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It was almost four-thirty that afternoon before Alfred followed England back to the National Mall. When they arrived, though, England was surprised to see that the crowd had thinned out considerably.
"Ah, my feet are killing me," Melissa sighed as she sat on Amy's cooler; a small, hard, plastic thing known as the "Box of Holding " for Amy's tendency to use it to store anything and everything. She took another sip of her tea and glanced around, waiting for the rest of her group to come back.
"You're packing up already?" Melissa looked up and was somewhat surprised to see England standing in front of her. "Mr. Kirkland! We didn't think you were coming back after you left earlier." Then she noticed Alfred. "And who is this?"
"This is my friend, Alfred Jones." Arthur replied, then asked. "Your Tea Party is done already?"
Melissa nodded. "Some people are going to stay later, but for most of us the party is over at five."
"What things end at five?" Amy asked, coming up behind Melissa and dropping a handful of signs to the ground.
"Oh, I was just telling Mr. Kirkland that we're all done for today." Melissa replied.
Amy glanced at the Brit. "Oh, hey. We didn't think you were coming back."
"So I hear." Arthur replied.
"I'll be right back." Amy said. "I have to go pick up some flags." She headed off, back in the direction she'd come from.
"Do you have anymore tea?" Another voice asked, and Melissa, Alfred and Arthur all glanced in the direction the voice had come from. Melissa, however, recovered fastest and stood up, turning to open the cooler. "Of course we do, Derek." She tossed him a package of Styrofoam cups and a thermos.
He poured a tiny amount of liquid into one of the cup and quickly swallowed the sip. "Thanks. Just needed enough to wet my throat. Are we all ready to go?"
Melissa nodded. "As soon as Brian and Amy come back. They're getting our flags back."
"You mean they have the flags back." Another man said as he joined the group, trailed by Amy. Each of them were carrying both a Gadsden flag and an American flag. "All we have to do is pack these flags up and get outta here." he said as he detached the flags from their poles.
"You must be Brian." Arthur observed.
The man nodded. "And you must be Arthur Kirkland, and your friend is Alfred Jones. Amy told me about you." He finished, tossing the flag poles to the ground.
Amy handed the Gadsden flags to Melissa, who quickly folded them up and tucked them away in the cooler. Brian began folding the first American flag, only to stop a moment later when Alfred and Derek exclaimed, in unison, "You're folding it wrong!"
Then they glanced at each other. Alfred spoke first. "Alfred F. Jones, I work with the government."
"Derek Baunmun, I served in Iraq."
"Thank you." Alfred said as the two men shook hands. Derek nodded and glanced away.
"Here." Amy thrust the first flag at them. "I'd fold it, but I don't know which triangle fold is first.
Two neatly and properly folded American flags later, Amy and her group were ready to leave.
"Let's get this stuff back to our car." Brian said as he picked up the flagpoles. Amy grabbed her cooler, Melissa her serving tray and Derek grabbed the signs. "Then we can eat and get out of here." He turned to Arthur and Alfred. "Do you guys need a ride somewhere?"
Alfred shook his head. "Nah, I have an apartment in the city."
"Okay. You guys want to come us and get some food then?" Brian asked.
"Go where?" Amy pointed out. "We don't even know were we're going to eat."
"We'd love to join you," Alfred said. "And if you're looking for a restaurant, I can direct you to a good one."
"Thanks. We'll take you up on that."
For the most part, the group was quiet as they dropped their stuff off at the car and followed Alfred through the roads of D.C. on their way to the restaurant. Finally Amy spoke again. "it's too bad we couldn't stay longer. I would have liked to go through some of the memorials and stuff here."
"We didn't have time." Brian said. "And we have to get Melissa back to her plane before eight."
"Have you been to D.C. before?" Alfred asked.
Amy nodded. "A long time ago, when I was younger. I didn't think I would be coming back to this city to protest the government. But we have to do what we have to do."
There was a moment of silence, the Alfred spoke again. "Here we are."
The Tea Partiers glanced at the building. "The Firefly." Melissa read. Amy grinned. "Well, I like the name."
The group was able to get a table quickly, and after they placed their order, Arthur asked Melissa, "You're taking a plane tonight? Where are you going."
"Back to Maine." She replied. "I live with my husband and extended family. We run a restaurant up there."
"Is that where you got the maid outfit?" Derek asked.
Melissa shook her head. "No. I've always kind of liked those maid outfits they have in Japan, and I thought it would be cool to pair that with a serving tray that said, "Serving up a dose of liberty", so Fred told me to go ahead and get the outfit. The tray came from the restaurant, though."
"Fred?" Derek asked.
"Fredrick, my husband."
