Page 334 of Incisive

She calls for order, speaking up.“Look, I can stand here alllll night until you settle down. I get paid either way but I know y’all have deadlines. Your choice.”

Finally, they do.

“Thank you. First of all, I’m going to read a brief statement from the First Couple.”

“Here we go,” Jordan says, chewing on his thumbnail.

“‘President Elliot Woodley and First Spouse Leo Cruz are pleased to announce that their partner, Jordan Walsh, has agreed to move in with them permanently. The three men have been friends for years and Jordan Walsh was also previously Mr. Woodley’s assistant. Mr. Cruz and Mr. Walsh have been involved with each other for years, with Mr. Woodley’s full knowledge and consent. Now that Mr. Walsh no longer works for Mr. Woodley, he and Mr. Woodley can finally have a relationship, too. They will not answer any personal questions and request you respect their privacy. They are far from the first or last polyamorous family pairing but hope that, in the future, laws can be modified to take into consideration polyamorous families who are currently discriminated against, instead of favoring antiquated two-person marriages.’”She looks up.“Questions?”

The briefing room remains dead-silent for maybe two seconds before it erupts in a cacophony of reporters shouting over each other.

“Son of a bitch,” I say, stunned. They’re burying the lede. And we all get to come out.”

“Not all of us.” Jordan throws back the rest of his drink and stands to get himself a refill. “Casey-Marie, Declan, and George can’t come out.”

Leo sounds amazed, impressed. “But they can once she’s no longer chief of staff. As of January 21st, the three of them are free to come out, too.” He smiles. “Sonofabitch, they just opened the floodgates. There will be others who come out today to jump on the bandwagon and get their announcement lost in the shuffle. It’s…it’s fuckinggenius.”

“No, she can’t,” I say. “Because of Declan. He’s her direct-report.”

“Sure they can,” Leo insists. “They can fudge and say she and George are an item with Declan’s consent and permission, then ease into it later if necessary about Declan once a little time’s passed. Just like us.”

I slump back against the couch. “Itcannotbe that easy. Can it?”

“Casey-Marie wouldn’t have announced it if she didn’t know for sure we’re fine,” Leo says. “She’s damned careful. She must have already cleared it with White House counsel. More importantly, Kev wouldn’t have kicked everything off the way they did, and you know what a careful motherfucker he is.”

Jordan walks over. “Why does this not feel like a victory?”

“Hey, we’re keeping our balls,” Leo jokes. “It’s definitely a win.” His cell phone rings. “Speak of the devil.” He answers. “Hello, Mrs. Bardales…”

Jordan and I watch and listen but we’re not getting a lot from his end of things.

Then, on TV, we see a staffer bring Angie a paper in the background behind Casey-Marie. She reads it and then slides it in front of Casey-Marie, who is in the process of batting down yet another question about our sex lives.

“I’ve just received a statement from President-elect Bardales’ office,”she says.“‘The second lady and I extend our heartfelt congratulations to President Woodley, Mr. Cruz, and Mr. Walsh on their union. Having known and worked with all three men for years, we are glad they are able to publicly acknowledge their relationship.

“‘We also wish similar congratulations to President Samuels, Mr. Bruunt, and Mr. Markos, as well as Governor Evans, Governor Taylor, and Mr. Wilson. It is heartening to see such high-profile representation for polyamorous relationships. Relationship equality has been sorely lacking in this country. There are many blended families with co-parenting situations, and even friends who join together to form households because of living expenses, or health issues, or religious beliefs.

“‘One of the first things I will do upon taking office is instruct staff to look into remedies to end the discrimination against polyamorous families who want nothing more than to live their lives and receive equal treatment and benefits under the law. The government should not be in the business of discrimination against consenting adults forming families of choice, even if they don’t fit ancient cultural and religious-based stereotypes…’”

“Motherfucker,” Leo mutters, wide-eyed as he stares at the TV. “They went scorched earth. Theyactuallywent scorched earth.”

Jordan walks over to him, takes his empty glass, and goes to pour him a refill. “Yup.”

But Jordan doesn’t sound happy.

“This…this is agoodthing,” I insist. “Because in four years it won’t be an issue for Ciro with his re-election.”

Jordan sets his glass down a little harder than I think he meant to, rattling the ice cube against the sides of the glass. “It’s a freaking distraction.”

“This is the best time for it,” I insist.

“I was fuckingcareless!” he screams, shocking both me and Leo into wide-eyed silence. “I fuckingknewbetter!”

Leo and I rise as one and race to his side. Leo takes the other glass from Jordan and sets it on the counter as we engulf him in our arms.

“No, baby,” Leo croons. “It wasmyfault. You tried to step back and I was being playful. It’stotallymy fault.”

“All these fucking years and I blow it inoneafternoon!” Jordan cries.