Aimee is at the airport on the phone with Cherie.
Cherie: Honey, when is your flight again?
Aimee: That’s actually what I was calling about!
Cherie: You were calling to tell me when your flight was coming in? That’s so thoughtful! I already have the perfect thing picked out for dinner for us.
Aimee: Yeah… I’m not coming.
Cherie: What? This is your big recess and you’re staying in DC?
Aimee: I have to help Alec with something.
Cherie: Alec? You can’t help you buddy when you’re home in Washington?
Aimee: His primary is coming up, he asked me to help campaign for him.
Cherie: What pull do you have in Illinois?
Aimee: I don’t know, but he’s my friend, and friends help each other. As Dionne Warwick says, that’s what friends are for.
Cherie: You don’t have to remind me what she says. I’m old, I know all her songs!
Aimee: I’ll be home on Wednesday, so just delay your big meal until then.
Cherie: I’m already elbow-deep in a goose, this is getting made tonight.
Aimee: Oh, you’ve upgraded from quail? That’s a shocker.
Cherie: I can make a killer bird, any bird.
Aimee: I’m well aware.
Cherie: Doesn’t Alec have any friends back in Illinois that could campaign for him? I don’t just get my daughter back for a full week any time, it’s a special occasion!
Aimee: He’s in a tight race, mom, he might lose. Plus, he campaigned for me!
Cherie: What are you going to do about it?
Aimee: I don’t know.
Cherie: Good to hear you have a good reason to go!
Aimee: Look, do I want to spend the next four days knocking doors in Illinois with Lynette and Carolyn? Not exactly. But he’s my friend, and this could be a very dark time for him, so I have a duty to be there for him.
Ernesto: Cherie, is that Aimee?
Kimmy: It’s always Aimee!
Ernesto: And are you giving her a hard time?
Cherie: Well she’s not coming home to visit tonight!
Ernesto: It’s not like she’s skipping Christmas! She’s not coming home for a weekend, it’s fine. I’m sure she has a good reason.
Aimee: Thank you, dad!
Cherie: She’s campaigning for her friend Alec! She even admits she can’t actually do anything to help him win! Why not spend that time with your family, then?
Aimee: It’s about the principle!
Cherie: And loving your family isn’t?
Kimmy: Mom, stop being clingy. She’s forty years old, not fourteen.
Cherie: I don’t get to see her nearly as much as I’d like to, you’d think she could at least come home when she does have time off.
Aimee: I will be there on Wednesday! It’s a two-week recess, that gives us plenty of time to see one another.
Cherie: Fine, but we’re spending it together!
Aimee: Yes, of course.
Cherie: Give Alec our best wishes, please.
Ernesto: Yes, good luck to him!
Aimee: I’ll make sure to tell him!
Later that night…
Victoria: Alec, your new house is lovely! I didn’t imagine you living in such a stately home!
Alec: I don’t know quite how to take that.
Victoria: It’s a good thing! You’re doing well!
Alec: Did you not expect me to have a nice house?
Victoria: You just seemed like you’d have a more reserved, less elegant home. Like Aimee’s!
Alec: The stained glass windows were here before we moved in. Sabrina almost didn’t want this place because she said it’d make her feel like she’s living in a church.
Aimee: What do you mean “like Aimee’s?”
Lynette: This is fun!
Victoria: I just realized, I’ve never met your wife before, Alec!
Alec: And you still haven’t, because she’s in the kitchen making all of us dinner. Babe, come say hi to our guests!
Carolyn: Oh, don’t bother her by making her greet this motley crew. She’l have to deal with us enough over the next few days.
Sabrina: It’s no bother! I’m so used to being alone in this big house, I’m thrilled to get to greet anyone!
Carolyn: For your sake, I wish the people you were greeting were a bit less annoying, but we’re glad to be here regardless.
Lynette: Aimee’s not annoying!
Victoria: Nor am I!
Carolyn: I actually agree! It’s really just Lynette.
Lynette: She’s just jealous I’m a senator and she’ll never be one.
Carolyn: Ah, yes, it’s my dream to almost lose a Senate race in Wyoming as a Republican.
Lynette: I still won!
Victoria: Speaking of winning… Alec, how’s it looking in your primary?
Dave: I’m sorry to interrupt your conversation, I was just wondering where our room is, I wanted to take our suitcase straight to the room instead of just leaving it in your foyer.
Sabrina: The yellow room on the second floor is yours and Aimee’s/
Dave: Thank you! Alec, your wife is lovely!
Alec: I agree!
Sabrina: You’d better!
Alec: Well, back to your question… the polling is not looking great.
Victoria: I can’t believe the people in your district are holding a grudge over your impeachment vote. Your president tried to kill Congress!
Carolyn: Hey, Aimee and Lynette still hold a grudge over my vote!
Lynette: Because you neglected your job.
Carolyn: This is why I call you annoying.
