—
I got to the bar early with Katie, to help her make sure that everything was set up right, although she didn’t really need me there. The caterers brought in the food—shrimp, red beans, chicken, and salad—and Katie stood right by them as they arranged everything. “This looks good,” she said to me, and I agreed. “Simple but homey.”
“It does,” I said. “You’ve done a great job.”
But she didn’t answer, just went back to typing on her phone. We sat in silence in the empty bar and waited for everyone to arrive, and finally I took out my own phone and examined it closely, as though I had important things to attend to as well.
—
There were about sixty people at the party, including Jimmy’s parents and Ash’s family. Ash’s sister, Lauren Sybil, was there but her boyfriend was not, and she was drinking white wine at an impressive pace. She worked the room in a circular fashion, coming back to us every twenty minutes or so and saying, “I’m so nervous. Aren’t you nervous? I could just die!” The fourth time she looped around, Ash handed Viv to me. “Lauren Sybil, let’s get you a glass of water,” she said and led her to the bar by her elbow, turning back to give me an exasperated look.
I lowered Viv to the floor, and she gripped my fingers as she took some unsteady steps. She’d been so close to walking for a while now, but as soon as any of us let go of her, she immediately sat down on her bottom like she thought we were trying to trick her.
I wouldn’t describe the party as fun, at least not the beginning of it. There was a sense of impatience all around us, everyone trying to distract themselves with other things, but really just killing time until the race was called—like we were all just standing on a subway platform, waiting for a train. I held Viv’s hands and walked her around the room for a while, her wide wobbly steps making her look like a little drunk lady, and then Lauren Sybil took her and I went back to where Matt was standing near Jimmy, picked up my drink, and resumed marking time.
We found out that Jimmy won when The Texas Tribune tweeted the news at him. Jimmy got a ding and looked down at his phone, which was in his right hand. “Holy shit,” he said. He held it out to Matt, like he didn’t trust himself. “Does this say what I think it does?”
Matt looked down at the phone and then broke into a huge smile. “You did it,” he said. “Congrats, buddy.”
The people right around us were starting to catch on to the news, and Jimmy put his fingers in his mouth and whistled, quieting down the room. “Everyone,” he said, “I’m so thrilled to announce that The Texas Tribune has just called the race for me!”
The room broke into cheers then, loud whooping and clapping. Ash came running across the bar and flung herself into Jimmy’s arms, in a way that was slightly over the top and made me understand why she’d been so good in pageants. “Oh, baby, I’m so proud of you,” she said, putting her hands on either side of his face. Jimmy kissed her and then spoke to the room again.
“I want to thank each and every one of you. I couldn’t have done it without you—I really couldn’t—and your support means everything to me. So thank you!” Jimmy raised his glass, and everyone cheered again.
On the other side of the room, Lauren Sybil was still holding Viv and swaying to the music with her like they were dancing, but she kept leaning a little too far to each side and I was keeping an eye on her, hoping she wasn’t about to tumble over. I was relieved when Ash’s mom finally leaned across and took Viv right out of her hands.
Matt had been accepting congratulations from the people around him, and finally he was free and I was able to give him a kiss. “Congratulations,” I said. “I’m really proud of you.”
“Thanks, Buzzy,” he said, looking not as happy as I would’ve imagined.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, definitely. I’m thrilled. Just already thinking about the next race. If Jimmy could really win, it would be groundbreaking.”
“Maybe you should try to take tonight off,” I said. “Just enjoy this.”
He nodded, but his face remained serious. Jimmy came over then and lifted Matt off the ground in a bear hug. “Kelly,” he said, “this is fucking amazing. Have I told you that you’re a genius?”