Milton walks into Kate’s office, where she’s discussing a new bill with other top Democrats, including Ellie.
Kate: So, we absolutely have to include increased funding for alternative energy in the bill.
John Marley (West Virginia Senator): West Virginia isn’t going to go along with that.
Ellie: We’re not going to base our entire policy agenda around the people of West Virginia! Coal is not viable, yet we still wrote in provisions for coal miners, Senator Loretta Lynn.
John: I don’t think that was a necessary dig.
Ellie: She was a coal miner’s daughter. Did you guys not get that song in West Virginia? Is Glenn Miller the most recent cultural figure you guys are familiar with? See, I’m calling you dumb.
John: I’m not going to take this. You know few few Republicans will vote for this energy bill, so you need my support.
Kate: And we’re happy to have it!
John: I have not offered my support.
Kate: But we’d love to have it.
Mildred Hassenfram (Illinois Senator): I think we’re veering of course. We have so much more in common than not.
Kate: Yeah, but the things we don’t have in common are the things that could cost us some votes. Hence, why we’re here.
Mildred: I’m just trying to bring the temperature down.
Milton: Am I missing a meeting?
Kate: Ah, Milton! Sorry, this was last minute. We’re still hammering out details with some committee chairs. Particularly the ones who are having trouble getting on-board.
Milton: I’m from a major energy-producing state, I’m surprised not to be included. Alas, I’m heading home for the weekend, I just wanted to say goodbye.
Ellie: Heading home? You’re flying straight into the eye of the storm?
Milton: What storm?
Ellie: The winter storm hitting New Orleans. You aren’t aware of it?
Milton: No… how do you know about it?
Ellie: It’s hitting the entire south, pretty much. Kate’s staying in DC to avoid it all.
Kate: I haven’t made my mind up on that for sure. I don’t want my family down there suffering through it without me.
Milton: How much snow are we talking about?
Kate: Al Roker said at least a foot in New Orleans, up to eighteen inches in Charlotte.
Ellie: And when’s Al ever wrong?
Milton: Not to disrespect Mr. Roker, but don’t meteorologists famously gut it wrong sometimes? Not blaming them, just saying… they’re not infallible.
Ellie: Everyone else is reporting the same thing. It seems real.
Milton: I guess the prospect of a major winter storm hitting New Orleans is just hard to grasp. That’s not something we usually have to deal with.
Ellie: And that’s what’s going to make it even worse for you guys! In the north, we’re trained for it. Massachusetts cleans up quickly, because it’s a common occurrence.
Milton: We’ve had snow before.
Ellie: When?
Milton: Uh… couple years ago?
Ellie: Yeah, it’s gonna be bad. Good luck, guys.
Milton: Are you really thinking of staying in DC this weekend, Kate?
Kate: I don’t want to put myself in harm’s way by going down there, and I hate snow…
Milton: DC is famously snowy!
Ellie: Not this time, though! We’ll only get an inch here.
Milton: Does it not seem like dereliction of duty to stay out of the state when a massive snowstorm is about to hit?
Kate: It does, to a point. I’m not the governor, though. There’s nothing that I can do to manage the storm. I’ll just be stuck in my house watching it pile up like anyone else.
Milton: I guess that’s a fair point. Maybe I’ll stay, too. When is it hitting, again?
Ellie: Sunday. I can’t believe you didn’t hear about it yet.
Milton: I haven’t had time to watch the news, and I haven’t been in New Orleans all week, so it’s not like I’d hear about it on the ground.
Ellie: I’m sure you and Kate will have a lot of fun hanging out this weekend.
Kate: Are you not staying?
Ellie: Why would I stay? It’s going to be fine in Massachusetts.
Mildred: Wow, you’re really not attached at the hip? Who knew?
Kate: It’s a blindside for me, too.
Milton: You two are like the Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande of our government. Codependent in a way that’s fun and mostly nice, but also gets people talking.
Kate: I take that as a compliment.
Milton: I’m glad.
Later that day…
Moira: Honey, we’re running late.
Milton: I want to run something any you really quickly.
Moira: Can we do it in the car?
Milton: No, I don’t know iff I want to go home this weekend.
Moira: Excuse me?
Milton: There’s supposed to be a blizzard back home. Why fly into that? We can’t do anything about it.
