More Titles ~ 3

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Chapter Three

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Anna Margaret briefly read over the list and then carried it into the coffee room with Alex in his bouncer. He was not going to get coffee, or even milk, only company and people to watch.

There were more people than usual interested in the list of questions. The room was packed. Even the ones whose specialty lay in other fields were now suddenly thirsty and eager for a break. “I’m glad I have such an enormous thinktank to consult when we get to the last question,” she commented, glancing at the assembled staff members. “Haven’t you given them a printout, Franky?”

“Ah, good idea,” said Franky. He ran off with his sheet while people got themselves a cup of coffee or tea and a seat.

Franky returned, handed out a few sheets so people could read along and opened his notebook. His assistant had a laptop. “First question. Is it really true that the Prime Minister’s and Prince Frederick’s relationship began after only 35 hours of knowing each other?”

All eyes were on her now. And these people all knew many answers, she expected, because she worked with them and they saw Frederick a lot. They would simply be interested in how she handled such questions. That would be a lot more interesting to them than the actual answer. But if they were also sympathetic at stupid questions, she would not mind their interest much.

“Can you collate all answers to similar questions into something unrevealing and unspecific?” Anna Margaret asked. “Because I’m pretty sure I already went over this point in the interview. I already said I did know him, but not personally.”

“That’s our job. Question two. Skip?”

“Skip,” she agreed. “Three as well. That’s all more of the same.”

“Question four. Does the Prime Minister think the rapid start of their relationship affected their public image?”

“Yes.”

“Five. How did the Prime Minister handle the intense media scrutiny that followed the announcement of the 35-hour courtship?”

“Coffee,” she said and there was laughter. “But I’m sure you could describe this meeting more respectfully. I’ve not actually noticed any intense media scrutiny. Nobody bothered me on my way to work or anything.”

“Six. Did the couple face scepticism or pressure from political or royal circles due to the speed of their relationship?”

“Skip. The time to ask that was a year ago.”

“Seven. Was the relationship actually planned or spontaneous?”

“How do you plan something like that?”

“Eight. Are there any details about how those first 35 hours were spent?”

“Officially, no. Unofficially, yes. And 35 was a random number. I don’t know what sort of details they’re after anyway. A timeline?”

“Probably placing a kiss at 32 hours and 17 minutes,” someone suggested.

“You were there?” she cried, feigning horror. They laughed again.

“Nine. Does the Prime Minister regret revealing the 35-hour detail in the interview?”

“Yes and no. Yes, because people are now taking this literally. No, because it was meant to indicate that we hadn’t had a secret relationship for months. But I don’t think you need to go into detail on this one.”

“I’m taking ten and eleven at the same time,” said Franky. “Because it’s really more of the same. Can you confirm if the 35 hours includes all the time on Zoom calls or just in-person meetings? Was the 35 hours counting sleep? Because how else could they get to know each other so fast?”

“How am I supposed to interpret that? Is someone really wondering if we stayed awake for exactly 35 hours?”

“Skip,” said Franky. “I thought it was just me. I don’t think we want to try and decipher that. Twelve. Are you saying the Prime Minister decided to marry Frederick after only 35 hours? Isn’t that irresponsible?”

“No, that’s not what she was saying.”

“Thirteen and fifteen. I should have put them together. Sorry about that. If their relationship was built so fast, how do we know it’s real and not a PR stunt? Is 35 hours a new political strategy—rush marriage to secure alliances?”

“I don’t play such games. Besides, we’ve been married for...I forgot how many months. If it was a PR stunt you’re a bit late to the party. And the wedding was private. Why do they let interns write their questions for them?”

“Fourteen. Was the 35 hours before or after Frederick abdicated? Could it be a timeline mix-up?”

“It’s so easy to mix up days if you’re counting hours, I agree.”

“And now we’ve got the top question of the day,” Franky announced.

“You left something off the list?” Anna Margaret asked suspiciously. “Is this why everyone is here?” She looked around and saw some snickering.

Franky grinned. “I’m going to display it onto the wall with the projector. The question is: is the following a realistic depiction of how it happened? And they added this conversation on X:”

@LogicLover87:
Anyone else wondering how SHE got to a relationship in 35 hours? Don't get me wrong, I love her way of talking, but a RELATIONSHIP?

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@LogicLover87:
Considering that he always came across and stiff and unemotional and for months they had NO personal conversation, I don't think he talks. He only gives off silent non-creepy vibes. The PM’s bar for passion is really low.

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@RoboRomance
King: I want to abdicate
PM: is that logical?
King: yes, we're going to be in a relationship
PM: is that logical?
King: yes, we're 37.
PM: you're so logical.
King: I hope you don’t want passion.
PM: I only want logic.
PM: Oops, baby.

