“We hear you,” Dot had said. “The good news is, the fair’s a big deal, and we’ve got a plan. Plus, there’s a feature on Lopez coming soon in theMilwaukee Journal Sentinel. The reporter seems completely charmed by her. Once it’s out, we’ll get that up on all the socials. I promise, we’re pulling out all the stops for the candidate’s time in state.”
That seemed to calm Kitty down for a moment. But then Dot knew things were dire when Kitty made them an unexpected offer.
“Look, we all know that Wisconsin matters the most, even if these whiz kids at the DNC think they know better,” she said, taking the edge out of her tone. “I’ve got an incentive for you. If Lopez wins Wisconsin, I’ll give you and Fletcher twenty percent of the win bonus to split.”
Dot did some quick math in her head. If Kitty was to get $500,000, that meant she and Fletcher would split $100,000. An unexpected fifty grand? That would be amazing—especially since she didn’t have a job lined up for after the election.
“You know we’re not in it for the money,” Fletcher said. “We’re in it for the country.”
While Dot agreed, she also thought she could be in it for the money as well. “It’s an incredibly generous offer. You’ve got a deal.”
“Great,” Kitty said. “Keep me posted.”
The gravity of their situation wasn’t lost on Dot. For Kitty to offer to give them part of her win bonus must mean she knew that Lopez’s chances of victory were dwindling.
Back at the fair, Fletcher pointed to where Rose was still laughing with the Republicans over at their booth. “She’s sure having a good time.”
“She’s got friends everywhere, doesn’t she. People who are too online wouldn’t believe that people from opposite sides of the aisle got along that well here in the real world.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean, and I’m all for civility,” Fletcher said. “But I still want to kick their ass on Election Day.”
“Same,” Dot said, nodding sharply. “It’s going to be so close.”
“Yep. Too close for comfort.”
Rose walked back to them smiling.
“Get any dirt on what the Republicans are up to, Rose?” Fletcher asked.
“Ha! From Charlie Cooper? Heck no. We’re just friends from way back. He and my late husband used to play tennis over at the club. I haven’t seen him in a dog’s age. It was good to catch up.”
“How are they feeling about their chances in November?” Fletcher asked.
“I don’t know. I didn’t ask.”
“You didn’t?” Dot asked, incredulous.
“No, I didn’t. I vowed long ago never to let politics get in the way of a friendship.”
Dot and Fletcher looked confused.
“You two see me every day, and you know that I’m a true-blue Democrat. I’ve never voted for a Republican. Politics is what I do, but it’s not who I am,” she said. “And some of my best friends are Republicans. Charlie and the other guys over there, well they didn’t ask me how we’re doing either We just live our lives respecting each other. It’s always been that way around here, at least for the folks our age.”
“Sort of like the Jankowskis at Reader Falls,” Dot said. She’d long admired how their mixed political marriage had worked out perfectly for them. She couldn’t help but think of Danny then. She knew Danny voted Republican, but he rarely brought it up. And even if he was conservative, he’d never held her politics against her. He was the most supportive guy she’d ever dated who understood her passion for politics and didn’t give her a hard time for working evenings and weekends. More important, she realized to her surprise that her attraction to him and how she’d come to care about him meant that she didn’t really care how he voted—she just loved being around him. It made her realize she didn’t really like Ryan all that much after all.
And then her mind flashed to how he’d held her the night before when they had slow danced to one of Dierks Bentley’s latest tracks in front of the headlights of his truck.
“Snap out of it!” she told herself. She had too much work to do to daydream about Danny.
“Rose, I have a lot to learn from you,” Dot said, bringing herself back to the here and now.
“Oh, stop.” Rose brushed off the compliment. “Senator Lopez’s visit tomorrow is going to be critical. The stakes are as high as the corn. We need to have a good turnout.”
“Yep. That’s on our minds, too.” Dot tapped her fingers on the desk.
“We’re on it,” Fletcher said. “We’ve got a bunch of folks already signed up, and I just hit social media one more time. Plus, Kitty increased our budget to provide food for everyone who shows up. We’re offering free soda and brats. Gotta feed this crowd to keep them happy in their seats.”
“All right. Let’s get to it,” Dot said. “Rose, you might not feel competitive with those guys, but we do.”