The primary aim of the "Novel Excerpts" blog category is to showcase my creative writing, specifically from the novels I've written. Hopefully, these posts will provide a glimpse into my storytelling style, themes, and narrative skills. It's an opportunity to share my artistic expressions and the worlds I've created through my novels.
The Boaz Stenographer, written in 2018, is my fourth novel. I'll post a chapter a day over the next few weeks.
Book Blurb
Walt Shepherd, a 35 year veteran of the White House’s stenographic team, is fired by President Andrew Kane for refusing to lie.
Walt returns to his hometown of Boaz, Alabama and renews his relationship with Regina Gillan, his high school sweetheart, who he had ditched right before graduation to marry the daughter of a prominent local businessman. Regina has recently moved back to Boaz after forty years in Chicago working at the Tribune. She is now editor of the Sand Mountain Reporter, a local newspaper.
Walt and Regina’s relationship transforms into a once in life love at the same time they are being immersed in a growing local and national divide between Democrats and traditional Republicans, and extremist Republicans (known as Kanites) who are becoming more dogmatic about the revolution that began during President Kanes campaign.
Walt accepts two part-time jobs. One as a stenography instructor at Snead State Community College in Boaz, and one as an itinerant stenographer with Rains & Associates out of Birmingham.
Walt later learns the owner of Rains & Associates is also one of five men who created the Constitution Foundation and is involved in a sinister plot to destroy President Kane, but is using an unorthodox method to achieve its objective. The Foundation is doing everything it can to prevent President Kane from being reelected in 2020, and is scheming to initiate a civil war that will hopefully restore allegiance to the U.S. Constitution.
While Walt is writing a book, The Coming Civil War, he is, unwittingly, gathering key information for the Constitution Foundation.
Will Walt discover a connection between the Foundation and the deaths of three U.S. Congressmen in time to save his relationship with Regina, prevent President Kane from being reelected as the defacto head of a Christian theocracy, and the eruption of a civil war that could destroy the Nation ?
Chapter 36
I had spent most of Friday afternoon at Paradise Storage in Albertville with the contents of ‘Clinton-5.’ The owners had been generous to allow me to use a spare office in the main building.
Over my thirty-five-year career with the White House, I had accumulated 35 of these plastic, file-storage boxes. The Clinton years, 1993 – 2001 consumed seven boxes. This afternoon, I had been focused on the dark months of 1998 and early 1999 which were enveloped with Clinton’s impeachment process. I knew the transcripts did not contain anything from any Congressional hearing, either the House of Representatives or the Senate, since I had no duties there. It was my personal notes that I was after, the ones I always had created after each Presidential conference, meeting or event, I had recorded.
One note had caught my attention. It was made late on the 23rd of December 1998. Clinton had called a meeting of the full White House staff. The purpose of the meeting was for him to apologize for lying. It was apparent to me that he was truly remorseful for having lied. He gave us explicit details of two times that he had been untruthful. He first referred to the now infamous statement he had made earlier in the year, “I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky.” Later in the meeting, he quoted the second lie he had told, this one in his Paula Jones deposition, “I have never had sexual relations with Monica
Lewinsky. I’ve never had an affair with her.”
I will always have high regards and respect for President Bill Clinton. He, like every other President, had about as many enemies as he did friends. By him feeling it important to meet with his staff and by him encouraging us all to always be totally truthful, my faith in him multiplied. I will forever remember the final statement he made before our meeting disbanded, “There is nothing more important than the truth. Never let your personal well-being tempt you to lie. I wholly failed to fulfill my personal and professional commitment. I will never be able to fully restore my reputation. Please don’t make the same mistakes I made.”
As I returned Clinton-5 to my storage unit, I couldn’t help but relive my last meeting with President Kane. He and his Chief of Staff had openly and unashamedly demanded that I lie. Clinton’s reputation certainly was negatively impacted by his lies, but Kane seemed absent of a moral center to begin with. Lying for him was as natural as breathing. It seemed he believed lying was simply another tool, like a podium or teleprompter, to enhance and clarify communications.
Enough of Presidents and lying for one day. As I passed Industrial Boulevard, all I could think of was Regina. I couldn’t wait to prepare her favorite Lasagna and to hold her in my arms. These were nice thoughts. I wasn’t as confident about describing to her last night’s conversation with Ginger.
After we both ate two servings of my mother’s Lasagna design, we were in no mode to talk. Ever since Regina had returned from her recent Chicago trip we had spent frequent quality time in my bedroom. It would be no different tonight. No doubt I valued our love-making. It was so radically different from what I remembered about mine and Jennifer’s sex life. I also had become quickly addicted to our ‘post-play’ as we called it. We would lay side by side, usually me on my right side and her on her left, with my right arm under her head. She would snuggle down into my shoulder. Mutually, we had adopted a rule, our talks during ‘post-play’ were limited to us, our relationship, our hopes and dreams, and fears. Tonight, we had engaged in a little dreaming.