Lynette: You don’t have to be rude just because I’m speaking my truth!
Aimee: Just how bad is the polling?
Alec: I’m down five points.
Aimee: That’s a polling error! I was down five points!
Carolyn: That’s the spirit! Maybe he can pull out a fluke win, too!
Alec: I’m going to be honest, I fear that unsolicited endorsement by Mildred Hassenfram didn’t help me much.
Sabrina: We have an open primary, maybe Democrats will cross over to save you because of it!
Alec: She only says that because Mildred endorsing me was enough to finally convince her parents to vote for me.
Sabrina: I’m just saying, it could be a good sign!
Alec: If I’m relying on Democrats to bail me out, I’m in trouble.
Aimee: Hey, I had to rely on Democrats to bail me out!
Carolyn: And look at her now! Trapped in a job she despises!
Aimee: I don’t despise it!
Carolyn: You don’t love it!
Aimee: Who does? It’s a horrible job 98% of the time!
Lynette: I like it!
Aimee: You’re a freak!
Lynette: I know.
Aimee: But you’re a freak I’m so glad to have by my side!
Lynette: Thank you!
Alec: I want to thank all of your for coming out here to help me make my last-minute push. I’ve been so busy in Congress, I haven’t been able to campaign in-person much, so to have all of you here to help out means a lot.
Carolyn: We have our disagreements, but I’m always going to be here for you. You are the best friend I’ve got in the House. You keep me sane.
Lynette: Excuse me?
Carolyn: You just make me feel comparatively sane. He keeps me level-headed. Also, you’re not in the House.
Lynette: You couldn’t just gone with just that second statement rather than insult me.
Carolyn: No, no I could not have.
Victoria: I don’t know if I can be of much help, since I’m not some powerful senator or anything, but I’ll gladly knock doors. I’m a Democrat, but you being in Congress is much better than some Delphy-loving wackadoodle who’ll make me want to throw something at my TV when I see them on it.
Alec: To think, I used to be considered right-wing back in the day. Now I’m someone Democrats endorse.
Lynette: Me too!
Carolyn: Oh, honey, you were always every Democrat’s favorite Republican, just because you always managed to make our party look stupid.
Lynette: I do not!
Carolyn: You’re a bit of an airhead. We love you for it, but you are.
Lynette: I’m taking a beating tonight!
Sabrina: Yeah, let’s lay off of Lynette and have some dinner! We need to eat up so we can have our energy for this weekend!
Dave: Are we going to be doing a lot of walking? I forgot my sneakers in DC.
Aimee: What did you wear on the flight?
Dave: My dress shoes! I wanted to look good, I was seeing Alec’s new house for the first time!
Aimee: I’m a US Senator and I’m wearing sweatpants and an “I Heart New York” t-shirt while my hair’s tied in a messy knot, I can’t be having my husband showing me up like this.
Alec: We’ll try to keep you off of walking duty, Alec. Maybe you can shuttle them from house to house during canvassing.
Dave: Sounds good!
Four days later…
Alec: Oh, god, ten minutes until the polls close. I feel like I’m losing my mind.
Carolyn: You know, maybe I sound naive, or maybe it’s just the optimism I was granted after Aimee and I survived our own close electoral calls in 2022, but I really think you’re going to pull this off, Alec.
Lynette: Robert Alldroid didn’t have a single member of Congress hit the campaign trial for him. You had three, plus an endorsement from your very popular, very boring US Senator! I think you have a lot to be optimistic about.
Alec: I didn’t expect either of you to say anything else.
Aimee: It’s what we’re here for more than anything, right? Emotional support?
Alec: That’s probably what you’re best for. I doubt the campaigning changed too many minds, I’d I’m being brutally honest.
Lynette: I’ll have to disagree, I was a very convincing advocate for you.
Carolyn: She probably created more new Alldroid voters than anyone else did, including Alldroid himself.
Sabrina: Honey, do you have your speeches written?
Alec: Oh, crap! I gotta finish my concession speech!
Victoria: Don’t even bother writing it! It’s just going to put you in a bad headspace.
Dave: Don’t you guys all have speechwriters?
Alec: I try to keep it genuine.
Sabrina: He likes giving himself a headache.
Alec: That’s true.
Carolyn: I get it. Saying you’ve got a headache is a great excuse to get some time away from Lynette!
Alec: Exactly!
Lynette: I’m feeling very targeted tonight.
Fifteen minutes later…
Marcus Washington (news anchor): Polls are now closed here in Illinois, including in four contentions primaries - in the 4th District, where longtime Democratic Congresswoman Isadora Americus is retiring, the 9th District, where Democratic Congressman Felicia Campbell is receiving a primary challenge from the left, the swing 13th district, where town Republicans vie for the chance to challenge Democratic Congressman Tom Powers, and in there 16th District, where centrist Republican Alec Kefauver attempts to push back a primary challenge from right-wing Loves Park city councilor Robert Alldroid. With voting machine errors plaguing Chicago and leading to a delay in the processing of the vote, we first turn to the 16th District, where we can now project at poll closing that, despite a valiant effort -
Aimee: Sounds good so far, right?
