Chapter 11
The next two years
Wheeler for Senate—Frederick, Maryland
Kincaid for Senate—Lincoln, Nebraska
Text message transcript: Anya Katz and Gabe Hunt
November 3
Anya [10:04am]: Gooooood morning
Anya [10:04am]: How’s your head? Falling off your neck?
Anya [10:05am]: I’m meeting Kira and Simone at hash house a go go for one of those insane giant piles of breakfast if you’re awake/sober/not puking your guts out?
Gabe [10:09am]: Don’t be mean to me I’m dying
Anya [10:10am]: Worse than our birthday?
Gabe [10:10am]: m u c h
Anya [10:10am]: Woooooow
Gabe [10:11am]: How are you so chipper
Gabe [10:11am]: You were dancing on a table at Frankie’s at like 3am
Anya [10:12am]: Maybe I hold my liquor better than you
Gabe [10:12am]: Oh my god you were deadass sober
Anya [10:12am]:
Anya [10:13am]: I didn’t want to be wasted when I got home, that felt like it would be rubbing it in Zeke’s face or something
Gabe [10:13am]: Isn’t he happy for you? And Jo? And the people of Nevada?
Anya [10:14am]: Sure. But still.
Gabe [10:14am]: Yeah. How’s he doing?
Anya [10:14am]: Okay, I think? It’s not like he was a die-hard Flannery supporter or anything
Gabe [10:15am]: Is there such a thing as a die-hard Flannery supporter?
Gabe [10:15am]: (Too soon?)
Anya [10:16am]: Not too soon
Anya [10:16am]: In fact four years after I said as much to you
Gabe [10:16am]: Yes, you’re very prescient
Gabe [10:16am]: What time for breakfast?
Anya [10:16am]: Eleven
Gabe [10:17am]: Cool, I’m gonna go try not to throw up in the shower
Anya [10:17am]: A holy quest
Anya [10:17am]: Oh! My parents are flying in this weekend, they want to see everyone
Anya [10:18am]: We’re getting tickets for Magic Mike Live on Saturday night, can you come or will that threaten your masculinity?
Gabe [10:18am]: Oh I’m there
Gabe [10:18am]: I’ll bro out with Walt
Anya [10:18am]: Ugh he’s gonna really love that you said that
January 26
Gabe [1:41pm]: So? How did it go?
Gabe [1:52pm]: That’s fine, keep me waiting
Gabe [1:52pm]: I’m a famously patient man
Gabe [2:09pm]: Dude. Seriously?
Anya [2:37pm]: I’m sorry!! They’ve been ferrying me around Omaha all day, I’ve eaten so much steak
Anya [2:37pm]: And they just took me to meet the senator??
Gabe [2:38pm]: No way
Gabe [2:38pm]: So you got it??
Anya [2:38pm]: Seems like?
Gabe [2:39pm]: That’s amazing, Anya!
Gabe [2:39pm]: Congratulations!!
Anya [2:39pm]: Thank you
Anya [2:40pm]: I’m excited
Gabe [2:40pm]: You sound excited
Anya [2:41pm]: I am!
Anya [2:41pm]: I don’t know
Gabe [2:42pm]: You want to take the job in Illinois, don’t you?
Anya [2:42pm]: I REALLY DO
Anya [2:42pm]: Am I that transparent?
Gabe [2:43pm]: You’re basically Casper
Gabe [2:43pm]: (The friendly ghost)
Gabe [2:43pm]: Unless you’re mad at me
Gabe [2:43pm]: Then you’re like…
Gabe [2:44pm]: (Shit, who’s a famous scary ghost?)
Anya [2:44pm]: Hamlet’s father?
Gabe [2:44pm]: Yes, when you’re mad at me it’s like you’re telling me my uncle had an affair with my mother, a perfect analogy
Gabe [2:45pm]: Anyway, Illinois?
Anya [2:45pm]: Congresswoman Perrone is so great, I want to work for her
Anya [2:46pm]: Being an hour from my parents would be amazing
Anya [2:46pm]: And I don’t need a title bump! I like being digital director
Anya [2:47pm]: The money is obviously not as good, but like
Anya [2:47pm]: Since when is that how I make decisions?
