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“We’re looking at Monday. I’ll let you know for sure when I finalize the plan. Will Sam be able to come?”
“I’m sure she’ll try, but she’s due back to work that day.”
“I don’t have to tell you that she’ll be criticized—and so will you—if she’s not there.”
“No, you don’t have to tell me that. I’ll do what I can, and so will she. Are we done here?”
“For now.”
“Are you going back to DC?”
“Later this afternoon.”
“Can you come back this weekend with Lindsey?”
“I’ll let you know. She’s been feeling lousy all week. She might want to stay home.”
“Hope it’s nothing serious.”
“I don’t think it is. I’ll keep you posted.”
“Sounds good. Give her our regards.”
“I will.”
“Thanks for coming out last night.”
“No problem.” Terry had gotten to the door when he turned back. “I know you’re taking the loss of the service members—and why it happened—hard, and with good reason. But you’re an amazing president, and you’re just getting started. Over time, you’ll show them how lucky they are to have you, and this illegitimacy nonsense will die down. Just keep doing what you’re doing. Okay?”
Nick had never heard his chief of staff sound so emotional. “Thank you, Terry. I needed to hear that.”
Terry nodded. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow, hopefully not before.”
Laughing, Nick said, “Yeah, hopefully not before.”
“Go enjoy the evening with your wife. You’ve done what you can for the families and the country.”
“Will do.”
For a few minutes after Terry left, Nick stayed seated behind the desk, where he’d given several network interviews earlier in the day. He turned his chair to face the view of the beach. Almost four months after taking the oath of office, he was still amazed by how much happened in one day in America and how much of it was his concern.
The wildfires raging out West, the flooding in Kentucky, the shootings at Fort Liberty… Each crisis required a vigorous response from the federal government and his administration. Just when they had one thing handled, another required his urgent attention. The rapid-fire pace made his head spin as he adjusted to the relentlessness of it all.
What amused him, at times, was that the same people who disdained the government, him, how he became president, etc., were the same ones on camera after a crisis wondering why it was taking so long for the government to arrive and fix everything. The irony wasn’t lost on him. Some people hated the government, but they still called 911 in an emergency and were damned glad someone showed up to help.
He needed to get out of the White House and spend more time with regular people, to listen to their concerns and assure them that an actual adult was in charge. The thought of being away from Sam and the kids for even a night had been keeping him from doing what needed to be done.
Before he lost the thought, he called Terry.
“Didn’t I just see you?”
“You did, but I was thinking after you left. I have to get out with the people if I expect them to change their opinion of me. I need to be more than just a talking head. I have to engage with them directly. We never got to campaign for office, and I’m not suggesting anything like that, but I want to set up some events at various places around the country where people can spend actual time with me, ask me their questions and get to know me as a person and not a face on a TV screen.”
“Is this in addition to an Oprah-level interview?”
“It is. And I want Gretchen out there doing the same thing.”
“We’ll start working on it.”
