Dreamspinner Press Year Nine Greatest Hits

by Michael Murphy

  On an afternoon when they were supposed to be going back to change clothes and prepare to go from one inaugural ball to another, they were instead whisked away into the setting afternoon sun to a place they had never been and never really expected to see. Not to mention into a new life for which they were totally unprepared.

  RIGHT ON schedule, thirty-eight minutes after takeoff, they gently touched down on the landing pad at Camp David. As they had descended, David and Gray had caught a glimpse of the compound. They knew Camp David was rustic, but since Camp David was reserved for the President and neither Gray nor David was into rustic, they hadn’t researched much about the place. Why would they? It wasn’t something they were likely to see right away during Gray’s term as Vice President. But now they were there, and Gray was no longer the Vice President.

  David wondered if Gray’s vice presidency had been the shortest one on record in the history of the country. He couldn’t recall any other instance in American history in which a Vice President’s tenure had been even remotely as short as Gray’s had been. It wasn’t just Camp David that they knew so little about. They had so much to learn and no time at all before they would be expected to know all of it and then some.

  David watched as Secret Service and other staff who had traveled with them on the helicopter exited via a door in the back while he and Gray exited from the front door. Apparently there was even a protocol for who got out which door.

  Taking David’s hand, Gray held on tightly as they walked down the few steps and onto solid ground, very much together. A number of men stood by to greet them.

  “Mr. President, I am Commander Henderson, in charge of this base. I’m pleased to be able to welcome you to Camp David. I know you probably haven’t had any briefings on the base, so I’ll give you a quick rundown while we walk.”

  As they started walking down a road toward a cluster of buildings in the distance, Henderson said, “Camp David is surrounded by miles of fence, and base security is provided by specially trained Marine guards. Given what happened earlier today, I have placed the base on lockdown with no unscheduled arrivals or departures, and I’ve ordered all personnel to be on heightened alert. Your cabin here at the base is called Aspen Lodge and will provide you with what will hopefully be your home away from home while you are in the White House.”

  “Thank you,” Gray said cordially with a smile.

  Gray and David shook hands with a few key base personnel before being shown to their house.

  Aspen Lodge was a bit more rustic than they were accustomed to, but it was nicely appointed and looked comfortable.

  “THIS ENTIRE compound is secured,” the commander explained, “so you are free to move around at will. Since this is your first time here, I have personnel stationed outside to guide you and accompany you anywhere you want to go on base.”

  “Thank you,” both David and Gray said.

  When the commander departed, a steward arrived with sweatpants, a couple of T-shirts, and hoodies emblazoned with the Camp David logo, one set for each of them, along with casual footwear.

  “Oh, it is so good to get changed into something more comfortable,” Gray said.

  “Agreed,” David said.

  As they were just moving to hug each other, there was a knock at the door. David sighed while Gray pulled open the door. Marty Ford—the chief of staff—and an entourage of aides stood outside looking at Gray.

  “Mr. President. It is essential that we begin to respond to some of the calls and condolences we’ve received on the demise of the last President. We need to assure the leaders of the various nations that there has been a smooth transfer of power and that the United States is secure.”

  “Very well,” Gray agreed.

  “I apologize, sir,” Ford said, “but I don’t yet know the locations of conference facilities here on base. This is my first trip here.”

  “Why don’t we just meet here in the living room?” Gray suggested.

  A flood of aides took that as their cue to move into the lodge and stake out and claim every flat surface on which to spread papers or laptops or a variety of other devices. It all happened so quickly and was so all-consuming that it nearly made David’s head spin. He wondered what he should do. When several aides nearly bumped into him, only to quickly apologize and move on, David knew the best thing he could do was to get out of the way.

  David wanted to tell Gray what he was doing, but the man who had just moments ago been with him was now hip deep in work, so he simply raised his hand, smiled, and waved before exiting the cabin. David never went anywhere without his tablet computer, so he made sure to grab the device as he headed out.

  “Sir,” the Marine at the door said.

  “Is there a mess hall or someplace where I can go to get a cup of tea and read for a while?”

  “Yes, sir. Please follow me,” he said, leading David along a pathway to another building.

  David grabbed some tea and found a table to sit and read. He had no idea how long Gray would be occupied with his phone calls, but he figured he’d allow two hours. Their day had started early that morning and had most certainly been one adrenaline rush after another. With the calm of the tea and quiet reading, David was drowsy and could quite easily fall asleep if he didn’t move soon. He tried to read some more, but it just wasn’t working. He’d read one page three times and still didn’t know what it said, so he decided to call it quits and head back to hopefully get some rest.

  When he checked his watch, he was surprised it had already been more than two hours, so he shut down his iPad, found his escort, and left the mess to make his way back to the cabin. It was fully dark by that point and quite chilly, so he pulled the hood of his sweatshirt up over his head.

  The snow from earlier in the day had ended and the sky was crystal clear. Without the city lights, David was enraptured by the view of the stars. It was so intensely stunning. When he’d been growing up, whenever he’d felt overwhelmed by some problem, he’d found that looking up at the vastness of the sky on a clear night could help to put his problem in perspective.

