Chapter 6
“We’ve got a full schedule going on tomorrow. Make sure you mention your involvement
in the Winter Carnival during any press conversations.” Billy added.
“Do I even want to know what that is?” Josh asked.
“No.” Came the chorus from his team and Julie burst out laughing.
“It’s not that bad! It’s just a little chilly. Everyone has a great time at these events.” She
maintained.
“All the events are outdoors where the average temperature is supposed to be below
zero.” Brian disputed her claim. “I’m demanding hazardous duty pay. We’re all going to
get frostbite…or worse.”
“Well, you have a few months to shop for long underwear. So start shopping now. They
also have these things you can put in your boots that keep your feet warm. All the thin
blooded easterners get them.” Julie faked sympathy.
“Okay, okay, let’s get back to tomorrow’s events.” Josh pulled them back on track.
“There’s a meet and greet at the U of M campus in Minneapolis at noon-“ Billy began.
“Nothing before noon?” Josh questioned.
“This is Minnesota. Sunday ‘til noon is family/church time.” Billy explained.
“You’re kidding me.” Josh stated.
“Welcome to the mid-west.” Julie smiled at him.
“He’s been to the mid-west before.” Billy protested on his boss’s behalf. “Didn’t you
spend like 20 hours in Indiana once?” Billy couldn’t contain the smirk.
“Shut up.” Josh shot back. “After the U?”
“A joint appearance with Senator Stackhouse at 3 and then a meet the candidates forum
sponsored by the DFL at 7.” Billy concluded. “3 of the locals are doing a feature on her
announcement, but I’d love to get some national airtime.”
“I think I’ve got you covered there.” Josh remarked.
“How?” Brian asked.
“I’m going to pick a fight with David Strauss at the U of M thing.” Josh explained.
“Who’s he?” Ben wanted to know.
“The State Chair of the DFL organization.” Billy told him.
“Can I sell tickets?” Holly asked.
“It’s a dirty job but someone has to do it.” Josh replied and turned to Holly. “You’re going
to need to prepare a statement; an apology for the disruption I’m going to cause at the
thing.”
“Is that really a good idea?” Julie questioned.
“It’s perfect.” Billy concluded. “Why can’t I do it?”
“You don’t have enough clout with the party yet, young Jedi.” Josh answered then turned
to Julie. “I’ll get in a little verbal tussle about why he recruited me to run the
Congressional race then refused to back the candidate that my team, in its’ infinite
wisdom, selected. We’ll get a nice national bump from it and some free media too.”
“Speaking of which…” Brian began. “We got some nice checks today with promises of
more down the road but we’re going to need to saturate the district to get her name
recognition up. What are we looking at for fundraising?”
“I’m borrowing Mandy and Peter for that piece of the pie. They’ll be here tomorrow for
two days. That’s all we can spare them for right now.”
“I’ll clear my schedule and meet with them. Brian and Holly will keep the schedule with
Julie.” Billy decreed. “But take the damn GPS this time will you, Brian? We can’t be late
for these things ‘cause you don’t know which way is north.”
“What is this reputation I’ve gotten for getting lost?” Brian asked.
“There was that time in South Carolina.” Holly offered.
“God, what about Chicago?” Billy shuddered. “We had to get a hotel room for the night.”
“You have gotten us lost on more than one occasion, Brian.” Josh chuckled. “What about
the time we went to Manchester to the Bartlet farm?”
“Not only got us lost, but we ended up stuck in mud on some back road he insisted was a
short cut.” Holly laughed too.
“Slander.” Brian stated. “This is all slander. Don’t listen to a word of it Julie.”
“Just don’t get into a car with him unless he has his GPS device.” Billy told her. “They
have assistive technology for people like you, Brian, you might as well take advantage of
it.”
“Ha, ha.” Brian sulked in his chair.
“A reporter from the Star Tribune will be here shortly to do a one on one with Julie. Holly
is going to sit in on that one.” Billy told them.
“After that?” Josh asked, rifling through papers.
“After that is the fun.” Julie announced.
“I don’t really do fun.” Josh told her since he had a feeling he knew what was coming.
“He really doesn’t.” Billy agreed. “The only fun he engages in these days is defeating
Republicans.
“But this is sports fun. Everybody is going.” Julie decided.
“What…kind of sports?” Josh asked.
“Hockey!” Julie pulled the tickets out of her pocket. “Everyone is invited.”
“That’s very kind, but-“ Josh started to beg off.
“I’m not taking no for an answer. I promised Ben.” Julie handed the boy his own ticket.
“Hey! We could parlay it into photo op. Holly, mention that the candidate is going to the
Wild game tonight when the reporter is sitting down with you. Tell them that she’s heard
politics can be rough, so she’s getting some pointers from the NHL.” Billy interjected.
