Eighteen Acres

by Nicolle Wallace

  “How’s the speech?” he asked.

  “It’s fine. She’s high-strung today, so I’ve been doing some hand holding, but the speech was in pretty good shape.”

  “That’s good. So, you’ll make it home tonight?”

  “She asked me to be the Sec Def,” Melanie said.

  “Jesus. She really doesn’t want you to leave!” Brian exclaimed.

  “What do you think?” Melanie asked.

  “What do you think?” Brian said.

  “I can’t believe it,” she said.

  “Why not?”

  “I don’t have to tell you how far out on a limb she’d be going to put me there.”

  “About as far as you’ve been hanging on that limb for the last four years for her,” Brian said.

  “What should I do?”

  “You know what to do,” he told her.

  “Yeah, I do,” she said. “But this is going to be complicated.”

  “I love complicated.”

  “Complicated loves you,” Melanie said.

  “See you tonight,” he said.

  Melanie hung up and put the phone into her pocket. She decided to make Charlotte sweat it out until dinner, so she walked over to the Old Executive Office Building, where the speechwriters were holed up. The room smelled like socks, chicken fingers, and air freshener. The head speechwriter pulled up a chair in front of the computer and handed Melanie the keyboard.

  “We need some fresh eyes,” one of the writers said.

  “You want something from the Mess?” the head speechwriter asked.

  “Never again,” she said. “I think I’ve eaten my last meal in captivity.”

  Melanie took the keyboard and started tinkering. She struck a chunk of the middle of the address, where it got bogged down in a lengthy section about America’s role in the world. She shared her idea for the end of the speech with the speechwriting team, and they talked through how to make it work.

  They worked this way for about an hour and a half. When everyone was pleased with the revisions, Melanie called Sam to tell her they were bringing Charlotte a new draft to read before the prompter session.

  “Mel, she wants to see you alone,” Sam said.

  “After speech prep,” Melanie said.

  “She won’t like that,” Sam said.

  “I know,” Melanie said.

  They went through the inaugural address three times; Charlotte had most of the speech committed to memory.

  Even Ralph admitted that the new material was better. “Thanks for saving the day, as usual,” he said.

  Melanie looked at his face for hints of sarcasm, but all she saw in his eyes was terror. “I didn’t save the day, Ralph. The speech was really good. I hardly changed it. Charlotte knows that you guys did a great job without me. She just likes for all of us to feel needed,” Melanie said.

  “In your case, it’s true. I don’t know how you did this job for four years. I’m ready to kill myself,” he admitted.

  “You’re going to do a great job,” she said.

  “What are you two talking about?” Charlotte asked.

  “Sending you and Tara back out on another ‘Conversation with America’ tour,” Melanie said, smiling mischievously.

  “I’ll have you killed before I’ll do that again. Melanie, do you have a few minutes, or are you late for personal training or a hair appointment or something?” Charlotte asked testily.

  “Someone is a little nervous about her big speech tomorrow,” Melanie teased.

  “Walk with me, Melanie,” Charlotte said as she headed down the long red-carpeted hallway between the East Wing and the West Wing. She was walking faster than normal, and Melanie was walking slower than normal. Finally, Charlotte stopped and glared at Melanie. “I don’t know what else to do. I offered you something that I thought would mean something to you, and you’ve been playing it cool all day long,” Charlotte said.

  “I’m sorry,” Melanie said. “I would be honored to serve as your secretary of defense.”

  Relief washed over Charlotte’s face, and she smiled at Melanie. “Thank God,” she said.

  Melanie smiled back at her. “Thank you for the opportunity,” she said.

  “Things are going to be different,” Charlotte told her.

  “I know,” Melanie said.

  The dogs bounded down the stairs and jumped up on Charlotte’s black suit, leaving paw prints all over her. “Want to come outside with us?” she asked.

  “Sure,” Melanie said.

  Charlotte slipped into a coat and handed a parka to Melanie. They walked out to the South Lawn.

  “Why is it always so damn cold for inaugurals?” Charlotte asked.

  Melanie rubbed her arms to keep warm. “Tradition,” she said.

  “I thought you might want to read this,” Charlotte said, handing her a worn piece of stationery that Melanie recognized immediately as Roger’s.

  She took the letter from Charlotte and felt her throat tighten. She held it in both her hands.

  “Hang on to it, and read it when you feel like it,” Charlotte said.

  Melanie smiled and nodded. She slid the letter into her purse and watched the dogs play in the snow.

  “Do you and Brian have plans tonight?” Charlotte asked.

  “No, but you have your folks and the twins in town, don’t you?”

  “Yes, but I thought we’d celebrate your new position. Roberta made your favorite chocolate cake,” Charlotte said.

  “I never say no to chocolate cake,” Melanie said.

  “Is that a yes?” Charlotte asked.

  “Yes,” Melanie said, laughing at Charlotte’s persistence.

  “Great,” Charlotte said.