Moira: I’m on the city government. You’re the state’s senator. We sure are expected to be there.
Milton: I didn’t think about that.
Moira: Correct, you didn’t think. Come on, get in the car. Bags are packed.
Milton: You could fly home without me, no? We’re able to spent time apart every now and again.
Moira: Excuse me?
Milton: I’m just saying…
Moira: You’re giving me a headache.
Milton: A plane ride won’t help that.
Moira: I’m going, you can stay.
Milton: Don’t get upset. You just know how much I hate the snow!
Moira: If only everyone had the chance to stay thousands of miles away from it like you do.
Milton: You don’t have to go, either!
Moira: Just stop. This is embarrassing enough as it is.
Meanwhile, in New Orleans…
Patty Lynn: I can’t believe this snow they’re calling for! We just got home yesterday and now it’s gonna snow here, too? We just escaped it!
Kathleen: And we were stuck in Colorado for another three days because of snow there. Jack Frost really doesn’t want to give us a break this year.
Patty Lynn: At least we could ski in Colorado.
Kathleen: You were surprisingly good at it! I was shocked!
Patty Lynn: No need to be surprised. I’m very gifted at the things I set my mind to.
Kathleen: Is that why you were first out on Bake Your Heart Out?
Patty Lynn: My mind was other places.
Kathleen: Sure.
Patty Lynn: It was!
Kathleen: Was it also other places when we were playing shuffleboard at the resort?
Patty Lynn: I was robbed and you know it! But actually, my mind is other places now. I’m worried for Marietta.
Kathleen: Why, what’s with her?
Patty Lynn: She has to deal with the fallout from this storm. Anything that goes wrong, she’s getting blamed for. And we’ve never had this much snow ever before, so things will go wrong.
Kathleen: Seems to me that you don’t have enough confidence in your wonderfully-gifted daughter.
Patty Lynn: She’s a great politician and she has a brilliant mind, but she’s not a miracle worker. She’s not God. What happens with this snow is out of her control.
Kathleen: It’s all going to be okay. She got us through worse storms than this.
Patty Lynn: There’s never been a worse snowstorm than this!
Kathleen: I meant hurricanes…
Patty Lynn: Oh! Yeah, she’s done well with those. This is harder to prepare for, though. Does this city even have enough rock salt to prepare for this?
Kathleen: You’d have to ask her.
Patty Lynn: Besides, if the storm is bad enough, I won’t get to see her! We were just gone for over two weeks, I’d like to be able to see my daughter!
Kathleen: Good thing we have FaceTime!
Patty Lynn: #What if we lose power? I can’t waste my phone battery on long FaceTime calls!
Kathleen: Just make sure your phone is charged.
Patty Lynn: It’s not enough!
Kathleen: No one knows how bad this storm will be, or how it will affect us. There’s no sense worrying about it. Let’s just make sure we’re stocked up and prepared for whatever hits. Act like it’s any other storm, just with some extra blankets.
Patty Lynn: I guess.
Kathleen: It’s all we can do. So let’s do that and stop worrying. I think it might even be nice to see this city covered in snow. It’s a very rare site.
Patty Lynn: For good reason! It isn’t natural!
At Marietta’s office…
Amy: I don’t mean to be a stick in the mud, or the ruiner of fun, but what plans do we have in place for this winter storm?
Marietta: I don’t even want to think about storms! I was the laughingstock of the country after I spoke out about the hurricane that was supposed to be coming late last year, and then it was nothing but a light breeze. I’m not doing that again.
Amy: So that feels like a recipe for disaster, actually.
Henrietta: The governor has declared a state of emergency, so we have access to aid. We have road treatments planned for tomorrow night, we’ve warned residents to prepare for the possibility of being snowed in for a few days… we’re all ready to go.
Marietta: You did that without my permission?
Henrietta: We’re the government, people sort of reach out to us for guidance on this. I gave guidance. It’s in my purview.
Marietta: That snow better fall. I’m not about to be the mayor who cried wolf!
Tammy: I don’t think anyone will knock you for taking normal precautions to prepare for a snow storm. The media is saying it’ll be the storm of the century, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Marietta: I’d just rather not be the face of it this time. I’ll address everyone if it actually comes, but I won’t be doing a speech making a big deal about it before hand. That would hurt more than it could possibly help.
