CHAPTER 4
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” U.S. Constitution, Amendment #1
“I still can’t believe what that Bible-thumping SOB did,” Tad gave Toby an earful as they left the building and stepped out into the cool evening air. “If I didn’t really want to be on this taskforce, I would have told him just where he could put all of those things he expects me to fetch for him and his boys.”
“Well, I missed you, too,” Sullivan responded. “I’m glad to see you haven’t mellowed in your old age.”
Tad stopped walking, grabbed Toby, hugged him and planted a big kiss squarely on his lips. She then looked in his eyes and touched his face gently. “I’m sorry, Toby. How selfish of me. I haven’t seen you in more than a year, you almost got blown up in church a few hours ago, and I’m carrying on like a spoiled brat. You don’t know how much I’ve missed you and how worried I was when I heard about the church bombing. It’s just that I am really upset. I spent five years in a region where women are treated like crap and I was really looking forward to getting back to the good ole U.S. of A. And then after spending an eternity on a flight with Doublewide and Sticky- but, that’s another story- I finally get home and find that the country I came back to isn’t the same as the one I left five years ago. I can’t believe they put a Neanderthal like Drake in charge of such an important taskforce. Who made that decision?”
“Actually, I think the president decided that the FBI should take the lead, and then the director chose Drake,” Toby answered. “They’ve known each other since college days and belong to the same church, and besides, he does have a good reputation in the counter-terrorism business.”
“Same church, huh? Well that explains it,” Tad shot back. “This government is becoming more and more a government of the churches, by the churches and for the churches. What the crap was Drake doing starting and ending our meeting with a Christian prayer? Does he not realize that there are still people of other faiths- and even some nonbelievers- in this country?”
“I’m not sure it matters to him,” Toby said, “but he probably means well.”
“Means well? Jesus, Sullivan- I see you still give everyone the benefit of the doubt,” Tad said as she stopped walking. “By the way, if I can change the subject, you do still keep a large stash of wine in your condo, don’t you?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact, I bought a case of really nice Bordeaux yesterday. Are you inviting yourself over?” Toby asked.
“Of course I’m inviting myself over,” Davenport responded playfully. “You don’t mind, do you?”
“What do you think?” Toby answered. “I’ve only been waiting for this day for five years. My car is right up the street.”
After a short walk that led to Toby’s silver sports car, Tad looked at the vintage auto and exclaimed, “I can’t believe you’ve still got the old Jag!”
“Why of course,” he answered. “I’ll keep this car until it dies- or until the government takes it away from me for polluting too much. Hop in- that is, if you aren’t too embarrassed.”
After Tad and he were securely buckled in their seats, Toby turned the key and the powerful V-12 gasoline engine responded with a satisfying roar. Within a matter of minutes, they arrived at Sullivan’s 1940’s era condominium building just off Connecticut Avenue above Woodley Park. “Remember the days before the return of the blue laws when you could actually buy alcohol in restaurants on Sundays?” Sullivan asked as they took the elevator up to the 10th- and top- floor.
“It wasn’t all that long ago,” Davenport said, “but it seems like ages. What’s happening to this country, anyway?”
“The times, they are a changing,” Sullivan answered in a short burst of an old folk song as he opened the door to his spacious corner apartment with its 10-foot ceilings, crown molding and parquet floors throughout- and a spectacular view of Rock Creek Parkway on the east side and the city and monuments in the distance on the south side.
“I love this apartment,” Tad said as she walked in the entry hall and noticed some photographs she had not seen before. “Who are these people?”
“My family,” he answered.
“But I thought you were adopted by a couple that had no close relatives and you never knew your real parents?” Tad responded.
“That’s right,” said Toby.
“So, how did you find photos of your relatives?” Tad asked, obviously still puzzled.
“Well, they are actually my ersatz family,” Toby explained. “I don’t know who any of my real blood relatives are, but I was at the Georgetown flea market one Sunday a few years ago and saw the late 19th century photo of that couple up on the top left and bought it. Why? I don’t know, except I just thought it was a neat photo. A few weeks later, I was in an antique/junk store and saw a lot of photos of people taken all during the 20th century, so I had this weird idea to invent a family. I tried to find photos of people who had some features similar to mine- like look at that skinny guy in the middle row in the three-piece suit that looks like a banker. Doesn’t his nose look a lot like mine?”
“Now that you mention it, he did look a lot like you,” Tad said.
“Meet my great-uncle Ned,” Toby continued. “And that couple at the bottom-right with the baby- that’s me with dear old Great Uncle Hiram and Great Aunt Louise.”
“Toby, you’re incorrigible,” Tad said while laughing. “Has anyone ever asked you about them before?”
