Red, White, and Royal Blue

Alex and Henry spend some time together in Paris. The paparazzi snap photos of them in an outdoor bistro, causing the public to conclude that they’re the best of friends. Even the normally suspicious Zahra compliments Alex for faking a friendship to generate good press. In March, when Henry turns twenty-three, and Alex turns twenty-two, they manage to share a clandestine celebration in New York.

During one of their late-night phone conversations, Henry begins to tell Alex about his sister Bea’s cocaine addiction. He then goes on to describe the dysfunction of the rest of his family. After his father’s sudden death from cancer, his mother sank into a depression that never lifted. His brother carries on in the royal tradition, and his grandmother tells Henry to bottle up his grief and deviant urges to preserve the Crown’s image. Alex is appalled by this advice. McQuiston writes: “Alex’s stomach turns over. He pictures Henry, a teenager, back-broken with grief and told to keep it and the rest of him shut up tight” (170).

Back at campaign headquarters, Alex has been keeping a folder he calls the Texas File. He has a hunch that there might be a way to win Texas voters back to a Democrat candidate, but he still isn’t sure how.