"Back then, this is years ago," "I couldn't afford secrets." "I just had chores." "As a child growing up, we had been rich." "And then, well, we weren't." "And like most people during the Depression," "I now lived each day as it came no longer expecting anything." "Waiting." "For nothing." "And then..." "Hello?" "My dear," "I'm afraid I must presume on your good nature." "What?" "Shhh..." "Quiet!" "Sinus?" "Now I would like you to come over, and I shall expect you this afternoon." "Yes..." "Thank you so much." "Did someone die?" "I won't be long." "Good morning, Miss Suckley." "I wasn't the first relative his mother called that day." "Maybe not even the tenth." "But I was around." "His mother said he needed someone to take his mind off his work." "Why she thought I could do that, I had no idea." "I suppose he's related to half of everybody up here?" "We're fifth or sixth cousins." "It depends on how you count." "Cigarette?" "No, no, I don't." "I figured I'd spend the afternoon there and after having thoroughly bored him to death go back to my quiet life taking care of my aunt." "But that's not what happened." "He's not been feeling well." "Sinuses." "It seems to happen every time, the second he comes home." "Mr. President?" "Ah!" "Daisy?" "What a rare treat." "I hope my mother didn't force this on you." "She said everyone else was away." "Did she?" "She shouldn't have said that." "How nice to see you." "How long has it been?" "Oh, years." "At the Dows' wedding, sir, in Rhinebeck." "Oh, were you there?" "Where would you like me to sit?" "There's tea." "I think there's still tea." "Will you..." "I can do this because my mother is not here." "She doesn't believe in sinus medicine." "Do you collect stamps, Daisy?" "I don't." "Come and take a look at these." "Oh, shall I..." "I suppose you've pretty much met all of these?" "Not all of them." "Not yet." "Jerry, just..." "Excuse me, I should have knocked." "Did I actually write this?" "My cross, Daisy, is that I am too nice." "Hmm?" "But we do need the Senator's vote, don't we?" "Why can't politicians just be honest?" "My cousin." "Thank you." "Those are from Africa." "They say that is the highest waterfall in the world." "Would you like me to go?" "No." "Please." "I wouldn't." "This one's pretty." "I'd like to go there." "Where is that?" "To be honest, I'd like to go just about anywhere." "In Europe there would certainly be another war." "One we would be dragged into whether we liked it or not." "Here at home, the country was still in a depression." "People out of work." "Hungry." "Needing help." "The President spent an awful lot of time that spring in Hyde Park on Hudson." "Fellas, would one of you please tell Mother that this is radio?" "He said I helped him forget the weight of the world." " That's 30 seconds..." " Look at me." "Right, quiet, quiet down, everybody." "Thank you." "I think that means you, Mother." "His mother said he'd run the whole country from here if he could." "But he couldn't." "Not with how things were." "Everyone knew someone who couldn't find a job." "Everyone was scared." "...protect the economic welfare of all the people in all groups." "I said that if private enterprise could not provide jobs this spring," "government would take up the slack." "We have all learnt the lesson that government cannot afford to wait until it has lost the power to act." "Therefore I have sent a message of far-reaching importance to the Congress..." "Everyone was looking to him." "They all wanted something from him." "The local labor union, the Hyde Park Chamber of Commerce, the German-American Friendship Band." "And all he wanted was to relax." "Each time he came home he'd telephone and ask," ""Daisy, where would you like to go today?"" "And I would always answer," ""Anywhere."" "His wife, he said, didn't like to take drives." "I learned the names of birds and trees I'd seen my whole life." "We drove along country roads, up hills, through woods, through fields." "We drove down roads I never knew existed." "Roads, later, I could never find on my own." "He'd had the car built so it could be driven with just the hands." "In some ways it's smoother than a regular car." "Would you like to drive?" "No." "I believe I helped him forget the world." "Let me help." "As if we'd just run away." "And then, one day..." "Where's the police car going?" "Oh, they don't always follow." "Sometimes they have to go and catch a crook or something, I suppose." "We've never been here before." "No, I've been saving this." "I like this song." "Oh." "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." "I..." "I'm the one