“Oh yea, and the amazing thing is, a lot of people tell me that I am a dead-ringer for my uncle or my cousin or some other relative. Almost everyone sees a remarkable family resemblance- although it’s more on the Parker side of the family than the Sullivan side.”
“Toby Sullivan, I see you haven’t lost your bizarre sense of humor. What else have you changed since I was here last?”
“Only the kitchen,” Toby replied. “I just finished remodeling it- not that you care much about kitchens.”
“Let me see,” Tad said excitedly. “I do care- especially if it means that you are more likely to cook for me.”
Toby smiled at Tad and led her into the rectangular kitchen that was extremely spacious for circa 1940’s construction. Davenport surveyed the handcrafted cherry-stained wooden cabinets, black granite counter tops and the latest high-tech appliances. “Boy, it looks like you sunk some money into this setup.”
“A fair amount, but I saved a lot by doing most of the work, including building the cabinets,” Toby replied.
“You built them yourself?” Tad asked, obviously impressed. “Where’s your workshop?”
“We have a communal workshop in the basement,” Toby responded.
“Boy, you are a Toby of all trades, aren’t you? I know you will enjoy cooking here,” Tad said as she noticed the gray-spotted white cat eating out of a bowl on the floor. “Is that J. Edgar?”
“Of course, although he responds better to Jeddy,” Sullivan said as he picked up the small short-haired cat who squirmed briefly before relaxing and allowing his staff of one to rub his stomach while simultaneously opening the refrigerator, pouring some half and half in a special bowl and warming it briefly in the microwave.
“Oh gosh, don’t tell me you’re now giving that spoiled cat warmed cream,” Tad said in amusement.
“And what is wrong with that?” Toby asked while trying to appear serious.
“Well, I guess it’s okay- but only if you promise to use these fancy new appliances to spoil me some, too,” Davenport answered. “However, I do have one question.”
“What’s that?” Sullivan asked.
“Where’s the cook-top? I see the oven and microwave, but there are no burners.”
Toby touched a spot on the wall near the microwave, activating a quiet motor that slowly propelled the built-in cook-top out from the wall of appliances. “Presto, one cook-top. And watch this,” he said as he stood in front of a black glass panel near the cook-top. “Menu: Chicken.”
Suddenly a list of chicken recipes appeared on the glass wall. Toby touched one of the items listed and instantaneously an entire recipe for baked chicken appeared. Then he pressed the word “demonstration” near the recipe and a hologram of a chef appeared demonstrating in specific detail how to prepare the chicken recipe.
“Now that is impressive,” Tad said. “I might even get into cooking with a set-up like this.”
After opening the wine and allowing it to breathe for a few minutes, Toby led Tad into the spacious living area.
“Do you still play the piano?” Tad asked as she looked at the baby grand in one corner of the room.
“Occasionally,” said Toby. “Mostly simple classics and a little jazz. I’m no Horowitz, but I still enjoy it.”
Toby handed Tad a glass that he had poured half-full of a deep red wine. “Here’s looking at you, kid- and may I say that you are quite nice to look at.”
“You’re looking pretty good, too, Toby- damn good for an old, middle-aged guy who just survived a bombing,” Tad said as she held her glass up to touch his and then took a swallow of the smooth Bordeaux.
“This is incredible,” she said. “Maybe it’s because I haven’t had any good wine in so long, but it is really outstanding. Is it the one you bought yesterday?”
“Actually, no. I decided that surviving a bomb blast and having you back home are both good reasons to uncork one of my really special wines. It’s a 2004 Mouton Rothschild that should be just at its prime,” Sullivan responded as he sniffed the wine’s bouquet and then took a small taste, twirling the wine in his mouth briefly before swallowing. “Very nice,” he said. “Full-bodied with hints of coffee, chocolate, a little smoke and some berries.”
“Speaking of the bombing, how are you feeling?” Tad asked as she stroked Toby’s face. “Are you as unaffected by it as you appear to be, or are you just doing a really good job hiding your feelings?”
Toby thought for a few seconds before answering. “It’s hard to explain,“ he said. “Because I was behind that column, it was almost like watching the whole thing on television...except, of course, that there were dead and injured people all around me. Maybe it hasn’t all sunk in yet, or maybe it’s just that I have seen horrible crime scenes before. Whatever the reason, I feel more anger than fear. I just want to catch the people responsible.”
“But you will let me know if it starts to bother you and I can help you somehow, won’t you?” Tad asked.
“Of course I will,” Toby said as he poured more wine in both of their glasses.
After taking a sip from the newly filled glass, Tad suddenly noticed a large sketch of herself hanging on the wall near the piano. “Did you do that, Toby?” she asked, clearly flattered.
“Yes, I sketched it a couple of years ago from some photos I had of you. Do you like it?” he asked.
