Page 167 of State of Affairs (First Family 1)

“You said it, babe. We just have to show up, shake some hands and eat.”

“I’m really worried about getting used to White House-level service,” Sam said. “How will we ever go back to taking care of ourselves after that?”

“It won’t be easy,” Nick said. “I’ve read about how past presidents miss the residence staff more than any of the other perks when they leave office.”

“We don’t even officially live there yet, and I believe it.”

At the Capitol, they were taken inside with the sort of efficiency the Secret Service specialized in.

Gloria hugged them all and introduced them to her family, each of whom shook hands with them and made them feel welcome.

Sam wondered how they felt about their brother Christopher, who was in prison for killing Sam’s ex-husband, among other crimes. After they greeted the family and expressed their condolences, Sam, Nick and Scotty stood before the flag-draped coffin while photographers took pictures that would be online in a matter of minutes and on the front page of every paper in the world tomorrow. Those photos were part of the imagery that signified the peaceful transition of power.

Since she didn’t want to think about being in papers around the world, she reflected on her encounters with David Nelson, beginning at John O’Connor’s funeral and continuing throughout Nick’s tenure as Nelson’s second vice president. Despite the differences she’d had with him, Sam was sad that his life had ended prematurely.

Nick gave her healing hand a gentle squeeze, which brought her right back to the man who was her present and her future. He put his other hand on Scotty’s back to guide him toward the exit where Brant waited to lead them back to the car. In all, they’d been there about twenty minutes. Not too bad.

As they left the Capitol, Nick drew their attention to the long lines of people waiting to pay their respects to their late president. Even though they couldn’t be seen inside The Beast, people waved to them as they went by.

“That was cool,” Scotty said. “Thanks for letting me go.”

“You’re witnessing history,” Nick said. “You’re welcome to attend the funeral tomorrow if you’d like to.”

Scotty thought about that for a minute. “As much as I love any excuse to miss school, if it’s okay with you, I think I’ll pass on that. It’s kinda soon after Gramps and everything.”

“You’re right, buddy,” Nick said. “It is.”

“Will you be okay, Mom?”

How blessed they were to have such a sweet, sensitive son. “I’ll be fine, pal. Don’t worry. But thanks for asking.”

At home, they had dinner with the twins and played Candy Land with them until they couldn’t stay awake any longer. Sam and Nick each carried one of them up the stairs to bed and tucked them in. They were so tired, they didn’t even ask for a story.

“Shelby will be here with you and Scotty in the morning,” Nick reminded them.

“And we might not be back until after you’re asleep tomorrow night, but we’ll sneak in and give you kisses while you sleep,” Sam said. “Scotty will be here, and Celia is coming too. We’ll call you after school to see how your day was, okay?”

Aubrey nodded. “Okay.” She turned on her side and snuggled up to her brother.

“I hate to miss a whole day with them,” Sam said after they left the room.

“Me too. But we have to do this.”

“I know, but we don’t have to like it. What time do I need to be presentable tomorrow?”

“We leave here at seven thirty.”

“Oh nice, I get to sleep in.”

She crawled into bed with Nick a short time later and was asleep almost the minute her head hit the pillow.

Chapter Thirty-Four

The next thing Sam knew, Nick’s alarm was going off. “Holy crap, I slept like a dead woman.”

“You sure did. I was talking to you and realized you were asleep.”

“Sorry. I’ll make it up to you tonight.”