The Longer The Fall by Aviva Gat (best new books to read txt) 📗

The other seven-year-olds in his second-grade class all laughed at him. They were laughing too hard to hear when Adam tried to explain the significance of this position—the person in charge of garnering enough votes to pass a bill—which was also the third highest-ranking position in the Senate. For the rest of the year, students made fun of Adam, calling him Major Whip and pretending to flick a whip every time he walked by. Madeline had wanted to cry when Brandon told her this story—both from pride that Adam wanted to follow her footsteps into the Senate, but also from sadness that the spoiled children in her son’s class didn’t understand what it meant to be a politician. This year, Madeline would talk about being a senator at Career Day. She would tell them that being Majority Whip was no joke—it was a worthy aspiration, even for someone with Madeline’s own pedigree. She would also show the other parents—in particular the stay-at-home-moms—who judged her for her career choice, lamented her parenting and clucked their tongues whenever she was near.

Not to mention, attending Career Day made a great photo opportunity for Madeline. Jane had quietly leaked Madeline’s participation to the local press, who would send photographers and reporters who would add to Madeline’s press portfolio of articles calling her the woman who had it all. This type of press was exactly what Madeline needed right now. It gave people a good feeling about her, and was a great way to prep the public for her reelection campaign launch. It also couldn’t hurt to garner more positive press, especially with Madeline’s hanging fear that doom was imminent. That her blackmailer would never be caught and her career would be ruined. Maybe if that happened, someone would remember that she came to Career Day and that her reputation, after being dragged through the mud, would still have one positive attribute. Would that be too much to ask for?

 Madeline felt a tap on her shoulder. She lifted her eye mask to see a smiling flight attendant grinning at her. “Mrs. Thomas, are you all right?” the woman asked her. All the flight attendants knew her by name. That was the kind of service received in first class, as well as an occupational hazard for Madeline who flew cross-country weekly.

Madeline nodded and stood up, realizing that the plane was empty of other passengers. She grabbed her purse, thanked the flight attendants who were all standing at the front with abnormally happy faces, and exited the plane toward the car that would be waiting for her. She arrived home to see the boys sitting in the kitchen eating eggs that Molly had cooked for them.

“You made it!” Adam screamed when he saw her.

“Of course I did! I promised I would!” Madeline tried to match his enthusiasm.

“Yeah, but still!” Adam said, the enthusiasm still shooting out of his ears. The comment stung, but Madeline tried not to flinch. She hugged her boys and ran upstairs for a quick shower so she could take the boys to school.

She walked into the master bedroom and could immediately smell Brandon’s aftershave. Steam from the shower was seeping through the bathroom door, which she opened to see Brandon standing in front of the mirror with his towel around his waist.

“Hey babe!” he said with the same enthusiasm as his son. He came to hug Madeline, wrapping his naked and still slightly wet body around Madeline’s suit. She hugged him back quickly before peeling off her dirty clothes to jump in the shower. “Woah there, I didn’t think there would be time for a quickie this morning!” Brandon smiled, placing his strong hands around her waist.

“Sorry, I’m in a hurry,” Madeline responded, giving her husband a quick kiss and jumping in the shower.

“I know, I figured,” Brandon said, grabbing his toothbrush. “Just thought I’d try.” Madeline showered and Brandon finished brushing his teeth. He left her in the bathroom to finish getting ready. She quickly rinsed herself and stepped out of the shower, drying herself off, lotioning her body and face, and going through her intense facial regimen. “See you this evening?” Brandon peeked his head back in the bathroom door. This time, his body was covered in a blue button-down shirt and he had a tie hanging over his shoulders.

“Yup,” she responded, pecking him on the lips. “Have a good day.” Brandon disappeared from the bathroom and Madeline finished her makeup, blew dry her hair and put on a fresh suit. She put on a navy-blue skirt suit and pinned an American flag to her lapel—the ultimate Senator uniform. She was back downstairs in fifteen minutes, to see the boys waiting for her by the front door.

“Mom! We’re going to be late!” Adam yelled. Noah stood next to his younger brother with his arms folded in front of his chest. So much apathy for a ten-year-old, Madeline thought. How did he already learn to care so little?

“I offered to take them,” Molly said, as though apologizing to Madeline. “I told them you could meet them at school, but Adam insisted…”

“It’s fine, Molly,” Madeline responded, giving Molly a thankful shoulder squeeze. Then she turned to the boys. “You ready?”

She drove them to school, where, sure enough, there were already several photographers and reporters hanging around the entrance. She parked the car and the cameras instantly started clicking as she and the boys started walking into the school. She put on her big senator smile and placed her arms on her boys’ shoulders, gently greeting the cameras without giving them too much acknowledgement. She walked the boys to their classrooms, first dropping off Adam and then going with Noah to his, where she would be talking first. When she walked in, the teacher handed her a nametag with her name and occupation on it.

“Well, well Madeline! Was that circus outside planned just for you?” It was Mrs.