“Hello, Charles.”
Startled, Charles looked up from his phone where he had been reading an article in the Wall Street Journal. “Oh, morning, Bill.”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“No, it’s not your fault,” Charles said, putting his phone away. “I should know better than to walk around while looking at my phone.”
“Yeah, we can’t really yell at our kids for doing it if we do it ourselves, can we?”
“We can, but they know we’re hypocrites, and no one ever listens to hypocrites. Speaking of which, I was just reading about what the President had to say about that veteran. I still can’t believe he got nominated by a pro-military party.”
“Well, just because he fights back when he’s attacked doesn’t mean he doesn’t support the military as a whole. You have to admit that veteran was saying some things about him that were not very nice.”
Charles looked at his colleague in awe. “What did you just say?”
“I’m just saying that, just because we’re pro-military doesn’t mean we have to defend every single thing every veteran says and does. You know the President, when he’s attacked, he attacks back. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
Charles was so astonished it almost choked him. When he had recovered himself enough to speak he said, “I do know the president’s tendencies. And I thought I knew yours, but it looks as if I was mistaken.”
“Look, the president’s not a bad guy, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to take a hit lying down. And people respect that, you know?”
“People respect our men and women in arms. Or at least they used to.”
Bill shrugged and Charles could not imagine what could make his friend and colleague of 20 years shrug off one of the most egregious statements he had ever heard. “Maybe you just need to get to know him better.”
Charles considered his friend for a long moment before saying, “I know him well enough.”
“Suit yourself. But, like it or not, he’s the future of this party, so you can either get on board or get left behind.” The elevator doors opened and Bill stepped out, giving Charles a friendly nod as he walked off, tucking under one arm a bottle of whiskey Charles hadn’t noticed until now. What was Bill doing with a bottle of whiskey at 8 in the morning?
To be continued…