Chapter 34: Mercer Family Vacation

We were up by 5 AM and on the road by 6 AM Monday morning. I opted to head south and then west rather than fight the heavy inbound traffic to Washington, DC. That decision turned out to be spot on. I stuck to the posted speed limit for this stretch of the journey, navigating through some mountainous terrain, yet still managed to maintain a solid 20 mpg. We made a quick stop for fuel and a potty break on the east side of Pittsburgh, allowing the dogs to stretch their legs and run around. It wasn’t quite 10 AM when we stopped, and we discovered a small city park just off the Interstate where the dogs had a blast exploring and sniffing new trees.

We stopped for a late lunch along the Lake Erie coast, somewhere between Cleveland and Toledo, Ohio. The village we chose is a busy tourist spot during the summer, but it was quiet when we arrived. Karen and her grandmother asked me to pull over at a sandwich shop, where they picked up sandwiches for us while I kept an eye on the girls and the dogs. Beast, catching the scent of food from the shop, sat up and started drooling in anticipation. That wasn’t going to fly. Grandma Jorgenson gave Beast one of her trademarked glares before we even unwrapped our sandwiches. He had encountered that look enough times to know better—sighing, he laid his head down and mumbled to himself. He soon was back to sleep.

I was exhausted by mid-afternoon. We decided to take a break just after crossing the Ohio/Indiana border. I was fading fast with over three hours still to go before reaching Chicago. I turned to the others and asked what they thought we should do. The Vanagon had a manual transmission, something Karen had mastered while living in the UK. This would be a different kind of driving, however. She was accustomed to navigating narrow country lanes, but we were now in busy, fast-paced city highway traffic.

We decided to take a break for an hour so that I could try to nap. The women took the dogs and the twins for a walk around the rest stop. I managed to get some rest, but people couldn’t help but ask about Beast’s breed whenever he showed up and also the other dogs. Karen ended up answering most of the questions. Every child who passed by had to ask if they could pet Beast, and he was on his best behavior—no ear scratches unless he was being good. The dogs were definitely the stars of the stop. People always asked what I did in DC they noticed our license plates. True to form, Karen proudly announced that I worked for the White House. That always led to more questions. I got maybe 35 minutes of rest out of the hour I’d planned in the end. I was relieved when Karen and the others finally returned to the van, and we could get back on the road.

Wary of Beast and the Dobermans, neither Camilla nor Lawrence wanted to approach the Vanagon at first. Beast had trouble getting anyone to come near him despite his best efforts to be friendly. It wasn’t until I worked with him and the Dobermans that others began to feel comfortable approaching the dogs. Lawrence cautiously approached Beast with a little guidance, and gave him the gentle petting I had suggested. That was it—Lawrence had gained a lifelong friend. I’m pretty sure that Beast would have stayed in Chicago if we’d allowed it. He had taken a particular liking to Lawrence, Camilla, and their little one.

I think that Beast’s behavior convinced Lawrence and Camilla to consider getting a dog like him. I promised that I would let them know if I came across any available Russian Terriers. We had planned to stay at the hotel where we always put up guests in Chicago for two days. However, Lawrence informed us that the hotel had new ownership, and we likely wouldn’t enjoy our stay. The Fosters kindly made room for us in their spare bedroom, accommodating Karen, me, and our two daughters, and even set up the couch as a bed for Grandma Jorgenson. The dogs stayed with Grandma Jorgenson while patrolling the townhouse just as they did our place in Alexandria.

Karen had me drive her to the hospital so she could visit her nurse friends and those who could get away to see the girls on our first morning in Chicago. A few of the doctors recognized me from my appearances at news conferences with the President, and introduced themselves. We stayed long enough for Karen to show off the girls and share pictures of our home in Washington, as well as the manor house we stayed in during our time in the UK. It was funny to see the jealous looks Karen was getting. One of Karen’s friends even came up to me and outright told me that I should come look her up whenever I got bored with Karen. I decided not to share that with Karen as someone would have gotten a beat down.

