International Incident Ch. 04

November 4, 2024

Mark Robinson walked off the stage at Madison Square Garden, having just delivered a stemwinder of a speech at the Election Eve campaign rally/concert headlined by Roy Falcon. He was sweating but not exhausted; he knew that he would have to deliver a far more important speech in just a few minutes.

As campaign staff and Secret Service ushered him into the Hulu Theater underneath the main arena, he was greeted by cheers, applause, requests for handshakes and autographs. Mark tried to accommodate his supporters, but he had something else on his mind.

Finally, he made his way into a small, quiet, dark room in the back of the Hulu Theater. Kylie Maree Connolly was waiting for him.

"Did you like it?" he whispered as he sat down at a table.

"Loved it. You were awesome. I know you're gonna make a great President."

"Thanks."

Kylie paused. "So why did you want me to come here?"

Mark sighed. "Look, I don't really know how to say this..."

"You certainly know how to say a lot-that speech just proved it!"

Mark smiled. "Look, Kylie..."

She had never seen him this nervous.

"What's wrong?"

"Kylie..."

Mark looked down at the table.

"I really don't know how to say this..."

"Just say it, Mark. Just say what's on your mind."

"Kylie...ever since I saw you at the first debate...it's like...it's like that old feeling came right back, sharp as hell. The same way I felt about you the first time I met you in New York."

Kylie's face slowly became more and more puzzled.

"I can't stop thinking about you, Kylie. I think about you all the time. I get distracted by you-in a good way, I mean. I almost called one of the female reporters by your name at one of the press conferences a couple of days back."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Seemingly without even realizing it, his hand reached for hers.

"Kylie, it's like...it's like..."

"You just can't get me out of your head?"

Mark laughed. "Now where have I heard that before?"

Kylie smiled, and the arousal became intense in Mark's body. He wanted so badly to kiss her soft cheeks again, to run his fingers through her long blonde hair, to be inside her once again...

"Look...I know I've hurt you, I know I've disrupted your life with all this..."

"You haven't hurt me, Mark..."

"But what about the university? I mean..."

"Well..."

"Are they ever gonna bring you back?"

"I wouldn't bet on it."

"And I know I'm putting Edward and your mum through so much..."

"Oh, he loves hanging out with his grandmum. He knows I'll be back home when this is all over."

"Well, about that, Kylie..."

This was hard for Mark, in both senses of the word.

"What's wrong, Mark?"

"You're going to think this is crazy, I know, but..."

The room became extremely quiet.

"I...I just have to ask you..."

Mark reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a small black box. He stood up from the table and knelt down in front of Kylie.

"Kylie...Kylie, I love you," said Mark, tears filling his eyes. "I loved you from the very moment we met all those years ago. I never stopped loving you, even though we were apart. I love your smile, your spirit, your voice. I love your wisdom, your mind. And I love the fact that you're the mother of my child."

Mark opened the box to reveal a gigantic diamond ring.

"Kylie Maree Connolly...will you marry me?"

"No! No. I can't do that!"

"What?"

"Are you out of your mind? We can't...we can't be together like that. I can't be a senator's wife, or a president's wife if it works out that way. No."

"Fuck."

"I'm so sorry, Mark."

"I'm really embarrassed."

"Don't be. Why are you embarrassed? You could be president a day from now!"

"Kylie, I would rather have you than the White House."

"What?"

"I would rather have you than the White House. I'd rather lose tomorrow night if it meant we could be together."

"You surely don't believe that. I'm not worth that."

"Oh, yes you are, Kylie. You're worth the world."

Kylie struggled to hold back her tears. "That's...that's-no one's ever said that to me-"

Suddenly, Mark's phone rang. It was Martin Keeney, his campaign manager.

"Oh shit, I have to get this. Kylie, I'm so sorry..."

"It's OK. Take your call."

"Marty, what's going on?"

"You didn't see the alert from the Times?"

"No, I missed it."

"You've got this in the fucking bag!"

"What do you mean?"

--

November 5, 2024

"I've never heard a guy say that to me, mum."

"Well, he's obviously a special guy. I can't believe you said no! I mean, he could be the most powerful man in the world soon..."

Joanna Louise Connolly sat on the couch at her home in Paddington, New South Wales, listening to her daughter on the phone from the InterContinental New York Barclay Hotel, where Mark and Martin had arranged to have Kylie stay until after the election was over. Joanna loved her daughter dearly, but wasn't always sure about her decisions.

"So, what are they saying now?"

"I have the TV on mute, so I don't know. Everybody thinks that story in the New York Times may have changed things..."

"I'm sure it did-everybody's talking about it here!"

"Yeah, I mean it's--holy shit!"

"What happened?"

"They're saying he won, mum! They said he beat Sherman in Florida! I'm seeing it on the screen! Let me turn it up so you can hear it..."

Kylie frantically reached for the volume and blasted up the TV. Mindy Loeb was reporting the Roosevelt Network's projection that Mark was the President-elect, having defeated Florida Senator Ray Sherman in Sherman's home state to capture 272 votes in the Electoral College.

