Sex And The Capital Ch 03

"Good morning, Senator," Debra Saunders, Bruce's secretary said.

"Morning, Deb. How are you this lovely day?"

"Apparently not as good as you are, if that smile on your face is any indication. What did you do this weekend?"

He shrugged his shoulders and his smile turned sheepish. "Oh, not much. I just feel really good this morning."

"I'll bring your coffee in a minute," she said, a perplexed look on her face.

Bruce leaned back in his chair, feet on the corner of his desk, coffee cup in hand.

I still can't believe what happened.

He was astonished by Kathy's aggressiveness, her uninhibited sexual drive. He had never experienced sex like that; his wife was a proper and somewhat prudish person. He couldn't remember the last time he had sex twice in one day, certainly it was before the kids. He shook his head.

Three times!

He was still trying to analyze what happened. He hadn't been home in six weeks but he had been away longer than that and wasn't tempted. And there sure was enough temptation around.

Was this infatuation?

At his age, he dismissed that idea.

Was I just horny?

Maybe, or was it really an early mid-life crisis?

He wasn't being fair to his wife, no doubt about that, but the two of them had become set in their ways. Their sex life, never exciting to begin with, had become routine, and, he hated to admit it, more than boring.

Maybe they were drifting apart.

His wife didn't seem to mind. Her life revolved around the children and her local celebrity status as a senator's wife. She didn't make an issue of his infrequent trips home. After attending his swearing in ceremony, she had never returned to the capital.

Were they two different people now, leading separate lives?

He knew he should go home more often but sometimes he stayed just to play golf.

What have I got myself into?

He was aware they were trying to buy influence, but some of the golf packages offered by several of the agricultural Political Action Committees were too tempting. Thinking about it, he realized when he was on the fence, he did vote their way. But, rationalizing his voting record, he was proud that he never voted against the small farmer when it counted.

He shook his head.

What's happened to me? I wasn't like this when I got here.

Deb knocked on the door, breaking his chain of thought, and walked in. "Thirty minutes until the committee meeting starts, sir."

He nodded at her. She was one of those overly competent secretaries. She had set up his calendar in his computer. Thirty minutes ago, it reminded him that the Environment and Public Works Committee would meet in one hour.

"I know, Deb," he said.

She sat down in the chair in front of his desk. Her eyes telling him that she knew something happened over the weekend and it involved sex.

She was two years his junior, happily married with a teenage daughter about ready to graduate from high school. Her husband coached football and taught science at the same school. She was pretty, shapely and smart. In the beginning, Bruce had an occasional sexual thought about her but stopped after he realized she was totally dedicated to her job, family and husband. He doubted he would have acted anyway. Until Kathy, he had been a faithful husband.

"We've been together for almost two years now. Don't you think I know you a little bit?"

He smiled at her. "Well, considering that you're the second most important woman in my life, I suppose you do."

She stood up and prepared to leave. Looking at him sternly, she said, "This comment is just between you and me, woman to man." Hesitating for a second, she said pointedly, "You got laid this weekend," and then turned and walked out as he stared after her, shock on his face.

Damn, how did she know? Was it that obvious?

Now he was worried. What was going to happen when he walked into the conference room?

He gathered up his briefcase and stopped at Deb's desk on his way out. No one was in her office as he leaned over her desk and asked, "How did you know?"

An 'I knew it' smile crossed her face and she said, "My answer may be a bit explicit."

"That hasn't stopped you from telling me dirty jokes before."

"Okay. I'm a great lay." She hesitated to let that sink in. "Whenever we get away for the weekend that's the same smile my husband has on his face at breakfast the next morning. I think the scientific name is 'freshly fucked smile'."

Bruce smiled at her and slowly shook his head. "That obvious?"

Her smile brightened, "Yes, whoever you were with did a number on you."

* * *

Focus on Harris. Focus on Harris.

That would be his mantra. He hoped keeping his mind on something unpleasant would keep the 'freshly fucked smile', as Deb had so eloquently described it, off his face.