  The stars in the sky had sent their light toward earth eons before David had been born, before the human race had risen from the primordial ooze, a scale that boggled the mind. He’d grown out of the habit of gazing at the stars, though, because as an adult he’d lived in the city and the city lights created too much light pollution. He sensed that perhaps their very rural location might allow for some grand viewing of the night sky, the sky he remembered from his youth. The only problem was that the lights of the walkways were bright.

  “Wow,” he said, mostly to himself. “Would it be all right if I stepped off the trail and looked up at the stars for a minute?” he asked his escort.

  “Of course, sir. Step carefully, though. The ground is very soggy and slippery.” And truer words had never been spoken, for as soon as he stepped off the trail and was about ten feet away, he felt his feet slipping out from under him in a slick patch. So fast he couldn’t possibly have stopped it from happening, David was flat on his back, already feeling mud seeping into his clothes. “Sir, are you hurt?” the guard asked worriedly.

  “My dignity is ruined, but I think physically I’m fine,” David said, laughing at his predicament.

  “Let me help you up, sir,” the guard said, quickly pulling David to his feet. “This way, sir,” he said, getting David back on the trail and to the door of the lodge.

  “Thank you,” David said. “Sorry to cause trouble.”

  “Not a problem, sir. I’m sorry you slipped.”

  “You warned me. Thanks for your help tonight.”

  “Of course, sir.”

  David pushed open the door to find the room still packed with people. Still dripping mud with every step he took, David made his way into the cabin and tried to move without attracting attention, which was simply impossible.

  “Oh my God, David, what happened?” Gray asked when he saw David caked in mud from head to foot. Quickly leav
ing what he was doing, Gray rushed over to stand in front of him.

  “I just stepped where I shouldn’t have. Sorry to interrupt your meetings. I’m going to go take a shower.”

  David showered and changed into a clean pair of sweats. He saw that Gray was still meeting with his staff in the living room, so he crawled into bed to read some more, then fell asleep before Gray came to bed. He knew Gray did come to bed at some point, because in the morning he found Gray asleep beside him. Rolling over against Gray, David snuggled up to his husband. Gray never stirred, so David got up, showered, slipped on a bathrobe and wandered out into the living room.

  A new guard was at the door so David asked, “How does breakfast work here?”

  “I can have something brought over to you, sir. For one or for two?”

  “Two, but I’m the only one up at the moment.”

  “Sir, I need to remind you that your helicopter will be prepared to leave at oh eight hundred as requested.”

  “I better wake… the President,” he said, turning to head back into the bedroom. Shedding his bathrobe, David crawled back into bed to wake Gray in his favorite manner. As he snuggled up behind Gray, David’s erection immediately slid against Gray as David wrapped one of his arms around Gray’s naked body.

  Gray pushed back against David and slowly woke up. “Morning. What time is it?”

  “Seven o’clock. I’m supposed to remind you that we’re leaving here at eight o’clock.”

  “Right. I should get up.”

  David’s hand dropped to Gray’s crotch. “Feels like you’re already up, Mr. President.”

  “Ugh. You had me until you called me that,” Gray complained lightly. “Good way to kill morning wood, babe.”

  “Sorry. Want me to help you with your problem?” David asked as Gray swung his legs out from under the covers, planting his feet on the floor of their bedroom.

  “I dearly wish we could, but I need to get showered and dressed. I wonder if we can get some food,” Gray said.

  “Already taken care of,” David reported, following Gray into the bathroom. While Gray waited for the shower water to warm up, David again snuggled up behind him, this time wrapping both arms around Gray’s bare torso, one hand dropping to Gray’s elongated member.

  “You’re not helping,” Gray complained.

  “What can I say?” David said. “I’m persistent.”

  A knock at the door sent David to quickly grab his bathrobe and run to the door to admit a steward with breakfast for two.

  “Good morning, sir,” the perky young man said as he delivered and set up a variety of things on the dining room table. The steward made a quick exit, leaving David to study the room while he waited for Gray.

  Vaulted ceilings, exposed beams, wood paneling—the place was not exactly to his or Gray’s taste, but they were both urban dwellers, so anything that wasn’t city felt somehow wrong. The lodge was homey and the furniture looked comfortable. He hadn’t had a chance to check out much the previous evening before the mob had descended on the lodge.

  Gray walked into the room, tying his tie as he walked.

  “I smell food,” he said, now attired for his workday.

  “Your breakfast awaits, your eminence,” David said, bowing and gesturing to the table.

  They were quiet as they ate. They were both hungry, but neither was able to finish the ample selection sent over for them.

  “You showered yet?” Gray asked. “Better hurry up.”

  “Yes. I just need to get dressed.” Less than five minutes later, he was back.

  Glancing at his watch, Gray said, “Okay, let’s roll.” Their escort waiting outside the lodge guided them to Marine One. Even though they were a few minutes early, they were airborne quickly and on their way back to DC.

  Chapter 4—Back to Work

  ABOUT A half hour after their departure from Camp David, Marine One landed on the South Lawn of the White House. Both David and Gray spotted a large delegation of people standing between their helicopter and the building.

