People started to arrive right at 6:30, and as soon as we heard footsteps on the stairs, Matt said, “Here we go!” The first person to walk in was Benji, and he pretended to look around the room and then said, “I’m looking for the Good Guys Club. Is this the right place?” Jimmy laughed and walked over to him, shaking his hand and pulling him into a hug at the same time. “It is so good to see you, brother,” he said.
I’d offered to sit up front and check off the names of the people who had already donated and take money and checks from those who hadn’t. As soon as Benji came in, I went over and took my place. The invite suggested a minimum of fifty dollars, but almost everyone was far more generous. Right after Benji, there was a constant flow of guests, and even though I was working as fast as I could, there was a line for most of the night.
Whenever I looked up, it was easy to tell where Jimmy was in the room. Just like the first night I’d met him, there was always a small circle around him. Ash stayed right by his side the whole night, smiling and hugging everyone she saw.
The event was only supposed to last for two hours, but at 8:00, Matt came over and told me that he’d just arranged for us to have the room until 9:30. As long as people were still coming in, he said, he didn’t want to miss the chance for donations.
A lot of people stopped by just to donate, have one drink, and shake Jimmy’s hand, but plenty more stayed to hang out, and by the end of the night, it was getting a little loud in there. When it was all done, over four hundred people had come through, and I knew Matt was pleased from the way he kept smiling and rocking back on his heels as he looked around.
Toward the end of the night, Alan rushed in looking flustered. “I didn’t make a contribution yet,” he said, reaching for his wallet. “But I’d like to now.” He looked at me as though we’d never met, and I said, “Alan, hi, it’s Beth. Matt’s wife?” He blinked and finally said, “Oh, hi. Are you working for the campaign?”
“Just helping out,” I said, pulling the money from his fingers and placing it in the box.
—
Benji was not just the first to arrive but also the last to leave, drunk and a little bit sloppy. He stayed with us, swaying as we gathered our things and took down the posters. We all walked out to the sidewalk together and Jimmy asked him if he was going to get a cab home.
“Home?” he asked. “No, there’s a party around here that one of my friends is having.” He hugged us all good-bye, and then put his two fingers up as he walked away and shouted, “Peace, brother.”
“Must be nice to be twenty-eight,” Jimmy said.
“Okay, old man,” I said, and everyone laughed.
Matt was holding the poster with Jimmy’s face on it, and I made the two of them pose around it for a picture, making sure to get the Darlington House in the background. Matt looked straight at the camera and smiled, and Jimmy turned toward the poster and gave himself a thumbs-up.
“Perfect,” I said. “That’s a keeper.”
The four of us walked up Connecticut Ave to another bar, Maddy’s, which was still serving food. We crowded into a booth, and I tucked the money box next to me, keeping one hand on top of it. “Do you think someone’s going to steal that from you?” Matt asked.
“You never know,” I said. “I don’t want to be responsible for losing the campaign funds.”
We were all a little giddy, overtired and relieved that the night had gone well. “I think that was a pretty good turnout,” Matt said, holding up his beer to Jimmy.
“Good?” Jimmy said as they clinked glasses. “Kelly, you outdid yourself.”
Jimmy ordered a round of tequila shots, and when Ash and I protested, he said, “I’m the candidate, and if I buy the shots you have to take them.” But when he ordered another round, I held up my hand. “Sorry, I know you’re the candidate and all, but I have to sit this one out.”
“Me too,” Ash said. “Since I have a feeling our daughter isn’t going to humor us by sleeping in tomorrow.”
“Well, Kelly,” Jimmy said. “Are you ready to pick up the slack?”
They did the next two shots quickly, both sucking on limes at the end. I could almost feel the alcohol hit Matt as his body relaxed, and he turned to me with a shit-eating grin. “Careful,” I said. “Who do you think is going to carry you home?”
He nuzzled his face in my neck and said, “You, Buzzy. You’ll carry me home, of course.”
We couldn’t stop laughing as we ate, and it felt like we were our old selves—not just the four of us together, but me and Matt too. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen him like this—the success of the fund-raiser combined with the tequila had made him happier than he’d been in months.
After we ate, Ash and I walked back to the apartment and Matt and Jimmy stayed for another drink. “Just one, I promise,” Jimmy said, holding up his hand like he was taking an oath.
“That’s the biggest lie I’ve ever heard,” I told him, and he grabbed me and pulled me into a hug. “Maybe I have to work on my poker face,” he said.
“Oh my God, Jimmy,” Ash said, pulling me away from him. “Please don’t strangle our host.”