who should apologize." "I knew that we were now not just fifth cousins, but very good friends." "As soon as I can get away." "That we are the best of friends." "Time passed." "Time measured now in Franklin's visits to Hyde Park." "Who was that?" "The President wishes to see me." "He is the President." "He wishes to show me a new stamp." "Where are we going?" "I don't know." "I had it built." "It's where I'll retire." "I'll write those detective books I'm always talking about." "Go take a look." "Go on." "There's a bit of paint smell still." "It's heaven." "I've been thinking, Daisy..." "What?" "What have you been thinking?" "That I..." "I'd like to share with you this." "When I go away..." "You know I have to go away." "Should you ever miss me..." "Well..." "Do you ever miss me?" "I always do." "Always." "A place you can come and be alone and miss me." "Oh, I'm sorry, so sorry." "Sorry, sorry." "It's all right." "By now, everyone was used to me." "I was the cousin who's always visiting." "No one ever even asked me why that was." "Has he read this?" "I believe he has." ""If one could choose, from all possible British personalities, the two who might make the best impression upon Americans," "King George and Queen Elizabeth would not even make the shortlist."" "How dare they talk about royalty like that!" "No King of England had ever visited America before." "But now he was coming to Hyde Park on Hudson and the only quiet place left to work was outside." "What are those for?" "He has a headache." "You do?" "It's his sinuses again." "It happens this time every year." "I know that." "You didn't say anything about having a headache." "He's not going to trouble you with everything, Missy." "You have enough on your plate." "What does that mean?" "It means, Missy, that you take very good care of me." "It means that you do, too." "Mrs. Roosevelt, we appear not to have enough plates." "What?" "We don't have enough plates." "Someone miscounted." "You're telling me this now?" "Madam, Mrs. Astor has called again." "Franklin had warned us..." "Mrs. Astor will have plates." "We will borrow hers." "Today, stay out of Mother's way." "On second thought, we shall call her cook." "Certainly." "Mrs. Astor's so rich she doesn't know what she has." "Franklin's wife, Eleanor." "I'm just doing what I'm told." "Well, so much for your little secret." "Morning, Mother." "Good morning, Eleanor." "We are not going to serve the King of England a cocktail!" "Mrs. Roosevelt, you got it all wrong." "You see, this isn't for the King..." "Your mother has now told me for the tenth time not to call her Royal Highness Elizabeth." "She told me that, too." "I mean, please, what century is this?" "Daisy?" "Daisy?" "What?" "Oh, yes." "She told me the same thing." "I told her who did she think I was?" "Oh, I think she knows." "Daisy, hello?" "You're just staring." "I'm not." "I wasn't." "What do you want?" "MISSY:" "Eleanor's just brought out fresh coffee." "She was asking if you'd like any." "You're just staring again." "I'm not." "Missy, leave her alone." "My husband lives for the adoring eyes of young women." "We know this." "Let's change the subject, shall we?" "Oh, don't tell me you're embarrassed." "That day I'd like to see." "I didn't say I was embarrassed." "Why do we care what a king or a queen says about us?" "Real rosewood." "Still got the smell." "Is that why it cost so much?" "Hick called." "For this morning's royal visit she'd been ordered to produce 5,000 children overnight." "What?" "Why?" "As buffers for holding back the crowds." "No." "Well, the Girl Scouts refused outright." "Oh, good for them." "They said their girls had taken an awful beating in DC." "Finally, Hick got some Boy Scouts, but, of course, when they were pushed, they pushed right back." "Started something like ten fistfights." "When she finally got back to the office, she kicked off her shoes, opened the windows and shouted out," ""God damn the King and Queen!"" "Well, we may be saying the same thing tomorrow." ""Hick" was short for Lorena Hickok." "One of these friends of Eleanor's Franklin called "she-men."" "People said their marriage was troubled and unhappy." "That they lived mostly separate lives." "But I never saw that." "That's not how they seemed when they were together." "We ended up in the stables." "Our last hope of refuge." "We must remind ourselves that these kings and queens or whatever are no better than us." "They are just people." "I read that in your column, Eleanor." "Are you all right?" "You look in pain." "He has a sinus infection..." "He gets them this time of year." "Oh, does he?" "I didn't