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Gretchen and Carrie are talking backstage at a campaign event.
Gretchen: How is it looking lately?
Carrie: You mean the polling? Uh, pretty good. It’s still close. Pratt has a big name ID advantage over me. Even Jeanne and Hank do, although that’s not helping Hank.
Gretchen: Yeah, he’s pretty much a joke to everyone in the state. I almost feel bad for him.
Carrie: I don’t.
Gretchen: Oh, neither do I. I was just trying to be nice. That man made my life HELL for years! I was at risk of losing re-nomination in 2022 because he and Jeanne stopped me from getting anything done. But look at me now, beloved by all! This state’s gonna miss me, especially if they don’t elect you to replace me. Those other choices are… we just gotta get you elected.
Carrie: We’re hustling, believe me.
Gretchen: Speaking of which, are you coming to Carol’s big fundraiser tonight?
Carrie: Of course! I want to meet, uh… who’s gonna be there?
Gretchen: We’ve teased a Taylor Swift appearance. She will not be there, but hopefully that’s enough to get the rich teenage girls to force their parents to come to maybe get a FaceTime from her.
Carrie: So who is actually going to be there?
Gretchen: Uh… rich, boring people. We got Kenny G as entertainment. I don’t know if we have the money to pay him, but he’ll be here.
Carrie: I’ll bring my AirPods.
Gretchen: Good idea!
Carrie: You know, my internal polling is also showing Carol with the lead. Your endorsement plays a big part in that. Mine plays a part, too. I think she’s going to pull it off.
Gretchen: That’s good to know. I’d feel terrible if I urged her to run and it ended in failure. Of course, I’ve never experienced that, but I know many who did. My friend Marietta -
Carrie: You knew her? I donated to her presidential campaign!
Gretchen: I still think she could’ve won if she hadn’t dropped out. But, now living through the loss of a parent myself, I get why she didn’t want to stay in the race. I just wanted to hide away from the world when it happened for me. I certainly wouldn’t want to be traversing the nation, debating, cutting ads… I don’t even like doing any of that when I’m not grieving. But she would’ve been a great nominee.
Carrie: I know. But maybe you can run in the next election now! I don’t think your story is over!
Gretchen: I greatly admire the faith you have in me. I do not share it, but I find it sweet.
Carol: Are you sure you don’t want to run?
Gretchen: I sort of made a fool of myself the last time I was in the national spotlight. I think I’m good. I’m hanging it up after this year. I don’t know where I’m going from here, I really don’t have a single thing in mind, but these next few months are my last hurrah in politics. You and Carol will be my legacy.
Carrie: Stop, Gretchen. You’re going to get me emotional. I’m so honored to have you supporting me so strongly. You don’t have to be putting so much of your time into this.
Gretchen: Look at your opponents! Regardless of how little desire I have to remain involved in politics myself, I love my state. I don’t need it getting ruined by Jeanne Rivero. She’d tarnish my legacy, she’d stop any progress we’ve made. She’s corrupt.
Carrie: Tell me how you really feel about her!
Gretchen: I fear those thoughts aren’t legally allowed to be expressed aloud.
Carrie: It’s a free country.
Gretchen: Not that free!
Later that day, at home…
Anthony: Honey, your brother called. He said he wants to stop in tomorrow and drop off some vegetables from his garden.
Gretchen: Eddie gardens?
Anthony: I don’t know, he’s your brother.
Gretchen: I just never knew he gardened. I always did say he needed more hobbies. Glad he took my advice.
Anthony: So how was the rally?
Gretchen: It was great! There’s an energy in the room that you can just feel when a campaign has momentum. I’ve never been more confident that Carrie’s going to win, that Carol’s going win, and that they’ll be able to usher this state into a new era. I’m very excited.
Christina: You’re excited to leave office?
Gretchen: In a way. I do love my job, but I’m also ready for everything to be someone else’s problem, so long as I trust that person to handle the issues. And I trust Carrie, she’s a remarkably bright young mind. And Carol, obviously, has been my right-hand-woman for decades. They’re going to be a great duo.
