In 2018, I made the rash claim that I could write a story that would make people feel sorry for the 45th president. This led to the short story “Bad Memories, 2032.” It appeared in After the Orange, edited by Manny Frishberg for B Cubed Press, and now appears in my new collection Patti 209: Fifteen Tales of the Very Near Future.
Here’s an excerpt:
“Mr. President, sir, your doctor is here.”
“Doctor? Another check-up? Sure, sure. Busy scheduling. Keeping busy. Keeping fit.”
“How are you sleeping, Mr. President?”
“Bad night last night, Doc. Couldn’t sleep at all. Phone wasn’t working. Couldn’t log on to that social media thing. I blame that dinner. Big state banquet. The biggest. Some terrible prime minister. Some awful guy from Teriyakistan. I let Ivanka handle him. Ivanka did great.”
“Just a few questions. Do you know who the president is?”
“Do I know who’s the president? Hilarious. You’re some joker, Doc!”
“Do you know what year it is?”
“Do I know what year it is? Hah! Very funny! It’s, ah, 2028! And we’ve got an election to win. Bannon’s busy, you can bet on that. Man knows his job.”