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CHAPTER 38
Icould hear the buzzof the crowd through the walls of the green room we were in. It was November 7th, and the polls were closing in just under an hour. After two long years of campaigning, I could hardly believe that Election night was finally here.
We were all set up in one of the biggest banquet halls in Sacramento. Five hundred people were milling around, playing games and enjoying the cocktail hour leading up to my final speech once the polls closed. Mortie was keeping an eye on things, and judging by the twinkle in the old man’s eyes, things were definitely going well.
“Ma, Baba, I know you want to talk to Adair and Madeline but things are a little crazy here right now.” Rio had his phone up to his face, and I realized that he was facetiming with his parents.
I poked my head around the phone and smiled into the camera at Rio’s parents who were sitting with their heads practically plastered together as they tried to fit into the camera. They probably didn’t realize that they could rotate the phone and both fit in the frame more comfortably. I loved Rio’s parents, they were the most affectionate people that I had ever met, and they were also ecstatic about their new grandchild on the way.
“Hi mom, hi dad.” I greeted them affectionately with a wave.
“Adair!” Rio’s dad crowed. “I’ve been keeping an eye on things in California and it’s looking good for you my boy. If only you could bring your ideas to Florida.”
There was no way I would ever try and run for any kind of office in Florida. Politics in Florida, in my opinion, were the equivalent of chugging several energy drinks before getting on a go-kart track with suped up go-karts. “Sorry, dad, I’m a California man through and through.”
Rio’s dad didn’t seem to mind my rebuff, and his mustache twitched as he grinned at me.
“Where is my Madeline?” Rio’s mother, Fatima, got closer to the camera. She probably figured that by getting closer, that Madeline would somehow magically appear.
“She’s getting ready, and Marcus is helping her.” Rio explained. Truth be told, I wished that I could have convinced Madeline to stay home tonight. She was eight and a half months pregnant and being on her feet was such a chore that she usually chose to rest at home rather than go to events with us, but she’d insisted so stubbornly that I didn’t have the heart to tell her no.
“You take care of her and that baby, you hear me, boys?” Fatima wagged her finger in the camera. “I’ll be seeing you after the New Year, but you take care of my girl.”
Fatima had come to visit in October, and she and Madeline had forged such a tight bond that it was surprising to all three of us. Madeline seemed to blossom under Fatima’s care, and I often found her facetiming with her during the week.
“I will Ma,” Rio replied, exasperated by his mother’s hen-pecking. “Look, we’ve got to go, Adair’s got to give a speech before the polls close and then we’re going to be keeping an eye on things all night.”
“Okay, Dario. Take lots of pictures for us and we’ll call tomorrow no matter the result.” Fatima said and moved aside so that her husband could speak.
“I am very proud of you boys, and tell Marcus that too. You take care of my daughter-in-law though.” With that, they hung up.
“Did I miss the phone call from Fatima?” Madeline asked, breezing into the room followed closely by Marcus, who looked dapper in his tuxedo.
“Yes, but she’ll call us tomorrow after the results,” Rio kissed Madeline’s cheek. “You look gorgeous, Madeline.”
She definitely did. She was wearing an empire-waisted pink gown that had long chiffon skirts that showed just how pregnant she was. Her black hair was pulled up into an elegant french twist. She looked every bit the future First Lady of California that I was seriously hoping that she would be by this time tomorrow.
“Let me get your ties for you,” Madeline said and immediately began to fuss over our clothing, tying our bow-ties and straightening our suit jackets. At this point, one of the aides could have probably helped us out, but all three of us liked it when Madeline fussed over us.
When she was finally done, she took a step back and her brown eyes gave each of us an up-and-down perusal as she looked for invisible wrinkles to tug out.
Finally pleased with what she saw, Madeline smiled. “My handsome guys.”
“Our beautiful lady.” Marcus said as he swooped forward to be the first to kiss her, careful not to mess up her makeup in the process.
Rio was next and whatever he whispered in her ear made her giggle. Finally, it was my turn to gather her into my arms. “Are you ready for tonight? It’s going to be long.” I asked, pressing a light kiss to her lips.
“I think so, I’ve got comfortable sandals on so I won’t have to worry too much about my feet. I don’t want to miss a second of tonight.” Madeline’s manicured fingers brushed across my lips, probably to wipe away some lipstick that was there.
“Two minutes, Adair,” an aide with a headset on called from the door. She had a clipboard tightly clutched in her hands, and I knew that a woman with a clipboard meant business.
“Alright, showtime. Are you guys ready?” I asked and held my hand out for Madeline.
“As ready as we’ll ever be.” Rio said, and together we stepped into the light.
The lights on the stagewere blindingly bright as we stepped onto it, and I was doing my best to smile and wave as we listened to the people in the crowd cheer.
A podium was placed in the center of the stage, and Rio and Marcus stood on one side of it while Madeline took the other, a bright smile fixed onto her face as she waved to the crowd. People called her name, and she made sure to wave in whatever direction the voices came from which only made the crowd cheer louder.