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@RoboRomance
Prince: We’re at the station.
PM: You need platform 5.
Prince: Do we say goodbye?
PM: If you want.
Prince: Goodbye.
PM: Goodbye.
Prince: Do we kiss?
PM: At the busiest place in town? Hell, no.
Prince: goes to sit on suitcase unnoticed.
PM: goes to somewhere else unnoticed.

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The room died. And then they all looked at Anna Margaret, not quite sure how she was taking it.

She took it well. Except for nearly choking on her coffee, of which she had only started to take a sip to delay a possible reaction. That had been a bad idea. It was even worse than she had expected.

“But how do we react to it?” said Franky. “Or don’t we?”

“We never react to something like that. You just –“ She gestured around the room. He had done this on purpose.

“Sorry.”

“I’d never say ‘hell, no’. And, you know, there’s an information booth you can go behind at the bus station. But other than that, can we track their IP address? I’m fairly sure that’s the secret account of someone who knows me.”

“Are you saying this is how it happened?” Franky was a bit incredulous, as if he had suspected, but not trusted that it was near the truth

She fanned herself with her hands. “It’s almost right,” she choked out.

“The Prime Minister thought it a very amusing depiction of events,” said Franky out loud, as he penned something down.

“How is it not creepy to be told you’re going to be in a relationship?’ asked one of the younger female staff members.

“Because there’s a few hours between every -- fictional -- line. And Franky, don’t,” said Anna Margaret, just in case he was going to add that. It would only make people ask what happened during those hours. “The train station was the least accurate, but I can see how it follows from the first segment if you disregard any personal development in between. There was even personal development between the lines of the first segment,” she said for the benefit of the girl who still did not look convinced. “Trust me, it was not creepy.”

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Official Comment from the Prime Minister’s Office: The Prime Minister and her office found the depiction highly amusing. They appreciated the effort at minimalist romantic fiction. Also, the Prime Minister appreciates people having actually looked at that station photo.

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Anna Margaret was glad there was some actual work to do, too. Catching up on reading could become a little monotonous if it was all there was to do. But today she could go over the planning of the first visit abroad since having Alex and she thought that a little exciting. Louis, the Vice Prime Minister, had handled all necessary visits abroad in the meantime, but in September she wanted to take care of those herself again.

Alex would still need to come, she expected, which meant that Frederick would have to come too. It was best to plan for that in advance, rather than having to add them as extras a few days before. It was difficult to predict if Alex was still going to be nursing in almost two months. She had asked him, but he had laughed at the question. Ever since he had discovered laughing, he would do it a lot.

The man in charge of arranging the logistics of the visit sneezed – Alex laughed uncontrollably in his bouncer.

It was going to be increasingly impossible to have him attend meetings if he interfered in this manner, she realised, but it was also going to be increasingly possible to leave him with someone else. And so it would all sort itself out.

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In the afternoon she had to be at their own rowing course. Some furniture was going to be delivered and Frederick had known he would not be there. She knew where it would have to be taken – into a room on the first floor – but not who was going to assemble it. Frederick had said he would look into that later. He had apparently done one desk downstairs himself and said it had not been too difficult, but given that everything else was still in cardboard it had probably taken too much time.

She had come an hour before the delivery time and taken a good look around. The last time she had been here was three weeks ago and things had started to take more shape since then.

Outside, workmen were still busy with finishing touches like the paths around the course, but while they were on a summer break others were putting up a fence all around it. Frederick wanted a fence for safety and because it was private property. Installing it would take a long time, however. On one side it stretched for a few hundred metres, but she could not see how far.

Inside the main building, only the necessary things were finished. The toilet had toilet paper and there was a functioning coffee machine. And a desk and a desk chair, in which she sat down. She had a special keyring that opened all doors, but she left the front door open as she waited for the delivery and wondered who she could get to assemble the furniture.

There was a risk in letting her handle this delivery, she knew and she hoped Frederick did as well. But he had asked her to do it and not someone else, so he would know she would think ahead. She did not want to bother him with these things while he had to prepare himself for his races, so she doubted – and sat exploring possibilities anyway. Students in need of money?

When the delivery came, it was indeed more boxes. The two men who delivered them carried them upstairs into the large space that overlooked the water on one side. As she had expected, they were not here to put everything together. They simply piled everything up and left again.

But at least the chairs were ready to use. Anna Margaret placed them in circles or in a row by the windows so the room looked inhabited. It was silly, because she had no idea who would come here before everything was ready. She took a photo and sent it to Frederick.