The Hopefuls(74)

“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 f*cking amazing. Have I told you that you’re a genius?”

“It was all you, man,” Matt said, which I knew he didn’t believe, but it was nice to see him being generous. Ash came over to join us, and we stood in a circle, just the four of us, shoulder to shoulder. We were only there for a minute or so—shortly after, Jimmy’s phone started ringing with congratulations and he was calling supporters to thank them. But for a moment, he was focused on us and I remember feeling lucky, like we were being singled out as special.

The bartender was setting down rows of shots on the bar, and Jimmy turned and grabbed four of them in one quick movement, handing one to each of us. We clinked them together and held them there for a second, all four glasses touching.

“Are we toasting to Texas again?” I asked.

“No,” Jimmy said. “To us.”

“To us,” we repeated, all tipping our heads back and drinking down our shots in one single swallow.





Chapter 16


The morning after the primary, Matt woke up early—even earlier than he normally did. But when I felt him get out of bed around 6:00, I assumed he was just going to the bathroom and fell right back to sleep. It wasn’t until a few hours later (when I finally got up myself) that I realized he’d never come back. We’d been out late the night before and there’d been more celebrating (and more shots), and my first thought was that he must be feeling sick, but when I peeked in the bathroom it was empty. I zipped a sweatshirt on over my pajamas and went upstairs, where I found Ash and Matt sitting at the table with coffee. Matt had his computer in front of him and was typing away, and Ash was resting her head in her hands.

“Hey, guys,” I said. Ash murmured something back to me that sounded like “Good morning,” and Matt just nodded.

I poured myself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table with them. Matt was still typing away, and I reached over to rub his shoulder. “Why were you up so early?” I asked.

“I couldn’t sleep,” he said. “I had all these ideas and things I wanted to start getting done. I couldn’t lie there anymore.”

“My mom called to say they were bringing Viv back,” Ash said. “Otherwise, I’d still be in bed myself.”

Ash’s parents had taken Viv to their house the night before, so that Ash could stay out and celebrate, and she’d done just that. Now she looked like she was regretting it—and also like she might get sick at any moment.

“I thought maybe you guys would take the day off,” I said to Matt, and he looked so serious as he answered. “We can’t afford to waste a day,” he said. “We can’t afford to waste a minute.”

—

Jimmy slept until almost noon, and when he woke up, Ash and I were in the TV room, each lying on a couch while Viv played on the floor. What I really wanted to do was to go back to bed, but it seemed unfair (and downright mean) to leave Ash by herself, so I stayed.

When Jimmy finally appeared in the doorway, he was shirtless, wearing an old pair of sweatpants, and his hair was sticking straight up off his head. It was also possible he was still a little drunk. “Holy Moses,” he said, leaning against the doorframe. “I really did a number on myself last night.”

Viv made a little squealing noise and then said, “Hi! Hi hi!”

“Hi, baby girl,” Jimmy said, looking down at her and waving. Then Viv looked at him and said, “Uh-oh,” which she said about fifty times a day, but Jimmy laughed and said, “Yep, uh-oh is right.”

“Good Lord, Jimmy. You didn’t want to make yourself decent?” Ash closed her eyes like she was annoyed, but really I think she was just tired.

“It’s just Beth,” Jimmy said, grinning at me. He flopped himself down on the couch where Ash’s feet were, making her rearrange herself so her legs were in his lap.

“Oh, Jimmy, you stink!” Ash said, covering her nose. “You smell like you just took a bath in whiskey.”

“Who’s to say I didn’t?” Jimmy asked.

We all turned as Matt came into the room then and stood in front of us. “I thought I heard you,” he said, looking at Jimmy. “How does it feel to wake up as the Democratic nominee?”

“It feels great,” Jimmy said. “I mean, I feel like a pile of shit, but the rest of it feels great.”

“I have some things we should go over,” Matt said. “I came to see if I could get lunch for everyone.”

“Oh my goodness, you’re a savior,” Ash said. “Please bring French fries. Anything with French fries on the side.”

“Is that okay with everyone?” Matt asked, and Jimmy and I nodded. “Great, I’ll be back in a few.”

We were all quiet as he left the room and we listened to him start the car and pull out of the driveway. Finally Jimmy said, “How on earth is he not as wrecked as the rest of us?” I just shrugged and said, “I have absolutely no idea.”