"I don't think I could have envisioned it, as wonderful as it was," Brown says. "A joyous union of families."
And within days, the newlyweds were launched deep into the realities of life in that union.
"My lifestyle," the lieutenant governor says, "is not for the faint of heart."
He can go two months without a full weekend off, entire weeks without making it home for dinner even once. In a single day he can log hundreds of miles, crossing the state to hit event after event.
One recent Friday afternoon, Brown's itinerary included a drive to the Eastern Shore to give a speech and a drive back west to hit Hoyer's bull roast, which Walker also planned to attend. In between the two, Brown hoped to catch at least an inning of his son's baseball game in Severna Park.
But Walker knew what she was getting into. As Brown says: "She's familiar with this environment, this world, this career, the mixing, the mingling, the gripping, the grinning, the schmoozing."
"I understand a lot about what he's doing, his commitment to serve," she says, adding that it's the man she loves, not the position. And when he finally does get home, she sees what few others can — his soft, vulnerable, romantic side. "I fell in love with that."
Things might improve this month when the couple moves into the home they bought together in Prince George's County — Mitchellville's Woodmore South neighborhood. But if Brown runs for governor in 2014, as many expect, the family won't be truly relaxing anytime soon.
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