What Mary Always Said

"The Democratic Party is the future," Bill said. "This has been known since Wilson."

"It is the inevitable playing out of history," he said, in measured tones that suggested he had spoken the words many times before.

"The wheels cannot be stopped from turning. The people want it to be this way. The Democratic Party represents their interests. The people need leaders."

He pauses, and resumes a more natural countenance.

"Roosevelt's...genius...was not simply to realize this, and to embrace it, but to find a way to communicate his will to...to the people."

There he stopped for a moment. They will all listening to him.

"For this I greatly admire him. Who would not?"

"But now it is a new era. Everything until now has been a dry-run. What is coming will be much greater."

He put his empty drink onto the bar.

"You should see the plans for new War Department headquarters, where Bob's office is going to be. It's going to be the biggest office building in the world. Five sides."

Bunny makes a face of amusement, imagining it.

"They had to build it in Virginia," Bill said, envisioning the location in his head.

"I could almost imagine relocating myself there."

He smiled.

"Right-o," interjected Bunny. "I know what that means, when you say that. You go ahead and do that, Bill. Not me. Too humid. If you're going to go South, you might as well go all the way to Miami Beach. That's what I say."

"Speaking of that," Bunny says, with inspiration. "Do you know what we have?" He raises his finger and starts to rise of his chair. "The latest and finest."

He looks at Prescott. "Company reserve stock fresh from Havana."

He disappears through a door momentary then returns quickly carrying a wooden cigar box in both hands. He puts it on the bar in front of Bill and opens it. 

Personally overseen by our man there," says Bunny. "Can you smell that?" His face is of rhapsodic delight. Bill smiles, looking at him.

"Very good," says Bill to him.

Bunny starts to fish under the bar for an object. "But first, Bill. You have to tell us, what did you think when you saw what Kennedy said?"

There a pause, awkward. Pres, who is still by the mantle looks up at Bill, Knight looks at Pres, then up at Bill. Bunny milks it a bit, then says, "He wasn't talking about us, was he?"

Bill cracks a smile. "I can almost guarantee you that he was," he says.

"Well that's, all right. Pop said you have make lots of enemies to get anywhere in life. Besides he's finished now, right?  Such an annoying man. And dangerous too. What a spectacular fall. It almost proves everything Mary was always saying, about the hygiene of the human race. You know, all of that stuff you like too. And the Germans."

"Indeed," says Bill, with a touch of sadness in his eyes."You have a very good point."

He looks at Pres, who is looking into his drink. "You think so too, Pres?"

Pres looks up. He is up to the challenge.

"Yes, that's right," says Pres, with confidence of affirmation. "I think it does prove that, in many ways."