“Don’t let this scare you or make you feel threatened in any way. Okay?” Regina asked, as the fresh lilac smell from her hair made me think of the ocean for some strange reason.
“Too late. I’m already scared. Just laying here with you is scary.
I’ve given you my body and now you want my soul.”
“Goofy. Hush. Let me talk. I have a question. Where do you see us in five years?” Regina asked raising up on her left elbow and pouring her baby blues into me.
I closed my eyes and hummed. “Oh, mystery woman, I see you a much fatter woman.” I said as I continued to hum.
“Quit. Walt, I’m serious. You are making fun of me and us.”
“You know why? Because I love you when you get a little agitated.
“Thanks, now answer my question. Seriously.” She said laying her head back down on my shoulder.
“Let me first say I’m very biased. I see what I want to see because I am heavily under your persuasion and influence. I see us married, you pregnant, and me pastoring my first church.” I said.
“Let’s go watch TV. You think I’m joking and you’re making fun of me and my question.” Regina said, beginning to sound truly angry.
“Baby, lean over and look at me. I’m sorry. Now, let me tell you the truth, my hopes, my dreams, for us. Regina, I love you with all my heart. I never want to lose you. I want us together forever. I’m not crazy about following tradition and being formally married but I’m not against it. Whatever it takes to make you happy and make you feel secure, that’s what I want. Do you see what I’m trying to say?”
“I do. And, back to your funny little statement. Of late, I’ve wondered many times what it would have been like for us to have married after high school and had children. Now, at 63, I very much regret not having babies.” Regina said with a tear forming in her right eye.
“Baby, all I can promise is that I will do all I can to help you make a baby or two.”
“There you go, making fun of my seriousness.”
“Babe, if I could go back, if I could do it all over, I would have rejected Jennifer and chosen you. I would have married you and helped you make as many babies as you wanted. You do believe me, don’t you?” I said.
“I do. And, I’m totally thankful we had this conversation. I love you Walt and I am yours as long as you want me.”
“Finally, you say it. Forever it is. Now, let’s go downstairs for some Black Walnut. I picked up a bucket today. Also, I have something to tell you.”
“Okay, go on down. I’ll be down shortly, after I fix my face.”
“That may take a while, but I’ll wait.” I said as I dressed in a pair of shorts and a tee-shirt.
After I ate two cups of our favorite ice-cream, and two bites of Regina’s, I told her that I had taken on another part-time job. At first, she didn’t like the idea, thinking that the very word, ‘undercover’ sounded too dangerous, but then after I told her it wasn’t anything like what she was thinking, anything like being an undercover cop befriending a drug dealer, she came around. I think it was because of her mutual dislike, virtually hatred, for President Kane and his shrinking but still strong constituency.
“Will you have to go to Chicago much?” Regina asked.
“I’m not really sure. All I know right now is that you and I have to be in Tifton, Georgia the weekend of July Fourth.” I said, hoping she would be available.
“What in the heck is in Tifton, Georgia?”
“Ginger has assigned me a job there, a couple of depositions in a Federal case that Maynard Cooper & Gale is involved with. She said they had requested I be the court-reporter if possible.”
“Sounds like a business trip. Why am I going?” Regina said, getting up from the couch and carrying our empty bowls to the dishwasher.
“It’s the Fourth of July. Ginger knew that we, you and I, would be doing something together. She offered to pay for a couple of nights hotel and meals if you would go. Ginger thought that would help me make the decision whether to accept the assignment.” I said.
“That was nice. She didn’t have to do that, but I’m glad she did.
Hey, that’s our first trip since we’ve been going steady.”
“It’s also our first trip since you started making me massage your body.” I said hoping Regina would come back to the couch.
“Sorry, to make you such a slave. Oh, here’s an idea. Let’s do some shopping while we’re gone. You know we’ve been talking about replacing your bedroom suite. You know the one upstairs in that ugly brown-walled room with green carpet, the one with the bed your ex-father-in-law bought you and Jennifer?
“I guess we could, but that bed still presents some wonderful memories.” I said.
“I’ll wonderful your memory Walt Shepherd. Seriously, at least let’s look around. We might get some ideas.”
“Okay, if Tipton is anything like Boaz, it will have an antique store or two. You did mention antiques a few weeks ago.” I said.
“Good. Now I’m getting excited about our trip.” Regina said sitting in my chair slipping on her walking shoes.
“Since I’m being a good puppy dog, you sure you don’t need another massage?”
“Funny, now that you’ve planted your ‘wonderful memories’ in my mind. I wouldn’t want to put you out in the least.”
“Don’t worry. I’m honored to serve you any way I can.”
“I bet you are. Let’s go for a walk Fido.”
The Pencil Driven Life 