“I like it.” Brian chimed in and forgot his sulking. “But someone is going to have to explain
the rules to me.”
“Someone’s going to have to poke me with a sharp stick.” Josh groused.
“Come on, Dad. It could be fun.” Ben chided his father.
“Fine, I’ll go but I’m not going to like it.” Josh promised.
**************************************
The Excel Center, home of the Minnesota Wild, was packed for the game against their
nemesis the Chicago Blackhawks. Food, beer, and pop were being distributed through
the section that their group had taken over. Donna had opted for a quiet night at the
hotel with Jacob, but Jenny and the rest of the Lyman clan were busy taking in the sights
and sounds of the hockey stadium; except for Tori. She was busily devouring the game
program her father purchased for her.
“Wait until the Wild come on the ice. The crowd thunders to their feet.” Julie was telling
the Lyman kids.
“Crowds don’t thunder. Storms thunder.” Tori corrected her.
“Ohhhhkay.” Julie replied. “The Blackhawks are big rivals of the Wild, so we should see
some great fights on the ice tonight.”
“They fight?” Ally asked in awe.
“Almost every game.” Julie replied. “They drop their gloves on the ice and go at it.”
“Then what happens?” Ally continued.
“Then the referee’s break them up and they go to the penalty box for fighting…like…time
out. How long they stay in the penalty box depends on the kind of penalty they get.”
“For a minor penalty any player, other than a goaltender, shall be ruled off the ice for
two minutes during which time no substitute shall be permitted. If the shorthanded team
is scored upon before the two minutes elapse, the player in the penalty box is
automatically released. For a major penalty any player, except the goaltender, shall be
ruled off the ice for four or five minutes during which time no substitute shall be
permitted. The player who is serving the major penalty must stay in the penalty box for
the full five, regardless if a goal is scored upon their "shorthanded" team.” Tori recited
without glancing at her program.
Julie’s eyes bugged out and her head slowly turned around to Josh who was seated
behind them. He gave her a wry smile and then an almost imperceptible head shake;
explanations would have to wait for later.
She turned back to the kids. “That about sums it up. Oh, here they come.” She pointed
to the players coming out on the ice for warm ups and the crowd went crazy.
By the end of the third period, the Wild was tied with the Blackhawks at 2 goals apiece
with 2 minutes left. Everyone was on their feet cheering and the momentum of the crowd
fueled a breakaway which led to the game winning goal. In her exuberance, Julie gave
the kids hugs. The first one was for Ben “You brought the Wild good luck” she said and
made him turn deep red. Then she reached across Ben to hug Ally who proclaimed she
loved hockey. Lastly, she bent down to Tori who was still seated reading her program,
and started to hug the young girl.
Tori shrieked and jumped up dropping her program to the floor to be trampled under
celebrating feet. Tori tried to make a grab for it and started to fall, but Josh snatched her
up at the last second. He placed her on the floor next to him but let go of her
immediately. She held on to the arm rest of his seat and cried.
“Stupid hockey game! I hate hockey!” she shouted. “I’m not done with my book!”
“I’m sorry.” Julie exclaimed looking from Josh to Tori. “I’m SO sorry. I didn’t mean to upset
her.”
“It’s okay.” Brian reassured her with his hand on her shoulder. They both watched Josh
handle the situation with a cool, calm demeanor.
“Tori, there are more books. We can go right now and get one.” He said quietly into her
ear, but she didn’t seem to even hear her father.
“Stupid hockey people!” Tori continued to shout and cry reaching with one hand to
retrieve the mangled program and using the other hand to hold on to her dad’s arm rest.
Josh hunched down in front of her, took her grasping hand in his, and slowly brought it to
his face.
“Tori, look at Daddy.” He said calmly and patted her hand on his cheek. She looked at
him briefly and stopped crying, then shifted her gaze back to the ruined program. “Good
girl. First, hold my hands up the steps. Then, we’ll get a new book on hockey.”
Without another word, Tori put her hands in her father’s and walked with him up the
stairs. The clock had run out, the Wild were victorious and people were exiting en masse.
“Will you wait for us here?” Josh called back and Billy answered ‘yes’ for them.
Julie looked around and nobody else seemed to be concerned with what just happened;
it was business as usual. Then her eyes met Brian’s again and she saw him flick his gaze
to the other kids. Julie understood he didn’t want to discuss this in front of them.
Josh and Tori returned with a brand new book about hockey from the gift shop. Then,
since they had taken two cars to the game, they split up and Julie offered to drive Holly
and Brian back to their hotel.
“Okay, can someone please tell me what happened back there? What did I do wrong?”
Julie asked in frustration.
