Jackson rolled his eyes. “Legal matters.”
Martha held up her hands. “Hey, I don’t know. What you do in your spare time is on you.”
“What did you think of the press conference?” Park asked.
“It wasgood,” Martha said decisively. “I mean, that detective was assertive. I’m going to set up some polls to see how you being cleared of the charges affects public opinion.”
Park nodded.
“Polling, really?” said Jackson.
“I have to strategize how we come out of the campaign suspension,” said Martha. “So I need to know if this turn of events engenders sympathy or if people still think Parkis guilty.”
“I can’t sneeze without Martha calling in a pollster to determine public opinion on snot,” said Park.
Jackson grimaced. “All right.”
“Nature of the game, my friend,” Martha said. “I don’t like to fly blind.”
“You think this will make people sympathetic?” Park asked.
“Detective Shaw just said on TV, in a press conference that will re-air on the evening news, thatthe killer broke into your apartment. Youcouldargue that you are also a victim of this crime.”
It felt that way, given everything that had happened in the last week. “I think we should say that Zoe Haufman is the real victim here. Maybe I should release a statement now that some of the dust has settled. What do you think, Jack?”
Jackson pursed his lips. “We could, I suppose. I thinkit might be better to let the NYPD be the last word, though. That way it doesn’t look like you’re capitalizing on being cleared for political gain.”
“Except he totally is,” Martha said. “But don’t do anything yet. Let me get some polls done. I should have something to tell you by the end of the day tomorrow, and then we can decide what to do.”
Park hated this limbo, not knowing what wasgoing to happen with the campaign or with Jackson. He saw the wisdom of waiting for more information to make a decision, but he was eager to do...something. On either front.
Jackson shook his head. “You live in a strange world.”
“You boys hungry? I’m hungry. I just found out that we can get pizza delivered here. And not from the crappy chain on the corner. Real New York pizza from a placeon Columbus. Gooey, cheesy, and greasy as hell. Who’s in?”
* * *
The pizzawasgood. Jackson ate and watched Park and Martha riff about campaign issues. Martha had clearly spent a great deal of her downtime reading everything written about politics. Jackson tried to keep up on the news, but Martha’s depth of knowledge was on another level.
Trying to engage and feel a part of this worlda little more, Jackson said, “Does Park have a position on the health care bill wending its way through the Senate right now?”
“He does, as a matter of fact.” Martha put on her Sunday shows tone, but she winked at Jackson.
“You want the canned answer I give to reporters or my real answer?”
“The real one, obviously.”
Park sat up a little. “All right, here’s the deal. I would neverendorse a bill that kicks anyone off their insurance, and I frankly think the current GOP approach is wrong.”
Jackson smiled. “Wow. I’m impressed you admitted that.”
“It’s a difference of philosophy, I suppose,” said Park. “The far right wing of the party thinks government has no business in health care at all. I think that cat’s out of the bag. I support continuing to subsidize insurancecompanies to incentivize them to offer low-cost plans to consumers on the individual market. The thing a lot of my colleagues don’t get is that wewantpeople to buy into the market. That means more customers for health insurance companies and lower costs for everyone.”
Jackson laughed, mostly out of surprise. “That’s quite a logical, nuanced position.”
“Let me guess. You want single-payer.”
“Health care is a right, not a privilege. The only way to ensure we’re taking care of all our people is to guarantee them care. If insurance companies want to offer supplemental plans to consumers, let them have at it. But basic health care should be available to everyone.”
