Bipartisanship and Romance Pt. 06

He frowned, "I think this is weighing on her a lot. The pictures are so... graphic. She just has a lot going on. A businessman in South Carolina is offering to pay for a primary challenge."

"Jesus," I sighed. My heart seemed like it was in a vice.

"Maybe lie low for a while. This looks bad, but it's just two single people enjoying each other," he said, trying to sound comforting. He patted my shoulder and headed out.

Leaving the meeting, I was again surrounded by reporters. This time their questions focused on a new horror that came out while I was at the conference. Someone had leaked that Maddie and I had just come back from a vacation together. The questions all focused on what we did down in St. Thomas. Jesus, I thought, who the fuck would leak that. When I got back to my office, Mike handed me a piece of paper. Steve Schadt had issued a statement. He stated that I could no longer claim to represent the family values of the good people of Southwestern Ohio because of my shameful behavior.

"He does know that our constituents have sex, right?" I asked. Mike laughed a little, which eased some of the tension.

"We know where he is going to try and hit you this fall," he said with a shrug.

I sat in my office and tried twice more to call Maddie. Still no answer. The last shoe to drop was at about 4:30 in the afternoon. Arnold Play, speaking at a rally, decided to stick his face in it.

"It's just terrible folk. Terrible. She's in bed with the enemy. And I mean the enemy. Bates is a liberal, anti-gun, socialist folks. It was bad enough when he is brainwashing our children, much less a Republican in Congress. I mean, really, we gotta get her outta there. We gotta get both of them out, but now sadly her too." The crowd went wild. I put my head down on my desk.

At about five, there was a knock on the door. Maddie walked in. I jumped up and ran over to her. I tried to put my arms around her, but she held up a hand to stop me.

"Please, Ted, stop. I have to say this," she half-whispered out. She sat in one of the chairs in front of my desk. I kneeled next to her.

"Ted, we have to put an end to this," she started.

"I can't agree more! We have been issuing statements all day. We are going to kill this thing right now. I even talked to Farmer. He said that if he finds it was one of his guys, he will string him up. Maybe your dad knows some people that could help us figure." She cut me off.

"NO TED US!" she yelled. "We have to stop. Stop being us. At least for a while. People are using this to destroy us. We have to stop."

I rocked back on my heels, stunned. "Maddie, no. You can't mean that. Someone is attacking us. This isn't right. I don't want to lose you over someone else's hate."

"We need to take care of the things that matter, Ted. You and I came here because we believed in things. I will not let either one of us sacrifice that."

"Maddie, that doesn't matter to me now. I could walk away from all of this if I can keep you." I said, tears coming to my eyes.

"Don't!" she said firmly. "Don't you dare walk away from the job. You are good at it. I won't let you. That's why I released my statement before I came here."

"What statement?"

"I announced that we had agreed to end our relationship to focus more on our work. I announced it was mutual and that we hoped that the world would then give us our privacy," she said.

"Maddie, no. Jesus, please don't do." She cut me off.

"It's done, Ted," she stood. "I called Mike and told him to prepare one for you. He will bring it in when I leave. I'm very sorry, but it is the right thing to do."

I got to my feet, wobbling. "Maddie, please." It came out as a shaking whisper.

"I'm so sorry, Ted. I never wanted this to ever happen to us." She walked forward, put her arms around me, and kissed me. Before I could grab her, she spun away and went out the door. I fell to my knees. It was worse than getting shot. When Mike came into the office, I was sitting on the floor against my desk.

"She called and asked me to prep this," he said, handing me a piece of paper. I scanned it. It said something about the mutual ending and continuing the great work, blah, blah.

"It's fine whatever," I croaked out. "And Mike," I looked him dead in the eyes, my voice getting firmer, "if you ever prep a statement about my personal life that I didn't authorize EVER AGAIN, I will fire you. Now, get out." He closed the door when he left. I was still sitting on the floor an hour later when Mike told me that Speaker Gower wanted me in her office.

The reporters were gone. It was primetime news time. I was able to get over to her office without being bugged. I was ushered right in when I got there. I almost flew into a rage when I saw Alexa Sanchez-Cruz was in the office also.

"Ted, thank you for coming. Please sit," Gower said. I recognized the pleasant tone. She used it on Raj, Eddie, and me before laying out her plan to pass healthcare. "You've met Alexa before, haven't you?"

"I have entertained her in my house. I guess I wasn't an excellent host," I hissed through clenched teeth.

