Paul dropped us off at Our House for the election-night party. The place was already packed. Most of the tables had been pulled out, and they had put in a standup bar where one of the cooks would make you a sandwich. Then there was a small buffet that had side dishes and garnishes.
My family had claimed a couple of tables on the upper level. Brook and I worked our way through the crowd, thanking them for their help as we did so. Cassidy waved at us to signal that she’d gotten us plates of food. I guess I would let Fritz’s decision not to fire her stand. He’d told her she should have protected me from Brook’s attempt on my family jewels. I wasn’t sure whether she would go against Brook if it ever happened again. I decided not to test my theory by pissing off my girlfriend enough that she felt it necessary.
We made our way over to our table so we could eat; I planned to work the crowd again after I had food in me. Little David wanted to be held, so I took him as I sat down to have my sandwich. He was eating solid food and was interested in my dinner.
“It looks good,” I told him, giving him a piece of the meat.
Cassidy had gotten me an Italian sub with different meats on it. I figured ham was safe. Everything was okay until Little David got a taste of the spicy mustard. He gave me a look like, ‘Dad, what are you doing to me, Man?’
“Sorry, Buddy. Let me get you another piece.”
I didn’t blame him when he was cautious with it. Once he was sure it was good, he was back to wolfing it down.
Grandma Dawson came in with Duke when I was about done eating. He was happy to see everyone. That was until Little David gave him the ham with spicy mustard on it. You could see Duke didn’t like it, but that didn’t stop him from eating it. Oh, the joys of having children and pets. All I could really say was that neither had killed the other so far.
“The polls close in a few minutes,” Grandma Dawson reminded us.
“Any idea how we’re doing?” Dad asked.
“I’m not sure. Ian will be here shortly. He’s been working on exit polling for the area and should be able to tell us.”
Ian, Brook’s dad, had helped with Duke’s election. He’d said that Duke was the best candidate he’d ever worked with. I wasn’t sure what that said about the other politicians he’d helped.
Right on cue, Ava and Ian came in and made their way to our table. I looked around for Duke and found him curled up on the floor under the table on a blanket with Coby and Carol. It seemed it was nap time. It amazed me they could sleep with everything going on.
Brook was such a good daughter. She got food for her parents. She even brought me another sandwich; this time, it was roast beef. A guy needs variety. Little David agreed.
Finally, the polls closed, and I saw Ian with his phone to his ear. He got out a notepad and furiously wrote things down. When he got off the phone, Dad asked him if he knew the results.
“The exit polling says that Duke won in a landslide, and that Senator Dixon should have an easy win. It might come down to the wire for Governor Higgins, but that was to be expected,” Ian shared.
In the last election, Governor Higgins had squeaked out the win. He was running against a woman who had ties to the Chicago Machine. When people joke about corrupt politics, they need look no further than Chicago. Way back in the day, they’d allowed organized crime to get a foothold. It was typical for the police to make more from the crime bosses than they did doing their day job.
Over the years, the Chicago Machine had risen to power. They had unwritten rules about recruiting new members and controlling existing ones. Those rules were very similar to those of organized crime families and street gangs. The Machine doesn’t kill people, but everyone who lived in Chicago knew why you ‘don’t fight City Hall.’ If you did, the Machine would apply its unlimited city resources to make you pay.
That power had created an environment where a large voting bloc cast their ballots according to how the Chicago Machine wanted. Governor Higgins wasn’t their chosen candidate. They looked at him as an outsider because he was from downstate. For him to win again, he had to sway suburban and downstate voters to his cause. Not an easy task.
“When do you think we should declare victory?” Grandma Dawson asked.
“The majority of the people here are teenagers,” I pointed out. “They’ll get bored if you draw this out. I would do it now.”
“I agree,” Ian said.
Somehow, they talked me into going on stage with Duke, Grandma Dawson, and Ian. Duke wasn’t sure he wanted to get up from his nap, but I showed him some leftover roast beef, and he was right there to help out. A boy after my own heart. Then, wait for it … they handed me the mic.
“Before we get to the fun stuff, is everyone having a good time?!”
