45th the Great

It's amazing how quickly your life can change. Oftentimes because of circumstances beyond your control. I remember how all this started, I was there that day when those fateful words were spoken" whatta ya have to lose?" It was the first time I went to a political rally. I didn't support any candidate yet. I knew of this guy and decided I'd hear what he had to say.

The more I heard him speak the more I liked what I heard. He didn't speak like other politicians. He spoke plainly like a guy I'd meet in a sports bar. In many instances it was like he was reading my mind. I thought some of these things, but feared to say them out loud.

I got too comfortable talking about him to friends and family. They were starting to storm out of the room as soon as I entered. I didn't understand their hatred of my candidate. I certainly didn't get why they were calling him racist. I knew of him before he ran for office, and everybody thought he was cool. He was the symbol of success to everyone from businessmen to rappers.

Knowing this I gave no thought to telling my fiancée I was going to vote for him. She got up from the couch we were sitting on, and stormed to the back of her house. I stood up and was about to follow her to the back. She stopped, turned and looked at me with eyes that cut me to the bone. She went into her bedroom and quickly came back out.

Her trek back up the hallway towards me seemed to be in slow motion. She never looked up at me, I could always tell her mood by her eyes. When she finally reached me she pushed past me and went straight to the front door. She opened the door and said "get out my house James." I was shocked because we had a dinner evening planned.

So I said " Tiffany what are you talking about aren't we going to dinner?" She just screamed" GET OUT MY HOUSE JAMES!" With that she let me see her eyes, they were full of tears. She was so angry I could see red on her cheeks and neck. Which was quite a feat considering her ebony dark complexion. Her anger was infectious because it made me angry. So I stormed to the front door, and just as I got one foot out she stopped me.

She gently grabbed my right hand, and opened it. She kissed the palm of my hand then placed the locket I gave her in my hand. She closed my hand over the locket and turned away from me. It was a heart-shaped locket that once belonged to my mother. My mother gave it to me from her hospital bed. She told me to give it to the woman I love, because my father gave it to her. My mother died shortly after giving me the locket.

I kept that locket on my nightstand for years before I met someone worthy of it. I loved Tiffany after our first date. But I dated her for a full year before I gave her the locket, and explained the meaning of the gift. Her giving it back in this way told me two things. She never wanted to see me again, and she still loved me. That made the breakup more painful than I could bear.

There was a company in Alaska that was courting me for my engineering skills. I kept putting them off because I didn't want to leave Tiffany or Chicago. But now, I hated the idea of running into Tiffany again. Or never being able to go to my favorite places because they all reminded me of her. So I called the company and told them I could start as soon as they wanted me. They requested I catch a flight the next morning.

So I packed a few things and tried to get some sleep. I turned on the only news channel that was fair to my candidate. But hearing even them say he might not win against his more experienced opponent. Made it impossible for me to sleep, I felt like I had to do something right then. So I got the absentee ballot that I received in the mail, because I wasn't sure if I'd be in town on election night. I filled it out, voted for my candidate, put it in the envelope and then I fell asleep.

I woke early the next morning, grabbed my luggage and made sure not to forget my important envelope. I requested a rideshare driver on my phone and thankfully one picked up quickly. I asked him to stop by the post office on the way to the airport. I didn't want to risk putting my letter in a box that might not get picked up. It was early October and I wanted to be sure my ballot got in on time.

With that done I gave it no more thought for the sake of my sanity. I even managed to keep quiet about my candidate. Sometimes having to bite my bottom lip when people elated about the liberal running against my candidate. How anyone could think that liberals' promises would be kept baffled me. But I didn't have time to be angry about politics, my job kept me busy.

Once in Anchorage they wouldn't let me leave. They made me an offer I couldn't possibly refuse. They even paid a company to pack up my apartment and put everything in storage for me. I was happy making like-minded friends. Alaska was a refreshing conservative change from liberal Chicago.

