Chapter 31

Things got rather busy the following morning. Sam asked me to move into Blair House and take over two suites. One was for me. The other was for conferencing. Mine was quite comfortable. The conference room was ... a conference room.

Hawk played his part perfectly. He continued to exercise his responsibilities but did absolutely everything in his power to make the transition smooth and painless. His staff wanted to be kept on and Sam appeared willing to work with most of them.

The Cabinet might be another story, altogether.

Sam was not enthusiastic about keeping six of the Cabinet secretaries. They were quietly informed of his intention to appoint replacements and all six packed and left the next few months for their deputies to deal with. Sam took their hasty and undignified exit with aplomb and asked Hawk to appoint and schedule confirmation for his first picks to avoid them all having to go for confirmation hearings at one time.

Those hearings came and went rather painlessly.

Just about ten days prior to inauguration day our vanquished opponent filed an emergency request with the Federal Court to have me declared ineligible due to my age. The media grabbed onto it as a last ditch attempt to destroy Sam by taking me down. Their histrionics were downright comical and the court heard their demands and quickly dismissed their case. The judge used the Federal Court of Appeals decision as the law of the land and felt no urgent danger to the country in having a thirty-year old President, since the Senate and Congress, as well as the courts had many appointees and elected members of that age.

Hawk summoned Sam and me to the White House a few days later and dropped another bombshell. “Be prepared, the losers are going to file for an emergency hearing before the Supreme Court, early tomorrow morning. Expect a lot of fireworks. The press is being prepped to go postal the moment the papers are filed, and their opinion is that allowing a man who dates women to serve in government is going to be the end of democracy.” We chatted for almost an hour and gave up without really figuring out how to proceed, beyond defending our case by following the law of the land.

“Graydon Files Nuclear Lawsuit to Stop Morrison”

“Finally Time For Justice To Be Served On Out Of Control Morrison”

“Graydon Lawsuit Said to Be the End of Morrison”

As if they had all used the same writer, all the left wing papers and networks rolled out the exact same response to Graydon’s suit. They slobbered all over him as the savior of the republic and savaged Sam as some kind of Nazi psychopath.

Two days after receiving the emergency appeal the Supreme Court agreed to hear oral arguments for thirty minutes on the following Tuesday. Our legal team looked at us as one and said, “How do you defend yourselves when you are being accused of following the law?”

It was time to examine the entire issue.

“Is it helpful if I withdraw myself from this and let the new President replace me?” The chorus of lawyers shouted that idea down. It seemed I was on the team, at least until the Supremes decided which way to go.

Tuesday came as it always does and Sam and I stayed far from the Court, studiously going about the business of appointing the new administration. The press couldn’t hound us because they were restricted from Blair House for security reasons. Sometime just before noon, our lawyers called and said that the justices asked pertinent questions and that they had no idea how they might rule because their questions gave nothing away. We were hoping for a six to three ruling for our side, but were worried due to the vociferous attacks of the mainstream press. The one discouraging note was that the justices refused to say when they would release a ruling.

We were sworn in under a cloud of uncertainty on the third Tuesday in January and Sam moved from the Naval Observatory to the White House. He enjoyed the inaugural festivities. Video of him dancing with various officials, dignitaries and functionaries of the party was everywhere. I kept a very low profile. Something told me that my stay as Vice President would be very short. The universe had a hand in all this uncertainty, I was sure.

My first night – again – as Vice President went smoother than the last first time. I knew the job. I knew the landscape far better than ever before and I knew that it was a temp job. The one thing I didn’t know was just how temporary my new temporary was going to be.

Hawk and Polly headed off to Florida but not before demanding I come see them on, ‘that wonderful boat that their beloved Angela insisted they buy before she died.’ Their pain mingled with the joy they’d experienced having a second chance to raise a daughter, was palpable and precious. My heart sank like a stone when they boarded Air Force One for his last ride as the most powerful man on earth. Missing them was going to take some time to get over.

As I waited for the court to decide if I was a piker, or a Vice President I had my first guest. Summer called and insisted that I invite her to my new digs for dinner. So I did. We ate a fine meal prepared by one of the Navy’s best chefs and upon completion of dessert, Summer suggested that we break in the super king sized bed for good measure.

It worked just fine and we enjoyed a night of calm and pleasant sex without entanglements, or expectations. She and I were just fine as friends with benefits. There just wasn’t going to be a wedding in our future.