Introducing Wonkette: The Divide: Chapter Four.

Lorinda moved slowly to read the house numbers and admire the luxurious houses. "Three hundred and fifty-nine," Emmy said, "three hundred and fifty-seven .... here we are.".

There were a few cars parked on the street and drive, but Lorinda was able to find a spot easily. The house was big like the others on the Path of Righteousness: two stories, a grand portico, lots of glass, a couple of chimneys, yard space on the sides to distance it from the neighbors. It looked brand new: no broken windows, no bad paint, no chattering gutters. They could see people dancing inside. They could hear the pulse of the music.

Lorinda saw Brad as soon as she walked in. Standing next to the door, he had a cigar in one hand and a cigarette in the other, his gun hanging on''belt on his waist like a cowboy, his face lit up as she entered. "You're here!" - he said. - "I didn't think you'd come. "

"Of course I'm here," she said. - "Let's dance, shall we?".

"Good idea. Let me introduce you to my friend Finn. This is his house. His parents' house."

"Let's dance first."

An hour later, the lights dimmed and the music turned from a galloping rhythm to slow, romantic ballads. Lorinda and Brad were pressed against each other, moving to the beat of the music. She was only halfway through her third beer and was trying to remember what her usual drinking limit was, one or two. Emmy, dancing a slow dance with a guy she'd met half an hour ago, winked at Lorinda. Lorinda responded, but her joy was interrupted by a sharp''With a pain in my side. "Ouch!" - she exhaled.

"What happened?" - said Brad, who turned around to get his beer from the table next to him.

"You just hit me with your gun," said Lorinda, rubbing her side. - "That hurts.

"Sorry," Brad said, setting down his glass and trying to regain full contact. At that moment, the lights flashed brightly, the music stopped, and the TV on the wall blared. "Shit," Brad said. - "What's he up to now? "

"Who?" she said.

"Finn. It's him."

Finn was a tall, thin young man of about twenty-five, with curly red hair, dressed in plaid shorts, a black t-shirt, and flip-flops. "Hi everyone, thanks for coming," he said. - "Sorry to interrupt, but I don't think any of you saw the debate''Earlier - you've certainly been doing more important things, I'm sure - so I wrote them down. I thought I'd show you the first ten or fifteen minutes now, because it's important to know what's going on in the world. This is a debate between presidential candidates. It's important.".

This prompted a round of booing and friendly taunts toward Finn from people on the dance floor. "Yeah, really," Finn said. - "It's only a few minutes. People! The election's in three months! All right, Murray! Turn on the TV." Most USAP citizens assumed that the 'Murray' in the ubiquitous command was a random, surprising and rather Semitic name for remote control software developers, not a native of the country. It was actually a tribute to the engineers who''adapted some outdated software for use in the USP. It was a tribute to Charles Murray, author of the classic racist book The Bell Curve.

While the party guests took their drinks or refilled them again, the show began, focused on the moderator's first question, "Mr. Waldrip, why are you and your Divine Party more qualified to govern the USAP than the man who was replaced, Mr. McWeeney, and his White Christian Party?".

"First of all," said Oli Waldrip, "we are far more Christian, despite the name of his party. Secondly, we are fundamentalists. That is what is required of us. If we have to execute a woman to save a child, that's what we will do. God has personally told me that He is the one''wants'.

Ezra Ferrell McWhiney interrupted him. "Thank Jesus, we know better. We want these women to live. We need them. "

"These are the words God put in my brain," Waldrip shouted, "who are you to contradict God?".

"You need to go to a mental institution," shouted McWhiney. - "You're mentally ill. God doesn't speak to you there. You hear voices."

"And the third one."

"Three, you're insane. Completely lost your mind ..."

"I didn't come here to be insulted," Waldrip said.

.

"No problem," McWhiney said. - "No charge." To the moderator, he said: "Next, Earl. Next question.".

"All right! Gentlemen! Please." The moderator took a deep breath. "Mr. McWeeney. You have stated the need for the USAP to reunite with the United States. What''Are you thinking of such an idea?".

Lorinda had difficulty hearing the rest of the question because of the booing and jeering of the partygoers.

