office back into his thoughts. He gestured at the portraits.
'Jim Bob, Texas prospered under every one of those governors. I don't want this state to fail on my watch. What are we going to do about this budget deficit?'
'What budget deficit?'
'The twenty-seven-billion-dollar deficit.'
'There's no deficit.'
'What are you talking about? The comptroller's revenue projections show we're going to be twenty-seven billion short over the next two years.'
'Bode, read my lips: there-is-no-deficit.'
Bode exhaled heavily. 'Jim Bob, that's not gonna fly. Everyone knows we're looking at a big deficit. There's no denying it. That'd be like you denying you're bald.'
'I'm not bald. I have a beautiful head of thick, curly brown hair just like when I was a kid-'
'Wearing those thick glasses.' Bode laughed. 'You're a fuckin' nut
… or a goddamn genius, I'm not sure which.'
'I'm an optimist. And you'd better be one, too. That's what voters want to hear. And that's what you're going to tell them right up to election day: there is no deficit. We'll deal with reality come January when the legislature convenes. Nothing we can do till then anyway.' He shrugged again. 'Denial ain't a river in Egypt-it's our campaign theme.'
Bode turned and stared at his own image. How many times had he stood there and imagined his portrait on the wall of the majestic rotunda of the Texas State Capitol? How proud had he felt standing there when his portrait was hung? Life had been exciting eight years ago when he had first been elected governor. The adventure was upon him, the economy was booming, and his wife loved him. Now 'I'm hiding a twenty-seven-year-old mistress from my wife and a twenty-seven-billion-dollar deficit from the voters.'
He glanced up again at Sam and felt the sharp stab of shame; would they erect a statue of William Bode Bonner in the Capitol one day?
'What kind of man am I?'
'You're not a man,' the Professor said. 'You're a politician.'
Mandy arrived to retrieve the governor. They walked across the hall and into the press room. Bode stopped at the door and regarded the nearly empty space.
'That's it? Two print reporters? And one's from the UT student paper? That's all the coverage for my weekly press conference? Where's the Austin paper? The TV reporters?'
Mandy gave him a lame shrug. Jim Bob checked his iPhone.
'Oh, there's a big wreck out on the interstate. They sent the camera crews to cover that instead.'
'Figures.'
Mandy whispered: 'The girl is Kim, the guy is Carl.'
'Kim and Carl. Got it.'
Bode stepped to the podium and again became the governor seeking reelection. He put on his politician's face.
'Kim, Carl, good to see y'all today. What'd you think about the primary?'
'What primary?' Carl said.
He was being a smart-ass because he was a Democrat.
'Oh, you mean the Republican general election?'
'Well, Carl, when you get tired of losing, let me know, and I'll put in a good word for you with the state Republican Party chairman, maybe he'll let you join up.'
Bode chuckled; Carl did not. He had a liberal's sense of humor, the kind that worked only when they won.
'I'm announcing today that after numerous requests by me, the federal government has finally deployed a Predator drone to the border to assist in drug and immigrant interdiction.'
Kim, the UT student reporter, stood.
'Governor, is it true that the drone will be armed with missiles to shoot Mexicans?'
Bode could tell from the tone of her voice that she was being sarcastic. She was a Democrat, too.
'Don't tease me, Kim.'
She rolled her eyes and sat.
'I'm also deploying the Ranger Recon unit to the border. Ranger Recon is an elite unit of the Texas Rangers. They will engage in covert operations to secure our border since the president refuses to do so.'
Kim stood again.
'What kind of operations, Governor?'
'I can't tell you.'
'Why not?'
'Because they're covert operations. Covert means secret. If I told you, it wouldn't be a secret anymore.'
'A secret?'
'You know, something you don't want everyone to know.'
'I know what a secret is, Governor, but why are the Ranger Recon operations secret?'
Bode turned his palms up.
'Because they're covert operations.'
That shut her up. She sat down, and Carl stood. He reported for the alternative newspaper in Austin. His column ran between ads for sex partners and sex toys.
'Governor, you're campaigning on a 'faith, family and schools' theme.'
'That's correct.'
'So where do you go to church?'
He didn't. But he couldn't say that in public in Texas.
'A church.'
'Which church?'
'I can't tell you.'
'Why not?'
'Security.'
' Security? Who the heck would want to shoot the governor of Texas? Maybe someone important like the speaker of the House, but-'
'Funny.'
Carl thought he was.
'Governor, projections are that we're facing a twenty-seven-billion-dollar deficit in the next biennial budget.'
'Who told you that?'
'The comptroller.'
'Well, that's not true, Carl.'
'We're not looking at a big deficit?'
'Nope.'
'But the comptroller is-'
'Wrong. We're fine. No deficit.'
'No deficit?'
'No deficit.'
Carl frowned. Bode cut a glance at Jim Bob, who nodded as if to a student who had correctly answered his question. The reporter retreated from the budget.
'Governor, you're the tea party's favorite son here in Texas. Have you thought about testing the national waters for a presidential run?'
'You trying to get rid of me, Carl?'
'Well…'
'Heck, if I moved to Washington, I wouldn't get to see you every week.'