know that." "I took an aspirin." "They just left Beacon." "Good." "It won't be too long." "Why don't we just come out and say it?" "They're coming here with their hand out." "Remind me." "Hick thinks I should get at least a month of columns out of this weekend." "Hick says this King hates his brother." "Now there's a column right there." "His brother's met with Hitler." "That's good." "That's another column." "And this is the family we're having in our house for the weekend." "You don't even live here." "I'm staying the night." "At least that's what I told your mother." "I thought the brother gave up being king so he could marry the woman he loved." "Daisy, have you ever met a man who would do that?" "Hick says she thinks that the brother has positioned himself to be the savior of the monarchy." "Once England's been defeated and the fascists have taken over, of course." "He's young, Eleanor." "So is she." "They're both young." "So let's just give them a break." "Can we?" "And all the while, the King and Queen were getting closer." "Shouldn't we stop and meet some people?" "Wouldn't that be a good idea?" "We've just left..." "We're almost there." "I don't think there's another town now until..." "It's just a country road now." "Still." "He wants a cigarette." "We don't want to be early." "No, no, we don't." "And I'd like to meet some Americans." "Doesn't he want to meet you?" "He's busy." "I know how important this is." "You're not going to let the side down." "Don't worry." "That's what I keep telling myself, too." "You started to talk about the weekend's itinerary." "You will be staying in the Roosevelt house, sir." "In fact, it's the President's mother's house and she will officially be your hostess." "And where is the President's house?" "This is where he lives, when he's not in Washington." "With his mother?" "He doesn't have a house?" "He has a room." "And his wife?" "She lives in another house." "Hers." "And he doesn't..." "Which she shares with other women, who make furniture." "I'm sorry?" "The furniture." "They make it, build it." "They're couples." "They're the sort who like each other." "The Ambassador's wife, after having visited Hyde Park..." "Hyde Park?" "Why do they call it that?" "Well, Hyde Park's in London." "It's so confusing to me." "I don't know." "Our Ambassador's wife wrote, and I think you need to hear this." "She wrote," ""it is a dismal house, extremely badly run, and most uncomfortable."" "Half of his cabinet had been against the visit." ""The country," they said," ""was in no position to take sides in another European war."" "So Franklin invited them here." "Where, out of the spotlight, we could all relax and just be ourselves." "So nice of you to come." "Mr. President, nice of you to invite us." "Forgive me for not getting up." "Mr. President, it is an honor to be here." "My mother." "How do you do?" "Your Majesty." "My wife, Eleanor." "How do you do?" "I hope you've had a pleasant journey." " I hear we rang bells for you." " Yes, we were honored." "What a lovely country." "Quite like Oxford." "Looking back," "I now see how important that day was." "To them." "To us." "To the world." "And, of course, as it turned out, to me." "Oh, what lovely ships." "Mmm." "My son built them when he was a boy." "How very clever." "Wasn't that clever?" "Terribly clever." "He also did the birds as a boy." "Until the taxidermy smells made him ill." "He'll tell you about it." "I shall look forward to that." "Come in, please." "I can't tell you how I've looked forward to this." "My mother has spoken of nothing else for months." "Hey, Daisy." "Mr. Cameron's with the embassy." "This is Daisy." "Hello." "How do you do?" "How do you do?" "That day, the President sent me upstairs on a mission." "To spy behind enemy lines." "Charming." "Oh, look at that view." "You must tell me about everything." "That's the field." "We have fields just like that." "Those hills..." "Yes." "...lead down to the river." "Oh." "Oh, so that's where they go." "What are you doing?" "I came to see if I could be any help." "Do you mind if I call you Elizabeth?" "No." "No." "So these are the beds your friends made." "Those are they." "Aren't they lovely?" "Is my wife behaving herself?" "Yes." "Has my mother calmed down?" "She's fine." "It's like a madhouse." "Don't worry." "All's quiet on the upstairs front." "He's definitely younger than I'd imagined." "For a king, you know..." "Is he?" "They both seem nervous." "That surprised me." "Without some help from us, Daisy, there soon might not be an England to be king of." "So I'd be nervous, too." "That's why they're