Several senators were still standing, talking to each other as he entered the conference room. He nodded at several of his colleagues as he moved to his seat. His friend, Senator Fred Waring of Nebraska, was seated to his right.

"You looked stressed already," he said once Bruce sat down.

"Just anticipating what Harris is going to say about this bill," he said while stealing a look at Kathy. She was talking with another intern.

The chairman banged the table with his gavel and called the meeting to order. After going through several administration announcements, he briefed the committee on the Kenyan visit on Saturday, giving Bruce and Kathy appropriate credit. After stating that the main bill, dealing with tightening the allowable chemical residue in the water supply, would be delayed, he said there was only one item on the agenda. He turned to his left and said, "Senator Harris."

Harris opened the folder in front of him and said, "This is bill S-232, introduced by myself and three others last week. It's a proclamation in support of National Organic Food Month declaring that organic farming is superior to chemical farming." Looking directly at Bruce he said, "Before I get attacked, let me remind everyone that this is only a proclamation stating what is obvious to all of us. It doesn't force anyone to do anything, it doesn't cost anyone one dollar, or one vote. It's only a proclamation."

"This bill was introduced by two Democrats and two Republicans," the chairman said, sitting with his hands folded in front of him. "I would like to demonstrate committee unity by unanimously passing this bill. But," he smiled and held his hands open, "let's discuss it, and please, keep it civil."

The discussion went around the table. Most senators offering their support in varying degrees, no one challenged the wording. Bruce was dismayed that no one would stand up for the small farmer.

His eyes went from the speaker to Kathy. She flashed him a brief smile before turning her attention back to the business at hand. He stared at her dress. It was a gray and white sheath with a large X pattern across her chest, her breasts seemingly outlined by the gray crosshatched pattern on each side of the X. He envisaged them, the nipples swollen, him taking one in his mouth...

Stop, stop, stop! Save that for later.

The vision stuck in his mind. He felt better now.

Finally, it was his turn. "Mr. Chairman, I strongly object to the term 'chemical farming'. This insinuates that there is something inherently wrong with the way our farms, which, incidentally, are the most productive in the world, are run. This implies that our food supply is somehow tainted if not grown organically. This is simply not true. I can parade any number of PhDs through here who will state, without question, that there is nothing wrong with present day farming methods, that the consumer is not in danger, absolutely not in danger."

"Thank you, Senator Reingold. We'll have our normal open discussion shortly. Next, Senator Waring."

Fred defended Bruce, stating a similar opinion.

Frustrated, Bruce put his chin in his hand and looked at Harris.

You son-of-a-bitch, you sucked me into this one.

Harris would give in and change the wording but the proclamation would pass. He glanced at Kathy and caught her looking at him. She looked concerned.

The open discussion got heated. Bruce and Fred were the only two with farming backgrounds. Everyone else was supporting the environmentalist line. Finally, it was decided that 'chemical farming' would be changed to 'traditional farming'.

Bruce wanted to speak with Kathy when the meeting adjourned but she was in a conversation with the chairman and Harris.

Fred moved to Bruce's side. "Let's go to my office."

* * *

Fred, like Bruce, was in his first term. Besides their farming background, they were the only two Midwesterners on the Environmental committee. A solid friendship had developed between them. Fred was also on the Energy and Natural Resources committee.

"You want something to drink? Fred asked.

"Yeah, you got a beer."

Fred went behind his desk and opened the small refrigerator that was inside his credenza. Pulling out two Coors he returned to his chair and handed one to Bruce.

Fred chuckled, "Do you feel like we're David going up against Goliath?"

"Yeah, you're right," Bruce replied, "If you can't cry, you may as well laugh. But I'm afraid we don't have a rock in our sling. Harris sucked us in, you know that?"

"Yeah, I was watching you," Fred said. "You bristled when he said 'chemical farming. He changed what you wanted changed. Are you going to vote for it?"

Bruce took a swig of beer. "Hell no."

"Spencer wanted a unity vote. He'll be pressuring us."

