Chapter 32
"What's up?" Julie asked as she came into Brian's
office.
"How was the dinner?" Brian asked as he got up to shut his door.
"Fine. We're having a closed door conversation, Brian? Now
you're starting to scare me."
"We need to have a discussion." He sat down next to her.
"Campaign manager to candidate." He wanted to make sure this
discussion fell squarely into the professional column.
"Now you're really freaking me out."
"Butler's son was arraigned this afternoon."
"No!" Julie got up from her chair.
"Can I finish my thought before you cut me off, please?"
"No. We already HAD this discussion. I'm not changing my mind,
so I'm going home." Julie made for the door, but Brian stepped
in front of her.
"I'm not suggesting we use this in a personal way, but it does
highlight the difference in your policy on drugs."
"How the hell could I have a discussion about drug policy after her
son was arraigned for possession and intent to traffic and keep it
from
being personal?" Julie shot back.
"We can do it. I've been working on some language."
"Great, you keep working on the language. I hope you find
someone to
say it for you once it's perfected, because it won't be me or
anyone employed by this campaign." Brian's door opened
unexpectedly and Mary came in.
"Oh, pardon me. I didn't know Ms. Peterson had returned. I have
a new call sheet with requests for comments on Jordan Butler."
"Throw them in the trash." Julie ordered.
"What?" Mary asked in confusion.
"Thow. Them. Away." Julie said slowly and firmly. "This
campaign is not commenting on the personal tragedy of my
opponent's
son."
"But you have to." Mary pointed out.
"Why? To play on events Michelle had no control over?"
"This is Brian, get me Billy, will you please?" Brian said into
the phone.
"No. You shouldn't pour salt in her wounds, or her
son's." Mary refuted.
"Then why?" Julie demanded.
"Because it's being played all over the news." Mary told
her. "When it's become a news story you need to respond in some
way, even if it's just a `my prayer are with the family'
sort of thing."
"See! Even MARY knows you have to respond." Brian shouted,
losing patience with this whole thing. Both women looked at him in
stunned horror. Mary left quickly clearly upset at the insult. Julie
just stood there with her arms crossed and her lips pursed. "That
wasn't very smooth." Brian admitted.
Julie's eyebrows rose on her forehead. "You think?"
"Hi, Billy, I'm putting you on speaker with Julie and me."
Brian was grateful for the distraction.
"Hi, Julie." Billy greeted her.
"I'm not making a comment about Jordan Butler." Julie
stated.
"I'm not asking you to." Billy replied.
"He is." Julie jerked her thumb to Brian even though Billy
couldn't see her. Billy, being a married man, knew exactly who she
was referring to and decided not to step in that particular land mine.
Keep it professional.
"I'm sure, as your campaign manager, Brian wants to point out
that this isn't using personal Butler family issues to pound on your
opponent. Rather it is an illustration of how the two candidates want
to
address very serious issues of drug use in the country."
"Right." Julie bit off. "Just how would we do that without
touching the Butler family issues?"
"When asked about it…You respond, `That's a personal
matter for the Butler family and I will only say that our thoughts and
prayers are with every one of them.' Then you get a follow up and
respond, `If you want to talk about the issue of drug use in
America, I'll explain the course I think we need to take to address
the very serious issue that affects too many families in this
country.' What do you think?" Billy asked.
"I think it's ridiculous." Julie answered.
"What part is ridiculous? Work this through with me." Billy
prodded her. "Are you concerned that your brother's possession
charge will hit the front page?"
"It's off limits…or at least it should be. My brother, her
son, unless it's Michelle or me under arrest, it shouldn't be
part of the debate." Julie nearly shouted.
"Well, we don't live in the land of shouldn't, and if it
helps you make up your mind, I can assure you that your brother's
arrest is in one of the Butler files, just waiting to be dropped on
you." Billy pointed out.
"Hey!" Brian bolted up in his chair where he had been slumped
down listening to his fiancé and his boss argue. "Let's use
that."
"Use what?" Julie asked.
"You've talked about your brother John's arrest and
rehabilitation before and how it helped you form your policy position
on
drugs. HE was fine with it; use that." Brian looked at Julie's
blank face and listened to the silence on the other end of the
phone and
decided a little more explanation was necessary. "You do your
`our hope and prayers' bit, but when you get the follow up, you
say `look, I'm not going to comment on Jordan Butler', and
if you could use the same indignant tone you used when you said it
to
Billy a couple of minutes ago that would be a bonus. Then you say,
`I know what it's like to have a family member struggle with
illegal drug use, my own brother…yada, yada, yada, and that's
why I know firsthand that jailing people isn't the answer to this
very serious issue. That's why I'm proposing…" Brian held
his hands up in a question to Julie.
