“Good morning, everybody,” Kate said as if she had invited them all to a garden party. “I have some wonderful news, but before I tell you I want you to know that the doors are locked, and your cell phones won’t work in here, and I’m going to take only three questions when I’m done. Then, when I’ve made my escape, the doors will be unlocked.”

That created a buzz.

Kate took a deep breath. “I am delighted to tell you that my husband and I are going to have a baby, and it’s due next May.”

There was a noise from the crowd that Stone had never heard before: equal parts of shock, outrage, and delight.

“First question,” Kate said, pointing at a woman in the first row.

“Are you dropping out of the race?” she asked.

“Certainly not,” Kate replied. “There are tens of thousands of working women all across this country who are having babies, then mixing motherhood and work, and some of them are top executives in large companies. If I quit, it would be an insult to every working mother.” She pointed to a man in the middle of the group. “Second question.”

“How are you going to take care of a baby and run the country at the same time?” he asked.

“I will have a secret weapon,” Kate said, turning to her right and pointing. Will Lee had just appeared at stage right. “It’s called a house husband. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Mr. Mom!”

There was a roar of laughter and applause, and Will was smiling.

“That man has never even seen a diaper,” Kate said, “but God bless him, he has signed on for the duration.” She pointed to a woman in the back row. “Third and final question.”

“Who knows about this?” the woman asked.

“Not a soul in the world,” Kate said, “except the people in this room. And when I walked in here, only one of those knew.” Will walked over, kissed her, took her hand, and they walked off the stage.

The crowd of reporters rushed up the aisles, and a moment later, a hammering could be heard as they banged on the doors. Many people stood around, trying to get their cell phones to work. Then, the doors opened, and they flooded out of the room, up the stairs, and out the doors.

Ann had not stood up until now. “Wow!” she said, her hand on her chest. “I have never felt this good in my whole life!”

—

THEY WENT HOME and turned on the TV to the morning political shows. Every one of them showed the full tape of Kate’s news conference, and every one of them had a table full of commentators talking about it. Toward the end of each show, Henry Carson was interviewed.