IT’S MONDAY, AND ERICA IS back in her office. She hasn’t heard a peep from Jenny. So be it. Is she being a little stubborn? Maybe. But tenacity has been a big part of her career, and it might be time to apply it to her parenting. As for the Doubt Demon that likes to perch on her shoulder and whisper nasty nothings in her ear about what a crummy mom she is—Get lost, you slimy little creep!
Gary Halpert was able to get both YouTube and Beth London to pull the video, and Mark Benton has pretty much scrubbed it off the Internet.
But of course, Erica thinks ruefully, the video is only a symptom of a relationship that’s at a low point. Hardly its first dip, but Erica is afraid puberty and adolescence—all that intensity and hormones and sarcasm and anger and rush toward independence—will only further rend their bond. She folds her arms on her desk and rests her head for a moment, closing her eyes as sadness washes over her.
Oh, Jenny, my baby girl, I love you so much, just know that, please. And I feel as lost as you do.
There’s a gentle knock on her open door.
“Is this a bad time?” Gloria asks softly.
Erica sits up, shakes her head. “No, no, of course not.”
Gloria walks over to Erica’s desk. “You’ve been working like a dog on a triple-espresso IV. Are you sure you don’t need a little break?”
“You’ve been working just as hard as I have.”
“Yeah, but I’m not the majordomo, public face, anchorwoman, et cetera.”
“We don’t have time to take a break.” GNN agreed to push the first episode of Spotlight up two weeks. Their hand was forced by Take Back Our Homeland’s still-undisclosed invitation for “twenty-first-century pioneers” to move to North Dakota and join them. It’s a hot story and they want to break it. But it does mean twenty-hour days for everyone connected with the show.
“The promo is up,” Gloria says.
“Let’s take a look.”
Gloria clicks on Erica’s office television and then sends the video from her phone to the set. It opens with a quick shot of Steve Watson blowing up his supporters and himself, cuts to Mary Bellamy talking about the Homeland, and ends with a crowd of Alabama white-supremacist secessionists holding a protest outside the statehouse.
“It’s scary. And the Bellamys aren’t going to like it. It makes secessionist movements seem militant and dangerous,” Erica says.
“Actually I think they come across as the soul of reason in a sea of hate.”
“Yes, but it does lump them all together. There’s definitely some guilt by association.”
“Well, that will draw people to watch her interview, which gives her a huge platform to demonstrate how different Take Back Our Homeland is from these fringe groups.”
“Good point. And good job.”
“We’re running this on GNN and eight other cable channels. A week from Thursday is our big night. We want to come out of the gate with a bang.”
“Exciting. Listen, I’m going to head out to North Dakota again on Saturday.”
Gloria looks momentarily taken aback. Then quizzical.
“I want to do a little digging on Joan Marcus.”
She takes this in and then nods. “Okay. Would you, um, like me to come?”
“I want to keep a low profile.”
“Okay. Okay.” Gloria steps closer to the desk and her face fills with concern. “I want you to be careful out there. Stay in close radio contact.”
“I will. And thank you.”
Gloria leaves and Erica feels a wave of affection. Gloria has her back.