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“Adam, is that you? What are you doing?” Kathryn asked impatiently from her car phone. She’d left Dottie at the hospital and decided to call her husband to tell him about Camilla before she began the drive home. Kathryn’s home, Wyndley Farm, was about forty-five minutes northwest of Richmond.
"Kathryn, Kathryn is that you? I'm in traffic near the Capitol. Let me call you back," her husband said quickly. "I can’t hear a stinkin' thing you're saying."
"Okay, but make it snappy. It’s important." Kathryn said sharply. "I need your help.”
Congressman Adam Patrick Lee turned to his driver and said, "Frankie, find a quiet place and pull over so I can talk to Kathryn. She's barking up my butt about something and you know what that means," he said as his driver laughed loudly.
"Yo, Congress Man. I getcha somewhere ASAP. Doan want Miz Kathryn mad at me," he said as he made an illegal turn and headed for a quiet street in Georgetown.
Adam shook his head. "Yeah, man, you know what it's like when I'm in the dog house with her. Life just isn't the same," Adam lamented. In truth, he was worried. Kathryn never called him at work and whatever she needed must be important or an emergency. He hoped nothing had happened at the farm or with Alex. Surely if something had happened at Wyndley Farm, the Secret Service would've contacted him.
Frankie pulled Congressman Lee’s spacious Mercedes into a private driveway. "Here you go, suh. ‘Dis here’s a safe place. My buddy works for da man in ‘dat house and they be at work.”
Adam nodded and quickly pushed the redial button on his iPhone.
Kathryn answered immediately. "Adam, will you secure a military transport for General Jefferson Rothrock? He needs to get to Richmond ASAP."
Adam was a little confused and said, "Sure I can, but so can he. Stuart Rothrock is a retired army general. He can get anything military he wants. Why me?"
Kathryn shook her head. Men. What was it about them that always made them argumentative? Why couldn't he just make the arrangements without raising a ruckus? She took a breath and explained, "I was having lunch with his mother today at the Madison and she’s very ill. She's in the ICU at MCV and he needs to get here as soon as he can. I just thought that with your influence..."
Adam’s heart did a flip-flop. He was fond of Camilla Rothrock and thought her son was one of the most courageous and admirable men in America. He’d move Heaven and earth for both of them if he needed to. "Consider it done. Anything else I need to know?"
Kathryn stared into space as she reviewed the events in her mind. She hesitated and said, "No. It was just very strange. We'd been eating lunch and everyone was fine. All of a sudden, Camilla was unable to communicate. Her face was flushed and her pupils were large. I'm not sure she knew we were talking to her... she passed out. It was scary to say the least,” she finished.
Adam was silent for a moment and said, “It sounds weird. Was it a stroke?”
"They said no," Kathryn replied. "To tell the truth, I don't think they know."
"Tell you what," Adam pondered. “I'll get the general to D.C. and then will drive by the farm, pick you up and go back to the hospital. Probably be early this evening."
Thanks, Congressman. I love you," she said as she signed off.
“Love you too, Kathryn.” Adam Lee wondered if Kathryn would ever know how much he loved her. He seriously doubted it. She was the love of his life.