"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."
