He wouldn’t be our adorable boy if he hadn’t been raised by a raging narcissist, I suppose.
And now…the general election. Running for a seat on the county commission is the first big step in his political journey. Because there isn’t a minimum age to hold the office, Carter wants to start him there, as soon as possible. It’s a four-year term. Owen’s twenty-six now, will be twenty-seven when he takes office.
Carter keeps gently reminding me “if” Owen wins, except I know the truth—there is no doubt in my mind we’ll get him elected. He already made it through the primaries with Daddy’s endorsement. Now he just needs to take out his blue and red competition.
That’s why we find ourselves driving over to Momma and Daddy’s house in Brandon on the Sunday after the primary election. We’re picking them up to go visit an old family friend. Daddy and Momma will be heading back to Tallahassee tomorrow morning, so it needs to happen today.
Rebecca Soliz Martin is now a cut-throat GOP strategist who’s already made a legit name for herself in state politics. The three candidates she worked for during the primaries over in the Orlando area all won their various primaries. She’s literally taking only a couple of days off before hitting the campaign trail again, and if her candidates knew she was talking to us today, they’d all probably fire her immediately.
We’re not the competition in terms of the office Owen’s running for, because none of her current candidates are running in or near Hillsborough County.
But we’re not GOP, and her clients are.
We last ran into her a few months ago at Daddy and Momma’s house in Brandon, when he threw a Super Bowl watch party. She and her husband, John, and their three sons, had all been in attendance.
I can barely remember the girl who went on camping trips with us when we were kids, the girl I shared a tent with, and I haven’t seen her father, Edward, in years. He was supposed attend to the Super Bowl party, too, but ended up staying home because he was sick.
This is a huge favor Daddy’s called in for us, for Owen, and I know it. When we arrive at Momma and Daddy’s house to pick them up and I hug Daddy hello, I whisper in his ear.
“I owe you big-time, Daddy.”
He chuckles. “Sweetheart, you havenoidea, but that’s okay. Hands wash hands.”
I catch Carter watching—Carter misses nothing. Owen is busy hugging Momma. I swear she wishes I’d married Owen instead of Carter, but they’re just going to have to deal with it. This magic we have, the three of us, wouldn’t happen any other way, even if we can’t tell people the truth.
Carter is driving, and Daddy gets in the front seat with him. Owen volunteers to sit in the middle of the backseat, between me and Momma, even though I offer to take the spot.
Owen won’t let me.
Our good boy, always thinking of me. Even though he’s likely going to be our state’s future governor and, at six-four, he’s way taller than me. Sitting scrunched in the middle has to be uncomfortable for him.
Edward Soliz is widowed now and lives with his daughter and son-in-law in a house fifteen minutes from Daddy and Momma in Brandon. Rebecca Soliz Martin, her father, Edward, her husband, John Martin, and their three kids are all there when we arrive. Their oldest son, Eddie, named after his grandfather, looks nothing like his mother, father, or his two much younger brothers. He’s got light blue eyes, red hair, and pale skin and freckles. So pale that he looks like he’d explode in the sunlight. Reminds me of one of the Weasley kids from theHarry Pottermovies.
A little more thinking on it, and it itches my brain that he reminds me of someone from real life, someone I haven’t thought about in years. It triggers a memory of a camping trip when I was a little kid.
I shove that memory away because, today, we’re focused onthis.
Getting Owen elected.
I don’t have time for trips down memory lane with old friends right now. We’re here for work.
Rebecca warmly greets us. Once we’re gathered in the living room, she tips her head as she studies Owen. “I have to admit, I was a little surprised when Benchley called me. I wouldn’t be taking this meeting with you all today if it wasn’t for how close he is to my father.”
“We appreciate this,” Carter says. “But Owen is a candidate worth backing.”
“I’ll be honest that I didn’t pay much attention to this race,” she says. “So I looked at his results. Impressive numbers, especially for a first-time third-party candidate. I’m guessing there’s a bigger picture?”
“Governor,” Carter says. “In ten years.”
Her perfectly shaped eyebrows slowly arch. “Wow. Not sure any candidate can take two county terms all the way to Tallahassee that soon in this political climate. Much less a third-party candidate.”
“One term county, one term Florida Senate. Then governor.”
Now she can’t hide her shock. “Benchley’s seat?”
“I’m endorsing him,” Daddy says, and I don’t miss the way he glances at Carter. “For this race, and for my Senate seat, when he runs.”
Rebecca frowns. “You’re going to endorse an Independent candidate over a GOP candidate for yourSenateseat? Very likely over a GOPincumbent, at that point?”