We took some time to visit the campus, and I stopped by to catch up with the colleagues I had taught with. I was surprised by all the new faces. The department had undergone a major change, and most of the older tenured professors had either retired or moved to other schools. The only ones who remembered me were the department’s assistant and two junior instructors. I visited my old office, but the current instructor didn’t recognize me and wasn’t interested in talking, so I decided not to stay. The one person I did run into and wasn’t keen on speaking to was the older, heavyset campus security officer who patrolled this area. I half-expected his usual sarcastic remarks, but he greeted me with a smile this time and wanted to see the twins. I couldn’t help but laugh when, as we were about to leave, he told me to keep up the good work. He had seen me with the President and involved in the treaty negotiations. Karen and I laughed about it on our way back to the van.

Karen and I both wanted to visit my special spot in Washington Park to see if it had changed over time. I thought it would be a great opportunity to bring the dogs along for a run since we were going to be at a park. We decided to leave the girls at the townhouse with Grandma so that they could nap, giving Karen and me a chance to spend some time together. The dogs jumped into the van as soon as we called them, and we drove to the lake, a place filled with both happy and heartbreaking memories for us. I parked near my tree by the water, and the dogs excitedly bounded out, eager to explore the trees. I had to call Beast a few times to keep him nearby. He would have run off otherwise, and getting him back would have been a challenge. I made all three dogs heel as Karen and I walked toward the spot where our shared trauma had unfolded. Beast started whining and refused to go any closer to where Ginny B’s life had ended when we reached the location. The Dobermans reacted the same way Beast had, hesitating and pulling back. I held onto Beast’s collar and tried to coax him forward, but he whimpered and resisted so much that you would have thought I was hurting him. I looked back at Karen and could tell that she was just as confused as I was by Beast’s reaction. I finally let go of his collar, and he bolted, running about 50 feet back to the van. He stood there barking, waiting for me to open the door. Beast jumped in as soon as I did, and lay flat on the floor, trembling. Whatever force was there was enough to unsettle him. The drive back to the townhouse was silent.

We unloaded the dogs and went inside to see how everyone was doing when we got back to the townhouse. Camilla and Grandma were in the middle of making a casserole and bread sticks. This would be our last night as their guests, and they wanted to make it special. We would leave right after rush hour in the morning, and head to Minot, North Dakota. Lawrence was due to be home soon, and I wanted to spend as much time with him and Camilla as possible.

I heard someone playing with the horn on the Vanagon, so I went outside to investigate. It was Lawrence and a couple of people from the local FBI office who I knew. Lawrence told them about the dogs and asked if I could bring them out to show the other Agents. I went to the door and called for the dogs; they quickly appeared. They followed me out to the driveway, and Beast made many new friends over the next half hour. I put Beast through his basic obedience commands, and he performed flawlessly. The same was true for the Dobermans. Karen called us in for dinner, so I shook hands with my old acquaintances and went inside after Lawrence and the dogs.

The women had outdone themselves with supper. it had to be good with Camilla and Grandma Jorgenson cooperating. Lawrence and I both ate more than we should have. I was stuffed; it had been a long time since I had eaten like that. We sat around the table talking about old times. Everyone agreed that Lawrence and Camilla should come to DC to visit us. I was going to hate leaving in the morning, and I believe Karen shared that sentiment as well. We all helped clean up after supper, and Lawrence and I took the dogs for a run once the dishes were done. While the dogs were investigating the flora, Lawrence and I talked about Washington. We discussed my experiences in Washington and keeping up to date. Lawrence made it clear that the DC lifestyle wasn’t for him. Lawrence and Camilla plan to move back to Minot when he retires in a few years. He claimed that the lifestyle there was more his style.