Tammy: Do you really not think the storm is coming? Are you becoming a weather conspiracist?
Amy: Yeah, do you think the meteorologists are just out to get you?
Marietta: I learned the hard way that going too far with weather-related orders before you know the scope of the disaster can lead to even worse disaster. It damaged the trust the city had in me.
Amy: What trust?
Marietta: I know you’re joking, but considering you think coasting off my legacy will be enough to get you elected mayo, you’re not the one to make it.
Tammy: Ouch! Burn!
Henrietta: Anyway, if there’s no other storm-related responsibilities I have to tend to, I’m going to head out. I have to get some shopping done before we all get snowed in.
Marietta: Or not!
Henrietta: It’s happening. I feel it.
Marietta: Are you a witch now?
Henrietta: No, I’ve just got a sense.
Two days later…
Marietta: Well, Henrietta’s sense was right.
Tammy: I knew it was going to snow.
Amy: And that’s why you insisted we all stay at city hall.
Marietta: I don’t think it’s fair that Henrietta gets to stay home just because she has a young child.
Tammy: I had to make an exception for her. I have a heart.
Marietta: Well, the floor is very comfortable, at least.
Amy: You could’ve slept in your chair.
Marietta: I can’t sleep upright.
Amy: It’s surely better than the floor.
Marietta: Not so!
Marietta’s phone rings.
Marietta: Oh, someone’s calling.
Tammy: Hurry up, this is delaying me from being able to walk in a winter wonderland.
Marietta: You’re free to go romp outside in your pajamas.
Tammy: Thank you!
Amy: That’s gonna end up on the news.
Marietta picks up her phone.
Marietta: Hello!
Maria: Hi, how are you doing? Staying warm?
Marietta: Oh, I’m fine. Camping at the mayor’s office with Amy and Tammy, as you do in a once-in-a-lifetime snow storm in a city that shuts down if we get half an inch of snow, let alone half a foot and counting.
Maria: Well, I just wanted to let you know that my office has already gotten a lot off complaints about downed trees and power outages. This city just isn’t built for this sort of thing, and it’s jut going to get worse. There’s at least ten more hours of snowfall from what they’ve said.
Marietta: I appreciate the warning, Maria. We’re going to get crews out there to clean everything up as soon as it’s safe, and I’ll make sure the power company is aware of the outages, too.
Maria: I also, uh… Milton’s made the news.
Marietta: Yeah, he’s been suspiciously quiet, now that you mention it.
Maria: Well, he and Kate Hagelin stayed in DC while their states are being pelted in snow. So just be prepared for questions about that if you speak with the press. They’re being dragged through the mud for it pretty hard.
Marietta: Well, I get it. It’s quite convenient to be in the safety of DC when we’re a frozen hellhole. Now that’s a sentence I never expected to say as a resident of New Orleans and now the North Pole.
Maria: You think this might get people from our state to finally buy that climate change is real?
Marietta: No, they’ll probably just say that we control the weather somehow. Or that China did it.
Maria: Well, I’ll let you go and take care off the city. I know there’s a lot to manage right now.
Marietta: You guys stay safe! Give my love to Kyle and the kids!
Maria: I think he’s out, either shoveling or crying. He’s not built for this, either.
Marietta: My god, I forgot about shoveling. My mom has to be freaking out. Hopefully she has a youthful neighbor that’s willing to help. I’d really rather she not go outside and have a stroke trying to shovel a pile off snow that’s half as tall as she is and ten times her weight.
Meanwhile, at Patty Lynn’s house…
Patty Lynn: God, this is the life!
Kathleen: You’re enjoying it?
Patty Lynn: You told me to! I have no responsibilities, because I can’t leave the house anyway. I can just cozy up and watch TV and be in total amazement as the snow alls outside my window. I feel like a kid again!
Kathleen: You truly do have a child-like demeanor. It’s like watching a puppy see snow for the first time.
Patty Lynn: I never realized how beautiful it was!
Kathleen: Probably because we only ever get about an inch and it’s usually disgusting.
Patty Lynn: I wish Martin were here to see this. He’d love it!
The power shuts off.
Kathleen: Well, I’m not sure he’d love that…
What did you think of this episode of Marietta? Let us know in the comments and make sure to read a new episode next week!