"So what made you join the Tea Party?" Alfred asked.
"Um..." She glanced away. "I voted for change and I got duped."
"You voted for this President?" Arthur asked incredulously.
Melissa nodded. "She's a recovering Democrat." Amy spoke up.
The waitress returned with their drinks, and after she had gone Arthur spoke again. "So what do the rest of you do?"
"Well, I work as a school librarian." Amy said.
"I used to be a computer technician, before I got permanently laid off." Brian said.
"And now that I'm back from the Middle East, I'm looking for a job." Derek said.
"Derek, Brian and I write for the same blog, which is how we know each other." Amy said.
"Do you think you've accomplished anything today?" Arthur asked.
Brian nodded. "Yep. we told Congress we remember what they've been doing." He fiddled with his wineglass a little, then pushed it away. "I can't drink. I'm the designated driver."
"But you can drink a toast or two, I hope," Derek said, turning the stem of his glass between calloused fingers.
"Of course." Brian picked up his glass. "What shall we drink too?"
"America, the greatest country ever. Let's get our country back!" Amy suggested.
"I'll drink to that," Melissa said as the group clinked their glasses together.
"I'd like to propose a toast to the Democrats." Brian said. "May their defeat this November be swift and sure."
"I'll drink to that." Alfred said.
They clinked their glasses together and drank, Arthur feeling awkward and wondering what the others were feelings.
Brian contemplated the wine left in his glass then set the glass down. "Okay. Now, no unkind words about Democrats until after we're done eating."
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The meal was enjoyed quickly, as Melissa had a plane to catch and the other Tea Partiers in the group had to get back home.
"You know, I was feeling a little down before I met you guys." Alfred confessed as they headed away from the restaurant. "But spending time with you guys has made me feel better. Thanks." He finished as he hugged Amy rather tightly.
"Air...!" Amy hissed. "Alfred, I can't breathe!"
"Sorry." He said as he let her go. "sometimes I forget my own strength."
"I'll say." Amy agreed wryly. "If you keep that up you'll definitely end up stimulating a few chiropractors."
"It was nice meeting you," Arthur said, and both he and Alfred waved as the Tea Partiers walked off. Then America turned to England. "I have some stuff to take care of in the city, so I'll meet you back at the apartment later, okay? Don't worry, I didn't lock the door."
"Um, okay..." England said as Alfred turned and headed off into the city, vanishing among the pedestrians a moment later. "I wonder where he's going," Arthur mused, then headed off to find a grocery store where he could get some tea.
America, on the other hand, headed through the capital until he came to a very specific monument, designed to look something like a Greek temple and was mostly empty of visitors now that it was was getting darker. He headed up the stairs and into the building; he didn't have to go very far to find the statue he wanted to see. Inscribed above the enormous seating figure were the words, "In this temple as in the hearts of the people for whom he saved the union the memory of Abraham Lincoln is enshrined forever."
Alfred sank down, his back against one of the pillars that held up the roof. "You know Abe, it's been really rough lately. Everyone thought that electing my new boss would make everything better, but it didn't. He made everything worse." Alfred drew his knees up to his chest and went on. "I feel so awful. Worse than I did in the Depression, even. Not as bad as the Civil War, though, not yet. But I'm afraid we'll go there again." He looked up at the statue's serene face. "I wish you were here Abe. You'd know what to do."
America wasn't going to be happy when he came home and found that his kitchen had been re-stocked with the supplies needed to make tea, but England decided that he would deal with that when the time came.
As he was putting the supplies away, he heard a knock on the door. Alfred would have certainly had a key to his own apartment, which left the interesting question of who could be knocking on the door.
Arthur yanked the door open to find a young man slightly shorter than England himself standing there. His skin was tan, his hair was black, and his gold eyes were glittering with excitement.
The kid extended a manila envelope towards the nation. "Hey Dad, I know you've been having a hard time lately, and I wanted to give you a heads-up because my boss just signed this new bill into law today and-" And then he realized something. "Hey! you're not my Dad!"
Arthur nodded, realizing as he did that the emblem on the kid's black shirt was a flag of some kind. "No, I'm not. I am the nation of England. And who, may I ask, are you?"
The kid grinned. "I'm Arizona, the 48th state."
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T.A.R.N.S.: Waha! I thought I would never get this thing done. Well, let's get some notes here. The Tea Party here is kind of a juxtaposition, because the last time there was a very large Tea party in D.C. it was over the healthcare bill. The Firefly is a real D.C. restaurant. You can see their website here.
Let's see, what else did I need to mention? Oh yes, in case you couldn't guess, Alfred went to the Lincoln Memorial. Well, now that AZ's here, things should start to get interesting. Please stay tuned!
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