here." "Ah..." "Damn it!" "Damn it!" "Let me do it." "Let me do it." "They seem like very nice people." "I smell like martini." "Later tonight, after the dinner and all that is over, what do you say you and I get out of here?" "Go someplace quiet." "I think I'll need that." "Well, I think I'm free." "It's going to be a big, big success." "Oh, it's you." "We share a bath." "So I was told." "So we don't have to go through the..." "Yes." "What were you looking at?" "These prints." "I just told the President's mother how humorous I found them." "What are they of?" "British soldiers." "The 1812 War." "Cartoons, actually." "Mocking them." "Us." "They put you in a room with..." "The mother tried to apologize." "I told her I found them funny." "She said she tried to remove them, but her son insisted." "Why would he do that?" "What was he trying to say?" "I don't know." "I don't know." "He knows it's important." "He knows why we're here." "May I have a drink, too?" "Of course." "How many have you had?" "The mother just left." "Cheers." "She apologized for everything." "For Eleanor, mostly." "And for the hot dogs." "Hotdogs?" "What are you talking about?" "It appears that at the picnic tomorrow..." "There's a picnic tomorrow?" "In our honor." "You hate picnics." "At the picnic, the President's wife has organized that hot dogs be served as our main dish." "I gather she has even publicized this in the column she writes." "Are they trying to make fun of us?" "I don't know." "What do you think?" "You're not going to tell Mother, are you, Mary?" "Nota soul, sir." "Mary, we all knew, was one of Mother's spies." "Mother had her spies, too." "These are revolting." "They make our seamen look like monkeys." "I can't believe he thought these would make you laugh." "I laughed." "They're trying to make us seem common." "Your brother would never have stood for this." "I'm sorry, but he wouldn't." "I think if we just ignore these..." "Oh, please, stop stuttering!" "I'm sorry." "I'm very sorry." "I didn't mean it, Bertie." "I think I'm getting a headache, my face feels hot." "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't..." "I didn't mean..." "I am not my brother." "Thank God for that." "And you are not the Duchess of Windsor." "You're better than that." "I just hate to see you..." "See me..." "Laughed at." "Mother, who had a sixth sense for sniffing out alcohol, was on the warpath." "Mother's father had been a nasty drunk." "Is he coming down?" "What is that doing in here?" "Leave it, Mother." "I thought we had agreed." "That's not true." "We are not going to serve the King and Queen of England..." "Damn it, I said leave it!" "Close the door, Daisy." "What's happening?" "Why are you shouting?" "I am not shouting." "Close the door, Daisy." "Should I stay?" "Just close it." "What is going on?" "He has brought out the drinks tray, Eleanor." " Franklin, you promised." " As I told Mother, that's not true." "Maybe after dinner!" " Stop shouting, Mother." "We have guests." " Eleanor." "I know we have guests and I know who they are and my son is not going to serve them cocktails!" "They are my guests." "This is my house." "Yes, and you're the one who wanted us to live here." " Please, Eleanor." "Don't revisit that." " Take the tray." "It's true, isn't it?" "No." "Yes!" "I'm the President!" "ELEANOR:" "Oh, just stop it." "Stop this." "God almighty." "You're behaving like a child." "I have the program for tomorrow's event." "Is this for the hot dog picnic?" "There will be entertainment as well." "Perhaps I shall be surprised." "Indians." "No." ""Ish-ti-opi."" "What?" "He's called here, "The Indian Baritone."" "So he's going to sing." "There's "Princess Te Ata."" "She will perform "The Indian Corn Ceremony."" "Oh, God." ""Accompanied by Kurkus Pahitu on the tom-tom."" "There's our incentive not to be hungover." "The tom-tom, hot dogs, cartoons depicting our British naval officers as monkeys." "Come in." "The President is waiting to see you in his study, Your Majesty." "He said it was time for children's hour." "Drinks." "And the Queen?" "She's been allowed more time to relax." "Here we go." "Good luck." "Sir, my mother does not approve of cocktails." "And thinks you might rather have a cup of tea?" "My mother would have said the same thing." "Actually I prefer a..." "A cocktail." "A man after my own heart." "Mmm-mmm." "So she said, "I'm so pleased to meet you, Mr. President,"" ""I've only met three Americans."" ""Joe Kennedy, J.P. Morgan and Fred Astaire."" ""Thank God," I said, "you met Mr. Astaire or what would your impression be of the rest of us?"" "Hello." "Good evening, Your