  Melanie started back toward the Oval Office to gather her things. She stopped in the lanai and watched Charlotte on the South Lawn with the dogs for a minute. She saw Charlotte pat the coat pocket where the letter from Roger had been. Melanie put her hand in her purse to make sure the letter was where she’d put it. As Melanie watched Charlotte toss the ball to the dogs, she tried to see Charlotte as the most powerful head of state in the world. She watched the elegant woman in the beige belted winter coat wrestle with her three dogs and tried to imagine Charlotte the way others saw her.

  Melanie knocked on the glass, and Charlotte’s head spun around. She motioned for Melanie to come back outside. Melanie shook her head, and Charlotte made her way toward the lanai with the dogs trailing close behind.

  “You’re still here,” she said.

  “How did you know I’d say yes?” Melanie demanded.

  “What do you mean?” Charlotte asked.

  “You made a chocolate cake. How did you know I’d say yes?” Melanie said.

  Charlotte was scratching the dogs’ backs. “You think you were the one handling me all these years, but I picked up a few things from you about the art of manipulation,” Charlotte said, smiling slyly.

  “I never manipulated you,” Melanie protested.

  “I don’t mean it in a bad way—I needed to be manipulated most days, or I would have stayed in bed until noon,” Charlotte said.

  For once, Melanie didn’t know what to say.

  “Besides, I knew you wouldn’t want to miss the show,” Charlotte said.

  “What show?” Melanie said.

  “The Tara show,” Charlotte said, fighting the urge to smile.

  Melanie laughed. “She’s going to be fine. I was too hard on her.”

  “Yes, you were.”

  “Sorry,” Melanie said.

  “No, no. You were right. She’s a pain in the ass, but we wouldn’t have won without her.”

  Melanie sighed. “I know. So, what now?”

  “Well, tonight we celebrate your new job, and tomorrow we get up and start all over again,” Charlotte said.

  EIGHTEEN ACRES

  Nicolle Wallace

  A Readers Club Guide

  INTRODUCTION

  Eighteen Acres follows three powerful women in W
ashington, D.C.: Charlotte Kramer, the first female president of the United States; Melanie Kingston, the White House chief of staff; and Dale Smith, a White House correspondent for one of the top national networks. All three women struggle to balance their high-powered careers with their personal lives and relationships, to varying degrees of success. Charlotte and her staff must combat dangerous threats from abroad as well as from her very own cabinet, and even her husband. Melanie questions whether completely devoting her life to her job is really what she wants. And when Dale becomes the biggest news story of the campaign, she’s suddenly on the other side of the news media.

  QUESTIONS AND TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION

  1. With all the risks Dale and Peter take for their relationship, even when they’re trying to keep their affair a secret, it is still fairly obvious to those close to them what is going on. Do they almost want to get caught? Why doesn’t Charlotte confront Peter until she does? If not for Dale’s accident, do you think their relationship would have ever surfaced publicly? If so, by whom?

  2. Why is Charlotte committed to fighting what everyone believes is a losing battle for her campaign? Does she make the right choice to continue? What do you think ultimately got her the win? Could they have won without Tara?

  3. It’s mentioned in passing that Charlotte is a Democrat, but although the story is set against a political backdrop, politics are hardly ever discussed. How did this impact the novel? Does it matter what political party the characters belong to?

  4. Discuss Roger’s role in the story. Did he do the right thing by switching the helicopters? What motivated his actions? Did Charlotte do the right thing, as his employer? As his friend?

  5. Charlotte seems to have less emotion than the other characters. She is very stoic and always makes selfless, rational decisions. Discuss her resigned acceptance of her husband’s affair. Do you think this trait was what made her a good president?

  6. Brooke and Mark seem to have the only happy, balanced marriage in the book. Why is this? Do you think it’s possible for couples in the spotlight to maintain a healthy relationship?

  7. Why do you think Peter is consistently drawn to powerful, career-driven women? Will his relationship with Dale deteriorate as her career strengthens, as it did with Charlotte, or do you think it will be different this time?

  8. Compare and contrast the romantic relationships in the book and main character’s views on love. Think about Charlotte and Peter, Dale and Peter, Melanie and Brian. Who is happiest? How does success impact their relationships?

  9. Discuss how each character balances their priorities. What is most important to each woman? How do their personal and professional lives compete? Talk about the sacrifices they make for their careers and their relationships. Would you make the same choices?

  10. Whose perspective did you enjoy reading from most? Which woman did you relate to? Who did you sympathize with?

  11. Why does Melanie take the job as Charlotte’s secretary of defense? She seemed ready to resign her post and excited to lead a less high-powered life—is she simply obligated to obey the wishes of her president and friend? Do you think she will be happy and fulfilled with this change in position, or do you think work will continue to suck the life out of her?

  12. What do you think Roger’s last note says?

  13. The novel ends on an almost bittersweet note, with Charlotte saying “Well, tonight we celebrate your new job, and tomorrow we get up and start all over again.” Were you happy with how the story ended for each character? Would you have wanted anything to turn out differently? What do you imagine happens to Charlotte, Melanie, and Dale next?