“You didn’t do anything wrong, Julie.” Holly hastened to tell her, then shared a look of
consternation with Brian who appeared to be making a decision.
“Julie…Tori is autistic.” Brian said simply.
“I’m sorry? Autistic? That girl has the reading and speaking skills of-“
“A much older child; I know, but Autism has a spectrum and where Tori is at, is called
Asperger’s syndrome. Holly you know more about it than I do.”
Holly looked reticent to share the Lyman’s personal information, but then she rationalized
that it wasn’t anything Julie couldn’t look up on the internet herself. “Asperger’s
Syndrome is usually milder than autism, but it has some of the same characteristics.
Usually, Tori is able to keep it together pretty well, but every once in awhile she gets
overwhelmed by something; a change in routine, an unexpected touch, and she melts
down.”
“Touch…I tried to hug her. That’s what upset her so much.” Julie felt overwhelmed with
guilt.
“Honestly, it could be anything. It’s not your fault.” Brian repeated, but Julie couldn’t
shake the feeling that it was. When they got to the hotel, instead of dropping her
passengers off, she accompanied them to their block of rooms and tentatively knocked
on the Lyman’s door.
Donna opened the door seconds later and let Julie in. “Hi Julie. Ben and Ally have been
talking a mile a minute about the game tonight. It was so kind of you to take everyone.”
“No…that was no problem. I’m glad they enjoyed it…Donna, is Tori okay? I seem to have
upset her earlier and I feel just awful about it.”
Donna pulled Julie inside their suite. “Please don’t worry about it. Tori is fine. She’s quite
enthralled with her new book.” Donna nodded her head in the direction of the living area
and there was Tori, scanning each page in front of her.
“Who is it Mom?” Ben asked from the bedroom doorway. “Julie! Hockey is so cool. I told
Mom all about the fights and the blood on the ice and everything.”
“Uh-huh.” Julie gave Donna an anxious look but was reassured when she saw Ben’s
mother smile indulgently.
“You’ve made a convert out of Ben. Even Ally was fascinated.” Donna noted. “But she’s
sleeping already; the indoor waterpark wore her out.”
“You, Ms. Peterson, are single handedly responsible for all this hoopla about hockey.”
Josh said as he entered the room. “Ben, time for bed.”
“I’m still wound up from the game.”
“Then you can read for a few minutes.” Donna compromised. “Goodnight.”
Ben reluctantly obeyed. “Goodnight Julie. Thanks for taking us to the game; it was
awesome.”
“You’re welcome.” Julie called back with a smile. Just then, a buzzer sounded. Tori closed
her book and walked right past the 3 adults.
“Tori, what do you say, kiddo?” Donna prompted her.
“Night.” She called as she continued into the bedroom. Donna shook her head tolerantly.
“The buzzer is her signal that it’s time to go to bed. Come sit down.” Donna invited.
“No. I’m sorry for intruding. I just wanted to apologize for upsetting Tori earlier.” Julie told
Josh.
“You’re not intruding. Besides, we’d like to talk to you about Education Minnesota.” Josh
told her.
“I upset your daughter and you want to talk to me about the teacher’s union?”
“Sit down, Julie.” Josh directed her to a chair and took one opposite her. “You didn’t
upset Tori, it was just that particular set of circumstances. An unexpected touch, the
noise from the crowd and the loss of her precious book was just too much for her.”
“Is there something I can do to avoid upsetting her again?” Julie asked.
“If you figure out what, be sure and let us know.” Josh said wryly.
“Josh.” Donna chided him. “He just means that it can be different things on different
days. Brian told you Tori has Asperger’s?” Julie nodded. “We don’t hide it, but we don’t
advertise it either. Once people hear the word autism they tend to treat her differently.
With this form of autism, most people don’t even know Tori is affected unless they
witness a scene like you did tonight.”
“I’m afraid I don’t know much about autism and even less about Asperger’s.” Julie
admitted.
“In Asperger’s, like in all forms of autism, the biggest deficit is the ability to engage in
social interaction. Kids like Tori have trouble reading other people’s facial cues and
engaging in conversation or interactions with other people. They thrive on routines and
rules and can get very upset when their personal order is disrupted as you saw tonight.”
Donna explained.
“She comes off as a little odd, a little quirky, but considering her parents, that doesn’t
surprise anyone.” Josh remarked. “Don’t treat her any differently, Julie, but don’t be
surprised if she asks you strange questions or makes unusual comments.”
“Like reciting the rules for minor and major penalties in hockey from memory?” Julie
asked.
“Yeah, exactly like that.” Josh chuckled. “Our daughter is VERY big on rules and will let
anyone know when they break one of them.”
