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Chapter Four
Raj was minding his own business in his office, tucked safely away momentarily from the demands of the legislative schedule of the Governor and enjoying a cup of steaming hot Darjeeling tea. Without a knock at the door, the Governor entered and said "What would you think about me running for President?"
Raj put down his tea cup, and slowly stood up to look the Governor squarely in the face with as much humility as he could muster: he was, after all, the twelfth generation of a clan of the Kshatriya caste from the mountainous region of Rajasthan, civil administrators of all elements of the local as well as the national governments. He knew his place and he knew his duty.
He replied quietly "Governor Martin, sir, I am absolutely convinced that after a decent and drama-free term as Governor of California, or even two, you would make a brilliant President of the United States."
"In other words," the Governor remarked, "forget about it for now."
"Sir, I did not say that."
"But Raj, I know you, and you never waste words. I know what is on your mind."
"Governor do not let your dreams and aspirations deflect you from the task at hand. You are not George W who merely used the Texas governorship to campaign for president; you have had an honorable legacy as the mayor of Los Angeles, and you have a mandate from the voters to be here in the state capitol. Let us accomplish the job we came here to accomplish."
The Governor coughed; he turned to exit Raj's office; stopping at the door, he said "Just keep it in the back of your mind."
Raj thought "sure, like a basket of cobras".
Late that night, noticing Raj tossing and turning in bed, Stuart whispered "what is the matter?"
"The Governor wants to be President."
Stuart laughed; "Of course he does. And I want to be the Prince of Lichtenstein."
Raj smiled; "I'm serious. He came into my office early this morning and asked me what I thought about that idea."
"Did you tell him to go fuck himself?"
"Oh of course, and then I suggested we have an orgy with him and his wife in the Senate chambers."
Stuart laughed, and then said "Seriously, this seems to be bothering you, what are you thinking?"
"I told him we should spend our energies concentrating on the job at hand. He was not pleased, but hopefully we can get through at least the next four years without any drama from that angle or from the national committee. Can you imagine the stress it will cause if the media hears about this idea?"
"Jesus, that would be a nightmare." Stuart pushed Raj onto his back and kissed him goodnight again; once Stuart was asleep and lightly snoring like a puppy, Raj slipped out of bed and went to the den to send his sister a text message.
"Please come to Sacramento as soon as you have a chance; find a university conference or something to attend. I need to see you and ask for your advice." He hit `send' and then slipped back into bed with his husband.
The remainder of the week was overly filled with demands from voters, farmers, bankers, legislators, cheerleaders, ambassadors, mayors, congressmen, and the media asking for "just a minute of time" to meet with the Governor. Even the man's wife called Raj and asked for a private lunch to be scheduled; there were far too many requests for the time available.
Raj quickly scheduled a late-evening meeting of the staff in his office, with Stuart and the legislative director, and the media relations director, to hammer out a reasonable agenda with priorities and goals. The Governor himself was a "big-picture" guy; he left the details and the minutia to Raj and Stuart.
With the agenda finally firmed up, Raj felt much more relaxed; it would then be easy to allow requests for time to be slotted into the Governor's itinerary when that legislative or policy item came along in rotation. That gave Raj and Stuart both a lot of breathing room; by the end of the week, Stuart was smiling more often and Raj was sleeping at night.
When Raj's sister Aneth called the following Monday morning, he was only partially surprised: "I am at the Sacramento airport. If you have time for dinner, I would love to see you and Stuart both." Raj promised to meet her at the Sheraton.
After greeting his sister with a hug and a kiss, Raj noticed Aneth was not her usual positive self; her demeanor was downcast and sad.
"Do you want to tell me or do I need to cross-examine you?" he asked her.
"Well there are only two things happening right now. The kids are great, my job is great, the weather is beautiful, the house is paid for, and we had a great vacation to Mexico."
Raj laughed; Aneth was obviously playing the same game that had kept them close as children in India, making him guess what was on her mind.
"But,,," he began.
"But, I have cancer, and I am getting divorced."
"Oh God, let's sit down and talk." Raj was devastated.
"Charlie told me six months ago that he wanted to get divorced, and of course being a good Hindu wife, I agreed immediately. Well, not just because I am a good Hindu, or even a good wife, but more just to get the creep out of the house and away from the kids finally."
"Why? What do you mean?"
"He had been cheating on me for months, probably for years even, but I had only recently noticed the little incongruencies. The perfume on his clothing, the out-of-town conferences that were two or three days too long, the strange charges on the credit card, small things like that I should have noticed long before."
"But I did not even try to investigate; I came to the conclusion that it would be best if he just left, and I could go on with my life."
"And the cancer?" Raj hated himself for asking.
"I have not been feeling normal, so I have had a few tests done with my regular doctor, and I have breast cancer. I am planning on having surgery next month, and then about six months of radiation therapy, so we will see how it goes."
"Have you communicated this to the children?"
"Of course; they have been good soldiers. It sure is shitty to have to load both of these issues on them all at once."
"What can I do? What can Stuart and I do for you and for them?"
"Just keep on being the great uncles that you have been; they love you intensely. And by the way, how are you and Stuart? Has this move been stressful for you?"
"The move has been more stressful for Stuart than for me; Sacramento was a big change for him after so many years in Los Angeles. I know he will be glad to get back down south again after this term is completed. And how long is this conference you are attending? When do you have to go back to work?"
"I'm not really attending a conference; I came to see you. I knew when you sent me that text message that we needed to see each other face-to-face."
"Oh; that is very sweet of you. I'm really so glad you came."
"Raj, my darling little brother, of course, it is the least I could do. And also, I needed to tell you that Mother is coming to stay with me for the period of my radiation therapy. So now you have no excuse, you must come to visit her."
"That's wonderful; I will be so happy to see her and to know that you have someone to help you."
"I made her promise to leave all of her knives at home; she is not happy with Charlie."
They both laughed; it had been a very emotional meeting, and Raj and his sister had always been close and shared most of the secrets of their lives.
Lying in bed with Stuart late that night, he felt at peace just to be able to hold his husband; Stuart had had a long difficult day and was asleep much sooner than Raj, lightly snoring as usual.
At breakfast, Stuart got an earful from Raj as he reported all of the conversation with Aneth; Stuart said they really could take some time off away from the capitol and go south to visit Raj's family as soon as his mother arrived.
"I will handle everything with the Governor, so you don't have to worry about that" he said.
Raj smiled and kissed his husband; "You are wonderful" he smirked as he kissed Stuart again. Raj smiled all the way to the office. He had a plan beginning to simmer in the back of his mind.