Right before we left, Ash was following Viv around, replacing the headband over and over and begging, “Please, baby girl. Please keep it on for Mama.”
“Maybe today’s not a day for a bow?” I suggested, and Ash looked so close to crying that I quickly said, “Or maybe she just needs a break? Maybe you can put it on when you get there?”
By some miracle, Viv was in a better mood by the time we arrived at the polling place and stayed still as Ash strapped the bow on her head. Jimmy picked up Viv, then he and Ash walked into the building together, holding hands and smiling. Katie stayed in front of them, taking pictures and posting to Instagram without breaking her stride, which was extremely impressive. I wondered how she could work that into her résumé.
When Jimmy and Ash came out, there were a few people outside, and a couple of them clapped. Jimmy smiled like he was embarrassed, but then walked over to the group, shaking hands and saying, “Thanks for coming out to vote, y’all.”
—
I got to the bar early with Katie, to help her make sure that everything was set up right, although she didn’t really need me there. The caterers brought in the food — shrimp, red beans, chicken, and salad — and Katie stood right by them as they arranged everything. “This looks good,” she said to me, and I agreed. “Simple but homey.”
“It does,” I said. “You’ve done a great job.”
But she didn’t answer, just went back to typing on her phone. We sat in silence in the empty bar and waited for everyone to arrive, and finally I took out my own phone and examined it closely, as though I had important things to attend to as well.
—
There were about sixty people at the party, including Jimmy’s parents and Ash’s family. Ash’s sister, Lauren Sybil, was there but her boyfriend was not, and she was drinking white wine at an impressive pace. She worked the room in a circular fashion, coming back to us every twenty minutes or so and saying, “I’m so nervous. Aren’t you nervous? I could just die!” The fourth time she looped around, Ash handed Viv to me. “Lauren Sybil, let’s get you a glass of water,” she said and led her to the bar by her elbow, turning back to give me an exasperated look.
I lowered Viv to the floor, and she gripped my fingers as she took some unsteady steps. She’d been so close to walking for a while now, but as soon as any of us let go of her, she immediately sat down on her bottom like she thought we were trying to trick her.
I wouldn’t describe the party as fun, at least not the beginning of it. There was a sense of impatience all around us, everyone trying to distract themselves with other things, but really just killing time until the race was called — like we were all just standing on a subway platform, waiting for a train. I held Viv’s hands and walked her around the room for a while, her wide wobbly steps making her look like a little drunk lady, and then Lauren Sybil took her and I went back to where Matt was standing near Jimmy, picked up my drink, and resumed marking time.
We found out that Jimmy won when The Texas Tribune tweeted the news at him. Jimmy got a ding and looked down at his phone, which was in his right hand. “Holy shit,” he said. He held it out to Matt, like he didn’t trust himself. “Does this say what I think it does?”
Matt looked down at the phone and then broke into a huge smile. “You did it,” he said. “Congrats, buddy.”
The people right around us were starting to catch on to the news, and Jimmy put his fingers in his mouth and whistled, quieting down the room. “Everyone,” he said, “I’m so thrilled to announce that The Texas Tribune has just called the race for me!”
The room broke into cheers then, loud whooping and clapping. Ash came running across the bar and flung herself into Jimmy’s arms, in a way that was slightly over the top and made me understand why she’d been so good in pageants. “Oh, baby, I’m so proud of you,” she said, putting her hands on either side of his face. Jimmy kissed her and then spoke to the room again.
“I want to thank each and every one of you. I couldn’t have done it without you — I really couldn’t — and your support means everything to me. So thank you!” Jimmy raised his glass, and everyone cheered again.
On the other side of the room, Lauren Sybil was still holding Viv and swaying to the music with her like they were dancing, but she kept leaning a little too far to each side and I was keeping an eye on her, hoping she wasn’t about to tumble over. I was relieved when Ash’s mom finally leaned across and took Viv right out of her hands.
Matt had been accepting congratulations from the people around him, and finally he was free and I was able to give him a kiss. “Congratulations,” I said. “I’m really proud of you.”
“Thanks, Buzzy,” he said, looking not as happy as I would’ve imagined.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, definitely. I’m thrilled. Just already thinking about the next race. If Jimmy could really win, it would be groundbreaking.”
“Maybe you should try to take tonight off,” I said. “Just enjoy this.”
He nodded, but his face remained serious. Jimmy came over then and lifted Matt off the ground in a bear hug. “Kelly,” he said, “this is fucking amazing. Have I told you that you’re a genius?”
“It was all you, man,” Matt said, which I knew he didn’t believe, but it was nice to see him being generous. Ash came over to join us, and we stood in a circle, just the four of us, shoulder to shoulder. We were only there for a minute or so — shortly after, Jimmy’s phone started ringing with congratulations and he was calling supporters to thank them. But for a moment, he was focused on us and I remember feeling lucky, like we were being singled out as special.
The bartender was setting down rows of shots on the bar, and Jimmy turned and grabbed four of them in one quick movement, handing one to each of us. We clinked them together and held them there for a second, all four glasses touching.
“Are we toasting to Texas again?” I asked.
“No,” Jimmy said. “To us.”
“To us,” we repeated, all tipping our heads back and drinking down our shots in one single swallow.
Chapter 16
The morning after the primary, Matt woke up early — even earlier than he normally did. But when I felt him get out of bed around 6:00, I assumed he was just going to the bathroom and fell right back to sleep. It wasn’t until a few hours later (when I finally got up myself) that I realized he’d never come back. We’d been out late the night before and there’d been more celebrating (and more shots), and my first thought was that he must be feeling sick, but when I peeked in the bathroom it was empty. I zipped a sweatshirt on over my pajamas and went upstairs, where I found Ash and Matt sitting at the table with coffee. Matt had his computer in front of him and was typing away, and Ash was resting her head in her hands.
“Hey, guys,” I said. Ash murmured something back to me that sounded like “Good morning,” and Matt just nodded.
I poured myself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table with them. Matt was still typing away, and I reached over to rub his shoulder. “Why were you up so early?” I asked.
“I couldn’t sleep,” he said. “I had all these ideas and things I wanted to start getting done. I couldn’t lie there anymore.”
“My mom called to say they were bringing Viv back,” Ash said. “Otherwise, I’d still be in bed myself.”
Ash’s parents had taken Viv to their house the night before, so that Ash could stay out and celebrate, and she’d done just that. Now she looked like she was regretting it — and also like she might get sick at any moment.