Majesty." "Good evening." "Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Nichols." "Your Majesty." "Lovely to meet you." "Your Majesty." "Mother, of course, you know." "Welcome, Your Highness." "Thank you so much." "Mrs. Roosevelt..." "Mrs. Roosevelt, may..." "Mrs. Roosevelt..." "I would love to, Your Majesty." "We could have sold tickets for this dinner and made ourselves a pile of money." "Paid for your trip." "The moon was coming up." "There was a warm, summer breeze." "It was just perfect." "A perfect summer night." "To His Majesty, the King." "Inside, everyone was on their very best behavior." "His Majesty the King." "And to Her Majesty, the Queen." "Actually, normally, we wouldn't toast the Queen." "What is that for?" "We've been told the Queen is served exactly 30 seconds after the King." "A tray, with Mrs. Astor's 24 plates, collapsed, for no reason, just before the soup." "What happened?" "I don't know, ma'am." "No one touched it." "I suppose an angel just passed, a very clumsy one." "That was very good." "But some people had other explanations." " It's the full moon." " Do you think it's full?" " I give it one more day." " I think it's full." "Daisy?" "Oh, hello, Zack." "Do you think it's full tonight?" "What?" "Oh, yes, that moon certainly is full." "She says I'm right." "I don't know for sure." "I could be wrong." "It's just such an important night." "Is it?" "I don't know." "I mean, what's one king more or less?" "He still has to put his pants on one leg at a time." "Did you curtsey for the Queen, Daisy?" "I certainly did and I think I did it right." "I didn't fall down." "How come you're not inside there, Daisy?" "I'm glad to see you working, Barry." "It's just one night." "Well, at least it's something." "Hey, fellas." "Okay, Mr. Friendly." "All right." "Can I take some home for my dog?" " Your dog, huh?" " He doesn't have a dog." "Hey, listen." "Touch me there again, you're gonna be wearing it, not eating it." "Ah!" "Number two." "Shoot!" "Those damn horses." "It's not the horses' fault." "I know, I know, you like them." "I've been looking for you." "Do you need a handkerchief?" "Come here..." "We saw you out here." "We?" "Franklin's asked me to tell you that you can go home." "He thinks that he's going to be occupied with the King all evening now." "Of course he will." "No one wanted to go to bed that night." "Finally, Franklin had to instruct the band to stop playing." "He wished to spend time with the King on his own." "Let's go into my study." "It'll be quiet in there." "Unless you need to..." "No, no." "Would you mind pushing?" "Certainly." "Has Her Majesty gone to bed?" "She has." "And your wife?" "Who knows?" "I'm sure." "Would you mind closing the door?" "Of course not." "Cheers!" "Cheers!" "Do you collect stamps?" "I did, I have." "I understand you are a serious stamp collector." "Perhaps you would show me..." "You can't be interested." "But I am." "Do not protest." "When I was a young man, before my marriage, of course," "I found that showing one's stamps was a very helpful way to get a young woman's attention." "Was it?" "But I suppose if your father's the King, who needs stamps?" "The Queen is certainly a lovely woman." "As is the First Lady." "She's a strong person." "Some days you don't even feel like getting out of bed." "But then women like these, they won't let you do that, will they?" "No." "What do you do to be alone?" "You need to give them a reason not to bother you." "You can figure things out in the quiet of your own mind." "I open up my stamp book and everyone knows not to bother me." "You were wonderful tonight, young man." "What do you mean?" "Just what I said." "You were graceful, you were confident." "You're going to be a very fine king." "I don't know what to say." "Your father would be very proud." "I'm not so certain about that." "If I were your father," "I'd be proud." "The Queen, she's..." "She worries so much." "It's been hard for her." "Women worry." "I just stop listening to her sometimes." "Please forget I said that." "Forgotten." "I..." "They've asked me to say some things." ""Such a war as we now contemplate..."" ""The..." "The carnage..."" "Think of Spain." "Children bombed." "That is what we can expect." "It will be horrific." "And yet we know that some of your countrymen wish my country ill." "And want us to fail." "And want me to..." "To fail with you." "This goddamn stutter." "What stutter?" "This goddamn polio." "Sometimes I think they deserve better than me." "My subjects." "I'm sorry." "I don't know why I'm saying this to you." "I'm supposed to be trying to convince you to help