'Fuck it,' Ted said in a barely audible voice. He turned to his screener. 'LaShawna, the girl's good.'
LaShawna glared at her boss a long moment then pointed a fat finger at Bode.
'Then I wanna pat him down!'
Ted sighed heavily. 'Give it up, LaShawna.' To Bode, in a low voice: 'She washed out at the police academy, but we hired her. Go figure. Have a good trip, Governor. You got my vote if you run for president.'
Ted twirled a finger above his head as if to say, Move out! The crowd cheered.
'You the man, Governor!'
Bode nudged Josefina away from the checkpoint-'Let's go, honey.' When she realized she was free to go, the fear drained from her face. Her brown eyes lifted to him, and she tugged on his shirt. He leaned down to her. She tapped a finger on his chest and said through tears, ' El hombre.'
'I need a bourbon,' Bode said.
They had survived security and economy-fare coach class and were now safely ensconced in full-fare first class. The flight to L.A. would take three and a half hours, with a sexy stew serving them bourbon and steak. When Bode went to the lavatory, she slipped him a card with her phone number. She was based in L.A. Mandy was back in coach.
Bode decided to check on the kids. He ventured into the crowded coach section and was again greeted like a war hero. Hands shot into the air for high-fives and autographs. Passengers stood for cell phone photos with him. The going was slow, so it was twenty minutes later before he arrived at the rear of the plane where Hank, Mandy, and the kids occupied the last three rows. Hank had crammed his six-foot-six, two-hundred-sixty pound body into the coach-class seat; he looked like an unhappy teenager in a baby stroller. The kids were digging into box lunches. They were again decked out in Gap clothes, and their newly cleaned teeth gleamed bright in the cabin light. Alejandro and Vincente wore new glasses; both boys were as blind as bats. They'd all been given clean bills of health by the pediatrician. Josefina was neither pregnant nor infected with a sexually transmitted disease. She would see a therapist when they returned to Austin.
'Those sandwiches okay?'
'Bode, these kids have been eating squirrels cooked over a campfire for the last year,' Mandy said. 'Ham- and-cheese sandwiches, potato chips, and oatmeal cookies, this is gourmet for them.' She took a bite of her sandwich and shrugged. 'Actually, it's not that bad.'
Little Josefina sat in the window seat and stared out at the blue sky. She hadn't touched her lunch.
'Josefina.'
Her eyes turned to him.
'You okay??Bueno? '
She gave him a shy nod.
'Hi, Governor.'
The coach-class stew had arrived.
'Hi'-he checked her nameplate-'Carol. I'm Bode Bonner.'
She grinned. 'Like I don't know? I'm a follower! I got your tweet that you'd be on our flight. The girls haven't been this excited since David Hasselhoff flew with us.' She held out a napkin. 'Would you autograph this for me?'
He signed the napkin.
'All these kids, they're with me.'
Her eyes got wide. 'These are the kids you rescued? Oh, my God!'
'I'd appreciate it if you'd take real good care of them.'
'Of course, I will-I got your back, Governor.'
She held up an open hand for a high-five; he obliged.
'And this is Mandy. She's watching them.'
Mandy mumbled a hello through a mouthful of ham and cheese.
'You need anything at all, you let me know,' Carol said.
Emilio raised his hand.
'What do you need, Emilio?'
' Yo soy Ernesto.'
'Oh, yeah… Ernesto. You need something?'
A blank face.
'?Que necesita? ' Mandy said to him.
He made a gesture as if drinking and said, '?Leche de cabra? '
'You want… leche… milk… de… of the…'
'Goat,' Mandy said then shrugged. 'It's like a Spanish immersion class.'
'Uh, we don't have goat's milk, Governor,' Carol the stew said. 'But we do have cow's milk.'
'That'll work. Bring thirteen.'
The milk run arranged, Bode returned to first class and his steak lunch. Jim Bob wanted to spend the flight time prepping for the upcoming television appearances, but Bode got the steak and a few bourbons down him and decided to enjoy the attention from the stewardess-her name was 'Su, without the e'-and the other passengers in first class asking for his autograph and photos with him. He enjoyed the moment-until a guy dressed like a CEO came up and ruined the moment.
'Governor, you've got to run for president. Business needs you. The country needs you.' He lowered his voice and leaned in. 'We need a white man in the White House.'
Bode Bonner had played football with black guys, showered with black guys, roomed with black guys, and chased white girls with black guys. Many had been his friends back then and some still were today. They always greeted each other with man-hugs at team reunions. When you fought together on a football field, you didn't give a damn what color your teammates were, only that they wanted to win as much as you did. So Bode Bonner didn't take kindly to anyone assuming he was a racist just because he was a Republican. He got in the guy's face.
'Hey, bud, I don't like that racist crap. So you best get your butt back in your seat before I stick my boot up your first-class ass.'
First-class passengers departed first at L.A. International Airport. Bode hoped to avoid more commingling with the coach class at the baggage claim so he grabbed his carry-on baggage and hurried up the jet way and into the terminal and A flash of bright light momentarily blinded him.
He blinked hard and saw black spots. He raised a hand to shield his eyes from the lights-the bright lights of news cameras. Someone screamed, 'Bode Bonner!' and thunderous applause broke out. The crowdCalifornians! — gave the governor of Texas a standing ovation. Bode recovered quickly and smiled broadly. He pushed forward; hands reached out to touch him. He signed autographs while men and women leaned close and took self-photos with cell phones. Voices called out to him from the crowd.
'You're the man, Bode!'
'Bode, you're our hero!'
'Run for president! Please!'
He felt as if he were in Lubbock instead of L.A. Jim Bob caught up with him.
'How'd they know we were coming today?'
'I tweeted. This'll be on the local news tonight, national in the morning.'
'You're good.'
'This is what I do.'
On the PA system, a deep voice announced: 'Governor Bode Bonner, arriving at Gate 4, your ground transportation is waiting outside baggage claim.'
Which had almost the same effect on the terminal as an announcement that George Clooney was standing buck naked at Gate 4. The crowd surged toward them. Mandy herded the kids off the plane, and they took a victory lap through LAX. Ranger Hank took point and cleared a path through the gauntlet of cell phone cameras. As they passed each gate, waiting passengers picked up on the applause that was washing through the terminal like a tidal wave and continued all the way to the baggage claim. They waited for their luggage-one bag for each kid, Hank, Bode, and Jim Bob, and four for Mandy-with his new fans who followed him outside to a waiting 'Limo?' Jim Bob stood on the sidewalk as if horrified at the sight of the long black limousine. 'Mandy, you got us a limo?'
'For all the kids. We couldn't take five cabs.'