  “Gray, what’s this all about?” David quietly whispered.

  “Not sure. Nobody mentioned anything about a greeting party.”

  “I’ve got to get to work. I’m sorry, but I don’t have time for anything right now.”

  One of the agents closest to them explained, “Your key White House staff are here to formally greet you and guide you into your new home. They typically guide new residents through the house, make introductions, and explain what they do and who to call when you need something.”

  “That’s nice,” David said, “but I don’t have the time right now. If they could meet with us tonight, I can do that, but not now. I need to get to work. I can’t think about any of this until tonight when I get done with work. How do I get from here to the university?”

  “We have a car waiting out front for you, sir. A fresh team of agents is standing by and ready to roll when you are.”

  “Thank you,” David said, breathing a sigh of relief. “I’m sorry, babe, but I need to go.” He gave Gray a quick kiss good-bye and turned to leave.

  “Love you, babe,” Gray said with a smile.

  “THIS WAY, sir.” The agent led David past the crowd and into the White House. David noticed heads turn to look his way, and many faces had confused expressions. It couldn’t be helped. If anyone had bothered to speak with them beforehand, he could have saved them all a lot of time and grief.

  A moment later, they were in a black SUV and accompanied by two other identical cars, as well as a number of police cars. Since it was the height of morning rush hour, the roads were already clogged with traffic. The presence of a lights and siren motorcade most likely didn’t help the already frayed nerves of the other drivers who shared the road.

  But since he wasn’t behind the wheel, David’s attention quickly drifted away from the traffic around them. Instead he spent the commute reading his e-mail and text messages. He was baffled by what he found. His phone had just one message. Storage capacity exceeded. He’d deal with it later. He needed to take advantage of the momentary quiet.

  David observed his primary agent for that day, Agent Walker, a man he’d seen periodically during the campaign days. He couldn’t say they were friendly, because Agent Walker was always focused, almost fixated on the business of keeping David safe. They had exchanged pleasantries but nothing much beyond that yet.

  No one said anything until they pulled to a stop outside the building on the Georgetown University campus where David’s first class met. The agent in the front seat got out first, examined the surrounding area, and opened the back door for another agent to join him in the process. When they were satisfied the way was clear, one of them turned back to David and said, “Okay, sir. This way, please.”

  Students and faculty around the campus had grown accustomed to seeing a couple of Secret Service agents accompany David. When Gray had become a candidate for Vice President in July of the previous year, David had acquired his own Secret Service escort each day. But now that everything had changed, he had his own contingent of agents. He supposed it was larger than typical, but since it was the first day of the new routine, he was not at all unhappy to have extra agents.

  They moved him inside the building to the lecture hall where he would deliver his first lecture. The sequence of events was timed so David arrived with a couple of minutes to spare before his class started.

  Finally getting back in front of his students, David felt the first comfortable, familiar thing he’d felt in days. But that feeling didn’t last long. At first he couldn’t put his finger on what was happening or on what felt “off,” but clearly something was.

  When he said, “Okay, let’s begin,” his class was instantly silent. That simply never happened. It usually took between twenty and thirty seconds to get everyone settled down and in their seats, but not that morning. That day they were all silent and focused in under five seconds—not to mention the fact that everyone was on time. No straggl
ers came in late. David didn’t understand it.

  As he talked with his students during the class, they were less disruptive. They were never what anyone would call “disruptive,” but they usually had many, many questions that they did not hesitate to ask. That day they were all perfectly behaved and sat silently, paying close attention to his every word.

  About twenty minutes into the class, David finally couldn’t take it any longer. “Okay, will someone please tell me what’s going on? You’re all behaving different. No one’s asking questions. You’re all being… I don’t know, angelic. What’s up? Where have you taken my class, and when can I have them back?”

  But even that didn’t elicit a comment.

  “Okay, people. Someone talk. What’s going on?”

  One hesitant hand rose toward the back of the room. David nodded in that direction. “Please, enlighten me.”

  “Well, you’re someone… important now. I can’t speak for everyone, but I don’t know the proper protocol for how I should address you, or even if I should be addressing you. Is it okay for me to talk to you like this? I don’t want to get shot by your security. Are we supposed to talk to you? Do we need to bow first when we enter your presence? Do we need to learn a secret signal or handshake or something?” he asked in what appeared to be an attempt at lightening the mood.

  “Okay, is all of this because of who I’m married to and what happened yesterday? Relax, everyone. I’m still the same guy I was the last time you saw me, just a little battered and bruised. The only big thing that’s changed is I have a new address now—not one I had anticipated ever having, but it is what it is.”

  And that was all it took. The floodgates were opened, and everyone had questions for David. Unfortunately none of the questions related to the subject matter at hand. Still, he knew the questions were probably keeping them all preoccupied at the moment, so he decided to just deal with it head-on.

  David leaned back against the desk in the lecture hall, hands shoved into his pockets, and did his best to answer the questions his students threw his way. They ran the gamut but were heavily focused on whether or not he and Gray had known what was happening when it had happened.