Amy

Amy is the Secret Service agent assigned to protect the First Family, and she is the one Alex Claremont-Diaz trusts above all others. A former Navy SEAL rumored around Washington, D.C., to have killed several men, she carries herself with a serene, unflappable calm that belies her lethal capabilities. On the flight to London, she sits across the aisle from Alex with a bulletproof titanium case of crafting supplies open on the couch beside her, serenely embroidering flowers onto a napkin. The image is a perfect distillation of her character: a woman who can decorate a napkin with the same hands, and the same needle, that she once used to stab someone in the kneecap. Alex has seen her do it. This duality—the gentle crafter and the hardened killer—makes her the most formidable and reassuring presence in the White House Trio's orbit.

Identity and Introduction

Amy is introduced as "his mother's favorite Secret Service agent," a distinction that speaks to her exceptional skill and unwavering reliability. Her background as a Navy SEAL sets her apart in a profession already defined by competence, and the rumors that circulate about her in Washington only add to her mystique. She is a figure of quiet authority, someone who operates in the background but whose presence is always felt. Her choice of hobbies—embroidery, crossword puzzles—provides a stark, almost comical contrast to her violent past, and it is this contrast that Alex finds both amusing and deeply reassuring. She is not just a bodyguard; she is a constant, a fixed point of safety in the chaotic world of politics and celebrity.

Role in Alex's Life and the Campaign

Amy's role extends far beyond the standard duties of a Secret Service agent. She is a confidante and an accomplice, someone Alex turns to when he needs help that falls outside official channels. When he needs to get Prince Henry alone, it is Amy he hisses at, grabbing her by the wrist. She immediately asks, "Where's the threat?"—a reflexive response that reveals her training—but when Alex clarifies his need, she does not hesitate to help. She understands the stakes of his request and is willing to bend the rules to facilitate a secret meeting. This willingness to operate in the gray areas of her job, to serve Alex's personal needs as well as his physical safety, cements her role as a trusted ally rather than a mere functionary. She is the person he goes to when he cannot go to anyone else.

A Symbol of the New Family

The novel's climax transforms Amy from a background protector into a powerful symbol of the family that Alex and Henry have built. The morning after Alex's coming-out speech, as a new crowd gathers on the National Mall—the biggest yet—Amy is at the front of the cheering throng, wearing June's yellow HISTORY, HUH? T-shirt and a trans flag pin. Next to her stands Cash, with Amy's wife on his shoulders, wearing the jean jacket Amy was embroidering on the plane, now finished in the colors of the pansexual flag. The image is a revelation: the woman who once stitched flowers onto a napkin has created a garment that proclaims her own identity and her solidarity with the couple she protects. Her presence in the crowd, celebrating openly and joyfully, shows that she is not just an employee but a member of the family, one who has chosen to stand with them in defiance of the world's judgment. The detail of her wife on Cash's shoulders further humanizes her, revealing a personal life that exists beyond her professional role and that is now fully integrated into the story's central celebration of love and chosen family.

Relationships and Loyalty

Amy's relationships are defined by a fierce, protective loyalty. She is devoted to Ellen Claremont, but her bond with Alex is particularly close, built on years of shared experience and mutual trust. She is the one he texts to find his lost belongings, the one he turns to for help with his most secret plans. Her loyalty is not blind obedience; it is a personal commitment to the people she has chosen to serve. This is evident in her willingness to help Alex with his clandestine romance, an act that could have serious professional consequences. She risks her career to help him, not because she is ordered to, but because she cares for him. This personal investment is what elevates her from a stock character—the stoic bodyguard—to a fully realized individual whose choices matter to the story's emotional core.

Narrative Significance and Thematic Resonance

Amy's arc is a quiet but essential thread in the novel's larger tapestry. She is a witness to the central romance, a facilitator of its most dangerous moments, and finally a celebrant of its public triumph. Her journey from the plane, where she embroiders flowers, to the Mall, where she wears a finished pansexual-flag jacket, mirrors the novel's own movement from secrecy to openness. She is a figure of stability and competence in a world of chaos, and her presence grounds the more fantastical elements of the story in a reassuring reality. More than that, she embodies the novel's central theme of chosen family. She is not related to the Claremonts by blood, but she is undeniably part of them, standing with them in their greatest moment of vulnerability and their greatest moment of joy. Her story is a testament to the idea that family is not defined by biology but by the bonds of love, loyalty, and shared experience.