As the former President closed the door behind him and the pair of Senators walked down the path away from their house, the First Lady spoke.
“Well that was some weird shit.” she said, shaking her head. Her husband made his way back into the dining doom and sniffed the air for the first time.
“Did, uh, did you light up in here Micaela?” he asked jokingly, breaking out into a chuckle as she did the same. “No, Senator Murphy’s friend thought it was appropriate to do so though.” she indicated, leading Rashid to laugh harder. “I was getting worried we were gonna have a premature redecorating and I’d end up like Hoffa.” the 44th President spoke, gripping the table for balance as he laughed.
One of the secret service agents laughed quietly in the corner.
“What did he say to you in there to make you write this?” Micaela said, waving around her husband’s notes from the one-on-one meeting. “Was it that bad?”
“Yes, it was.” he said, gathering his composure. “The man’s grip on reality is, uh, fiercely lacking, to put it mildly, Micaela. I don’t think he’s prepared to be President, or Senator, or dog catcher for that matter.” he exhaled. “Senator Dayton is idealistic, to a fault. She’s got her fair share of issues and I think she should have examined whether or not this was the right time for her to run. She’s weak with minority voters and I could see why in the meeting. But Senator Murphy…” he said, “I can see why he’s bleeding allies.” he declared.
He poured himself a shot of whiskey from the table and drank. He was quiet for a moment. “I should’ve gotten involved in this sooner, I think.” he suggested. “Governor Velez…” he said, shaking his head. “This is a mess.”
Micaela Baharia came up behind her husband and wrapped her arms around him. “He seemed nice enough.” she remarked innocently. “The Daytons were nice too. A bit more.. personable.” she noted. Her face scrunched up a little as she massaged Rashid’s shoulders gently. “You know you don’t have to pick either of them.” she pointed out, suddenly serious, pointing at the files on the table with her right hand. “You could just stay out of it.”
“I can’t afford to abdicate this responsibility.” he reaffirmed. “Unless you want to jump in, there’s not some realistic third option here.” he said, some bitterness at the situation mixed into his joking tone.
“Then the way I see it, the decision is obvious.” she indicated, her opinion being clear then and there as she slid one of the files above the other on the table. Rashid grabbed it and pinched the base of his nose with his other hand, letting out a small groan. He hesitated before agreeing.
“Yeah.” he conceded, sending a secret service agent to call on a couple of aides. “I guess it is.”
The Call