"Joining me now to discuss Senator Robinson's projected victory is syndicated columnist Joe McElroy," said Mindy, clearly overjoyed by the result. "Joe, it was around this time last night that the New York Times broke the story that Senator Sherman cheated on his wife with two different women during the course of his twenty-year marriage-and that Senator Sherman paid to have both mistresses terminate their pregnancies. Obviously, with tonight's apparent result, there will be speculation that enough evangelical voters, in Florida and elsewhere, stayed home instead of voting for Senator Sherman, thus throwing the election to Senator Robinson. What's your take on that?"

"Well, Mindy, I'm a little less cynical," the silver-haired columnist responded. "In fact, I'm willing to believe that more than a few evangelical voters actually crossed over to vote for Senator Robinson after hearing the New York Times story; they may not agree with all of Senator Robinson's positions, but I think some of them appreciated the fact that Senator Robinson and his girlfriend made a decision with their unplanned pregnancy that was clearly different from the one Senator Sherman made with his mistresses."

"With all due respect, Joe," replied Mindy, "I think it's a little far-fetched to think that evangelical voters would actually vote for a pro-choice candidate simply because that candidate and his girlfriend decided to go through with their pregnancy, instead of just staying home once they found out that the pro-life candidate they supported was a liar and a hypocrite. However, what's clear is that Mark Robinson, this eloquent, handsome, very charismatic Senator from New York, will become the 46th President of the United States and only the second African-American to hold that position."

Kylie lowered the volume.

"Mum?"

"Yes, love?"

"What do I do now?"

"Tell him you made a fucking mistake, and that you want that fucking ring, of course!"

"I can't believe this, mum. I can't believe this is happening."

"Well, it's not every day you get fucked by a President."

"Mum..."

"Kylie, can I ask you a question?"

"Yeah."

"Do you love him?"

"Yeah! Fuck yeah. He's the sweetest man I've ever met. He's so kind, so smart...he's everything to me."

"So why did you tell him no?"

"I was scared, mum."

"Really?"

"Yeah, mum."

"Kylie the Courageous was scared? Of what?"

"I don't know."

"If you love him, Kylie, then don't blow it."

Kylie sighed. "Oh shit, he's gonna speak. Let me turn it up again..."

Mindy looked like she was about to get up and start dancing. "We go live now to Central Park, where Senator and President-elect Mark Robinson is about to speak. Senator Robinson was waiting for Senator Sherman to deliver his concession speech first, but we have been informed that Peter DeMarco, Senator Sherman's campaign manager, called Senator Robinson to inform him that Senator Sherman would not, in fact, deliver such a speech. And so, ladies and gentlemen, we are about to hear from the President-elect of the United States, Senator Mark Robinson."

To deafening cheers, Mark approached a podium in Central Park. "Thank you, New York City! And thank you, America!"

Kylie could not hold back her tears as she watched the screen.

"Tonight, this country said no to the politics of fear and division, and said yes to the politics of love and inclusion. Tonight, this country said no to oligarchy, and said yes to democracy. Tonight, this country said no to cynicism, and said yes to optimism.

"On January 20, 2025, I will take the oath of office. And when I do so, I will do so with a mandate to raise this country up-to make our schools the best in the world, to make our economy the best in the world, to make our streets the safest in the world. For too long, America has abandoned its unique responsibility to lead on the greatest challenges facing this planet-inequality, poverty, discrimination, violence. We've been especially negligent when it comes to the climate crisis-and I pledge that I will do everything within my power to make sure that our children have a healthy planet to enjoy and to prosper in.

"This issue is very personal for me. As you know, I have a child, a five-year-old son named Edward. His mother is a very special woman named Kylie. We love Edward so very much, and we're horrified by the idea that his life will be threatened by rising sea levels, raging wildfires and severe storms-storms like Hurricane Terri, which took so many lives in Florida and Georgia back in August-if we don't act, if we don't lead, if we don't confront the climate crisis. I want Edward to live in a safe and clean world...and I will have failed as a father if I don't do everything within my power to make sure that my child has a safe and clean world to live in.

"So tonight, let us celebrate. Because tomorrow, we will have to roll up our sleeves, and recommit ourselves to the fight for a better world. Do you believe we can win that fight?"

"Yes!" yelled the crowd.

"I can't hear you. Do you believe we can win that fight?"

"YES!"

"A little bit louder. Do you believe we can win that fight?"

"YES! YES! YES!"

"Thank you! I believe we can win that fight too. God bless you! And God bless America!"

Kylie hit the mute button.

"Mum?"

"Yes, love?"

"Sorry, but I have to call him right now."

"Well, what are you waiting for? Get to it!"

Kylie ended the call and dialed Mark. The President-elect was stunned to see Kylie's number on his phone as he boarded his campaign bus.

"Kylie?"

"Yes."

"Kylie?"

"Yes, Mark, yes."

"What?"

"I'm so sorry about last night, Mark. I was so scared when you asked me...but I'm not scared anymore. I love you, Mark. If you still want me...then the answer is yes."

For a moment, there was dead air.

"Mark?"

"Kylie..."

"Yes?"

"Do you have any idea how happy you just made me?"

"You mean you still want to?"

"You're damn right, I still want tol! How soon can I see you?"