"That's brilliant." Billy admitted. "Is that something
you can live with Julie? Using the Butler story as a springboard to
your
personal story?"
"I want to double check with John first. And can I just repeat that
I hate that either of our family members are brought into this at
all?" Julie stated heatedly. "I'll call him now." Julie
left the office to make the call.
"Bro, you just saved yourself from a week on the couch." Billy
noted
"You're not kidding." Brian let out a breath. "I'm
sorry I gave you a hard time before."
"Understandable. Julie is obviously very passionate about this
issue."
"Just a bit, yeah. What's the word on Josh?"
"He made it up and down 5 stairs today." Billy informed him.
"That's…good though, right?"
"Right on schedule." Billy confirmed. "Hey what are the
dates of the State Fair?"
"Uhhhh…." Brian looked at his calendar. "The last week
of August through Labor Day, why?"
"The Fernandez family is thinking about taking a trip out with the
eldest Lyman child."
"Man, Ben would flip for that." Brian guessed.
"So you could use an eleven year old volunteer out there?"
"When it's a Lyman volunteer, you bet. But Ben's ten."
"Until his birthday on August 3rd when he will turn 11." Billy
explained.
"Even better. We'll have a belated birthday deal when you come
out."
"Sounds good. I'll fill him in when I go over tomorrow."
Billy replied. "Hey Brian?"
"Yeah?"
"Really great brainstorm on the drug issue." Billy told him.
"Thanks. Talk to you later." Brian hung up and went out to the
bullpen to find Julie and apologize to Mary, but Mary wasn't at her
desk.
Julie was sitting there instead. Her head was lying on the desk and
her
eyes were closed.
Brian walked up behind her and massaged her shoulders. "Where
did
Mary go? I wanted to apologize to her."
"And…?"
"And you, too. I just figured you'd be punishing me later."
"True." Julie replied without lifting her head.
"What did John have to say?" Brian asked.
"He's okay with it. He even said he'd make a public
statement about his experience with rehab if we wanted him to."
Julie paused. "What kind of a person am I that I'm willing to
use my brother's arrest and rehab experience to further my political
goals?"
Brian reached over and lifted his fiancés head, because now she
was
definitely his fiancé and not his candidate, although the lines were
a little blurry here.
"Your political views on this subject were formed directly from your
experience with your brother. When we spoke to him about this
initially
he felt it might help people understand the problem better. He's
been clean and sober for 6 years, his boss knows about his history,
and
he's willing to share the story himself. If any of those things
hadn't been true, I would NEVER have even suggested using your
personal history. But the truth is that it IS your personal history and
it played a pivotal role in forming you are as person and who you'd
be as a Congresswoman."
"Yeah?" Julie replied.
"Yeah." Brian took her hand to bring her to her feet.
"Let's go home so the punishment can commence." Brian
smiled.
"Only you can make that sound dirty."
"Not true." Brian shook his head. "Any man do that
that."
"I stand corrected." Julie said wearily. The day and the fight
had taken its toll on Julie.
********************************
When Mary came in the next morning, she found doughnuts,
flowers, and a
written apology from Brian along with request to come see him
when he
came in. She hesitantly went into his office and waited until he got
off
the phone.
"Morning, Mary." He said tentatively. "I wanted to apologize
to you in person. It was inexcusable and I can only say that Julie
and I
were fighting and you got caught in the crossfire…I'm really
sorry."
"I kind of figured you were with all the things you left on my
desk…that's okay." Mary accepted the apology gracefully.
"I've been thinking…" Brian sat back in his chair with his
hands behind his head. "Your skills are being wasted in this
office."
"Am I being fired?" Mary asked in a panic. "Cause I can do
better. I promise. Organization just isn't my best feature. I really
believe in Ms. Peterson, and I want to help get a woman elected to
Congress. They just hardly ever even run back home."
"Slow down. You are not being fired. I don't even think it's
possible to fire a volunteer." Brian assured her. "I was
thinking that organization with paperwork isn't your best feature
either. But what you are extremely good at is dealing with people."
"I…I…am?" Mary asked.
"You certainly are. And far better than I am with them as I proved
last night." Brian admitted. "We have scores of volunteers
signed up to help at various events and at the State Fair. Someone
needs
to meet with them, train them, and organize them. How would you
like
that job?"
"I…Do you really think I would be a good choice for that
position?"
"What I have observed about you from the very first day you came
here, was that you were very enthusiastic about Julie's campaign
and
that you were able to get along with everybody. Those are the only
two
requirements for this position. Are you up for it?"
"Yes! I'd love to. You're sure?"
