It was a warm, clear afternoon. The sky was filled with the fluffy clouds that made Virginia feel a world apart from DC. As they pulled away from the Aztec Barbie Dream House and headed toward the District, Natalie started to feel an emptiness in her chest. She was on her own. She’d pissed off her family. There was no one she could really confide in at work. She’d just have to get used to being a one-person operation.

She reminded herself that she was a rising reporter at a huge network with a major scoop. She told herself that she had Cronkite and her smarts. She caught her own eye in the rearview and said, “I’m so happy for you.”

She managed to make it nearly a mile before she had to pull off to the side of the road because she was crying too hard to see.

25

Lady of the Flies

As Natalie merged onto the highway, she breathed out a sigh of relief. She felt like a complete fool for having broken down like that, but it seemed to have acted like a rain shower on a hot summer day, clearing the haze from her mind, making everything appear sharp and clean and even a little bit hopeful. She knew that once Sarah saw the story she was about to break, she’d understand and forgive her disappearance today. In fact, once she broke the story, everything would make sense. She’d be a top Washington reporter, and all her sacrifices would be justified.

“Siri, call Matt Walsh,” she said into the speakerphone.

“There are one million four hundred eighty thousand results for fat waltz,” British male Siri declared. “The chicken fat waltz was performed by the band Monkey Swallows the Universe at the Queens social club in—”

When Siri finally got the right number, Matt answered after just one ring. “What happened? Any wedding cat fights? Any naked selfies?”

“Better,” Natalie said. “I think I know where FLOTUS is.”

“Oh.” Matt sounded like he was watching TV. “How many Xanax have you taken?”

She needed him to focus. “Matt, listen. Put on your serious producer hat, if you even own one. We need to get on a flight to Arizona, tonight. I need you to work on that and get Bibb’s approval.”

“Bossy today, aren’t we?” Matt said distractedly.

“You may refer to me as Ms. Bossy, if that helps.”

“Okay, Ms. Bossy, just so I understand, I should casually inform Bibb that we’re skipping town on the company’s dime. Care to explain why or for how long? Or when she asks for details should I just say this is on Natalie’s orders?”

He had a point.