Gabe [2:47pm]: Not since you left consulting
Anya [2:48pm]: Precisely!!!
Anya [2:48pm]: And I guess I could live at home? Save money that way?
Anya [2:48pm]: No, that would be an insane commute
Anya [2:49pm]: Also Zeke would murder me if I made him live with my parents, what am I talking about
Gabe [2:51pm]: He’s moving with you?
Anya [2:52pm]: Yes
Gabe [2:53pm]: Cool
Gabe [2:53pm]: Does he have an opinion? Which job you should take?
Anya [2:54pm]: Not really
Anya [2:54pm]: He’s still pretty burnt out from Flannery
Anya [2:55pm]: He’s thinking about doing something else this cycle, maybe work in a restaurant
Gabe [2:55pm]: Oh wow
Gabe [2:55pm]: So it’s really up to you
Anya [2:56pm]: You wouldn’t hesitate for a second, would you
Anya [2:56pm]: To work for Kincaid
Gabe [2:57pm]: Deputy campaign manager of a must-hold senate seat?
Gabe [2:57pm]: I mean
Gabe [2:58pm]: That’s a hard job to turn down, especially with an open presidential coming up right after
Gabe [2:58pm]: You could work for anyone
Anya [2:58pm]: Even Wheeler?
Gabe [2:59pm]: Lol
Gabe [2:59pm]: Like you’d ever let me hire you
Anya [2:59pm]: I would if you’d work for a candidate I don’t detest!!!!
Gabe [3:00pm]: Do you detest Kincaid?
Anya [3:00pm]: No, definitely not
Anya [3:00pm]: And I get that the seat is important, it’s gonna be a killer race
Anya [3:01pm]: I just feel like, how can I go from working for Jo Sessego to some moderate
Anya [3:01pm]: It feels wrong
Gabe [3:01pm]: Well
Gabe [3:01pm]: You could look at it like, you’re holding the Senate for Jo
Gabe [3:02pm]: Like, if you win this race, you’re giving Jo the best possible landscape to enact her agenda
Anya [3:02pm]: Okay comms man, good spin
Gabe [3:02pm]: Ahem, former comms man
Gabe [3:03pm]: Plus I bet if you work for Kincaid you’d have to come to DC sometimes. Kira and Simone would love that
Anya [3:04pm]: That’s true
Anya [3:04pm]: How far are you from DC?
Gabe [3:04pm]: Less than an hour, but I’m much too busy to come meet you
Gabe [3:05pm]: So don’t take the job because you want to see more of me
Anya [3:05pm]: The only reason I do anything
Gabe [3:05pm]: Obviously
Anya [3:06pm]: You really think I should take it?
Gabe [3:06pm]: Not if you don’t want to
Gabe [3:06pm]: But I think, I don’t know
Gabe [3:06pm]: It’s amazing that you care so much about your values
Gabe [3:07pm]: But you’re also great at your job
Gabe [3:07pm]: And I think if you were in charge of more races, more good people would be in office
Anya [3:09pm]: That’s an incredibly nice thing to say
Anya [3:09pm]: (Or truly superlative spin)
Gabe [3:10pm]: I’m not spinning you
Anya [3:11pm]: I know
Gabe [3:11pm]: Have you called your mom yet?
Anya [3:12pm]: No, that’s a good idea
Anya [3:12pm]: She’ll know what to do
Anya [3:12pm]: Thanks bud
Gabe [3:13pm]: Anytime
Gabe [3:13pm]: Call me later if you want to talk it out?
Anya [3:14pm]: I thought you were too busy for me
Gabe [3:14pm]: I am
March 11
Anya [7:29am]: Help
Gabe [7:31am]: What happened
Gabe [7:31am]: Is your kitchen on fire
Gabe [7:31am]: I’ll call 911
Anya [7:32am]: No, that would constitute an actual emergency
Anya [7:32am]: Whereas me panicking about what to wear to my first day at HQ most assuredly does not
Anya [7:32am]: And yet I find myself in dire need of government provided assistance!!!