“Like it! I love it!” she responded. “I always knew you were talented, but to sketch that with such detail is just amazing to me.”
“I’m glad you like it. It helped remind me of the little features of your face that I love.”
Tad took another sip and then looked at her friend. “You are a really amazing man, Toby, and I hope we can spend a lot of time together so I can puff up your ego- at least enough to give you delusions of adequacy.
Toby laughed. “I’d like that.”
After taking another sip of the smooth, flavorful wine, Davenport suddenly seemed more somber.
“Is something wrong?” Sullivan asked.
“I guess you could say that,” Tad replied. “I’m really scared about something.”
“Something about me scares you?” Toby asked in a concerned voice.
“No, it’s not you, but it could affect both of us,” Tad answered in a serious voice. “It’s what’s happening in this country of ours. Can you help me understand how everything changed? As much as I read about the changes while I was gone, I need to get a better understanding of what actually happened, especially how the government became so religious and how our entire political party structure changed. When I left, we still had some Republicans and Democrats. Now all we have are Christian Democratic-Republicans and National Libertarians. Help me understand how this all happened so fast and what it means for the future.”
“I’ll do the best I can,” Sullivan said as he put his glass on the coffee table. “I think the root causes developed when we were still kids in the 1980’s and 1990’s.”
“We?” Tad asked with a slight grin.
“Okay, when you were still a kid and I was an older kid,” Toby laughed. “That’s when the Christian coalition became so influential in the Republican Party. And then, there was that whole series of events in the early part of this century- the election of 2004, all of the hoopla around that woman that they wouldn’t let die- what was her name - Terry Shiavo, the controversy over stem-cell research, the death of Pope John Paul II and the election of Pope Benedict XVI. Suddenly, the right-to-life movement was re-energized with groups like Missionaries of the Gospel of Life springing up and all of the conservative and evangelical Christian churches becoming even more politically active.”
“How could they be any more politically active?” Tad asked after taking another sip of wine. “They pretty much had veto power over Republican candidates and policies.”
“It certainly seemed that way,” Toby responded, “but after having such high expectations after the `04 elections, the religious faction of the GOP soon became frustrated, because they were unsuccessful in getting their agenda through Congress. They wanted a complete ban on abortion, an end to embryonic stem-cell research, the inclusion of the intelligent design theory of creation in the public school curriculum and a constitutional amendment to abolish gay marriage and civil unions. And they didn’t get any of that. In fact, they felt that Christianity was increasingly under attack from the ‘secular humanists.’”
Toby took another sip of wine and continued. “There was also a growing schism between the religious wing of the party and the business or “country club” Republicans on issues such as immigration and free trade. Face it, both factions of that party had used the other to gain power, and once they had power, it was only a matter of time before their different political philosophies and agendas caused increased friction.”
“But why did the Republican and Democratic parties both just vanish?” Tad asked while glancing out the window at the forest surrounding Rock Creek Parkway.
“Probably the greatest impetus was the politicalization of the Christian left to compete with the Christian right. Back in the early part of this century a group called the Sojourners, a progressive evangelical Christian ministry, organized Christians to help redefine Christian values away from the agenda of the political right and toward issues like poverty.”
“But wouldn’t that have caused the Christians to divide, rather than come together?” Tad asked.
“We’ll, it did for awhile, but a few years after the economic meltdown of 2008-2009 and the election of President Obama, there was a famous- or infamous- meeting of Christian religious leaders- both liberals and conservatives- who decided that they should join together to make America a more Christian nation,” Sullivan explained. “They abandoned the old political parties and started their own. You remember that, don’t you?”
“Of course I remember it, but it seemed like such an unlikely alliance at the time. I still don’t understand how a political party structure more than 150 years old changed so quickly,” Tad responded. “Maybe I was too wrapped up in my work to pay much attention, but I just don’t get how all of the old allegiances just vanished in less than a decade.”
“It was rather sudden, but really not that hard to explain.” Toby said. “Think of the American political structure as a circle. Up until that meeting of religious leaders, the circle was divided more or less evenly into two sides- left and right, or liberal and conservative. But that changed when this coalition of Christians came together with a common objective of using the political system to further their religious agenda. They completely changed how the circle was divided.”
Toby drew an imaginary circle in the air and then drew an imaginary line through it from left to right. “Think of the new division as being along an east-west axis with those advocating a faith-based government on the top half of the circle and those supporting secular government on the bottom half. The faith-based advocates include most of the old right-wing religious Republicans, some African-American Christians motivated both by religion and a thirst for political power, devout Latinos and many of the more religious-oriented, social justice and anti-war Democrats. There are also some others who favor a more isolationist America, including less immigration and more economic protectionism. Together, they formed the Christian Democratic-Republican Party or CDR, which is now, as you know, the majority party in the country.”