us." "Let me confess something to you now." "As you have been so honest with me." "No one ever mentions the fact that I can't use my legs." "It's never referred to." "Not by anyone." "And I used to think it was because they were embarrassed about it." "But now I think it's because it's not what they want to see." "Of course, you and I, we think they see everything that we are." "All our flaws." "Our transgressions, our failures." "But that's not what they're looking to find when they look to us." "And God help us if that ever changes." "Can you imagine the disappointment when they find out what we really are?" "Smoke?" "Thank you." "They didn't want me as their king." "I didn't know they voted for that in England." "I'm thinking another drink." "Oh." "Right." "Was I the only one who couldn't sleep that night?" "Was it the moon?" "How I longed for him." " Good night." " I'll wake you up." "Oh, I beg your pardon." "Sir." "I mean..." "Please..." "Your Highness..." "Your Majesty." "Good night." "You're still awake?" "Mmm." "I think I'll go to sleep." "It's late." "Why are you smiling?" "Are you drunk?" "No." "He's a very funny man." "Some wonderful stories." "Like what?" "I couldn't tell you." "They're not meant for women." "They sound very funny." "Oh, he liked my stories, too." "What stories?" "I told him about the coronation." "About getting the crown the wrong way round." "And standing on my robe so I couldn't move." "You shouldn't have told him that." "Why not?" "He laughed." "We don't make fun of ourselves." "That's not true." "Not here." "Of course he liked those stories, they make us look like fools." "They make us look like people." "You're so naive, Bertie." "He made fun of himself, too." "He said that at the picnic tomorrow..." "God, that picnic." "He said that the Indians, they were Eleanor's idea." ""One of my wife's crazy ideas."" "His mother's furious about it." "Franklin's just trying to keep it short." "He talks about his wife like that to you?" "I hope you didn't talk about me to him." "I didn't." "I wouldn't do that." "We didn't talk about you." "I asked him, without mentioning you, about these hot dogs." "What's that about?" "Do you want to know what he said?" "He said he doesn't get the fuss." "They're just a good thing to eat at a picnic." "There's no meaning." "Nothing more." "You didn't say I was concerned." "No." "I'm not sure I believe you." "That's not fair." "Three different women tonight asked me if I thought there'd ever be an American queen." "If we'd ever allow it." "That was rude." "Do you have any cigarettes?" "I've smoked all mine." "That won't help you sleep." "I know." "Thank you." "Do you have a lighter?" "A lighter." "Yes, of course." "Thank you." "I never wanted this life." "I know." "It's hard." "Go to bed, I'll be fine." "If there's a war, and we know there will be, he believes America could be persuaded to help." "Did you see some of the people there tonight?" "Did you hear their names?" "They're from Italy, Germany." "They're Irish, they're Jewish." "They hate us, Bertie." "They want us to fall on our faces." "They want to laugh at us." "I think you're wrong." "I think we just need to be a little more confident." "I'm not sure I can even sleep." "Finally, he patted me on the knee and said," ""Young man, it's time for you to go to bed."" "Like a father, I suppose." "He's very happy that I am King." "Good night." "If ever I missed him there was a place he'd built for me to come" "and be alone and miss him." "What the hell are you doing here?" "Tommy?" "What the hell are you doing up here?" "You shouldn't be up here now." "Why?" "Why not?" "Can you get that out of my face, please?" "The President can't be disturbed right now, Daisy." "I'll take a look." "Daisy, how nice to see you up here." "Do you want to see the President?" "Missy, what is it?" "Oh, my God." "Come back." "Come back!" " Daisy!" " Fuck." "Fuck, fuck." "Daisy!" "Daisy!" "Here!" "Get out of here." "Listen to me, Daisy, he wants to talk to you." "Get out of here." "No, no, no!" "He's going home." "He is headed home." "I want you to listen to me very, very carefully." "What can you say?" "Understand?" "Understand?" "Look at me." "Look at me, Daisy." "Understand?" "I know you are intimate." "I've known since the day it happened." "What?" "Those things he said." "He meant them." "I know that." "That hurt." "Cigarette?" "I need one." "But I've accepted." "Like you will." "I'm a part of his life and I accept that you are, too." "I don't accept you." "What about Dorothy Schiff?" "Do you accept her?" "Why do you think she built that place at Top Cottage?" "There