But if I ran for Garcia’s seat, it would make it possible for me to…there at least would be the option to…
You’d move to Texas.
Nikhil’s soft, low voice bursts in my mind, as unexpected and startling as a crack of thunder.
I blink and realize the presentation is over. There’s a conversation in full swing now that I’ve apparently tuned out. Something about endorsements and who we might want to approach. Shake offers some thoughts about people he’s worked with, and when he stops, I chime in before really thinking about it.
“What about Congresswoman Garcia?”
Out of the corner of my eye, I catch Shake glancing my way.
“Why? Do you know her?” Alexa asks.
“Not well. I’ve only met her once, but I’ve worked with her people before. I could probably get us a meeting.”
“She’d be a great get,” someone else says. “She’s a legend.”
“Yeah,” I say, my confidence slowly growing. “She is. And this is something I wanted to get everyone’s thoughts about actually, but she’s not running again. She’s going to retire.”
Alexa quirks an eyebrow. “I haven’t heard anything about that.”
“Meena heard about it when she was down in Texas,” Shake says. “It’s just a rumor, but—”
“There are potential candidates in Houston taking it seriously,” I say. “And I think we should too.”
I sit up taller. “Garcia was my representative growing up. I’m from the district. I know it well. And I want to talk about potentially running for that seat.”
A couple of people exchange glances.
“I thought you both were thinking Maryland,” Alexa says. “Shake, you’re still hoping to run for governor there at some point, right? I mean, that’s still the long-term plan?”
“Right,” he says. “That is still the plan. For me. But Meena’s always wanted to run for Congress, and if this opportunity makes sense for her…if there’s still a way for us to frame this right, still a way to launch our runs together, well, that’s what we want to find out.”
“I could still be here for Shake,” I add. “If I run in Texas. We could still campaign together. I’d split my time between here and there. I’d be willing to come up for any big canvassing or fundraiser events, and Shake could come down for some of my stuff too. And ifI won, I’d be here the majority of the time. I think it could be doable.”
Alexa watches me thoughtfully for a moment. “Honestly,” she says, “you’d be a great fit for that seat.”
Shake’s eyebrows jump, and a shooting sensation pierces through me. I’m not sure if it’s my own surprise or something else.
“You’re young, sharp, a great communicator,” Alexa continues. “I actually saw you speak at the Keep Families Together rally a few years ago, and the passion in your voice, the way you connected with people. You’re going to be great on the campaign trail, no matter what race you run in. Texas might be a tough sell since you haven’t lived there in a while, but people like a hometown hero returning to their roots. We could spin it. It’s not…it’s not the worst idea in the world.”
My pulse jumps, excitement and a bit of adrenaline coursing through me. I open my mouth, about to sayyes. Orlet’s do it. Or at least provide some sort of response to Alexa’s words.
Because she thinks it’s possible, and really that’s all I’d been hoping to hear. With all its flaws, Texas is my home. The laws are a nightmare, people’s rights are under attack, but it’s where I’m from. It’s where I want to be making a difference. I’d never thought about going back before. I’d always thought D.C. was where I was supposed to be, where I could do the most good, but things shifted when I heard about Garcia’s seat. When I was actually present in Houston. When I let myself imagine it.
When I talked about it with Nikhil.
I close my mouth, my throat suddenly dry, all the words I’d been about to say evaporating.
I want to run in Texas. I do. But can I be in Texas and not bump into Nikhil? Can I campaign minutes away from his house,ourhouse, and not see him? Can I be so close—can I be hisrepresentative—and stay away from him?
Shake had been worried about that, and for good reason, because I don’t know if I can. Letting him go has been hard enough these past two weeks, when we’ve been separated by more than a thousand miles. I don’t know what would happen if I flew to Houston. I might cave the minute I land. I might break down, unable to resist the almost magnetic pull that draws me to him. The string that binds us together. The one I’ve never been able to sever.
The one I still haven’t, even though I have everything I need to do it.
Shake’s watching me, no doubt sensing the conflicting thoughts jumping through my mind.
“Could we have five?” he asks the team. “Just give us a moment to step out and—”
