One Day in Eternity: A (very) Short Story

“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” – John 15:5 (ESV)

I did not understand at first what the noise ransacking my brain meant.

Then, it dawned on me—my alarm clock was telling me that my night of fitful sleep was over.

After a quick shower, I headed to work. Walking into the Texas Capitol, I saw my boss, Senator Richard Young, getting into the elevator for the ride to the third floor.

The third floor is where the most powerful senators have their offices. One floor above the Lt. Governor’s suite, it is close to the center of power and convenient to the Senate chamber. And during the hours the Senate is in session, only senators and staff can ride in the sole elevator with third floor access. Lobbyists seeking to curry favor often arrive in an office struggling to catch their breath after climbing the four flights of stairs necessary to reach this inner sanctum. The third-floor senators seem to enjoy this.

I took the next elevator and, arriving in my office, started going over the notes for my meeting with my boss.

It is no secret that the education reform bill is going to pass; most Republicans have a hard time sticking to principal. The only question is whether enough of them will ignore their tightfisted constituents and include enough money in the bill to make the reforms meaningful. And while it unlikely that the moderate Republicans will suddenly develop a conscience, enough pressure might be brought to bear on them from suburban school districts to swing the few votes we need.

“You look like you spent the night lickin’ somebody’s boots,” said Senator Young, as he stood there, filling the doorway to my office with his broad shoulders.

While my boss was often a jerk, he was also usually right. My mouth tasted like a gutter.

“I’ve just been going over my thoughts on the bill. I heard some things last night which really worry me.”

He wasn’t going to let me off that easy.

“If you spent less time chasing women, and more time catching them, you’d feel much better in the morning. Just look at me!”

I did. Working out for an hour every day before going to work has made him as fit and trim as a man of fifty could hope for.

I decided to give him what he wanted.

“Senator, if I caught as many as you do, I’d look a lot worse than this.”

That seemed to satisfy his ego, and we moved on to business.

I couldn’t concentrate on the meeting, though. So many things were going wrong.

After working my way up in politics, I had become the chief of staff for the most powerful member of the Texas Senate. My decisions carried more weight than most members of the House and even some of the Senators.

But when the Republicans took over last year, my ability to make things happen significantly diminished. And with it so did my belief I actually shared in the precious power that comes with being a Texas state senator.

At times, I wanted to be one of them, to be able to get up and speak my mind and show everybody how hypocritical the Republicans really are. At other times, I’d prefer to be as far away as I can from their holier-than-thou attitude. I’d played basketball with a few of them, and you had to get used to the fact that once you passed the ball to a senator, you would never get it back. Senators do not hand out assists, they just score. Or, at least they try to. I gave it up after a while and went back to jogging.

The rest of the day moved by slowly. Even after the physical effects of the hangover wore off, last night didn’t leave me alone. Or at least, Sally didn’t.

She was perfect when we met. After only a couple of weeks we had wound up in bed. She was incredible. Though at 29 she was six years younger than I was, Sally had said all the right things to make me believe that we were special. Of course, it hadn’t taken that much. It was hard for me to see past those beautiful eyes, the intelligent mind, and a body to die for.

I nearly had. After six months she was gone, and everything fell apart. I threw myself into my work, and hid from the rest of the world, trying to put her out of my mind. Eventually, I began to understand that I wasn’t going anywhere with that strategy.

Finally, I pulled myself out of my funk enough to put myself back in circulation. It appeared as if my efforts had been succeeding. A combination of a few nights with some old flames and some single malt whiskeys seemed to have healed my wounds. Though I was tired, I was having a good time.

At least until last night.

Ricardo’s is typical of those trendy establishments in the not-so-nice neighborhoods of a big city, with the elegance of the patrons so out of place with the surroundings. Accuras and Porsches lined up for the valet parking as old Chevys and Oldsmobiles bounced down the street, spewing pollution into the crisp night air. Most of the people there wouldn’t give the residents of the neighborhood the time of day, though if you paid close attention, you’d notice that some of them had given a few bucks to the dealers hanging around the street corners to get a quick lift for their spirits.

Wendy and I went to Ricardo’s last night. We had gone out for a while about a year ago. She wasn’t really my type—she was always too serious about her religion, but I thought we could have a little fun together until something better came along.

I hadn’t seen Sally for at least two months. However, when I turned to catch the waiters attention to order another bottle of wine, I almost knocked her drink out of her hand. The conversation was pleasant enough, but I couldn’t get over how good she still looked—and the fact that she was no longer mine.

By the time I left the restaurant, I could feel my stomach lining screaming for an antacid. Even a romp with Wendy didn’t make it better this time. I left soon after, making an excuse about having to go in to work early this morning.

David must have sensed something was up, because he asked me out to dinner over the pretense of discussing strategy on the education bill. We met at Lou’s Diner, which, although it has a common sounding name, is as exclusive as any restaurant in town. I was glad he was buying.

It didn’t take long for David to get to the real subject of the dinner.

“I used to think nothing would ever get in your way around here,” he said. “But this Republican takeover has just about done you in. If you really understood what power is all about, and what it can get you, you wouldn’t be in this shape. Pretty bad shape, I might add.”

He sat there looking at me, waiting for a response. I hesitated. Though I consider David a friend, you can never be too sure around politics.

“It’s Sally,” I confessed. “It’s been six months, and I thought I was just about over her until I saw her last night. I just can’t forget about her.”

David was patient. He has heard about Sally before.

“Sally Reynolds is after something you can’t possibly give her. At least, not in the condition you are in.”

“Don’t I know it. She was as perfect last night as the first time I saw her. Obviously, she’s getting whatever she needs without me.”

“The only way you’ll ever have a woman like Sally is if she wants you more than you want her. It’s really pretty simple if you can handle it. This collapse isn’t making the grade. No matter how well you build your facade, I assure you that she can see right through it.”

That was the problem. Though I had worked very hard through the years to build up my aura of invincibility, it isn’t just Sally who looks at me differently now—it seems like everybody does.

Perhaps I had done too good a job. Maybe I had started to believe it myself.

After David paid for dinner, I headed home. Our talk hadn’t helped my mood, and neither did arriving at my house.  Its porch swing, hardwood floors, and expensive art used to bring me such satisfaction, and not that long ago, a nice dinner, a few drinks and returning home with my date was just about all I needed to lift my spirits. Not anymore, though I hadn’t really noticed when things had begun to change.

I pounded down a nightcap, then poured myself into bed.