"Look, this has nothing to do with that. I was just answering a question, honestly. I have no way of knowing what you and your girlfriend talked about," Sanchez-Cruz said.

"That's such horse shit!" I exploded. "Oh, and now she's my ex-girlfriend, so I guess you don't need to worry about my pillow talk any God damn more!" Alexa looked shocked.

"I. I'm sorry," she stuttered. "It wasn't my intention to." I cut her off.

"Well, it was somebody's intention, and you helped give it a push." Gower held up her hand.

"Alexa, do you like our recent healthcare reform bill?" the Speaker asked. We were both taken aback by the question. Alexa nodded.

"And you know, of course, that Mr. Bates helped us get that deal," Gower said sweetly. Again Alexa nodded.

"Ted, were you dating Ms. Crawford at the time we made that particular play?" Gower asked me. I nodded.

"SO THEN WHY THE FUCK TO I HAVE TO PLAY REFEREE FOR A DEMOCRAT ON DEMOCRAT CRIME!" she screamed at Sanchez-Cruz. "He was dating her when we got the largest piece of healthcare reform in thirty years. He didn't tip his hand to her and kept dating her for almost two months afterward." Gower threw up her hands.

"It's hard enough to defend ourselves from the other guys when we have to defend ourselves from each other. I can't reprimand you because it looks like I am covering for something he did," Gower said, pointing at me. "You are going to have to go out and walk it back. TONIGHT. I don't need some conspiracy nut like Mark Grast turning this into a club to hit us. And Jesus Arnold Play. You turned Arnold Play on that girl after everything that happened today." Again Alexa looked stunned.

"What, what did Play do?" she asked, fear in her voice. The Speaker turned on the tv and flipped around until he inevitably found Play's statement from earlier in the day. Alexa's hand went to her mouth, and I saw tears form in her eyes. "Oh, no," she whispered. "I never. I never meant for that. Oh God, he attacked her. Oh, no." She started crying. I felt so bad I patted her back.

"That is why we don't commit Democrat-on Democrat crime," Gower said quietly. She turned off the tv.

Sanchez-Cruz looked at me. "I'm so sorry. I. I. I'm just so sorry."

"It's ok. Well, it will be ok one day. Just please fix it as best you can," I told her. She jumped out of her chair and announced that she would do it right then. Gower asked her to take her time and clear it through her office first. I also got up to leave, but she asked me to stay. Sanchez-Cruz left.

"Scotch?" she offered.

"God, yes." My voice sounded so tired.

"I really am sorry. Someone is doing this either to you or to her. It's not Steve Schadt. He isn't creative enough for this." She handed me the scotch. "Your statements were good. I know that they hurt, but they were good, and they will help get you through this." I sniffed.

"It isn't fair. We didn't do anything wrong," I sighed into my drink.

"No, you didn't. And if the truth were ever told, people would be shocked how much exactly what you two were doing happened here. Hell, Kyle and I have been going at it for over a decade now," she said with a small smile. "This place is like a rabbit farm. Everyone here is fucking someone."

I stared at her for a moment. "Amigos. You called us amigos when you gave us the plan. Then he said it in the meeting."

She smiled. "I got divorced in 1997. His wife died in 2003. We were at a conference in San Fransisco, some economic thing in 2010. Drinks were served, dinner, then more drinks. Then I was back in his hotel room. We don't live together. We go out to dinner once or twice a month. If we are both at an out-of-town event, we sneak around. Hell, the day of our little healthcare coup, he called me into his office and, I shit you not, put me over his knee and spanked me. I got so hot that I took him right on the couch in his office. We were almost late for the Christmas party."

I almost spit out my scotch. She smiled again. "As I said, it's a rabbit farm here."

"But then why is this happening?" I asked.

"I don't know Ted. I don't," Gower said with genuine sympathy. "But I am going to tell you how to get out of it. You are going to lie low. Keep coming to work, but stay off the camera as much as they let you. Don't say anything. I want to keep you on the SB-12 team. The teachers like you, and I don't think this will change that."

"And what let this blow over? I don't see it happening," I said.

"I think it will. And I suspect you will get an assist from Arnold Play," she said, downing her scotch.

When I got home, the guys were waiting for me. Eddie handed me a beer, and Raj hugged me. Maddie had moved out. She was kind enough to pay the company we rented from her cut for the next eleven months. I asked Eddie if he would apologize to Mike, and I promised to do so when I got to the office. When I went to bed, I cried.