Marcus: from Congressman Kefauver, -
Aimee: Oh, god, it’s over.
Marcus: Robert Alldroid will be the next Republican nominee in the district. We can project this due to the wide margins for Alldroid in the rural counties, coupled with the smaller-than-anticipated margins for Kefauver that we’ve seen from his base in Will County thus far.
Carolyn: Alec, I am so sorry.
Alec: No, it’s okay. I’ve, uh… I’ve had a good run. I should go work on that concession speech, I guess.
Sabrina: Honey, you don’t have to. You can just speak from the heart.
Alec: I think I need to filter my thoughts a bit, babe. I don’t want to say anything I’ll regret.
Sabrina: All right, sounds good. I’m always here for you if you need anything!
Alec: I know, thank you for that. I just need to be alone with my thoughts right now.
Lynette: Oh, god. I don’t get it. What happened?
Carolyn: He “betrayed” the party, and the President led the charge against him. He fought a good fight, but he couldn’t pull it off. Few survive the weight of the party’s campaign apparatus coming out in full swing against them.
Lynette: I did it!
Carolyn: Lynette, not now.
Lynette: Sorry.
Later that night…
Dave: Aimee, what’s up? Why aren’t you sleeping, we have a big day of traveling ahead of us tomorrow.
Aimee: I’m troubled.
Dave: You’re a politician, aren’t you always troubled?
Aimee: More troubled than usual!
Dave: Is it Alec?
Aimee: Of course it’s Alec! My friend just lost his job, I’m heartbroken for him. I’m heartbroken for America!
Dave: Ferrera? I think she can survive the Oscar loss, she’s a good sport.
Aimee: The country!
Dave: I’m just trying to lighten the mood a bit.
Aimee: I think I need some tea or something. You go to sleep, don’t worry about me.
Dave: You sure?
Aimee: Yes.
Dave: Well, I was looking forward to some cuddling, but I can cuddle the pillow instead, I guess.
Aimee: Go for it.
Aimee goes downstairs and sees Alec in his kitchen.
Aimee: Hey! You still up?
Alec: Oh, yeah. Just doing a bit of thinking. Didn’t want to keep Sabrina up.
Aimee: I can relate.
Alec: Are you okay? Your face doesn’t look okay.
Aimee: Alec, I don’t want to be in Congress without you! It’s me and you and Lynette against the world.
Alec: Aimes, it’s going to be okay. I love you like a sister. You are more like family to me than most of my actual family. We’re not losing each other. We’re just gonna have to call each other instead of seeing each other. You can come visit Illinois.
Aimee: I don’t like Illinois.
Alec: You’re in Illinois right now.
Aimee: I’d prefer not to be!
Alec: You just say that because you hate the layovers at O’Hare.
Aimee: Yeah.
Alec: I’ll come to Washington. Either Washington. DC or the state. It’ll be okay. We’ll see each other at least once a month.
Aimee: You sure?
Alec: Not really. I don’t know how practical that will be long-term, but I’ll do everything to make it happen. Plus, I have another six months here. I’m not leaving until then, even if Victor would prefer that.
Aimee: Screw Victor.
Alec: That’s the spirit!
Aimee: What’s that weasel up to these days, anyway?
Alec: Being a little tyrant, trotting around bossing us around. Can’t stand him.
Aimee: I never could!
Alec: I’m going to miss these little trash-talking sessions, but we have eight months left before I go, so let’s make them count.
Aimee: I just can’t believe it’s almost over.
Alec: I was expecting it to be over two years ago, to be honest. I thought you were ready for it, too.
Aimee: I was, but you guys were always the main perk of the job.
Alec: You’ll find new friends in the Senate. You’ve been making them already - just look at Melody Choi, Gwen Gardenia, you know, all these left-wing Democrats.
Aimee: That’s who we belong with, apparently. They aren’t you, though. They’re lovely, but they can’t replace you. As Prince and Sinead O’Connor say - nothing compares to you.
Alec: That’s cheesy.
Aimee: It’s late, cut me some slack.
Alec: I suppose I could. Now, let’s finish up our drinks, brush our teeth, and get some shuteye. I’ll still be a loser in the morning.
Aimee: I still can’t believe I’m about to go sleep another night in Illinois! That’s even worse than you losing!
Alec: I see the sadness of the loss is already wearing off.
Aimee: My own personal pain is numbing the pain I feel for you. I’m very selfish.
Alec: Not nearly as selfish as Carolyn or Lynette, apparently- they’ve been sleeping like babies for hours.
Aimee: Don’t say their names, you might wake them!
What did you think of this episode of Evergreen Aimee? Let us know in the comments, and make sure to read the season finale next week!