We turned in early that night since we had planned to get an early start before rush hour. The alarm went off at 4:30 AM, and even the dogs grumbled about being up before daylight. I nearly had to drag Karen out of bed, pulling her by the heels to get her going. She was definitely grumpy and didn’t hesitate to let me know. Grandma wasn’t quite as moody, but I knew better than to push her too far—she had a way of reaching for that wooden spoon when you least expected it. We decided to skip breakfast and planned to grab something on the road instead. We were on the road by 5:30 AM after saying our goodbyes. I was probably the only one in the van awake until we crossed into Wisconsin. A pothole I didn’t see coming jolted everyone awake, and I suddenly heard a demand for a bathroom break—and the girls needed to be fed too. I pulled over at the next exit with food, gas, and a spot for the dogs.

Tomah, Wisconsin, turned out to be quite a charming little town. It offered a refreshing break from the hustle and bustle of larger cities like Chicago and Washington, DC. I could easily understand why retirees would choose to settle in a peaceful town like Tomah. We stopped at a nice park just off the Interstate where the dogs had a chance to stretch their legs after their morning Kibble. We got back on the road, heading toward Minot, once everyone was fed, watered, and the van was topped off with gas. We decided to drive through Minneapolis and grab lunch on the far side of the Twin Cities. It was a good call. The rain started pouring just before reaching the city, and no one was excited about the idea of being stuck in the van with the smell of wet dogs.

We made our midday stop in a town called St. Cloud, MN. We fed and watered everyone and gassed up the van again. I had Karen and Grandma look at the map to determine a place for us to stay for the evening. They decided that Fargo, North Dakota, would be our best option as our stop for the night. A couple more hours, and I would be ready to stop for the evening anyway.

Our stop in Fargo, ND, didn’t start off well as we struggled to find a motel for the night. The upscale chain motels refused to accommodate us because we were travelling with several large dogs. Frustrated, I was ready to give up and head back to the interstate, planning to take a break at the next rest stop before we pushed on to Minot. Karen asked me to stop just as I was about to merge back onto the highway. She pointed down the road in the opposite direction of where I’d planned to go. Wanting to keep her happy, I decided to follow her suggestion. Karen told me to turn into the driveway of a small, independent motel that looked well-kept after driving only a quarter of a mile. I parked in front of the office, and Karen said that she would go in to talk to the owner about available rooms. Having already been turned down twice, I motioned for her to go ahead. She was inside for about ten minutes before she emerged while smiling, with an older woman who was also smiling, by her side. Karen waved for me to get out of the van and come over to where they were standing.

I did as Karen gestured for me to do. The woman standing next to my wife gave me an odd stare, which made me feel uncomfortable. I wondered what Karen had said to her to provoke such a look. Karen glanced at me and winked.

“I’d like you to meet Clara Johnson, James,” Karen said. “She’s the owner of the motel, and she and I were talking about the President. She’s quite the fan of him and the First Lady.”

I recognized the look the motel owner was giving me now. It was the kind of look a fan would give to a rock star. I was really starting to get nervous. I thought to myself, ‘What did you promise this lady, Karen?’

Karen added, “I told her that we were on vacation and not travelling with our usual protection detail. We opted to bring our guard dogs instead, as they’re less noticeable. I also mentioned that the chain hotels refused to accommodate us because of the dogs. Would you mind showing her how well-behaved they are and bringing them out for her to see?”

It was worth a try, and I had Beast and the two Dobermans get out. All three dogs stretched and looked around. Beast saw the Johnson woman standing between Karen and me and must have decided she was a friend. He came over, sat, and waited for his expected ear scratch. The two Dobermans must have come to the same conclusion and followed Beast’s lead. All three looked up at her, expectantly, patiently waiting.

“They want you to pet them, Ms. Johnson. That’s how they know you’re a friend,” I said. “The big one there is the leader—actually, a big baby—so you will want to pet him first. He likes to have his ears scratched.”

Clara Johnson was thrilled to death to pet the guard dogs of someone who knew the President and the First Lady. She would have something to tell her circle of friends as soon as we checked in. She would be working the phone, telling all her friends who was staying at her motel. I looked over at Karen and saw the look of triumph on her face.

“Would you like one room or two rooms?” Clara Johnson asked us.

“Do you have two connecting rooms?” Karen asked. “That would work out better for us.”