"Completely sure. I'll need you to meet with Blake, he has the
volunteer lists and can bring you up to speed on what you'll do once
you get them all together."
"Blake. Right. I'll go speak to him right now." Mary turned
to leave but then turned back at the last moment. "Thank you for
giving me this opportunity. And thank you for your gracious
apology." Mary smiled and went on her way.
***********************************************
"Hey, Tiger, I was hoping you'd be here. Where's your
dad?" Billy asked.
"Upstairs in bed." Ben replied.
"Is he awake? Is it okay to go up and talk?"
"Billy! I didn't know you were coming over." Jenny greeted
him.
Billy always liked Jenny, and his fondness went beyond the name
she
shared with his wife. Jenny had a warmness and a gift with the
children
that he'd always admired. "I guess I should have called first. I
wanted to talk to Josh."
"Don't be silly, you're always welcome. Go on up. Josh has
been arguing with the television, it will be nice for him to have
someone to argue with in person." Jenny told him. "Ben? I'm
taking the rest of your siblings to the pool, would you like to come
with?"
"No, I'll stay here with Dad." Ben began to climb the stairs
and Jenny gave Billy a significant look.
"Wait up, Benjamin." Billy called after him. "Where's
your mom?"
"Why?"
Billy laughed at the question. "Well, the truth is I've always
had a crush on her, and I think now might be my best chance to
whisk her
away."
Ben rolled his eyes in a move so like his father, Billy laughed again.
"She's at the office. She's trying to catch up on some work
she missed when she was at the hospital."
"Ben? Are you okay? You seem kind of down."
"I'm fine. Dad? Billy's here." Ben called out as he
opened his father's door.
"It's about time." Josh complained. "And what the hell
is going on in Minnesota? Who's running the show there?"
"Brian is." Billy stated briefly.
"I thought we decided that you-"
"We had to re-think that strategy."
"Why?" Josh asked.
"Because you were wrong. Brian's handling things fine."
Billy told him and took a seat on the end of the bed.
"Then why am I not hearing a word about the Butler thing coming
from
our side?"
"Because Brian hasn't sent you footage yet and it's too far
outside the beltway to get any play here. You'll like it." Billy
grinned the way a shark might after smelling blood in the water. "I
thought you were up and around now. Why are you still in bed at
11 in
the morning?"
"He can't do all the stairs yet." Ben volunteered.
"I can do the stairs Benjamin." Josh corrected.
"He can't do the stairs without help and getting really
tired." Ben amended.
"Thanks, kiddo, you're excused now that you're done
embarrassing your old man." Josh teased with a grin but Ben only
gave him a half smile back.
"No, wait, I need him for this next thing." Billy countermanded.
"What next thing?" Josh asked.
"We need a representative from Lyman consulting to make an
appearance at the Minnesota State Fair. Any ideas about who we
should
send?"
"I might have someone in mind." Josh replied sending an
inquisitive look at his son. "Ben?"
"No thanks." Ben answered. "I already told Julie I
couldn't go."
"But that was before the opportunity to travel with the Fernandez
family came up." Billy noted. "We'll be there two, maybe
three days."
"Thanks, but I think I should stay here." Ben refused again.
"Fred, will you go downstairs and pour me some more juice? I've
been shouting at CNN so long my mouth is dry." Josh handed Billy
the
glass.
"I'll get it, Dad." Ben tried to intercept the handoff but
Billy refused to let him have the glass.
"He asked me, Tiger. I'll be back in a few." Billy shut the
door behind him to give them some privacy.
"What's going on, Ben? I thought you'd be thrilled to
go."
"It's not a big deal. Julie said she'd take me next
year."
"I'm sure she would, she seems to like you a bit, but you have a
chance to go this year, in a few weeks. Billy isn't as fun as I am
but he's a good second choice."
"It's not a big deal, Dad."
"I think it is Benjamin, sit back down." Josh ordered. "You
haven't been yourself at all lately. What's going on? Why
don't you want to go to Minnesota?"
"I can't go to Minnesota when you're still…" Ben broke
off.
"When I'm still what?" Josh asked quietly.
"You can't even go downstairs by yourself!" Ben shouted.
"You need help getting dressed and you're still in a lot of
pain. Do you think I would go to Minnesota where nobody needs
me, when
you're here needing help all the time?"
"There it is." Josh nodded. "I bet it feels good to get that
out, huh?"
"What?" Ben asked in confusion.
"You've been holding that tightly inside for awhile I'm
guessing. Listen; I'm getting better every day, Ben. It's not
your responsibility to take care of me." Josh took his son's
hand and pulled him closer. "It's your job to be ten for another
week until your birthday. I promise by the time you're ready to go
to Minnesota, I'll be up and around pretty well."