It turns out Carol Gower was right. The very next day, Doug Santos won the Iowa caucus. Finishing hot on his heels was Arnold Play. It was so close that it almost went to recount. The supposed strong campaign on Larry Free was sent reeling. The following week Play pulled off another surprise, winning the New Hampshire primary. It wasn't all that close. In the next few weeks, he kept piling up wins. It was shocking. His rhetoric didn't get any better. He twice made fun of a disabled reporter that was covering his campaign. He also finally broke down and mentioned the three amigos, me Eddie and Raj, by name. Raj had t-shirts made. By March, no one was talking about Ted and Maddie.

Gower was also right about keeping me on the SB-12. With Free slipping in the polls, he upped his spending at home to support his anti-union policy. When we weren't in Washington, Barry Mac and I were constantly at union rallies, ensuring they held firm against the attacks Free was throwing at them. In April, a national union specialist, Jane Saltz, came in from New York to help with the campaign.

Nationally, Play seemed unstoppable. On Super Tuesday, he took all the states but one, Ohio, which of course went to Governor Free. This, ironically, turned into a loss the next day when Free's campaign manager went on national tv and proclaimed the Arnold Play had had a terrible Super Tuesday. When the commentator noted that he had gone sixteen and one, and conversely, Free had gone one and sixteen, the campaign manager retorted, "Well, at least we got one!"

Santos dropped out of the race, having only won one contest. He immediately announced his support for Play. We were watching in the condo in D.C. when he did it.

"Shit!" Raj cried out. "He's on the no titty team. No way his wife is going to get anywhere near him after what Play said about her. Damn dude, stick up for your wife." Eddie and I laughed.

"Serves him right. The guy's a prick. His party doesn't like him that much," I chimed in.

Eddie seemed to go somber. "Guys, Free can't beat this guy. Arnold Play is going to run for President of the United States." We all let that sink in.

"Well then, let's do everything we can to beat the son of a bitch," Raj said, standing up. We knew what was coming and joined in.

"THE THREE AMIGOS!" we cried and did the salute from the 80s movie.

I saw Maddie a few times. I would sneak CSPAN onto my computer if I knew she was talking or her committee held a hearing. She also went on tv to talk about what had happened. She was on the Today Show when they asked her about me. She said that I was great and teared up a little bit. It took everything I had to not get on the train to New York right then. In late April, when the weather started warming up, I ran into her. Literally, I smashed into her as the two of us were out jogging. She, of course, stayed on her feet like the graceful athlete she was. I went tumbling into a wall.

"OH MY GOD, ARE YOU OK!" she cried, grabbing my shoulder. When I got myself back on my feet and oriented, we recognized each other. She stiffened.

"Maddie, hey, yeah, no, I'm fine. Oh my God, it's good to see you," I said, panting a little.

"Ted, hi. Sorry, I'll be more careful," she seemed so distant.

"So, um, how. How are you?" I asked.

"Good, staying busy," she said, looking at her feet.

"Yeah, um," I was desperately trying to keep the conversation going, "do you want to get coffee sometime. I don't think that people would notice or even care. You know, just coffee?"

"Ted, I've got to go," she didn't even look at me and took off down the street. I stood there watching her until she turned a corner. It took me a moment to realize that I had a tear running down my cheek.

By May, the Republican Primary was all over. Larry Free won Indiana and Kentucky, but he had no shot of catching Arnold Play. He never dropped out of the race. He just stopped running. I was in my Cincinnati office when he made his announcement. He said he was going to spend more time working for the good of Ohioans.

"Fuck him," Jane Saltz said from the desk she had set up across the floor from my office. "He couldn't find what was good for Ohioans with both hands and a flashlight." Her thick New York accent drew out the vowels.

"Oh, come on," my campaign manager Vanessa Johnson said, "he has his folders of qualified women that should help." This was a gaff the Free had made early in his campaign.

"That mother fucker hasn't folded a woman in his life!" Saltz declared. Vanessa and I laughed.

I liked Jane. She could take it, and she could dish it out. She drank with the boys and talked sports when she wasn't protecting unions. Her father had been a pipefitter and her mother a teacher. If you fucked with a union anywhere in the country, Saltz was probably plotting to take you down.

"I mostly try to avoid thoughts of Larry Free's sex life," I said. "Vanessa, what's on the agenda today?"

