Spencerville

"The Scottish ballad." He recited, " 'The king sits in Dumferling Town, drinking his blood-red wine, oh, where will I get a good sailor, to sail this ship of mine?' — that's the president talking. Then, 'Up and spoke an elderly knight, who sat at the king's right knee' — that's the secretary of defense, who says, 'Sir Patrick Spence is the best sailor, that sails upon the sea.' That's you. Then, 'The king wrote an official letter, and signed it with his hand, and sent it to Sir Patrick Spence who was walking on the sand.' That's me coming here. Then, 'The first line that Sir Patrick read, a loud laugh laughed he; the next line that Sir Patrick read, a tear blinded his eye' — that's you again."

"Thank you, Charlie."

" 'Oh, who is this that has done this deed, this ill deed to me, to send me out this time of year, to sail upon the sea? Make haste, make haste, my merry men all, our good ship sails at morn' — actually two-fifteen — 'Oh say no more my master dear, for I fear a deadly storm.' " Charlie Adair said to Keith, "So that's how these things happen. That's how they've happened since the beginning of time. The king's sitting around, not doing shit, pounding down a few, and some harebrained idea pops into his head, and some asshole flunky tells him it's a great idea. Then they send me to pass it on." He looked at his watch. "So make haste, make haste, Mr. Landry."

"What happened to Sir Patrick Spence, if I may ask?"

"He drowned in the storm." Charlie stood. "Okay, you can travel as you are, minus gun, but please pack a suit. We don't want to overdo the Cincinnatus thing in the West Wing."

"I have to be back here tomorrow night, latest."

"You got it. Hey, if you're coming to D.C. with your lady on Saturday, Katherine and I will take you to dinner. It's on Uncle Sam. I'd like to meet her."

"I'm turning down the job."

"Wrong. You'll tell them you need the weekend to think it over. You have to speak to your fiancee. Okay?"

"Why mess around?"

"Maybe you owe it to — what's her name?"

"Annie."

"To Annie to be consulted. We'll take her around Washington, we'll have private tours of everything, and we'll talk it over. Katherine is good at that."

"Annie is a simple country girl. I told you, this is not the life..."

"Women love cities. Shopping, good restaurants, shopping. Where are you staying?"

"I don't know."

"I'll book the Four Seasons. She'll love Georgetown. Looks like downtown Spencerville. You can show her your old haunts. Stay away from Chadwick's. Linda still hangs out there, and we don't want a scene. I'm looking forward to this weekend. Let's roll."

"You're a shit."

"I know."

Keith left Charlie in the kitchen, went upstairs, and packed a garment bag.

* * *

On the way to the airport, Keith said, "When they asked me to leave, you didn't stand up for me, Charlie."

Charlie lit a cigarette as he drove. "I didn't want to. You were burned-out, buddy. You wanted to leave. You know that. Why would I want to prolong your unhappiness?"

"What makes you think I'm any less burned-out now?"

"I don't know. This was not my idea. They think there's some energy left. It's like carbon soot, you know? You run it through the afterburners and apply more heat, and you get a little more fire out of it."

"Interesting analogy. What happens to the burned soot?"

"It turns into vapor and blows away."

Chapter Twenty-three

Keith directed Charlie to Toledo Airport, and they made the flight with a few minutes to spare.

They had first-class tickets, and Keith asked, "Do I get a twenty-one-gun salute at National?"

"Absolutely. And a red carpet."

"Brass band?"

"The whole works. The White House travel office does it right."

Keith put on the earphones and read during the flight, so he didn't have to listen to Charlie Adair.

The aircraft began its approach and descent into National Airport. Keith and Charlie were sitting on the left side, which had the best view. Government and military air restrictions prohibited aircraft from approaching National from the east because of security concerns involving the White House, and aircraft approaching from the north, south, and west had problems getting low enough because of all the high-rise buildings on the Virginia side of the Potomac and noise restrictions in the Maryland suburbs. For this reason, when airliners approached from the north, as they were doing, they flew directly over the Potomac River, which afforded a spectacular panorama.

Keith, in the window seat, looked out at the sunlit city. The aircraft seemed to glide over the river, and Keith could see Georgetown, the Watergate, then the Mall, the Lincoln, Washington, and Jefferson monuments, and in the distance the Capitol. It was truly a beautiful experience, and he never tired of it, especially after he'd been away awhile.

It occurred to Keith that, as he landed, the city was exerting its own gravitational pull on him, drawing him into its grip. It had probably occurred to Charlie Adair, too, when he booked seats on the left side of the aircraft.