"How do you know?"
"Because, unfortunately, I've been here before." Josh
reminded him.
"After you got shot." Ben surmised and Josh nodded.
"That circumstances were a little different, but the recovery is
about the same. Except this time, I've got you and your brother and
your sisters to help me."
"You only had Mom last time." Ben noted.
"I didn't even really `have Mom' then. We were working
together but we were just good friends then. But I did have other
good
friends who helped me, and Grandma Ruth, Dr. Bartlet. I was pretty
lucky
to have so much help."
"You were pretty lucky to live." Ben commented and Josh blinked
in shock at his son's analysis. "I watched a show about it on TV
during the anniversary." Ben explained.
"Why would you-" Josh scrubbed his face with both his hands.
"I thought we talked about it and decided that if you had questions
about…that, we'd talk about it. That your mother and I
didn't want you watching news reports about it."
Ben hung his head a bit, knowing he'd directly disobeyed both his
parents. "Talking about it makes you and Mom upset. And you
don't tell us everything when we do talk about it."
"Benjamin, I know you think you're an adult, but you're
really not. Some of the news stories aren't appropriate for
you."
"Why not? They happened to my dad! To Grandpa Jed, Uncle
Sam, Uncle
Toby; everybody!" Ben shot back. "I have a right to know about
it."
"Not all of it, not at age 10." Josh shot back, then took a
calming breath. "What happened at Rosslyn…it was awful. It had a
horrible effect on everyone that was there and even people that
weren't. I still have nightmares from it once in awhile and I'm
an adult."
"I had bad dreams from it too; the show I watched." Ben
admitted.
"That's exactly why we didn't want you to watch them, and
certainly not alone, without us there to talk you through it." Josh
explained.
"You almost died."
"Yeah, I did. Is that what you're afraid of now?" Ben
shrugged. "Maybe you think if you're not around to keep an eye
on me and help me, something else might happen?" Ben shrugged
again.
"You really are your mother's son." Josh chuckled.
Ben's eyebrows drew together in confusion over his dad's
statement.
"You should talk to your mom about that feeling, kiddo. She kept a
very close eye on me for a long time after Rosslyn. She thought
she was
superwoman and she could protect me from anything. In fact, she
thought
if she had been there that night, things would have been different.
We
just don't have those kinds of power, Ben."
Ben was listening, Josh could tell, but he still wasn't meeting his
father's eyes. "Do you believe me?" He prodded.
Ben looked up then and read his father's eyes carefully. Josh had
sat across from President's, Prince's, and Congressional
Republicans, but he'd never felt the heat of someone's gaze like
he did at that moment. Finally, Ben must have seen what he
needed to
because he slowly nodded.
"I'm going to be fine."
"Well, only as fine as he was before surgery." Billy commented
from the doorway and broke the tension with his joke. Both Josh
and Ben
grinned. "He still has a way to go before he's as `fine'
as me."
"And Donna says my ego needs checking." Josh muttered.
"It really does, doesn't it Ben?" Billy goaded the young
boy.
"Not as bad as yours." Ben sat next to his dad, showing his
allegiance with his position as well as his words.
"You little traitor! And I was going to take you to Minnesota?"
Billy feigned indignation.
"Only because you need help running the campaign." Ben hit him
again with the verbal punch. Billy pretended he'd been shot in the
chest.
"Fine, then, sit your butt right there and let's talk
strategy."
The three `men' discussed candidates and campaigns and Josh
wondered if this wasn't part of the problem. Ben was a bright kid
and enjoyed listening to and learning about politics. Josh wouldn't
deny he was delighted in that interest and included him in all kinds
of
discussions. Was that why Ben felt an adult responsibility? He'd
have to talk to Donna about it, but in the meantime, this `kid'
needed to go to the Minnesota State Fair.
"So, when should we pack this one up for the trip to Minnesota?"
Josh asked, jerking his head toward Ben.
"Brian emailed the dates, and earlier is better for my clan."
Billy related. "Pretty soon, it's going to be hard to fit Jen in
a plane seat." As Jenny's pregnancy progressed so did her weight
gain. She was gaining more with this pregnancy than she had with
her
first, and it was the cause of great consternation in the Fernandez
household.
"I'm so telling her you said that." Ben crowed and picked up
the phone.
"Hey, put that phone down. Haven't you taught your son anything
about the code?" Billy accused Josh. "Benjamin, men don't do
that kind of thing to other men!"
"Yeah, but I'm just a kid!" Ben replied and danced around
the room with the phone while Billy tried to grab it from him. It was a
visual Josh would describe in detail to his wife that night.