The Prodigal Daughter (43 page)

“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 amon.- 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.

‘Me 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’, 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 cK-.casions. 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.

The Present:
1968-1982 265

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 Flarentyna and before the
evening was out, Senator Mike Mansfield, the Democratic Majofity 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 caHed 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 discovefing 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 membei
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 be near her mother but still showed no
interest in wanting to follow Florentyna to Radcliffe.

Florentyna was
disappointed that Annabel’s sole interests always seemed to center on boys and
parties. Not once during The Presew: 1968-1982 267 the holidays did she
discuss
her progress at school or even open a book.

She avoided her
brother’s company and would even change the subject whenever Willi
‘ am’s
name came up in conversation. It became more obvious
every day that she was jealous of her brother’s achievements.

Carol did the
best she could to keep her occupied, but on two occasions Annabel disobeyed her
father and once returned home from a date hours after she had agreed.

Florentyna was
rolieved when the time came for Annabel to return to school as she decided not
to overreact to her daughter’s holiday escapades. She hoped it was nothing more
than an adolescent stage Annabel was passing through.

Struggling to
survive in a man’s world was nothing new for Florentyna and she began her
second year in Congress with considerably more confidence than a year earlier.
Life at the Baron had been a little sheltered in comparison with politics.
After all, she had been the chairman of the Group and Richard had always been
there by her side. Edward was quick to point out that perhaps having to fight a
little harder than any man was no bad preparation for the time when she would
have to face new rivals.

When Richard
asked her how many of her colleagues she considered capable of holding down a
place on the board of the Baron Group, she had to admit that there were very
few.

Florentyna
enjoyed her second year far more than her first, and there were many
highlights: in February she successfully sponsored a bill which exempted from
any taxation scientific publications selling fewer than ten thousand copies per
issue. In April she fought several provisions in the President’s budget
proposals and in May she and Richard received an invitation to a reception at
the White House for Queen Elizabeth 11 of England. But the most pleasing aspect
of the whole year was the feeling that she was actually influencing issues that
affected her constituents’ lives.

The invitation
that gave her the most pleasure that year came from Transportation Secretary
William Coleman to see the tall ships entering New York Harbor in honor of the
Bicentennial. It reminded her that America also had a history she could be
proud of.

In all, it was a
memorable year for Florentyna, the only sad event, the death of her mother, who
had been afflicted with respiratory trouble for many months. More than a year
earlier, Zaphia had dropped out of Chicago life, at the very moment she had
been dominating the society columns- She had told Florentyna as far back as
1968, when she had brought the revolutionary Saint-Laurent show to the Windy
City, “These new fashions simply don’t compliment a woman of my age.” After
that she was rarely seen at any of the major charity events and her name soon
began to disappear from the embossed note paper used tbr such galas. She was
happy to spend hours listening to stories about her grandchildren and she often
offered a word of motherly advice that her daughter had grown to respect.

Florentyna had
wanted a quiet funeral. As she stood by the grave with tier son and daughter on
each side of her, listening to the words of Father O’Reilly, she realized that
she could no longer hope for privacy, even in death. As the coffin was lowered
into the grave the flash bulbs continued to pop until the earth had completely
covered the wooden casket and the last of the Rosnovskis was buried.

During the final
few weeks before the Presidential election, Florentyna spent more of her time
in Chicago, leaving Janet in Washington to run the office. After Representative
Wayne Hays admitted paying a member of his staff $14,000 a year in salary even
though she could not type a word and did not answer the phone, Janet and Louise
asked for a raise.

“Yes, but Miss
Ray is supplying a service for Mr. Hays that I have not yet found necessary in
my office,” said Florentyna.

“But the problem
in this office is the other way around,” said Louise.

“What do you
mean?” asked Florentyna.

“We spend our
life being propositioned by members who think we’re a Capitol Hill perk.”

“How many
members have propositioned you, Louise?” said Florentyna, laughing.

“Over a
hundred,” said Louise.

“And how many
did you accept?”

“Three,” said
Louise, grinning.

“And how many
propositioned you?” said Florentyna, turning to Janet.

“Three,” said
Janet.

“And how many
did you accept?”

“Three,” said
Janet.

When the three
women had stopped laughing, Florentyna said, “Well, perhaps Joan Mondale was
right. What the Democrats do to their secretaries, the Republicans do to the
country. You both get a raise.”

Edward turned out
to be accurate about her selection; she had been unopposed as the Democratic
candidate, and the primary for the Ninth District was virtually a steal.
Stewart Lyle, who ran again as the Republican candidate, admitted privately to
her that he now had little chance. “Re-elect Kane” stickers seemed to be
everywhere.

Florentyna
looked forward to a new session of Congress with a Democratic President in the
White House. The Republicans had selected Jerry Ford after a tough battle with
Governor Reagan, and the Democrats had chosen Jimmy Carter, a man she had
barely heard of until the New Hampshire primary.

Ford’s primary
battle against Ronald Reagan did not enhance the President’s cause and the
American people had still not forgiven him for pardoning Nixon. On the personal
front, Ford seemed incapable of avoiding naive mistakes such as bumping his
head on helicopter doors and falling down airplane steps. And during a
television debate with Carter, Florentyna sat horrified when he suggested that
there was no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe. “Tell the Polish people
that,” Florentyna said indignantly to the small screen.