Toby: Aren’t you afraid that Carol’s gonna get closer with Carrie than she is with you?
Gretchen: I can’t say that’s a worry I’ve had.
Christina: She knows she has Carol whipped.
Gretchen: I do! That’s my best friend, no one’s taking her from me!
Gretchen’s phone rings.
Christina: Maybe that’s Carol now! We’ve said her name enough, maybe her ears were ringing.
Gretchen: No, it’s Pratt. I don’t think I have the energy for this.
Anthony: You can just send her to voicemail.
Gretchen: She’ll keep calling. She’s like a stalker. I gotta pick up.
Anthony: Good luck!
Gretchen answers the phone.
Gretchen: What’s up, Pratt?
Samantha: Gretchen, I’m just calling to let you know that we lost my mom today. She loved you so much, so I know she’d want you to know before I share the news publicly.
Gretchen: Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry. You know I’m here for you, and I sadly have experience on the issue, so I can try to help you through it. But if you just want to be left alone, I get it. I wanted to be alone, too.
Samantha: You’re a good friend. I know things have been weird since -
Gretchen: None of that matters. I have such love for you, I’m sending you all my best wishes. I’m gonna try to stop by maybe tomorrow with some food for you. The last thing I wanted to do when I was grieving was to cook. I can drop it on the porch if you want to be left alone, or I can stop in and we can just chat for a while. Whatever you want.
Samantha: Could you please, if you don’t mind, write up a press release announcing the news? I just want some official explanation for my impending absence, since I’m going to take a bit of time for myself.
Gretchen: That would be no problem. I’ll get Esther on it. And I’ll have the flags lowered, too. She was a dedicated public servant in her time. I had so much respect for her. She was a trailblazer, and again, I’m so sorry for your loss. Take all the time you need.
Samantha: Thank you, Gretchen. And, I don’t know when it’ll be yet, but you know you’re invited to the funeral.
Gretchen: I’ll be there.
Samantha: See you tomorrow.
Gretchen: See you then.
Gretchen hangs up.
Anthony: That didn’t seem like a happy call.
Gretchen: It was not.
Christina: Did her -
Gretchen: Did her mom die? Yeah, she did. I feel terrible for her. I know I’m not backing her, but this is the best chance she’s had to become governor, and now this has been thrown into it. How can you possibly devote your attention to a campaign right after your mom dies? It’s awful.
Anthony: Do you want me to order flowers?
Gretchen: That’d be nice. Thank you, First Lady.
Anthony: Always happy to help!
The next day…
Gretchen: Esther, I got sad news for you to share.
Esther: I didn’t follow that.
Gretchen: I have sad news that I’m going to need you to report in a press release.
Esther: Much clearer, thank you.
Gretchen: Samantha Pratt’s mother has died. She’ll be taking a leave of absence for now. I’m ordering flags to half staff until interment. She was a former state representative, the first woman to serve Bristol County in the legislature.
Sarita: Oh, I feel terrible for Samantha! I know it’s not the first thing on her mind, but this can’t be good for her campaign.
Gretchen: I know. I was just talking to Carrie last night about Marietta Landfield dropping out of the race because her dad died. I said I would’ve done the same thing. I couldn’t focus on politics when my mom died, that’s for sure.
Sarita: She may not be my choice for governor, but she didn’t deserve to have to deal with this. She is, despite her flaws, a good person.
Gretchen: I agree. She’s been a good friend, and in this second term, a loyal ally. I definitely want to be here to support her. She’s really hurting, and I can’t blame her.
Later that day…
Carrie: Gretchen! I just saw the news!
Gretchen: Isn’t it awful? Wilma was such a lovely woman, always so supportive of me and other women in Rhode Island politics.
Carrie: I should send a card. Would that be awkward?