“But I still don’t understand how people with such divergent views can be in the same political party.” Tad said.
“It’s no different than in the 1930’s when Franklin Roosevelt put together the New Deal coalition of conservative white Southerners, blacks, liberal Northerners, labor unionists and a few others thrown in for good measure,” Toby explained. “Successful political parties almost always include people of significantly different views and philosophies. Ideologically pure parties rarely hold power because they are too small.”
“But how can adamantly pro-choice people coexist in the same party with equally as adamant pro-life folks?” Tad asked.
“Just like the pro-segregation southern whites and the pro-integration blacks and Northerners did in the Democratic Party from the 1930’s through much of the 1960’s. They had other issues, such as the economy, that were of greater concern to them. And what greater issue could there be to hold people of different political views together today than doing what they believe is pleasing to God?”
“And tell me what it is that people who used to be considered liberal Democrats get out of being in the CDR?” Tad asked skeptically after taking another sip of the smooth, full-bodied wine.
“Well, for one thing, they now have power to influence policy, which they didn’t have much at all in the last two decades of the 20th century and first few years of this century,” Toby explained. “Since taking power the CDR has decreased defense spending and increased spending on ‘programs of compassion’ for people in need. They have also established a system of universal, free health care. And the government finally abolished the death penalty, which liberals had long claimed was a blight on our country’s standing in the world,” Toby responded.
“Yes, but our so-called Christian government has also criminalized abortion and made it almost impossible to take nutrition and water away from people who are dying or in a vegetative state,” Davenport said curtly. “I don’t like abortion any more than the right-to-life folks, and I don’t think I could ever have one myself, but what about the women who find themselves in hopeless situations, such as victims of rape or incest? What are they supposed to do? And what about a person’s wishes to die with dignity and not have her life prolonged just so religious fanatics can feel that they are doing the ‘Christian’ thing? If we don’t watch out, American women will be wearing burqas and walking five feet behind our men just like women do in Islamic countries.”
“Come on, Tad, get serious,” Sullivan said between sips of the Bordeaux. “You know that could never happen in this country.”
“I hope you’re right,” Davenport responded. “But doesn’t it make you nervous that both the Congress and president are pushing so hard for that amendment to change the name of the country to the Christian Republic of the United States of America? As I understand it, the amendment would make the New Testament the basis of civil law and thereby make any law deemed anti-Christian unconstitutional. Even the judiciary couldn’t stand in the way of mixing the state and religion.”
“Of course it makes me nervous, but it isn’t going to happen,” Toby said reassuringly while pouring a little more wine into their glasses. “Sure, the amendment has passed in the House, but they’re several votes short in the Senate, and I’m almost certain that the National Liberty Party will gain more seats in the election eight months from now.”
“I hope you’re right, Toby. But like almost everyone in the country, I feel a bit vulnerable right now. And as you know, vulnerable is not a feeling I deal with very well.”
“Oh, really,” Toby said. “You don’t have to tell that to the guy you once broke up with because you were beginning to feel emotionally dependent and vulnerable. I felt just as dependent, but I thought that feeling close to someone was a good thing.”
Tad looked at Sullivan and mustered a slight grin. “That was five years ago when I was a mere child. I had just gotten that big promotion and was about to be shipped overseas. I couldn’t afford to get emotionally involved.”
As Tad spoke, Toby couldn’t take his eyes off of her. Although now in her mid-30’s, Davenport looked several years younger than most women her age. Her body was still as trim- and curvaceous- as he remembered, and her wavy brown hair showed no signs of graying.
After another glass of wine, further discussion about the state of the country and a lot of catching up on their long separation, Toby looked straight into Tad’s deep blue eyes. “I really have missed you,” he said.
Tad reached across the table and touched Sullivan’s hand. “I missed you, too, Toby. It wasn’t an easy decision, but the opportunity to go undercover was something I had dreamed of since I was a little girl watching spy movies on our old low-definition 25” television set.”
“And what about now?” Toby asked. “Why didn’t you let me know when you got back in town? I had to hear it through the grapevine.”
“Mainly because it happened so fast. I didn’t know until yesterday myself,” Tad responded. “I was going to call you from the plane, but I decided to surprise you. And, if the truth be known, I guess I was a little afraid that you might not still be available…or that you might be and I would face the same dilemma I faced before.”
“Well what say we talk about all of that later,” Sullivan said as he leaned over and kissed Tad sensuously. “You’re here, I’m here, and I don’t know about you, but these bombings have made me aware that life is very fragile and can be over in an instant. I would love your company tonight.”
“I’d like yours, too, Toby, because life is fragile, and besides,” Davenport said as she kissed Sullivan softly on his ear, “I’m pretty drunk and I’ve been sex-deprived for way too long.”