She did, and Karen went in to register us while I took the dogs away from the motel so they could relieve themselves. Grandma was getting the twins ready to be taken out of their car seats while Karen and I were busy. I came back with the dogs just as Karen came out of the office with the keys to two adjoining rooms. I made the dogs sit and stay while I opened the back of the van to unload and carry our bags into the rooms.

The rooms might not have been the finest, but they were clean and well-kept. The owner of the motel clearly took pride in the property. I planned to arrange for a letter to be sent to her, signed by the President as a token of appreciation. That would surely make her happy, especially since she had graciously rented to us for the night.

That reminded me that I hadn’t checked in yet, so I figured I should do that. I picked up the phone and noticed that it was direct dial. I grabbed my address book, found the number, and made the call. I expected to speak with an aide since it was late. I was checking in at least, so no one could say anything about that, but I ended up speaking with the COS instead of an aide. I asked if there was anything urgent that needed my attention after some small talk about our trip. There was nothing pressing, and I mentioned the woman who ran the motel just as I was about to hang up. The COS liked the idea and had an even better suggestion, asking me to hold. Karen had just come into the room when the President picked up the line. He asked if I could get the motel owner on the phone because he wanted to speak with a fan. I asked Karen to get Clara Johnson. The President asked how Chicago had been a few minutes later. He reminded me that he was originally from Illinois.

It was then that Karen came back into the room, followed by Clara Johnson. I motioned for her to come over and told her there was someone on the phone who wanted to speak to her. I handed her the phone, and that phone call rocked her world for the next couple of minutes. I thought she was going to pass out at first, but she stayed upright. She placed the receiver on the base when the call ended, and walked out of the room in a daze. Karen and I had made someone’s day brighter.

I finished bringing our things in, and Karen and Grandma got the twins settled. I went to the office with the dogs at my heels. I opened the door and entered. The motel owner was sitting in a chair behind the counter in a stupor. I wanted to ask for a suggestion for carryout. It took a while, but she came around, and she recommended a spot up the road when I asked about a place for takeout. She said to make sure that I got the specials, as I wouldn’t regret it. Clara told me that I had made her day happier just as I was about to turn and leave, and said that was rare. I imagined there was a story there, but I didn’t want to dredge up bad memories for her while she was emotionally feeling high. I thanked her for the dinner suggestion and went out the door. I walked back to our rooms and told Karen that I was going for supper where the motel owner had recommended.

That night’s supper consisted of meatloaf, baked potato skins, a bean casserole, and apple crisp for dessert. The takeout was surprisingly pretty good for a meal on the road. Even Grandma didn’t have any complaints. We settled into Adirondack chairs outside, soaking in the evening. The motel owner joined us, and Karen and her grandmother kept her entertained with stories about their time in Washington, the White House, and our year living in a manor house on an estate in the UK. Clara sat there, wide-eyed, listening intently as Karen and Grandma shared tales of their lives—first in Minot, then Chicago, Washington, and finally the United Kingdom. Beast, ever the opportunist, tried to sneak his head onto Clara’s lap, hoping for some ear scratches. I wasn’t going to stop him as long as she didn’t mind. The twins started getting a bit fussy, so we decided that it was time to turn in. Clara thanked us for choosing her motel as we made our way back to our rooms, and said that we had brightened her week. She mentioned that she didn’t often get the chance to meet people like us. I made a mental note to stop here again on the way back to Washington. Supporting small businesses and people like Clara felt important to me.

We didn’t leave as early as we normally would in the morning, and that gave everyone a chance to sleep in and get more of a rest. The dogs wouldn’t hear of it, of course, and got me up for a morning walk at 6 AM. The dogs decided that they wanted to walk along the road back toward the highway. I think that they found it more interesting than going the other way, which was mostly open grasslands. The route they chose had trees, bushes, mailbox posts, and other interesting things to smell and investigate. The dogs must have gone close to a half mile, which put us in front of one of the chain hotels that was rude to us last night. Beast started sniffing, and I knew what was going to happen next. I remained quiet, and I quickly hustled the crew back up the road after he was finished with his business.

