Jake accompanied Senator Tomlinson to Lady Cecilia’s house for his post-debate interview. It was well past ten p.m., the tag end of a long day of news media appearances and rehearsals for new television ads.
“It’s been a week since I’ve been in the Senate,” Tomlinson muttered as the limousine drove slowly through the narrow streets of Cecilia’s Capitol Hill neighborhood.
“Kevin’s keeping you apprised of the Senate’s business, isn’t he?” Jake asked. “You haven’t missed any important votes.”
“The vote on raising the debt ceiling comes up next week,” the senator said. “Kevin thinks it’s just as well that I miss it.”
Nodding, Jake said, “You can’t be blamed either way if you don’t vote on it.”
Tomlinson made a sound that might have been a resigned groan. In the darkness of the limo’s rear seat, Jake couldn’t make out the senator’s facial expression.
But he said, “I ought to take a stand on the issue.”
Jake countered, “Listen to Kevin. Either way you vote, the other side will use it against you.”
“I know, but … I don’t like weaseling out on it.”
“When you’re president you can take a stand.”
Tomlinson went, “Hmmf.”
The limo stopped in front of Lady Cecilia’s three-story house. Every window was ablaze with light. Tomlinson opened his own door and ducked out of the limo before the chauffeur could get to him. Jake slid across the rear bench while the driver held the door open for him.
“Beat you again, Danny,” Tomlinson said to the chauffeur, grinning.
“You’re just too fast for me, sir.”
Lady Cecilia was standing in the front doorway as Jake and the senator came up the bricked walkway.
“Right on time,” she called to them.
Tomlinson replied, “For you, Cecilia, we skipped two cocktail parties and an ambassadorial dinner.”
He bussed her on the cheek. Cecilia’s froggish face beamed happily, but she said, “You’re a charming liar.”
Feigning innocence, Tomlinson protested, “It’s true! Ask Jake.”
Jake said not a word as Cecilia showed them into her home.
* * *
Senator Tomlinson sat, seemingly at ease, to one side of the small desk in the room Cecilia used to record her interviews for her Power Talk blog. Sitting at the desk, Cecilia wore a maroon blouse with gold piping. Tomlinson was in a dark blue suit: his Washington uniform, Jake thought.
The senator looked tired. Jake saw lines around his eyes that he’d never noticed before. Why shouldn’t he be tired? We’ve been running him around like a racehorse for weeks now. And there’s months more to come.
Cecilia wasted no time with preliminary chitchat. After introducing the senator, she opened the interview with:
“You said in last night’s debate that your space program could help to invigorate the economy. How?”
Tomlinson launched into his standard patter about new industries and new jobs. Jake, sitting to one side of the bearded, overweight techie who was handling the camera, nodded in rhythm to the well-rehearsed lines.
But Cecilia interrupted the senator’s spiel with, “Well, maybe your program could generate jobs for engineers and astronauts. But what about the millions of ordinary folks who are unemployed or underemployed? What about them?”
Smiling tiredly, the senator answered, “Engineers and astronauts need plumbers and carpenters, secretaries and truck drivers, babysitters, grocery clerks, bank tellers…”
“Isn’t that the trickle-down economics theory?”
Tomlinson hesitated, then replied, “Cecilia, the unemployment situation is basically a problem of education. Our schools are not turning out graduates who are prepared for high-tech industries. They’re failing our kids in that area.”
Putting on a surprised expression, Cecilia asked, “You mean our public schools aren’t doing their job?”
Very seriously, the senator answered, “I’m afraid they’re not. Most youngsters graduating high school aren’t prepared for high-tech jobs. Or even low-tech jobs, for that matter. That’s why I hope that a vigorous space program can get our schoolchildren interested in science and technology again.”
“The STEM subjects,” Cecilia said. “Science, technology, engineering, and math.”
Nodding to Cecilia, Tomlinson said, “I’m hoping that our return to the Moon can stimulate kids to tackle those subjects. And motivate our educators to emphasize them. That could be a powerful boost for our educational systems. And for our economy as a whole.”
Looking delighted, Cecilia said, “Thank you, Senator Tomlinson, for your very insightful views.”