The Cure, стр. 8

Chapter Four

After leaving the chamber The President went to his quarters. His room was no different to anyone else, although with the boys choosing to room in the dormitories he had more space, which only made it lonelier. He missed sitting down and eating meals at a dinner table with the boys, but more than anything he missed the conversations with his wife. Discussing what they had done in the day and leaning on her for her advice and support. One thing he knew was that she would have opposed any plan that meant the loss of human life. She was pro-life and initially when he pushed for office she had led his campaign based on a compassionate presidential election focusing on people rather than policy. He almost felt embarrassed about the decision he’d just made. Did everyone else vote that way because he made it clear that it was them or us, or did they genuinely agree that life had to be taken to preserve life. He ran to the bathroom and was sick.

 ‘What do I do?’ he asked himself out loud. But it was already done.

 Just at that point Danny walked through the door.

‘Dad’ he said putting a hand on his shoulder ‘Who you talking to?’

‘No-one son, just putting questions out there in the hope of a divine intervention.’

‘You miss her?’ said Danny, looking at the photograph the President had unknowingly picked off the mantlepiece.

The President went over to his bureau and pulled out a handful of photos. He never got bored of looking through these memories and they brought smiles and tears as he regaled the stories with each one.

‘Ah, this one was at a congress in Washington. I had just been made Senator and Logan must have been born the following fall. There’s your mum. She was beautiful. Everyone was there to see me sworn in, but they weren’t looking at me, they were looking at her. She was like a shining beacon of hope for them. When I was at meetings to raise funds in gentlemen’s clubs, smoking $100 cigars, she was handing out food at the soup kitchens. Whilst I was travelling to countries to meet royalty on private jets she was stood protesting immigration laws. She really was my better half. She was a magnificent woman,’ he said.

‘I wish I had met her,’ said Danny.

‘I see her in you son. Both you and Logan. Not just your looks but she is inside your heart. I could not be prouder of both of you and the decisions you make. You’ll make mistakes but you know what right and what’s wrong. I wish I could take credit for that but it’s all you. I know I wasn’t there for you, but I need you to know that I love you both and I trust you.’

‘I know Dad and we love you too.’

‘Please speak with your brother. You used to be so close. Family and friendship are more important than anything and I won’t be here forever. You need each other,’ said the President.

‘It’s complicated Dad,’ he replied.

‘It’s only ever complicated when a girl is involved. Am I right?’

‘Dad!’ he blushed. ‘Let’s see those photos,’ he said changing the subject.

‘Oh, my goodness,’ he exclaimed ‘I didn’t even know that was still in here. Look Danny, this is in the Whitehouse. We never got to live there but the history in that place,’ he said.

‘So, who is in that picture?’ said Danny.

‘Let’s see,’ he laughed ‘Well, that’s Goldsmith,’ he said pointing to a young man with a moustache.

‘Is he still wearing the same suit?’ Danny said, both of them laughing.

‘That’s the previous President. He wasn’t the most liked President that’s for sure, but he got things done and he made hard decisions and I respected him for that. I can’t say that he left everything perfectly for me, as you can see’ pointing around the room. ‘But to blame him for everything that’s happened, well, no-one saw that coming.’

‘That’s the Commander General,’ said Danny pointing to a man stood at the back of the photo.

‘Yes, although he wasn’t the Commander General then. The last President promoted him just before he ‘stepped down’ so I kind of inherited him on my staff.’

‘Who are those other men?’ said Danny

‘Giants of industry. Mostly CEO’s of Pharmaceutical companies. That’s where most of the funding came from. I couldn’t even tell you their names.’

‘Anyway, enough about the past, let’s talk about the future,’ said the President. ‘Who is this girl?’

‘Just another girl dad,’ he replied.

‘Just another girl does not leave you like a lost puppy dog. I should know. Your mother made me wait five years for our first date,’ he laughed.

‘What? How come?’

‘We were at High School together and she was dating the captain of the football team. An absolute adonis. His name was Will Carlton. I’m not kidding, this kid looked as if he was twenty-one when he was fifteen. Your mom was smitten. She was in the cheerleading team and