“You’re so confident I’m jealous.”
“Whatever happens it will be okay,” I repeat. I know he doesn’t believe it, but I believe enough for both of us. “But I need a glass of red.”
I give his hand a final reassuring squeeze and weave my way through the crowd to the bar. Murph leans in. “What can I get you? A Malbec? Cab? Valium for Bowen?”
“All of the above,” I quip and he laughs. “I’ll take a Cab. Thanks Murph.”
“Have you met my boyfriend?” Murph asks, reaching for a wine glass above him and tilting his head to the occupied seat beside me. “He was straight, like you. Guess Bowen and I have superpowers.”
I look at the dark-haired guy beside me who is shaking his head with a smile. “Jason. Hey. And I apologize. Murph is filterless.”
“Chase. Nice to meet you.” I shake his hand. “Filters are over-rated.”
“Thank you.” Murph winks at me and slides the wine across the bar.
“Turn it up!” Autumn hollers suddenly, pointing at the television and jumping up and down.
Tanner scrambles for the remote. The local news station is ready to report some preliminary numbers, apparently, which is why Autumn is yelling. Tanner turns up the TV and the room falls silent.
“Well, I have to say Gail, I don’t think there’s been a closer race,” the male announcer says to his colleague.
“That’s true Gordon. We’ve had snap elections before to fill unexpected vacancies but never fought with such… gusto,” she concludes.
“That’s one way to put it,” I grumble.
“Just give us the numbers!” I hear Autumn bark. Some people giggle.
“But now it looks like we have enough counted votes to declare…” He pauses and I swear not a single person in the room is breathing. “With sixty-nine percent of the vote, our next mayor is Woody Whitlock.”
I don’t actually hear the entire last name leave the anchor’s mouth because the room erupts in celebration. I leave my wine and battle my way back to Bowen. Everyone around him is jumping and screaming and Woody and Autumn have arms wrapped around him but he’s swiveling his head around urgently. Looking for me.
When our eyes meet, he breaks from his family and we yank each other into a bear hug. “Un-freaking-believable!”
“Hard fought,” I counter. “And well earned.”
He pulls back, cupping my face in his hands he lays one on me, brief but intense. Still holding my face, he says. “I know you’re right and everything would have been okay if he didn’t win.”
I nod.
“That’s a lie. It would have sucked,” he replies. Same words I said two long weeks ago.
I laugh. “But you’d still have me.”
“Fact.”
“Bowen!” Woody calls. “The paper wants a picture of the family.”
“I hate this part,” Bowen whispers and turns with a fake but polite smile on his face.
I watch him make his way to his family, and I can’t help but think of my own. My parents do not take my calls and they don’t return them. No mention of the inheritance. No invites to events they need me to attend. Pure and utter silence. My cousin hasn’t reached out and my aunt hasn’t either. The only one who has, shockingly, is Colin. To tell me they know, and they do not approve. But he does.
“Look bro, you can fuck whoever you want. I don’t care what parts they have.”
Crass, but that’s always been Colin. “I’m not just fucking him, Colin. I’m dating him. Seriously. Exclusively.”
“Okay. You can do that too with whoever you want,” Colin replied. “I don’t exactly want to hear the details or anything.”
“I didn’t want to hear the details when you lost your virginity to that camp counselor at fifteen, but you insisted on telling me anyway,” I reminded him.