are other houses on top of that hill, not just hers." "He asked her to." "He asked her to build a cottage so they could live together when he retired while he wrote those goddamn detective books he's always talking about writing." "No, I don't believe it." "I read the letter." "When was that?" "This year." "It wasn't Eleanor who abandoned him." "She caught him, too." "With you?" "No, no." "This was long ago." "Years and years ago." "Maybe you've met her." "Mrs. Rutherford." "I..." "I misunderstood." "Eleanor." "I..." "Eleanor's realistic." "I don't think I can share." "Oh, I think you can." "You can." "You decide." "He won't go to bed." "He's waiting for you." "Missy and my mother both severely criticized me for not inviting you to the dinner tonight." "I want to apologize." "I think I showed you these when you first came to visit me, Daisy." "But you probably don't remember." "I remember." "Aren't they beautiful?" "Can you see from over there?" "The highest waterfall in the world." "That's on this stamp." "I really don't think you can see from way over there, Daisy." "I really don't." "And that would be terrible, not to." "That, Daisy, would be..." "How do you see me?" "What?" "Am I to you just stupid?" "No, Daisy." "But I can understand how you can feel that way." "Am I like a whore?" "No, you're not like a whore." "Now would you come over and sit by me?" "No, you're not getting off that easy, you son of a bitch!" "But that's not what I said." "Instead..." "No, I need to go." "I'd say I'm sorry, but that wouldn't do any good right now, would it?" "Someone's coming out." "Which one is she?" "The one you think looks like a governess." "I thought she was the governess." "I understand it's a very common thing, men and their children's governesses." "She's not the governess, but she's obviously his mistress." "She dresses like a governess." "She's not a governess, Bertie." "Men find..." "Some men find, I think, because they're around children there's something rather attractive about..." "Why do you keep talking about governesses?" "Is there something you want to tell me?" "No, nothing." "Why?" "Oh, look over there." "The secretary." "I hadn't seen her before." "And she's his mistress, too." "According to Cameron." "We don't need Cameron..." "Cameron says there's another one." "Another?" "Who's married." "But she's built a cottage by his, or something." "Another mistress?" "Good thing we changed our minds about bringing Lilibet with us." "You changed your mind about bringing Lilibet." "I never wanted to bring Lilibet to America." "Only because you don't like Americans." "I like Americans, that's not fair." "I don't like a lot of Americans, I like some." "Bertie, are you going to eat a hot dog?" "What?" "At the picnic." "Tomorrow." "Today." "Are you?" "I mean, isn't it like having, say, the PM over and serving him bangers and mash?" "He probably would like..." "To a guest!" "I mean, if we did that, he'd know we were trying to tell him something, he'd understand." "What would he understand?" "How we felt about him." "The PM knows how we feel about him, we like him." "As if that mattered." "Oh, you know what I mean!" "I wish I did." "Bertie, I don't think your brother would eat a hot dog." "How would you know that?" "Because he'd know what was meant!" "It doesn't mean anything!" "The walls, sir, they are quite thin." "One can hear." "We know." "Everyone in this house is already awake." "But to answer your question, Elizabeth, I am going to eat a hot dog." "No, five hot dogs." "Ten!" "I'm going to shove them in my mouth, stick two up my nostrils, two more in my ears, and walk around so that people can take pictures of the King of England with hot dogs hanging out of his orifices!" "Don't ever compare me to my brother again." "Sir, it's the President." "Has she gone?" "What do you think she's going to do?" "I don't think she'll cause you any trouble." "If that's what you're asking." "Is that what you're asking?" "They'll see us." "Hello and good morning!" "Wave." "I am." "Hello." "Hello." "Lovely morning, isn't it?" "Sleep well?" "Yes, yes, we did." "Didn't we?" "Yes, we did." "Good." "Me, too." "I thought I might have a swim." "Come along?" "Uh, gosh." "Aswim?" "Daisy, is that you?" "Let me help." "You're up early." "I just woke up." "And so, the day of the picnic began." "And everyone pretended, as usual, not to notice anything." "Watch out, watch out." "Here they come, here they come." "They feeding you all right out here, boys?" "Throwing you the odd bone?" "We're eating like kings, Mr. President." "Well, you have him to thank for that." "All right." "I