Chapter Twenty
Somehow, Martha and Sam had talked the hotel into letting them use one of the conference rooms for another press conference. Jackson imagined the hotel staff felt done with all of this nonsense and was kind of surprised they hadn’t kicked Park out yet. Of course, they had no idea about the bomb Park was about to drop, which pretty much guaranteed the press would keep hoveringaround the hotel until Park left it. Good thing Park already had a Realtor on retainer to find him a new place.
Two days had gone by since Tucker had trapped Park in a men’s room, and Tucker had been arraigned that morning. Park’s scarf and cuff links had been found in Tucker’s car, parked in a public lot a few blocks from the hotel, apparently the place Tucker had been living since abandoninghis apartment. The NYPD was holding on to the stolen property as evidence for now, though Park didn’t seem especially anxious to get any of it back, aside from the family heirloom cuff links. Jackson spared a thought for the scarf, probably worth more money than he wanted to know about. Park could afford not to worry about money. On the other hand, Jackson didn’t want to think too hard aboutwhy Tucker had stolen Park’s things; he wouldn’t be able to see the scarf without thinking of Tucker, so he’d have a hard time taking it back, too.
They’d worry about it later. A murmur of voices drifted through the conference room door, and Jackson imagined those gathered were anxious to get in. The press thought they were gathering in this room to hear Park announce he was lifting the campaignsuspension. They were going to learn a lot more than that.
Martha thought it would be a good idea for Jackson to remain out of sight, but Park wanted him nearby, so the compromise they’d settled on was for Jackson to sit in the back of the room. It felt a little cheesy, but he’d put on the Zegna tie Park had given him as a gift all those years ago. Now he and Ray took seats in the last row.The lawyers had already been briefed, and Ray deserved some credit for blurting out what Park was haltingly trying to tell them before Park had said the words himself. Ray seemed happy for them. Dan had thrown a hissy fit and threatened to quit the campaign if Park went public about his sexuality. “All the voters are going to see is you getting fucked up the ass,” Dan had said. Park had gotten offended,but Martha had saved the day by saying, “If you’re not on board, there’s the door.” Perhaps worried about losing his hefty paychecks, Dan had promptly stopped protesting, but pointed out that the RNC chairman had warned Park about the company he kept. Park had flatly stated he didn’t care.
It was Martha who had said, “The trick will be not to treat it as a scandal. Because it isn’t. You’renot married to a woman who has to stand by your side with her chin up while you explain yourself. You don’t have a fatal disease. There’s nothing wrong with you. It’s a simple statement of fact that does not affect the campaign or your politics. But if we treat this revelation as a scandal, the media most definitely will.”
Martha was a smart woman, Jackson thought. He was glad Park had heras an ally.
Dan and Sam were at the front of the room now. Sam fiddled with the podium and tested the mike, though the room was small enough that the audio was probably unnecessary. One of the interns hovered near the door. Jackson found most of them interchangeable and couldn’t remember this one’s name; he was a skinny guy who looked like he’d graduated high school five minutes ago, so Jacksonhad started mentally referring to him as Awkward. At the signal from Sam, Awkward opened the doors and let the press into the room.
As reporters filed in, Ray turned to Jackson and asked, “You think he’s doing the right thing?”
“I’m incredibly biased.”
“I think it’s the right thing,” Ray said with some conviction. “I hope everyone else agrees.”
Martha poked her head in from theadjacent room. She waited until most of the press had settled before disappearing again, presumably to fetch Park.
When Park walked out, there were a dozen flashbulb pops. There were also several video cameras set up in the back of the room, three owned by TV networks and one by the campaign.
“Good afternoon,” Park said into the microphone. “I’ve prepared a statement, and I’d like to readit before I take questions.”
Martha and Dan flanked Park, doing a pretty good job of presenting a united front. Park looked around the room and visibly relaxed when his gaze met Jackson’s. They’d agreed to keep their relationship under wraps for a little while, so they could adjust to being together before getting sucked into the media bubble, but Park and Martha had also agreed that, if theirsecret got out, that’s just how things would go.
Up at the podium, Park cleared his throat.
“I have a few purposes for calling this press conference today. As I’m sure you’ve all heard by now, the man responsible for the death of Zoe Haufman has been arraigned and is being held without bail by the New York City Department of Correction. As you’ve probably also already heard, I had an encounterwith him Monday night that led to his arrest. I’m not completely comfortable discussing everything that happened yet, and the NYPD has advised me to use discretion, so suffice it to say it was difficult, but given that I got out with only a sprained wrist, I consider myself lucky.”
Said wrist hung in a sling now, doctor’s orders. Park had hated it, but Dan thought it made him seem more sympathetic.
Park looked up at the gathered press and then took a deep breath. “Under the circumstances, and because we are confident Ms. Haufman’s killer will be brought to justice, I’m here to announce that as of right now, the Livingston for Senate campaign is back up and running. We’ve rescheduled the campaign appearances I had to miss during the suspension. I’ll be traveling to Saratoga Springs foran event this Friday and we’ll be up in Rochester Saturday. Then I’ll be back in the city by Monday for the debate with Mr. Thompson.”
Park spoke at length, detailing the rest of his campaign stops and repeating a few lines from his stump speech about how he was the best man to represent New Yorkers and their values in the Senate, and that he remained committed to his platform of small government,free markets, and individual liberty. He even added a few carefully written lines about how he wanted the Republican Party to stop standing for the bigoted elements of society and to embrace a broader segment of the population, including a younger, more diverse conservative base.
Jackson and Park had talked about this at length. Jackson still wasn’t convinced Park could really effect so muchchange within the party, but he appreciated that he wanted to try. But as he listened to the speech now, he could practically hear Reed going, “Yadda, yadda, yadda.”
Then again, perhaps Park would be the one to show the party that it could broaden its appeal by embracing a platform built on new ideas and not trying to hold on to some disappearing status quo. Jackson still disagreed with Park’spolitics, but he loved Park and wished him luck effecting the changes he wanted.
Park got to the tricky part of the speech. “I have one more announcement.” He glanced at Martha, who nodded. Then he looked out at the press and met Jackson’s gaze again. Park nodded to himself, seeming to decide something, and he said, “Having your life threatened has a way of making you rethink your priorities,so I’ve made a decision regarding myself and the campaign that may very well affect whether people vote for me. But it’s important to me to be honest with my constituents, and I hope that after I tell you this, you’ll continue to put your faith in me.”
Park’s chest rose and fell. Jackson imagined he was sweating bullets now. Probably his stomach churned four times as much as Jackson’s didnow. For a brief moment, Jackson thought Park might say, “Forget it,” and walk away.
But Park said, “Here it is: I’m gay. I am a gay man. Until now, there were only a handful of people who knew that. I’ve never lied about it, but I haven’t been completely honest, either. But now is a time for honesty, and if I want the voters to trust me, then I need for them to know the truth about me. Thisdoesn’t affect my politics, because I have always advocated for individual freedom and small government. My hope is that this also doesn’t affect how you view me, because I very much want to be the Senator from New York come next year.”
Park looked at the press, his lips pressed together in a thin line but his expression otherwise blank. The room was silent enough to hear a pin drop.
“We’ll take questions now,” said Martha.
It took a moment for the hands to shoot into the air and for everyone to start asking questions. Martha fielded most of them, logistical things about the campaign, but then someone asked, “Are you seeing someone?”
“We’re not commenting on that,” Martha said.
Park shot Jackson a smile that Jackson knew was meant just for him.
