It was after a speech to the Berkley audience that Al Gore retired to his dressing room and started to think about things for a while.
It had been some months since Tipper and he had been together. It's not that she was unloving, but she was scarcely equipped as of late to cope with his "secret."
The lonely vice president decided it would be for the best if he went on a college speaking tour about global warming, and direct a movie about the subject. The movie was, trademarked so it's either we lose the title here or I never get this damn story published, and it was an instant success on college campuses across the nation.
And so Gore had come to the UC Berkley campus to give a speech. The crowd was with his every last breath and syllable. He loved giving speeches on friendly turf, and so was not about to scrap that formula in favor talking to a bunch of yuppies in Orange County.
But no matter how much the vice president tried to focus on politics, he couldn't get his mind off his loneliness and his little "problem." He dwelled on it for some time when there was a knock on the door.
"Come in," Gore said.
The door opened, and before him stood an absolute prize of Berkley college campus beauty. She was no taller than his chest, with a cute, innocent face and piercing blue eyes. Her blonde hair was dread-locked and tied back behind her head, and the opening door wafted the overpowering smell of her patchouli perfume.
Gore drew the smell in deep and was intoxicated. This was his type of woman. She was slim too, with a tight, exposed mid-section and subtle breasts. She wore sky blue flowing clothes with a bare midriff. Gore began to . . . get in the mood. And this worried him.
"Uh. . . Can I help you ma'am?"
"Hi, my name's Flower, and I just loved your speech today, Mr. Vice President," the young hippie girl explained with excitement.
"Why thank you, young lady. Please, close the door and come on in. I would love to discuss the matter with you. Global warming is one of my favorite topics." Gore said in his usual, monotonous tone.
Flower closed the door and entered the room. She took a seat on a sofa in the dressing room, one situated frightfully near the vice president. The very nervous Gore shifted around a bit, and awaited the young woman's response.
"Mr. Vice President. . ."
"Please, Flower, call me Al."
She giggled and blushed a bit, Gore just got more nervous. "Okay, Al. Anyway, I loved your speech tonight. Global warming is such a horrible problem for the earth, and it just touches my heart to see a man fighting it. I wish more people out there were like you."
"Thank you, Flower," Gore said, his voice unfluctuating despite his heart pounding a mile a minute.
This was a groupie, just like that last one at Columbia. He was scared. That one fled the room screaming when she saw his - - little issue - - and he was petrified that this one might do the same.
Especially this one - - whom he felt an especial liking for. He couldn't explain it, her face, her hair, her choice in politically correct and olfactory repugnant fragrances, this woman was just special.
"Global warming is a very important issue, not just for me, but for the entire world. Did you know that rampant cattle production has, over the past 50 years, doubled the level of methane in the earth's atmosphere?"
'Oh my God,' Gore thought to himself 'I'm giving her statistics, I'm totally blowing it with this girl.'
"My goodness! When will these people ever learn the horrible effects of their way of life." She was totally enthralled with it.
"Yes. I've gone to great lengths to suggest some solutions we might engage in to solve this problem."
"Oh my goodness, yes, I read all of them in your book! We could so totally solve this problem if we just tried the suggestions you listed."
Wow, this girl was really into it. Gore decided to make a. . . move of sorts. He tried changing the subject. "So, what do you major in here at Berkley?"
"Oh," Flower replied, totally disinterested in this topic. "I major in Womyn's Studies."
"Ah, I am quite familiar with that major. Simply amazing. Tell me, are you more of a Dworkinite, or more of a Steinemite?"
"Well," Flower replied, growing more bored with the topic. "While I respect Dworkin's work, I guess I really just side more with Steinem. I mean, men are scum but I'm really just not prepared to suggest they need to be collectively castrated I guess."
It was boring her, he could tell. Gore had to retrench. "You know, I've often felt if we were a more environmentally conscious world, we would all get along, man, woman, black, white, drowning polar bear."
"You know, I've so totally thought the same thing!" Flower perked right back up.
Gore and the young hippie talked for hours. He was hitting all the right points with her, and his little vice presidential heart was skipping a beat every time she spoke. For a little bit, he was beginning to think that this could be the sort of woman he could really get into.
Then, he recalled his little "issue," and started to remember that he just couldn't have meaningful relationships with women with that horrible burden hanging as it did. His tone started to take a turn for the dour, which was especially noticeable as Al Gore has no natural inflections in his voice.
Gore eventually had enough, and let poor Flower know with the utmost of depression, "Flower, it has been a real pleasure speaking with you this night on the dangers of global warming to this planet. But, it's getting late, and I think we'd best get to bed now."
Flower giggled. "Oh Al, I could talk to you all night if you wanted."
"That would be really nice, Flower, but I think it would be best to call it a night."
"Okay. . . But," Flower's little hippie face blushed three shades of red, and she stared at her hands to avoid looking at his face.