Gabe [7:33am]: You always use such big words when you’re freaking out
Gabe [7:33am]: It’s adorable
Anya [7:33am]: Oh my god shut up
Anya [7:34am]: You talked me into taking this stupid high-power job and I feel like it’s Ohio all over again, like I’m going to show up in heels while everyone else is in jeans and they’re all gonna look at me like I don’t belong there
Gabe [7:35am]: Do you want to wear jeans?
Anya [7:35am]: No I want the staff to take me seriously!!!
Anya [7:35am]: What are you wearing to work today? I’ll wear the same thing
Gabe [7:35am]: I’m wearing a sweater, same as I have every day for the last million years because it’s still so cold here
Gabe [7:36am]: I hate winter
Gabe [7:36am]: (Luckily I look great in knitwear)
Anya [7:36am]: I don’t know why I thought that would be helpful
Anya [7:36am]: Also “knitwear”? Who are you, Yves Saint Laurent?
Gabe [7:37am]: Oui, oui
Gabe [7:37am]: Do you still have those dark jeans? The ones that are sort of trouser-y?
Anya [7:37am]: Yeah?
Gabe [7:37am]: Okay, wear those with boots
Gabe [7:37am]: (With a tall heel, I know you’ll be happy in a tall heel)
Gabe [7:38am]: How cold is it there?
Anya [7:38am]: Low 50s, it’s basically summer
Gabe [7:38am]: That’s still so cold, you smug Chicagoan
Anya [7:38am]: Sucks to be you, thin-blooded Angeleno
Gabe [7:39am]: Just wear those jeans with a button-down and a leather jacket
Anya [7:39am]: I can do that
Anya [7:39am]: Maybe fabric boots so it’s not cow on cow?
Gabe [7:39am]: You’re in Nebraska, isn’t their religion cow on cow?
Anya [7:39am]: Great point
Anya [7:39am]: This is strong advice, thank god you’re a libra
Gabe [7:40am]: You don’t believe in astrology
Anya [7:40am]: Well thank god for whatever makes you care so much about clothes
Gabe [7:40am]: See above re: growing up in Los Angeles
Gabe [7:41am]: You could wear that green silk shirt if you want every guy in the office to have a crush on you, but remember to button all the buttons
Gabe [7:41am]: Gotta give them something to work toward
Gabe [7:44am]: (Was that over a line? I’m sorry)
Anya [7:47am]: Sorry! I was getting dressed!
Anya [7:47am]: Not over a line
Anya [7:47am]: Or idk. The line is tricky
Gabe [7:48am]: Tricky how?
Anya [7:49am]: I guess it’s like, is the line what we’re okay with? Or is it what our respective partners would theoretically be okay with?
Gabe [7:49am]: Ah
Gabe [7:50am]: I see
Gabe [7:50am]: I guess we’re bad people if it’s not the latter, right?
Anya [7:51am]: Disrespectful people, anyway
Anya [7:51am]: Maybe we need a bit
Gabe [7:51am]: ?
Anya [7:51am]: Like a safe word. For if someone’s approaching the line
Gabe [7:51am]: Like “38th parallel”?
Anya [7:52am]: Or “button”
Gabe [7:52am]: Button does have a less offensive ring to it
Gabe [7:52am]: Use it in a sentence
Anya [7:52am]: You make some leering comment about my appearance and I say “button”
Gabe [7:52am]: Leering??????
Anya [7:53am]: Man you’re such an easy mark
Gabe [7:53am]: Okay button to that
Anya [7:53am]: You can’t use button to stop me making fun of you, that’s not how button works
Gabe [7:54am]: Believe me, I know how buttons work
Anya [7:54am]: BUTTON TO THAT GABE
Gabe [7:54am]: I did that one on purpose:)
Anya [7:54am]: You’re the worst
Gabe [7:55am]: How’s the outfit?
Anya [7:55am]: Perfect. Thank you.
Gabe [7:55am]: Have an excellent first day