The Prodigal Daughter Read online

  She wrote a letter to the chairman and asked for permission to speak against the motion. He sent back a courteous reply, reminding her she would be allowed only five minutes and wishing her luck.

  Buchanan spoke with great emotion to a silent chamber and used his five minutes with the skill of a professional House man. Florentyna thought him the worst sort of backwoodsman and as he spoke added some notes to her carefully prepared speech. When Buchanan sat down, Sandra Read was recognized and she made a powerful case against the amendment although she was regularly interrupted by noisy comments from the floor. A third speaker added nothing to the debate, simply reiterating the words of Robert Buchanan, to be sure his views were on the record and in his local newspaper. Speaker Albert then recognized the distinguished gentlewoman from Illinois. Florentyna rose with some trepidation and made her way to the speaking rostrum in the well of the House, trying to keep her hands from trembling too noticeably.

  “Mr. Speaker, I must apologize to the House for rising for the first time to address members on a note of controversy, but I cannot support the amendment for several reasons.” Florentyna started talking about the role of a mother who wanted to continue a professional career. She proceeded to outline the reasons why Congress should not adopt the amendment. She was aware of being nervous and unusually inarticulate and after a minute or so noticed that Buchanan and the other Republican who had spoken earlier were now holding a heated discussion which encouraged some of the other members in the chamber to talk among themselves while others left their seats to chat with colleagues. Soon the noise reached such a pitch that Florentyna could hardly hear the sound of her own voice. Suddenly in the middle of a sentence, she stopped and stood in silence.

  The Speaker banged his gavel and asked if she had yielded her time to anyone.

  She turned to Carl Albert and said, “No, Mr. Speaker, I do not intend to continue.”

  “But the distinguished member was in the middle of a sentence.”

  “Indeed I was, Mr. Speaker, but it has become obvious to me that the two gentlemen from the opposite side of the House are only interested in the sound of their own voices and not in anyone else’s views.” Buchanan rose to object but was gaveled down as out of order by the Speaker. Uproar broke out and members who had never noticed her before stared at Florentyna.

  She remained at the rostrum as the Speaker banged his gavel over and over. When the noise died down, Florentyna continued. “I am aware, Mr. Speaker, that it takes several years in this place before one can hope to get anything done, but I had not realized that it might take as many years before anyone would have the good manners to listen to what one had to say.”

  Once again pandemonium broke out while Florentyna stood silently clutching on to the rostrum. She was now trembling from head to toe. Eventually the Speaker brought the chamber to order.

  “The honorable member’s point is well taken,” he said, staring down at the two offenders, who looked more than a little embarrassed. “I have mentioned this problem to the House on several occasions. It has taken a new member to remind us how discourteous we have become. Perhaps the distinguished gentlewoman from Illinois would now like to resume.” Florentyna checked the point she had reached in her notes. The House sat in expectant silence.

  She was about to speak when a hand rested firmly on her shoulder. She turned to see a smiling Sandra Read. “Sit down. You’ve beaten them all. If you speak now it can only spoil the effect you’ve created. As soon as the next speaker rises, leave the chamber immediately.” Florentyna nodded, yielded her time and returned to her seat.

  Speaker Albert recognized the next speaker and Florentyna walked toward the Speaker’s gallery exit with Sandra Read. When they reached the doors Sandra left her with the words, “Well done. Now you’re on your own.”

  Florentyna did not understand what Sandra meant until she walked into the lobby and found herself surrounded by reporters.

  “Can you step outside?” asked an interviewer from CBS. Florentyna followed him to where she was met by television cameras, reporters and flash bulbs.

  “Do you think the Congress is a disgrace?”

  “Will your stand help the pro-choice advocates?”

  “How would you change the procedure?”

  “Did you plan the whole exercise?”

  Question after question came flying at Florentyna and before the evening was out, Senator Mike Mansfield, the Democratic Majority Leader in the Senate, had called to congratulate her and she had been asked by Barbara Walters to appear on the “Today” show.

  The next day the Washington Post’s version of events in the chamber made it sound as though Florentyna had caused a declaration of war. Richard called to read the caption underneath her photograph on the front page of The New York Times: “Woman of courage arrives in Congress,” and as the morning wore on it became obvious that Congresswoman Kane had become famous overnight because she hadn’t made a speech. Phyllis Mills, a representative from Pennsylvania, warned her the following day that she had better choose her next subject carefully because the Republicans would be lying in wait for her with sharpened knives.

  “Perhaps I should quit while I’m ahead,” said Florentyna.

  When the initial furor had subsided and her mail had dropped from a thousand letters per week back to the usual three hundred, Florentyna began to settle down to building a serious reputation. In Chicago, that reputation was aleady growing, which she learned from her biweekly visits. Her constituents were coming to believe that she could actually influence the course of events. This worried Florentyna because she was quickly discovering how little room a politician had for maneuvering outside the established guidelines. At a local level, however, she felt that she was able to help people who were often simply overwhelmed by a bureaucratic system. She decided to add another staff member to the Chicago office to handle the heavy load of work.

  Richard was delighted to see how rewarding Florentyna found her new career and tried to take as much pressure off her as possible when it came to the day-to-day business of the Baron Group. Edward Winchester helped considerably by assuming some of the responsibilities, both in New York and Chicago, which otherwise would have fallen on her. In Chicago, Edward had gained considerable sway in the smoke-filled rooms as Mayor Daley recognized the need for a new breed of political operatives in the wake of the 1972 Presidential election. It seemed Daley’s old supporters were coming to terms with Florentyna’s future. Richard Kane was full of praise for Edward’s contribution as a member of the Baron board and was already considering inviting him to join Lester’s as well.

  No sooner had Florentyna completed her first year in Congress than she complained to Richard that she would soon have to start campaigning again.

  “What a crazy system that sends you to the House for only two years; no sooner have you settled into the place than you have to recycle the campaign bumper stickers.”

  “How would you change it?” asked Richard.

  “Well, senators are in a far better position, coming up for election only every six years, so I think I would make congressional terms at least four years in length.”

  When she repeated her grouse to Edward in Chicago, he was sympathetic but pointed out that in her case she didn’t look as if she would have any real opposition from the Democrats or the Republicans.

  “What about Ralph Brooks?”

  “He seems to have his eye firmly set on the State’s Attorney’s office since his recent marriage. Perhaps with his wife’s social background she doesn’t want to see him in Washington politics.”

  “Don’t believe it,” said Florentyna. “He’ll be back.”

  In September, Florentyna flew to New York and, together with Richard, drove William up to Concord, New Hampshire, to start his fifth-form year at St. Paul’s. The car was packed with more stereo equipment, Rolling Stones records and athletic gear than books. Annabel was now in her first year at the Madeira School, just outside Washington, so she could