"We have volunteers out canvassing the streets, the Reds have a home game tonight, and we will have some people will be there. You have a virtual town hall at 11, phone calls till 3. We do a pre-tape for evening news at 3:30. You are on CNN at 6. Jane gets you at 7," Vanessa finished

"The rumor is that now that Free is out, he is going to split the bill. Save the unions for fire and police. Fuck the teachers. I'm bringing Bill Davis, regional rep for all the FOP guys. He's meeting us to talk to the teacher's local to keep them calm. I'm taking him all around the state this week to meet with all the teachers' locals. You're coming too," Jane said. It wasn't a question.

I whistled, "Shit. Fire and police are popular. Teachers are overpaid and get the summer off. Also, is there a part of this plan where I get to eat something?"

"That's why Davis is coming. The plan is to meet with all the teachers to reassure them. Then if Free tries to bury the split on Friday, we immediately announce that police and fire want to stand in unity with their union brothers," Jane said. "Also, if you're a good boy, you can take me out to dinner. Although I want real food, none of the Cincinnati chili shit!"

It was a long day, but the final meeting with the union reps was great. Ret. Officer Bill Davis was a great speaker and within ten minutes had calmed the room full of teachers. I also made sure they knew that national Democrats were focused on fighting the Ohio bill for them and making sure it didn't spread. Jane seemed pleased. We stopped off at a pub near my apartment afterward. The food wasn't great, but we were starving, and they had a ton of beers on tap.

"I can't believe I'm sitting across from a man drinking a purple fucking beer," Jane quipped.

What? It's a tart fruit ale. It's tasty, refreshing, and local. I'm supporting my constituents," I retorted.

"Support 'em another fuckin way," she said with a laugh. She was drinking something very dark with off-the-charts alcohol content.

"You don't like local chili. You don't like local beer. What's next? You hate the Reds too?"

"Mets fan born and raised. And I didn't say that I don't like your local beer. I just don't think beer can be something that purple," we both laughed. After finishing our beers, we were getting up to leave when she threw me a curveball.

"Ain't ya gonna invite me over for a nightcap? You live around here, right?" she asked.

"Sure, come on over," I said. It was a two-block drive to my apartment. I gathered the mail. There was a medium-sized yellow envelope with a Las Vegas return address that I looked at for a moment but decided to wait to open it. The tour of my three-room shack was even shorter than the drive.

"Sorry, it's not much to look at. I don't spend much time here," I said.

"In New York, this would cost you three grand a month. In Brooklyn, most people would confuse this for a crack den," she said with a laugh. "I'll take a beer provided it ain't some weird color." I grabbed each of us a beer, Caribs, and we sat on the couch. We talked shop for a while. As she finished her beer, she sort of half stood up. I assumed she was going to get another beer. To my shock, she straddled my lap.

"Be cool. Be casual," she said and then kissed me. I hesitated for a moment and then returned the kiss. I put my arms around her. I heard her shoes drop to the floor.

"I knew you would be a good kisser," she said, leaning back and pulling her sweater over her head. "Let's see if you are good at other things." I leaned forward and started kissing her chest. I reached behind her and undid her bra. She had small breasts, but her nipples were very hard. I took one in my mouth. She let out a hiss.

With that, I picked her up and took her into the bedroom, and sat her on the bed. I began working on my shirt and tie. Her hands went to my pants. I felt them drop as I was getting my undershirt off. She quickly pulled down my boxers. Then without much ceremony, she leaned forward and took me into her mouth.

"Oh, fuck," I moaned. I put my hand on the back of her head. She moaned around my cock. I was worried I wasn't going to last long since it had been almost five months since I had been with someone. I pushed her back onto the bed and helped her pull her slacks and panties off. I leaned down and gave her pussy a few licks.

"Yes. Oh, get in me now!" she cried. I stood up and ran my cock along her pussy, spending a few extra seconds at her clit, moving the head slowly around it. "Don't tease me, fuck me. Fuck me now!"

I began to slide into her. Her legs were bent at an odd angle, so I grabbed her ankles and put them on my shoulders. She spread her arms above her head and held at the comforter. I put my hands on her thighs and began to thrust.

"Oh shit, yes. God, yes!" she cried, gripping at more the comforter. I picked up the pace. Standing at the edge of the bed, I had great leverage to penetrate deeply. She moved her hand down, just past the tuft of blond hair at her crotch, and I could feel her playing with herself. Sweat formed on my brow.