Lauren comesupstairs to have dinner with us on a Tuesday evening, us meaning Kev, too. Kev and I will be flying out late tomorrow morning to a campaign event in Omaha with Elliot, his home state. Back home, then down to Texas on Thursday, where I’m supposed to give a speech to a petroleum and gas industry event in Dallas before flying home that evening.
The kids love Aunt Lauren, and they’re always drawingpictures for her, or running to her office in the afternoon to see her and talk to her after saying hi to me. They’ve sat in on press briefings, too, wanting to see what she does. Of all of us, Lauren has more contact with the press, and is on TV all the time, so she’s more visible to them. It’s easier for them to “see” what she does for a living, versus myself, Kev, and even Chris.
I’m proudthat I can call Lauren a friend and mean it now. Sheisa friend. We differ in some ways politically, but I couldn’t have asked for a better press secretary, and as an advisor, I listen to her even when I disagree. Sometimes I don’t change my direction, but I will adjust my message to better explain myself.
Her entire team works well together, which is amazing, because let’s be honest, DC isdysfunctional. No matter how many strides we’ve taken toward trying to calm tribal partisan politics, it’s still anUs versus Themworld at large.
As we sit down to meatloaf and veggies the kids helped Chris prepare, we adults make a conscious effort to leave everything relating to work behind. I don’t want to talk the campaign, or poll numbers, or anything.
I want to hear about the kids andtheir day. Because I can still remember times I know Momma was busy, and yet she made time for me. Coming into these last few weeks of the campaign, being able to sit down as a family will get increasingly rare. We’re thinking about going down to Florida for Christmas so we can visit with Susa, Carter, Owen, and Benchley. It’s a decision we haven’t made yet, though. It’ll also depend on whether ornot I win. If I lose, we’ll be involved in a transition, and I wouldn’t want to skew that process by heading out of town.
The kids help Chris with the dishes, and then head off to their rooms to start getting ready for bed.
Lauren pulls out her work phone and scrolls through it. “We’re still looking damned good,” she says, keeping her voice low. “Did you see the latest poll numbers? You’ve gota twenty-point lead on Ignacio. You’re going to kick his ass next week in the debate.”
“I should. Y’all have been drilling me hard enough.” We’ve had prep debates, with Lauren and Kevin playing the moderator, and with one of them, or Leo or another staffer, playing the loud-mouth Ignacio. He barely won his party’s nomination. It was a contentious Republican convention, with delegates changingvotes, and charges of tampering and bribes being paid to influence votes.
Not my problem.
All I know is that after the GOP convention, there was a ten-point shift from GOP candidates to Independent and third-party candidates by undecided GOP voters. Their base is disgusted with them and their actions.
That it helpsmeis a bonus.
“So do you still hate me?” I tease her.
She laughs. “I wouldn’tbe here if I did, Shae.” Our family rule is when it’s just us around the dinner table, it’s first names and equals. And she counts among those ranks—
Family.
Her smile fades. “I guess I never really…hatedyou. Don’t tell anyone.” She smirks now.
This year, on her birthday, I carried the small cake with the candles that we brought into the press briefing room as a surprise for her. After sheblew them out, the staff wheeled in a larger cake on a cart for everyone else.
“You know, Elliot is starting to hint around to me about you,” I tell her. “Asking me what I think it’d take to get you to stay on for him. His press secretary already told him he won’t be around for a POTUS term. They’ve got little kids.”
I also told Elliot I’d ask her for him. Because he did more than hint—he outrightbegged me for my help.
I don’t miss how Lauren glances at Kev first before her gaze returns to her phone. “I don’t know.” But I can see from the look on her face that she’s already seriously considering it.
Kev told me that he’s already told Lauren wherever Chris and I go, that’s where he’ll be. She thinks that’s due solely to Christopher. Our original plan had been to retire to Florida, butwith the kids in school, we’ll need to modify that plan.
Right now, our future is literally up in the air until the election in a few weeks.
Still, she wants to be close to Kev, and I get it. They’re best friends. Sometimes they go out to dinner together, or he goes to her house, or she comes over to the town house if he’s sleeping there instead of with us.
That’s more for optics, though. Kevis strict when it comes to protecting me and Chris and our image, especially now that we have the kids.
“You don’t think it’d be weird me staying on this long?” she asks.
“Can you afford to do it?” I reply.
“Well, yeah. I have savings. That’s not the issue.”
“You thrive on the adrenaline spike,” I remind her.
She smiles again. “True story. This is a lot more fun than sitting on TV for anhour a day reading copy and interviewing weasels.”
“Now you get to call the weasels out,” Kev teases.