  ENHANCE YOUR BOOK CLUB

  1. If you live nearby, take a trip to Washington D.C. and tour the area where Charlotte, Melanie, and Dale live and work. Eat at the Caucus Room, a “D.C. establishment restaurant” Melanie and Michael frequent, or Bistro Lepic, where Melanie and Brian have their first date. Take a tour of the White House, and visit Melanie’s favorite D.C. landmark, the Jefferson Memorial. Or take a virtual tour of the White House online—visit http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/white-house-101.

  2. Discuss Charlotte’s leadership capabilities as the first female president of the United States. Do you see the U.S. having a female president in the near future? What obstacles do you think women in politics still have to overcome? Do you think the gender of the president matters, or just their ideas?

  A CONVERSATION WITH NICOLE WALLACE

  You’re the former communications director for the White House and currently a political media strategist. How much of Eighteen Acres is based on your real life and the lives of those around you in Washington? Which of your three protagonists are you most like?

  The story is about three women who are entirely fictional, but they work in a place I know very well. I can relate quite well to the extent that their jobs force them to make difficult trade-offs between their personal lives and their professional responsibilities, as can most women I knew in politics. Melanie’s life as a “staffer” is the most similar to my experience in the White House, but she stayed much longer than I did and accomplished more—­rising to the post of White House chief of staff.

  What inspired you to write a novel, and this one in particular? Have you always been a writer at heart?

  I first thought about writing a novel about the White House after I’d worked there long enough to realize that people had no idea what life is really like for those who live and work there. I never met anyone who wasn’t fascinated by the place, regardless of their personal political views. Writing about the first woman president was an idea that came to me after the 2008 campaign. Everywhere I went, people wanted to talk about Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin. It struck me that while their candidacies were unsuccessful, they had touched off a conversation about women in politics that was long overdue.

  In a high powered job such as yours, or the women in Eighteen Acres, it seems difficult to maintain a balance with a personal life. How do you manage to do so?

  It’s one of the most difficult things about life in the White House for everyone who works there—men and women. I was very fortunate in that my husband also worked in high-level positions in the Bush administration and on the Bush and McCain campaigns, so we shared most of our professional experiences.

  You largely leave politics out of the story, though it’s set against an intense political backdrop. Why did you decide to write a relatively bipartisan story?

  I wanted to write a story about the distance that Charlotte, Melanie, and Dale traveled personally and professionally, and I didn’t want the reader to care about which political party they belonged to. It makes me happy when people say to me “I couldn’t figure out for the longest time if Charlotte was a Democrat or a Republican.”

  The White House in Eighteen Acres is run by women. Do you think there will be a female U.S. president in the near future? Why do you think there hasn’t been one yet?

  I believe that the first female president is alive today. Women are coming into their own politically all over the country, in senate races and gubernatorial races. The sorts of intractable problems we face as a country are well suited for the intuitive diplomacy and learned patience of many women leaders.

  Charlotte ultimately wins the election because she chooses a running mate from the opposing party. Is that a strategy you would advocate for politicians? Do you think such an arrangement would work?

  People hold conventional politics in such low regard that it would seem to me that anything “outside the box” would be worth a try.

  Tara seems to have a lot in common with Sarah Palin—they’re both fiery stump speakers with an everyman appeal who aren’t afraid to be blunt. Was this intentional?

  I spent enough time in Washington to understand that Washington politicians have a limited appeal to voters. For the campaign section of the story, it was important that the story reflect the public’s hunger for candidates who are plainspoken, direct, and relatable. Tara and S
arah Palin share those traits, but they are two very different women with different stories.

  You were a spokesperson for John McCain’s 2008 campaign and served as a campaign advisor to Sarah Palin. What role do you see yourself playing in the next election?

  I traveled the country with two candidates for president—George W. Bush in 2003 and 2004 and John McCain in 2008. I treasure both experiences and the opportunity I had to visit every corner of this country and meet people from nearly every state, but it’s a grueling job best left to people who are as eager now as I was then.

  What writers and novels have had an impact on you? What are you reading now?

  Run and The Patron Saint of Liars by Ann Patchett, The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, and The Help by Kathryn Stockett have stayed with me like few other novels I’ve read in recent years. The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger inspired me to tell a story that was as much about the place, and its limitations and allure, as it was about the characters. Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld was the book I gave to everyone I knew for a couple years because I loved it so much. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger were the first books that changed how I felt about the world. Right now, I’m reading The Postmistress by Sarah Blake, Persuasion by Jane Austen, and I have been planning to start the Stieg Larsson trilogy for months, but my deadlines keep getting in the way.

  Do you see yourself writing another book? You have a very interesting life yourself, would you ever write nonfiction?

  I’m working on the sequel to Eighteen Acres now. In it, Tara has her own voice, and we get to take the ride from the New York attorney general’s office to the vice presidency with her. Dale, Charlotte, and Melanie also return. We get to know them better by spending more time with them. I’m enjoying their stories so much, I can’t imagine doing anything else.

  Acknowledgments

  There were four miracles that made this book possible. The first was my husband’s blind faith in my ability to write a novel. He is the reason I sat down at the computer and started typing. The second miracle was getting to know Wendy Button when I did. She is one of the most gifted writers I’ve ever known, and her approval and encouragement inspired me to keep going.