We were ready to be on the road by 8 AM, and I had just finished loading the van and getting the girls into their car seats when Clara came out of the motel office. She was carrying a tray filled with what looked like breakfast sandwiches on it. They didn’t look like anything that I had tried before. She wanted to fix us something special as a way to say thank you for the chance to talk to the President before we left. She told us that they were a traditional Swedish breakfast sandwich. Grandma sceptically looked at them and asked what the ingredients were. The ingredients were buttered rye bread, a small scoop of canned salmon, and a sliced hard-boiled egg, topped with thinly sliced radish. I wasn’t sure about this, and I didn’t want to insult our host. I picked one off the tray and took a small bite. It wasn’t something that I had ever tried before, but it was very tasty, and I told her so. Grandma and Karen agreed that they were delicious. I made a pig of myself and ate three of the sandwiches. I probably had the breath of a sea lion, but a breath mint would take care of that. Grandma and Clara were deep in discussion when I announced that it was time for us to roll. I got everyone loaded, including Beast, who thought that he had found his perfect master in Clara Johnson. We were off to Minot, which after consulting the road map, was four hours away

We left the interstate ninety minutes after leaving Fargo, and drove north toward Minot. The scenery around us started to look very familiar; the view was flat prairie lands as far as the eye could see. I was recalling my times travelling similar roads on my Honda motorcycle. That brought back some memories. We were to be staying in a furnished home in Minot that belonged to one of Grandma’s best friends. It was a rental property for students during the school year. It provided extra income in addition to their social security. They were between renters and had offered it to us for a couple of nights.

We arrived in Minot in the early afternoon, and Grandma directed us to her friend’s home. Grandma had a teary reunion with her friend. It had been a while since they had seen each other, and it would take most of the afternoon to catch up. Karen and I decided to walk to the campus where I used to teach. I wanted to see if anyone there remembered me. I’m sure that the Chancellor would if he was here. It had been over five years since I last set foot on this campus. Grandma insisted that we leave the twins with her since she claimed that both her and her friend loved to spoil babies. I offered to let them keep the dogs as well; that didn’t go well. Karen, Beast, the Dobermans, and I walked over to campus. We walked past Grandma’s house. She didn’t want to see it; it had far too many memories for her, and she wanted to keep looking into the future. The house looked to be in good condition, and I saw that there were children’s’ toys in the driveway. I guessed that whoever now rented it from the university had children. It gave it a different feel from when I lived there. The dogs stopped to investigate the smells they encountered at every tree. I got a real chuckle when this feisty Chihuahua came out to challenge Beast and my other dogs. They stopped, sat down, and looked at me as if to say, “What do we do now?” An older woman came running, I’m sure to save her ‘precious’ from the larger dogs. Mine just sat there patiently waiting. The older woman picked up her pipsqueak mutt and glared at us as we walked by. I could see this woman being a potential problem in the neighborhood if we were still in town.

We were on campus after a thirty minute walk, and all the people, sounds, and smells excited the dogs. Everyone had to stop and pet Beast, of course, much to his satisfaction. We finally made it over to the Math and Sciences building and went in. I went over to where my old office had been. The door was open, and the office occupied. I knocked on the doorjamb, and a familiar face looked up at me. It was one of my old students now on the university’s faculty. He immediately recognized me and jumped up to greet me. He came around the desk with his hand out and grabbed mine, pumping it like a hand pump. He filled me in on his career at the university so far, and told me that he was getting ready to move on to start his PhD at the University of Chicago. I heard the dogs getting restless and told him that I had other people on campus I wanted to see. We said our goodbyes, and I went out to join Karen and our dogs. We would make one more stop before heading back to where we were staying. I told Karen she could visit with the chancellor’s gatekeeper while I was visiting him; she would love to talk to Karen. The woman was a born gossip, and she would keep Karen busy with her questions.

