The Hopefuls(58)

“She’ll be here around five. I’m going to feed Viv now,” Ash said. “And then I can feed her again before Linda comes.” She was on her knees, unzipping the bags and rifling through them, taking things out and placing them on the floor around her. “Where did I put that bib?” she asked, looking around the room. They’d been there for less than twenty minutes and already their stuff was everywhere. The apartment had been clean when they walked in and now looked like a disaster.

“I’m going to jump in the shower and change if that’s all right with you,” Jimmy said. He was already carrying his bags upstairs.

Ash was still sitting on the floor with stuff all around her, and she just watched Jimmy walk up the stairs, then turned to me and said, “He thought we should leave Viv with his parents for the night, but I didn’t want to. And now I think he’s trying to prove his point by not helping with her at all. Not that he ever does all that much, anyway.”

“Well, I’m happy she’s here,” I said, kissing her cheek. Above us, we heard the shower turn on, and Ash reached into a bag and pulled out a bib. “Found it!” she said, holding her arm up in triumph.

—

The fund-raiser was in the upstairs of Darlington House, a small bar right off Dupont Circle, just a few blocks from our place. The four of us were there an hour before it started, to make sure everything was set up. “We should get a good turnout,” Matt kept saying. We hung signs out front that told people where to go, and a poster with Jimmy’s picture on it at the top of the stairs. That took about five minutes, and then there was nothing to do but wait. We all got a drink and sat at a high table and tried to make small talk. Matt was fidgety and it was rubbing off on the rest of us. Ash chewed her straw and kept looking around the room like she was making sure no one had slipped in while we weren’t paying attention. Jimmy kept clapping his hands together, like he was going to make an announcement, but then not saying anything. I had butterflies in my stomach even though this night had nothing to do with me. I could only imagine how Jimmy felt.

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.