"Yeah. He'll have to very persuasive to bring me around."

Fred stared at Bruce for several seconds, "What do you think about Spencer? I don't think he controls the committee, I think Harris does."

Raising his eyebrows, Bruce said, "I hadn't thought about it but you might be right. I always tune Harris out now; he says the same bullshit all the time. But, now that you mention it, listening to Spencer is like listening to Harris speak rationally. He paraphrases what Harris says without irritating everyone."

Looking pained now, Fred said, "You think the party abdicated its responsibility by placing Spencer over this committee?"

"Could be. Look, we're not known to be big on the environment. Are you going to put someone in charge of the committee who's down on environmentalism? No, you're not; voters, or at least most of them, lump all environmentalists together. They're trying to save the planet: clean air, clean water, endangered species, that's all they see. Few know that they're some fanatics on the fringes with their own agenda. So, what's the easiest thing for the party to do? Put someone like Spencer in charge; he's probably not strong on the environment, but he'll say the right things and the party benefits."

Fred didn't say anything for a few minutes. "Now I want to know how Harris controls him. What's he got on Spencer?"

It was Bruce's term to contemplate. Finally he said, "I don't know. How many different interns have you seen him with since we've been here?"

"Maybe a half dozen. When we first got here, it was Casey, that big-titted blond from California. After that was it Michelle from Oregon, what an ass she had, um-um. Let's see, then it was that girl from Georgia, ah, Crystal. Best lips I've ever seen, I daydreamed about them. Then… "

"Damn, Fred. You're like a walking encyclopedia of interns."

He blushed. "I notice women. What can I say?"

"Does your wife know about this, ah, talent you have?"

Fred laughed, "Yeah, she gave up on me years ago. She knows I won't touch so I can look."

"OK, back to the original question, how many?"

"Six. You want names and descriptions of the other three?"

"No. Let's analyze this," Bruce said. "Spencer's single, that's a plus for him; He's in his fifties, that's a minus; He looks like a damn grizzly bear, a minus; Lives in Vegas, a plus; Drinks like a fish, a minus. No way is he attracting those interns. They're not hookers, something's going on."

Fred shook his head. "Harris can't control all those interns. That can't be it."

"Oh, I don't know. Think about it, interns don't come here to hook a husband; most of them are idealistic, they're here to learn about government. What if they're also big on the environment and believe they're helping by doing what Harris wants?"

Fred shook his head. "No, these interns may be young and a bit naïve but they're not stupid. They can see through Harris as well as we can."

Bruce nodded his head. "Yeah, he's pretty blatant about his extremism. They have to see that too. Besides, most of the ones we've seen with Spencer aren't even assigned to this committee."

Bruce smiled. "Hey, maybe it's his money?"

His friend chuckled and shook his head. "Well, I could see maybe one intern trying to get her hooks into Spencer, marry this old guy; live a life of luxury. He doesn't hide the fact that he's rich."

"Yeah," Bruce said, "you're right, maybe one. That doesn't explain the half dozen. How many more before that?"

Fred's face broke out in a broad smile. "Hey, maybe the guy's a stud, you know, an older experienced stud."

"No way, if they're looking for a stud, they want a young one, not some old dude that gets it up once a week."

Fred shrugged his shoulders. "Well, after analyzing the evidence I don't think we have enough to indict him."

"Yeah, you're right. These interns wouldn't do it for political reasons. Maybe he's got a big dick and they just pass him around among themselves."

Fred laughed aloud. "You don't know women, do you? That would never happen."

"Well, there's got to be an explanation."

"Maybe we're wrong," Fred said. "Maybe his feelings about the environment parallel Harris's. What's his vote about nuclear waste storage in Nevada?"

"He voted against it last time."

"And before?" Fred asked

"I don't know. But I'll find out," Bruce said before tipping the beer up and draining it. "Thursday, we vote on this, right?"

Fred nodded. Bruce stood up to go. "Thanks for the beer."

"Let me know if Spencer contacts you."

"Sure will," Bruce said as he headed out the door.