Election night came quickly, and I rushed home at 4pm to turn on the coverage. I bought a fifth of Brandy and a bag of ice. I wouldn't let myself pour a glass until the first states were called. By 5pm the projections started coming in and it was closer than it should have been. Today I wish my greatest trouble was not being sure if my candidate would win, but I'll get to that soon. By 8pm it was still too close to call, my bottle was close to empty and I couldn't see clearly so I went to sleep.

The next morning I woke up not caring about anything but my pounding headache. My breakfast that morning was Gatorade and chicken noodle soup. A cool rag over my eyes felt like heaven. I finally got close to my normal self and reached for the remote. The television shutoff during the night. I knew every channel would be blasting the winner and I was afraid to find out. I hit the power button and sure enough my guy won.

In my naivete I thought the election crap would be over and people would start to be civil again. Fortunately it was made clear any talk of the election at work would result in immediate termination. So other than salutations no one said anything to each other for fear of triggering a political discussion. Even me saying I couldn't wait for the inauguration triggered some dirty looks and a trip to HR.

That day finally came and left and the only thing that stood out was the new president's last statement of his speech. He said " I have made the deal of the century, you will find out about it soon." He was definitely a showman, I couldn't wait to find out what it was he'd done. Life went as normal and people started to chill out. Then our president made the announcement of Naval and Military training exercises. The US and South Korea would have the biggest training exercise in their history.

As soon as the bulk of our navy and Pacific military assets were in South Korea, China attacked and captured Hawaii. Japan lost half their navy trying to protect it for us. Before the news could finish reporting on that we heard explosions in the distance. Shortly after that our cell phones stopped working. We all looked out our windows and saw smoke rising from the port.

We saw people and traffic rushing away from the port, and first responders heading toward the port. In the confusion there were crash alarms going off and we couldn't call anyone. Then the wifi and internet stopped working. We rushed to the televisions hoping the news would tell us something. The screen flashed " Breaking News!" They showed an empty podium. The words at the bottom of the screen saying " President to speak soon!"

We finally see him walking to the podium with a handful of papers. As he stands at the podium he fumbles through the papers before speaking. He smiles at the cameras and says " It's a great day for America ladies and gentlemen. I have done what no one else could have done. I stand here today to let you know the US is no longer in debt. That's right, the nineteen trillion dollars of debt is gone. All it cost us was Hawaii and Alaska. That is all good people, I will not be answering question."

After his speech we lost the cable signal, and of course control. Some people were crying, others were screaming at the tv. I just sat at my desk in disbelief, he talked about Hawaii and Alaska as though we were used cars. And what did that mean, was Alaska a part of China now? The thing that broke my dumbfounded trance, was the window breaking and someone jumping out.

People began running into the building saying they came from the docks. They told us it wasn't the Chinese attacking the port, it was Russia. They landed troops and tanks on the ground and were headed inland. The police and National Guard were trying to stop them but they didn't have the weapons to stop tanks. The Russians had control of the capital in hours, and were pushing west.

A few Russian soldiers came into the building killing indiscriminately. Just before they entered my office I heard a Russian scream " OSTAT'SYA!" The firing stopped and the laughter started. They cheered as they walked into my office. I reached into my desk and grabbed the only thing I valued at that moment. The heart-shaped locket that two women I loved had given me as they said goodbye. I put it in my pocket hoping they hadn't seen it.

Then an officer walked into my office with a big smile on his face. I assumed he was an officer because the men jumped to their feet at the sight of him. He said something in Russian and they left the room. He then turn his reptilian-like smile toward me. He said with a very heavy Russian accent " hello James how are you my friend?" Then he laughed as he poured himself a glass of my Brandy.

He smiled and said" Take it easy my American friend, your name is on door. I couldn't help but mess with you. Do you know what is happening here today James?" I didn't answer him, I just look at him then the door multiple times. He poured himself another glass, then spoke while looking down into the glass." Mother Russia has taken part of America's debt in exchange for Alaska. More specifically the oil reserves you wouldn't drill for to protect the winter moss or whatever. You should thank your president, I should say your former president. He has made you a Russian subject."

I was forced to use my skill to find them oil in the wilderness. The last reminder of my freedom is the heart-shaped locket. I have to find ways to hide it everyday, it's been a year since that day. I hope this ends soon.