Matt flipped through the pages, and they discussed a few of the locations before deciding on one. “That’s what I thought you’d pick,” she said. “I’ll send the owner a note now.” She was already typing away on her phone.
“That’s great,” Matt said. “Thanks so much.” We watched Katie walk to her car and waved good-bye as she pulled out of the driveway. I figured that the spell was broken, that we’d stop talking about Meg and go back to discussing contaminated water, but Matt surprisingly still seemed relaxed.
“Don’t be jealous, Buzz,” Matt said. “But I think I might be in love with that little OCD Texan.”
“Oh, I’ve noticed,” I said. “You probably dream about how organized your life would be with her. Your sock drawer would be legendary.”
Matt reached over and took my hand. “It would be,” he said, smiling and closing his eyes as he aimed his face to the sun. “But don’t worry. I’d never leave you for her, no matter how inferior your tweeting skills are.”
—
When the day of the primary finally came, I somehow felt surprised by its arrival. We’d been living at the Dillons’ for two months at that point, talking of little else, and still it felt like it had snuck up on us, like maybe we weren’t ready.
We were all up early that morning, nervous and jittery. Ash made a huge pot of coffee and by 6:30 a.m. was already brewing another one, although it was the last thing we needed. Matt was at the kitchen table, clicking away on his BlackBerry, his leg jumping up and down in rhythm with his typing. I put my hand gently on his knee to calm him down, and he stopped the bouncing for just a couple of minutes before starting up again.
Jimmy wouldn’t sit down, kept finding reasons to get up and walk into the other room before racing back to the kitchen like he’d missed something. Ash was ready for the day in a blue cocktail dress, her hair curled and makeup on, and it was only when she went to feed Viv that she realized her mistake.
“I’ll do it,” I said, taking the yogurt from her. Viv had recently discovered the joy of spitting food at the person who was feeding her, and there was no doubt in my mind that she’d do it today. I’d seen her laugh wickedly after spraying Ash’s face with oatmeal—she knew what she was doing.
“Oh, thank you,” Ash said. “I don’t know what I was thinking. I just opened my eyes at four a.m., wide awake, and figured I’d get a jump on the day.”
“You’ve been up since four?” I asked her. She nodded.
“I didn’t have a prayer of falling back asleep. I’ll probably be a zombie in an hour.”
Viv took a bite of the yogurt, eyeing my pajama pants and T-shirt, sizing me up and then apparently deciding it wouldn’t be worth wasting her breakfast on me. She was holding on to an extra spoon, banging it on her tray, telling me (I think) to hurry it up.
Katie knocked on the side door to announce her arrival, before opening it up and letting herself in. She was wearing a button-down shirt and dress pants with heels and carrying a pink bakery box. “I brought some reinforcements,” she said.
Matt and Jimmy both reached for the box as soon as it was on the table. I shook my head when Matt first nudged it toward me (my Texas eating habits were quickly becoming frightening), but then I said, “Oh, what the hell?” and took a vanilla glazed. Ash watched me and then did the same and through a mouthful of donut said to me, “We need all the energy we can get today, right?”
—
The day passed in a blur. Ash and Jimmy went to the polls to vote early in the day with Viv in tow. Ash had dressed Viv in a shade of blue that complimented her own dress and had (no surprise) strapped a huge bow on her head. Because Viv still had barely any hair, Ash had to rely on the stretchy headbands, which looked uncomfortable, even to me. All morning, Viv kept reaching up to pull off the bow, throwing it to the floor with a defiant look.
Right before we left, Ash was following Viv around, replacing the headband over and over and begging, “Please, baby girl. Please keep it on for Mama.”
“Maybe today’s not a day for a bow?” I suggested, and Ash looked so close to crying that I quickly said, “Or maybe she just needs a break? Maybe you can put it on when you get there?”
By some miracle, Viv was in a better mood by the time we arrived at the polling place and stayed still as Ash strapped the bow on her head. Jimmy picked up Viv, then he and Ash walked into the building together, holding hands and smiling. Katie stayed in front of them, taking pictures and posting to Instagram without breaking her stride, which was extremely impressive. I wondered how she could work that into her résumé.
When Jimmy and Ash came out, there were a few people outside, and a couple of them clapped. Jimmy smiled like he was embarrassed, but then walked over to the group, shaking hands and saying, “Thanks for coming out to vote, y’all.”