“Ahhh…like ‘we don’t drink in front of the voters’.” Julie remembered that line being
repeated.
“Yes.” Donna replied. “Establishing rules and routines make life less anxious for her. She
tends to get obsessive about one thing at a time for a few weeks at a time and is
consumed with any kind of numbers She can also be very sensitive to some sensory
issues; touch and texture are tough ones for her.”
“Senator Stackhouse!” Julie smacked her forehead. “He asked specifically about Tori
and I thought it was odd that he asked about her but not the other kids.”
“We’ve connected with Senator Stackhouse on this issue through several levels.” Josh
nodded.
“Yes. He told me about the filibuster during President Bartlet’s first term. He told me
Donna was his hero.” Julie paused. “Listen, I should let you get some sleep.”
“Not so fast.” Josh stopped her. “We need to talk about the teacher’s union, Julie.”
“I don’t know what there is to talk about. They’re going to hate me and use their
considerable power and money to sink me.”
“Yeah.” Josh agreed. “I’ve been through all this before when I was running President
Santos the first time.”
“He didn’t go far enough Josh.” Julie stated.
“Excuse me?” Josh said.
“He didn’t go far enough. Eliminating teacher tenure and extending the school year were
bold, solid steps, but he didn’t go far enough.”
“I was chief of staff through all that, you know.”
“I know. That’s why I said HE didn’t go far enough instead of YOU didn’t go far enough. I
was practicing my diplomacy.”
“Your diplomacy still needs work.” Josh commented drily.
“So does your educational reform.” Julie tossed back at him and Donna laughed. “Trying
to institute national changes to education, especially when it comes to curriculum is
going to make the teachers crazy.” Julie stated.
“So let’s figure out how to give them a little of what they want and-“
“No. This was part of the deal, Josh. You knew what my views were before you took me
on as a client and you knew that those views were non-negotiable.”
“I’m not saying you cave on school reform, just work with the teachers to make sure their
concerns are being heard and addressed.”
“Josh-“ Julie started.
“Hold on.” Donna interrupted. “What Josh is suggesting is a reasonable step in trying to
win the nomination. Let us set up a meeting and we’ll see if we can communicate your
position in a way that they can understand and accept.”
“I’m happy to meet with anyone at anytime, but I’m adamant about these reforms, Josh.
We’re not going to be able to compete if we don’t fix what’s broken.”
“Julie… you understand that without their endorsement, it will be virtually impossible to
get the nomination.” Josh pointed out.
“I understand that, but that doesn’t mean I should change my beliefs. The whole point of
this system is to put your ideas and your values out there and if enough of the electorate
agrees with you, they vote for you.”
“Yeah, except it’s really not.” Josh argued. “You forgot a few steps in between, Jules.
There are the opponents who will purposefully misconstrue your statements and your
policy plans. There’s the press who will build you up so high you can’t see the rock
covered ground before mercilessly dashing you upon it. The media who only care about
making money off ad buys and will plaster your face across billboards and television
screens stating that you’re a baby killer. THEN, your precious voters get to weigh in and
the information they’re using to weigh in on is most often false.”
“What Josh is trying to say, Julie-“
“I know what he is trying to say, Donna. Actually, he’s not saying anything so much as
asking me something. He’s asking me if I’d be willing to waffle a bit in exchange for a
Congressional seat; I’m not. I’ll do my best to communicate my beliefs and I know your
team will be instrumental in that effort, but whatever happens after that… happens. I’m
prepared to lose.”
“Well that’s good because you’re gonna.” Josh retorted.
“Afraid I’m going to mess with your stats, Josh?” Julie teased.
“My stats will be fine. My bigger concern is what it will do to you… and then to Ben. He’s
hitched his wagon to your star. You must have noticed he’s got a bit of a crush.”
“Ben is wonderful. I’ll tread carefully.” Julie promised.
“For what it’s worth, I told him he had good taste in women.” Josh remarked and Julie
blushed.
“And on that note, I’ll be going.” Julie stood up. “Set up that meeting with Ed MN. I’ll do
my best with them. Goodnight.”
Josh and Donna walked her to the door. After Julie left Donna turned to her husband.
“There’s no way?” she asked hopefully. “You’ve been known to pull off miracles before.”
“Let me put it this way.” Josh slung an arm over her shoulder and led her to the bedroom
they were sharing with Ben and Jacob. “There are 3 announced candidates for the
Democratic nomination for this Congressional seat. With great luck and great skill…we
might come in third.”
Donna’s head collapsed back on Josh’s shoulder. “She’d be SO good.”
“She’s going to get creamed and it will start tomorrow at the candidate thing. The D triple
C is pissed I’m crossing them on this and they’re going to use Julie as payback….it’ll all
start tomorrow.”