at that, and mutters something about Josh acting like an
idiot last night. I'm not sure I want to know. "He was standing behind
the door to Toby's office, and when I went in, I...." Smacked him with
the door? You'd think he would have stopped relieving stress behind
closed doors years ago.

"Ma'am, can I ask you a personal question?" What is it today? Do I have a
sticker on my forehead that says "be nosy"? Diana's squirming a little
though, and so I smile and say of course. "You're close to Josh, right?"
Yeah, I am. Is this going somewhere, because I can assure you, Josh and I
is the last thing you should worry about. "No, no, no. I was just
wondering if, well, if his relationship with the governor's sister was
serious." Oh my. She's got that look on her face now, and I clap my hand
over my mouth and try to make it look like I'm yawning.

I don't know, but I'm sure I can find out. She smiles a bit then, and I
shake my head, wondering if Josh has a clue. Wait, this is Josh we're
talking about. Just because he and Diana have worked together for, what,
six years, maybe seven, doesn't mean he's actually noticed the fact that
she's a very smart, pretty young woman, and I doubt he's ever considered
her as dating material.

"So, the party?" Right, let's get Margaret in on it. She's great and
secret maneuvers. If I ever want to plan a coup, I'm appointing Margaret
to my war council. "Sure, and I'll make sure Lily keeps Toby and Josh
from getting in the way." Perfect. Lily loves beating those two over the
head. "We'll need to get gifts." Oh, right. Well that could be tough. I
mean, it all comes down to Illinois and California, and since we're sure
to win California, it all comes down to Illinois on Tuesday and sneaking
out to go shopping will be tough. "Don't Leo and Lord Marbury still owe
you after they let that passport thing slip?" Yes! Yes, they do. Sending
them shopping for baby shower gifts seems like just the right punishment.

"Now, about that speech this morning... did you have to ad lib on the
fourth paragraph?"

King of the Mountain: Part 23

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