The walk over to the administration building took five minutes, and we went up to the second floor where the Chancellor’s office was located. Going up these steps felt strange; I was giving the Chancellor my resignation the last time I walked up them. We walked down the hall to his office. The same gatekeeper was still there, and the same person was serving as Chancellor according to the plaque beside the doorjamb. I walked in; it took a few seconds for her to recognize me, and she was all smiles as soon as she did. I introduced Karen to her and asked about the Chancellor. She smiled, got on her phone, and dialed his extension. She informed him when he answered it that there was someone in the outer office who he would want to see.

The Chancellor came rushing out his door expecting to find a disgruntled faculty member or a student; he saw me instead. His facial expression went from a scowl to an enormous smile. The Chancellor held his hand out and gripped mine in his usual firm manner. He told me that he was glad to see me. His next statement that I think he said only half jesting, was that he wanted to know if I was ready to have my old job back. We both laughed at that. He looked over toward Karen with a confused look on his face, and then he spotted Beast and the other dogs patiently waiting on the floor. I introduced Karen as my wife, and I saw his concern about Beast and the other dogs. I explained we were walking our pets when I decided to visit the campus and look up old friends. He did make the comment that the dogs were well-mannered for such large animals. He invited me back to his office, and Karen sat down and started talking to his gatekeeper.

The Chancellor said that he had been following my career since I had left here almost five years ago. He said that my rapid rise as a presidential advisor amazed him. He was almost jealous of me, but he had spent time in Washington in his younger days, something that he said he wouldn’t wish on any sane person. I had to agree with him on that. I was surprised that he knew about my move to the UK and my involvement in the treaty process. He told me that more than one political science professor was envious of me. I had to laugh at that comment; if only they knew. He asked if he would know any of the people I worked with on a regular basis. I asked if he had ever heard of Dr. Johannes Frisch. He said that he knew who he was, as he had read some of Dr. Frisch’s commentaries on international law. The Chancellor, in his pre-administrative years, had been a professor of economics and international studies. I told the Chancellor that I was Dr. Frisch’s co-worker and close friend. The Chancellor said that he would like to meet Dr. Frisch someday. That was something I could arrange, and I told him that I would see what I could do. Looking at the clock on the wall, I saw that it was time Karen and I headed back. I told the Chancellor that Karen and I needed to return to where we were staying with friends, and that I would stop back in if I had a chance, as we had planned to be in town for a couple of days.

The Chancellor walked me to the outer office and was glad that I thought enough of my old place of employment to stop in and say hello. He said that he would tell the other faculty that I was back in town for a few days. He said goodbye to me and Karen, and we were soon out the door of the administration building. I spotted an old nemesis walking across campus, and hoped to avoid her. She was a gossip and could cause trouble if she saw us. We were fortunately able to miss her and were soon walking back to the house where we were staying.

We walked up to where Grandma Jorgenson was supposed to be twenty minutes later, except that she wasn’t there. Her friend rather icily treated Karen and me, said that Grandma had taken the twins and walked back to where we were staying. Karen and I both looked at each other as I thanked Grandma Jorgenson’s friend for informing us where she was. We walked the block or so to the house we were staying at. I could sense that something wasn’t right as soon as I walked through the door. I think Karen did too as it had started to get dark out, and Grandma was sitting in the dark living room. I walked over and turned the lamp on so that we could see. I saw that Grandma Jorgenson had been crying when the light was on.

I let Karen handle it since this was her side of the family. Grandma was reluctant to answer her when Karen asked what the problem was. It took a little coaxing from both of us to get Grandma to reveal what had her so upset. Her friend had accused us of ‘putting on airs’. The friend said the pictures we had brought along to show her proved that was our intention all along as no person as young as I was could possibly have risen through the ranks as fast as I had unless I had something on someone. It went on and on like this, one accusation after another. I didn’t know this woman, and I was equally upset with her. Our mutual dinner plans were canceled, and we were to remove ourselves from her friend’s property in the morning. I then learned that the woman making the accusations was Camilla’s aunt and had been Grandma Jorgenson’s best friend in Minot for over 25 years. I was surprised by that revelation; I was wondering if Lawrence and Camilla shared those feelings. Other than Clara Johnson last night and this morning in Fargo, our visit to North Dakota was a bust.