At one point, Terry looked over at him, brow raised in surprise.

“I love this thing about the airplane,” Christina said.

“I do, too,” Derek said. “That’s genius.”

“Thanks,” Nick said, appreciative of their feedback. While his family had slept, he’d labored for hours every night for the last few weeks to hammer out the speech that would define his first year in office.

“I think this is…” Trevor shuffled the pages. “It’s remarkable, Mr. President. I wouldn’t change a word of it.”

“I have to agree,” George said. “There’s nothing I could do to this to make it better than it already is.”

“Terry?”

“I love it,” he said. “Of course I do. It’s just that I worry it might be a little too honest, if you know what I mean.”

“That’s the beauty of it,” Derek said. “The things he shares here could only have come from him, from his heart, and it’s important that the American people hear those things so they can know who he really is. That’s how we beat back this drumbeat of people saying he’s too young, too inexperienced, not elected by anyone, illegitimate. If he gives them this insider view of who he really is, it’ll help to overcome some of that.”

“It’s risky,” Terry said.

“I’m aware,” Nick replied, “but don’t forget, I’m not worried about my political future. I’m sitting in the catbird seat already. If all I ever have is these three years, then so be it. That’s more than I ever dared to dream possible.”

“I’d like to run it by Dad,” Terry said, referring to retired Senator Graham O’Connor.

“I’ve already sent it to him,” Nick said. “He loves it and approves of my plan.”

“Then I guess you have a consensus,” Christina said. “It’s beautifully done.”

“Thank you. I appreciate the feedback.”

Derek, Trevor, Christina and George left a few minutes later, leaving Nick alone with Terry.

“What’re we hearing from the Hill on Gretchen’s meetings with the senators?”

“It’s going well so far. We’re getting the expected pushback on her inexperience, having never held elected office and sitting a heartbeat from the presidency, but no one can quibble with her education, her political pedigree or her command of the issues.”

“Inexperience is looking to be the theme of our administration.”

“You have an opportunity to show the world that inexperience doesn’t mean incompetence.”

“Let’s hope we can pull that off.” Nick would never admit to anyone, even his closest aide, that the weight of the matters that crossed his desk every day had him running on anxiety-fueled adrenaline as he considered a wide range of issues with impacts that couldn’t be easily measured or articulated. The responsibility of it all sat on his shoulders like a boulder every moment of every day and night.