Gretchen: No, I think it’d be sweet. You’re only rivals in a primary election, you can still be supportive of one another as people. That’s leadership.
Carrie: I have to say, I feel really guilty.
Gretchen: Why? Did you do something here? Am I going to have to call the police?
Carrie: No! It’s just… my first thought when I heard the news was that this could help Samantha’s campaign. People hear her mom died, maybe she mentions she’s running to honor her… it’s a close race, it’ll only take a small sympathy vote to sway it her way.
Carrie: That’s not even worth considering right now.
Sarita: I do think it might be best if you take your anti-Pratt ads off the air for now, though. It just looks insensitive to kick her while she’s down.
Carrie: That’s a good idea! Gretchen, she’s quite smart.
Gretchen: Apparently not smart enough to help me find a new assistant, though.
Sarita: I’m just very busy!
Gretchen: I’ve yet to see proof of that claim.
Sarita: What a nasty thing to say.
Esther: It’s true, though!
Sarita: Bud out, Esther!
Carrie: So I’m not an awful person for what I said about the sympathy vote?
Gretchen: Looks, that’s for God to decide.
Carrie: Oh no, I’ve lost your respect.
Gretchen: No! It’s natural to think of how an event will impact us personally when we hear about it. We’re all inherently self-interested.
Carrie: You’re so philosophical.
Gretchen: All ten people who watch my State of the State addresses agree!
Later that day, at Samantha’s house…
Gretchen: Pratt! It’s me… the governor.
Samantha: Door’s open, come on in!
Gretchen: How ya doing, Pratt?
Samantha: I’m managing. I think I’ve got most of the crying out of my system. Trust me, there was a lot of it.
Gretchen: I can tell from the… well, the eyes.
Samantha: Are they that and?
Gretchen: They are not good.
Samantha: One of many reasons I don’t want to be seen in public. The media are vultures, I know I’ll be in the news if I go outside like this.
Gretchen: I felt the same way!
Samantha: I’m just really glad I have you. I don’t have many friends.
Gretchen: That can’t be true.
Samantha: No, it very much is.
Gretchen: I’m glad to be here for you.
Samantha: You show up for me when you need to. It’s not about politics, or work, or anything. It hasn’t always been the best relationship, but we’re here for each other.
Gretchen: We’re like sisters in that way. Speaking of which, my sister wanted me to give you her best wishes, as did my entire family, and also Carol.
Samantha: I appreciate the love from them, too. God, I just feel kind of alone now. Not this very second now, just… now that she’s gone. My mom was the one person I could talk to about anything, that I knew I could call and she wouldn’t judge me.
Gretchen: Yeah, I had a… a different relationship with my mom. A very different relationship. But she loved me, and I miss her. And I know you will miss your mom forever, as I do with mine. The pain never leaves, and I wish I could tell you otherwise. But eventually, it does sink in for you that the crying and the mourning and the loneliness are not feeling they’d want you to experience. The best way to honor their memory is to eventually move on. Not that I’m saying you have to forget her entirely, you surely should not. But don’t let it consume you. I’m not treeing to push you into anything, and you probably don’t want to think about it. But I did a lot of thinking about the topic, and I hope you keep pushing to become governor. She’d want you to stay vigilant!
Samantha: I really haven’t thought about it aside from canceling a few campaign events for this week. I’m still in it to win it, but I just don’t know how I can show my face right now in public. I’m not ready.
Gretchen: I get it. I’m just glad you’re not throwing in the towel. I know that if there’s one thing Wilma Pratt would hate, it’s you quitting on her behalf.
Samantha: She was a fighter, I’m going to fight for her.
Gretchen: I should put this in the fridge, I don’t want it to spoil. It’s a casserole.
Samantha: What kind of casserole?
Gretchen: Something with chicken. I don’t know, Anthony cooked it. The ice cream was my contribution. Ice cream helps everything.
What did you think of this episode of Raymond Island? Let us know in the comments and make sure to read a new Raymond Island next Sunday!