made them all agree, no pictures in our bathing suits." "Oh, you don't look so bad." "Maybe you ought to have your picture taken like that." "Get the women's vote." "Oh, that's right, you don't vote for king." "Are you two comfy back there?" "Yes, thank you." "And here we are." "I won't be driving with him again." "Honor to meet you." "It's such an honor." "Sam, don't eat them all, I'm hungry." "Whatever you say, Mr. President." "Wave." "He means you." "Look, they're filming." "No, no." "Wave." "Wave." "Wave, wave." "Hi, there." "Hello." "Hello." "She's here." "Good for her." "What are you doing?" "I'm so pleased you came." "I promised my aunt." "How do you do?" "Oh, how do you do?" "Mrs. Woodbury Langdon." "So nice to meet you." "Fellas, please favor this handsome fella on my right." "Tommy, look who's here." "Daisy, would you come with me, please?" "Tommy, she has every right to be here." "He wants her sitting with him." "I'm not doing that." "Who wants her sitting with him?" "The President, ma'am." "Daisy." "Daisy, please, where are your manners?" "Let's sit up with the President." "He just wants her." "Just wants Daisy, thank you, ma'am." "Please." "Daisy!" "What were you doing way over there?" "The special guests are here on the porch." "And you should be here." "Please sit down, Daisy." "Please, Daisy." "How much longer is this going to last?" "Indian Baritone!" "Thank you so much." "Thank you." "Thank you." "Come on." "Franklin, he wasn't finished." "I thought he was." "Thank you." "Thank you." "Now let's all say thank you to Ish-ti-opi in Cherokee, which is "chokapi."" " Chokapi." " Can we all say that together, boys and girls?" "Come on, if you enjoyed it, say "chokapi."" "Chokapi." "Thank you, thank you so much." "At last, after Eleanor's Indians, the event we had all been secretly waiting for." "Your Majesty, would you like a hot dog?" "Do you take mustard?" "I take whatever you think I should take with my hot dog." "Allow us, then, to put on a bit of mustard for you." "Here." "Daisy, would you show how we put on the mustard?" "You're too kind." "Why are they applauding?" "It's all right." "Yeah." "It's fine." "What's this about?" "It's very good." "It's good." "And like that, we felt America and England were back on the road to being very good friends." "At least, I'm told that's how some people took it." "It made me wonder." "Maybe the hot dogs hadn't been Eleanor's idea after all." "When he left for England later that day, the King sent back a telegram in which he wrote that our two nations had now forged, and these are his words," ""A special relationship."" "It's good." "It's all fine." "I'll have another!" "The next day, he sent a car." "But I said I was too ill to take a drive." "Tell the President no." "Yes, ma'am." "I was ill the next day." "And the next." "And the day after that." "A week after the Royals' visit to Hyde Park, the President finally came in person to my house." "Good morning." "I had been waiting." "He drove us by the plumbing shop where his mother had returned the toilet seat she had ordered for the royal visit." "Without paying for it." "He tried to make me laugh." "And he was good at that." "He was, after all, a politician." "Mother wants to pay him now." "But he says it's really been good for business." "He hoped I would forgive him." "But I was damned if I was going to tell him that I already had." "Occasionally now, Missy would come and fetch me when she felt..." "I think he could use your company tonight." "Let him wait." "When we played cards, Missy and I were partners." "We now shared everything." "I learned, as we got to know each other better, of her bouts with her blackness." "And of her dark days." "When she fell terribly ill, he paid for everything." "He even changed his will, giving her half should she outlive him." "But to the surprise of nearly everyone, he did not visit her once in the hospital." "I asked him why." ""It's a terrible fault of mine," he said." ""I find it too painful to be around illness."" "I grew close not only to Missy, but to all of Franklin's boys." "They seemed to accept me, no questions asked." "And no more promises were made." "So none could be broken." "A year passed." "And then another." "And another." "I watched him grow tired and frail and ill." "He tried to hide this from everyone." "He knew how to do that." "From everyone but me." "Mr. President." "Okay, boys, take it away." "Everyone still looking to him." "Still seeing whatever it was they wanted to see." "In a time, not so very long ago, when the world still allowed itself secrets," "Franklin Roosevelt was mine."