Finally, she heard: "...do you envision this as a good idea? "

McWhiney's look became softer and more careless as he raised a cautionary hand. "You're quoting me incorrectly. As usual. No, I'm not calling for a reunion. I said it's something we should consider -" More booing from the cheering crowd. - "So that when the U.S. comes to us on its knees and begs us to return to our national community, we will know what terms we will be subject to. "

"That's not what you said, dammit!" - Waldrip began.

"Okay. Good talk, you crook."

"You said: "I'm looking forward"Waiting for the day when we can unite the two parts of the country again"/\'' - "

"FOR OUR CONDITIONS. This is too hard for you to explain, Earl."

"Gentlemen!" The moderator slammed his fist on the table. "Okay, let's talk about the North Dakota Purchase. "

Lorinda had no idea what they were talking about. It seems that in the fifteen years after Partition, even after the Moratorium, millions of undesirables, not to mention white, honorable Christians, had left the USP by going through, under, blowing up, or bypassing walls, and moved to the United States, so many that this country needed real estate to allow them to settle here. This coincided with the USAP's discovery that it spends much of its gross national product on building and maintaining its various border''walls with the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, and would go bankrupt in a few years. So a deal was underway to sell North Dakota to the USAP. The relatively small number of people living there would be free to either stay and become US citizens or move at USAP's expense. Lorinda, when she thought about it (which almost never happened), didn't know if she was for or against it.

At the other end of the living room, there was a commotion. Lorinda looked in that direction, unable to see what was going on, but she heard shouts of "Waldrip" and "McWeeny".

"We didn't engineer the Separation to sell out our home country!" - shouted Waldrip on television.

"You don't even know what '\''default'\' is?" - McWeeny scoffed. And just as Oli Waldrip jumped from behind something, there was a''Opened the door, pushed him inside, closed the door behind her and locked the lock. She remembered she'd hidden the condoms in her pocket? She fumbled to make sure they were in place.

"Take that gun off," she said.

"Come and do it," Brad sighed.

"Do it or I'm leaving."

He laughed. "This isn't your bar to be a hostess in." He settled back on the bed, half sitting up, resting his back on the headboard and crossing his arms behind his head. "You're not going anywhere. You're just glad you're with someone who clearly doesn't mind Reproductionless Humanity. "

"Uh-huh," she said. She glanced at the door and opened it.

"Okay, okay!" - he said. - "I'll take it off. But I'd do it anyway.".

She locked the door again.

Not a single gunshot rang out during''Half an hour while they were in Finn's room. Brad was asleep on his stomach now, his head tucked into his pillow, his pale ass glowing in the semi-darkness coming through the slits in the blinds. Lorinda, moving slowly so as not to wake him, grabbed her clothes, dressed, and quietly opened the door. She turned back for a moment and looked at Brad. She wanted to feel something for him, the second man she had ever had sex with. In fact, this was only the second time she'd ever had sex: once with Duke Simmons, in high school, and now with Brad. But she felt nothing but relief that she could walk away without asking him uncomfortable questions.

The party was dying downstairs. Two couples were dancing, unenthusiastically, to old lady rock 'n' roll.''Emmy, talking to Finn on the couch, looked up at Lorinda as she came down the stairs. "Look who's back," she said.

"Let's go," Lorinda said.

"Right now?"

"Unless you need a ride."

"Ohhhh, okay," Emmy sighed.

"You can stay," Finn said. - "My parents won't be back until Monday.".

"You're sweet," Emmy said, "but I have to go."

"So?"

They were already halfway to Emmy's house, and that was the first thing they said.

"That's okay," Lorinda said. - "Yes, I'll answer your question. Yes, we had sex.".

"Wow," Emmy said. - "That was so fast. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"And Brad?"

"He's fine." She added uncertainly: "-though he'"not so much."

"Did he use a ... thing? "

"A thing? Were you trying to say condom, nurse?"

Emmy laughed. "Yes, that's what I meant. A condom. Safety. Protection.".

"Yes, he did. Because I brought it."

"Really?" Emmy was genuinely surprised. Sure, condoms were illegal. But like many illegal things in the USAP, they were available on the black market. "Where did you get it from?"

"I don't know. A friend of your brother's? Who's gonna remember? Why?"

"Just..." Whatever Emmy was going to say, she changed her mind. "Never mind. Glad you had one."

"Me too," Lorinda said. They sat down while Lorinda speeds to keep from falling off the road.