The Third Option - Part 2
This is the second part of my new novel titled "The Third Option" which is expected to be released in May, 2018.
Eleven months earlier…
Henry Shaw entered the kitchen of his middle class home in southwestern Ontario dragging his carry-on bag behind him. He was exhausted, as his regular business trips to New York City were beginning to take a toll on his fifty-six year old body. The “Freedom 55” plan for him and his wife had called for them to be retired and living the good life by now, but her unexpected death due to cancer over eight years earlier had changed everything.
Henry had adapted, and adapted quite well. He had raised two sons and they were now launched out into the real world – sort of.
Robert, his oldest son, was twenty-four and would be graduating from the University of Waterloo next spring. Henry thought back to his own graduation from the same university many years earlier. It had led to a successful career in information technology and he was now the IT Manager for one of Canada’s largest law firms, a firm that was opening a new office in New York.
It wasn’t the firm’s first expansion into the U.S. They had merged with a Chicago-based firm a few years ago that had proven quite successful. Successful in two ways. One was that the firm had greatly expanded their practice in international law. And two, from a personal perspective, it had resulted in Henry starting a relationship with Laura Walsh, an investigative journalist with the Chicago Tribune.
Henry could hear the TV on in the living room.
“Hey, Dad,” his youngest son yelled. “You’re not going to believe what’s happening.”
Henry poked his head out of the kitchen and saw his son’s eyes glued to the television. David was now twenty-one years old and had started his first term at Wilfrid Laurier University the previous year. He had dropped out, but he had a good excuse for doing so. He’d been shot, but that was a whole other story.
“What’s going on?” Henry asked.
David pointed to the TV screen. “You’re not going to believe who’s going to win the election.”
Henry walked into the living room to see for himself. The polls hadn’t closed before his flight from New York had taken off, but most people on the flight had assumed the U.S. was about to elect their first female president.
“How could they be so stupid?” David asked. “It was like the guy was trying to lose the election. Every day he’d say something even more stupid and outlandish than the day before, but his popularity just kept going up.”
Henry didn’t understand it either. At the start of the campaign, everyone was following the campaign because it was like watching the Gong Show. What would he say or do next?
But this wasn’t funny anymore. The guy was about to become the President of the United States.
“I guess a lot of people were voting against the political status-quo,” Henry said.
David looked at him in disbelief.
“Look, I didn’t say I agree with them,” Henry continued. “I think some people felt like they were being forced to pick between two bad choices and they chose the lesser of two evils. Or they didn’t vote at all.”
“Then why didn’t someone else step forward to run?”
“The U.S. is basically a two-party country,” Henry said. “There are really only two options.”
“That’s stupid. There should always be a third option. Here, if we don’t like what the Conservatives or the Liberals are proposing, we can vote for the NDP, or even the Green Party.”
“Canada’s quite a bit different than the U.S.,” Henry said. “They really only have the Republicans or the Democrats to choose from. They make it very difficult for an independent.”
“But a lot of the Republicans didn’t really want him as president either.”
“Yeah, but they probably just held their noses and voted for him anyway. They’d rather have an incompetent Republican than a Democrat in the White House.”
David muted the television because he couldn’t stand to hear any more. “The whole system is f**ked,” he whispered to himself. “I’m going to bed.” He trudged down the hallway to his room.
Henry tried to offer some encouragement. “I’m sure it won’t be as bad as you think.” But even he didn’t believe it.
Eleven months earlier…
Henry Shaw entered the kitchen of his middle class home in southwestern Ontario dragging his carry-on bag behind him. He was exhausted, as his regular business trips to New York City were beginning to take a toll on his fifty-six year old body. The “Freedom 55” plan for him and his wife had called for them to be retired and living the good life by now, but her unexpected death due to cancer over eight years earlier had changed everything.
Henry had adapted, and adapted quite well. He had raised two sons and they were now launched out into the real world – sort of.
Robert, his oldest son, was twenty-four and would be graduating from the University of Waterloo next spring. Henry thought back to his own graduation from the same university many years earlier. It had led to a successful career in information technology and he was now the IT Manager for one of Canada’s largest law firms, a firm that was opening a new office in New York.
It wasn’t the firm’s first expansion into the U.S. They had merged with a Chicago-based firm a few years ago that had proven quite successful. Successful in two ways. One was that the firm had greatly expanded their practice in international law. And two, from a personal perspective, it had resulted in Henry starting a relationship with Laura Walsh, an investigative journalist with the Chicago Tribune.
Henry could hear the TV on in the living room.
“Hey, Dad,” his youngest son yelled. “You’re not going to believe what’s happening.”
Henry poked his head out of the kitchen and saw his son’s eyes glued to the television. David was now twenty-one years old and had started his first term at Wilfrid Laurier University the previous year. He had dropped out, but he had a good excuse for doing so. He’d been shot, but that was a whole other story.
“What’s going on?” Henry asked.
David pointed to the TV screen. “You’re not going to believe who’s going to win the election.”
Henry walked into the living room to see for himself. The polls hadn’t closed before his flight from New York had taken off, but most people on the flight had assumed the U.S. was about to elect their first female president.
“How could they be so stupid?” David asked. “It was like the guy was trying to lose the election. Every day he’d say something even more stupid and outlandish than the day before, but his popularity just kept going up.”
Henry didn’t understand it either. At the start of the campaign, everyone was following the campaign because it was like watching the Gong Show. What would he say or do next?
But this wasn’t funny anymore. The guy was about to become the President of the United States.
“I guess a lot of people were voting against the political status-quo,” Henry said.
David looked at him in disbelief.
“Look, I didn’t say I agree with them,” Henry continued. “I think some people felt like they were being forced to pick between two bad choices and they chose the lesser of two evils. Or they didn’t vote at all.”
“Then why didn’t someone else step forward to run?”
“The U.S. is basically a two-party country,” Henry said. “There are really only two options.”
“That’s stupid. There should always be a third option. Here, if we don’t like what the Conservatives or the Liberals are proposing, we can vote for the NDP, or even the Green Party.”
“Canada’s quite a bit different than the U.S.,” Henry said. “They really only have the Republicans or the Democrats to choose from. They make it very difficult for an independent.”
“But a lot of the Republicans didn’t really want him as president either.”
“Yeah, but they probably just held their noses and voted for him anyway. They’d rather have an incompetent Republican than a Democrat in the White House.”
David muted the television because he couldn’t stand to hear any more. “The whole system is f**ked,” he whispered to himself. “I’m going to bed.” He trudged down the hallway to his room.
Henry tried to offer some encouragement. “I’m sure it won’t be as bad as you think.” But even he didn’t believe it.
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