Prologue - Election Night

"Is this not the most important thing in our lives, Bella?"

"Sorry, can you repeat that," my mind was a blur and I did not hear her over all of my thoughts. The last year had been a blur, but tonight in particular was surreal.

"I said, isn't this the most important thing in our lives?" Stacy, the local political party chair said to me with a smile that showed more teeth then I thought was physically imaginable.

"It sure is something," I couldn't confirm her question. Sure, it was important, but the most important? My hesitation in answering went unnoticed and would not ruin this night for her, for everyone I worked with. The last month in Burlington, Iowa confronted me in a daze right at that moment. A tremor came from my pocket, my cell phone on vibrate because I could no longer hear the ring over the crowd that gathered in our run-down local campaign office.

"I got to get this call. It's kind of loud in here, I'm going to run outside to take this is anyone needs me." Stacy just nodded and turned around to celebrate with another of the local activists while I found my way to the only exit in the building – certainly a fire hazard but the fire chief was on the phones in my campaign office calling voters so I assumed the violation had been overlooked. Of course I still cringed, my father the police chief in my hometown back in Washington would be shaking his head at the state of this building that in all right should be condemned.

All around me volunteers were on the phones of all makes and models that the local party collected over the last several decades. I even spotted an old rotary phone, only the second time I had seen one person, the first time being a visit to Grandpa Swan's when I was a toddler. Everyone was still trying to turn out voters even though the polls were going to close in 15 minutes. Even though I was in charge of this office, far be it from me to tell them to stop, there was no need to dampen their enthusiasm.

"Hi Renee,"

"Hi sweetie pie, how was your birthday yesterday?" my Mom had concern in her voice.

"It was great Renee, a couple of my volunteers brought me a cake at the end of the day, it was really sweet of them." What I wanted to tell her was that my birthday was exceptionally crappy, but that was expected. The day before an election is crazy. Volunteers turn out from the woodworks without warning and expect to be helpful.

A couple of my volunteers were on the side of the building taking a smoke break, and I politely smiled at them and waved as I walked past and went behind the decrepit building I had spent all my waking hours during the last month. I never smoked a cigarette in my life, but right now I wanted to rip one from their hands and take a long drag.

"They even made sloppy joes for me," I tried adding with content. The locals seemed obsessed with sloppy joes around this area. There were three crock-pots full of the grotesque meat creation in the office right now. I blamed this concoction for the fifteen pounds I had gained during the campaign. And the lack of running, my mind could not clear itself without a good run. Sure, I tripped every time I went for a jog, but it kept my mind numb for the most part. Never being able to leave the building meant that I was continually at the mercy of my volunteers to bring me some kind of nourishment, however unhealthy it was. I would never vocalize my complaints.

"Did they bombard you with presents?"

"No, thank goodness. Most folks around here do not have a lot to begin with and the last thing I want is them spending their money on me."

"Well, at least folks thought about you. I wish you were here sweetie, I don't understand a thing on the news about this election. I need you to decipher everything for me."

"I wish I was home too, Renee. At least Ed and Liz are so nice here. Its like having an extended family." Ed and Liz were the elderly couple who were letting me stay at their home while I helped out at this campaign office. Both retired, they were really too kind to me, "Hey Renee, I have to get back in there. Polls are almost closed and I need to round everyone up and send some folks over to the county office to watch the absentee ballots being counted."

There was a brief pause, "Alright, I guess you have work to do. I just," Another pause, "I just miss you Bella."

"I miss you too. I'll come to visit you and Phil in Florida soon though. It will be nice to be in the heat a bit after the election is finished,"

"Good luck sweetie, and now that I found my cell phone again, feel free to call me whenever you want."

"Goodbye Renee, I love you too." I tried to keep some enthusiasm in my voice. My voice can be a good adversary in lying, especially during this conversation were it held firm and never wavered. I hung up the phone and began to clench my fists and hold back tears. My attempts to hold back my emotions failed; in fact it made things worse as I started to hyperventilate slightly.

Stranded in the heartland of American running a field office during one of the most dramatic elections of the past two decades should be invigorating. Field work was not my forte, I was a speech writer who crafted the message of the campaigns and candidates. The voice behind the scenes that could crawl back into her office and stay out of the limelight.

A couple weeks before when the head of field office in the largest voting block in the state suddenly disappeared for a week to pop up in Nevada sending a brief text message to the main office in Des Moines: knocked up and eloped – later peeps; I was quickly reassigned to occupy her critical position. The major qualifications for the "promotion," be single and expendable. Single, because attachments were the kiss of death in politics, and expendable as in able to send you out there and never really care if you returned from the front lines. Tonight I was front heading this operation and loathing every minute of it.

I could hear the muffled sound of cheers from inside the campaign headquarters. The polls were closed and now it was time to see the results of years of preparation, fundraising, canvassing, phoning, more fundraising, and finally voting. This was the night that we had worked for and put our entire hearts and souls into.

There was no doubt that everyone I worked with on the campaign sacrificed to arrive at this moment, we spent hours in the office together and often times never saw the light of day. Early returns showed that we were not only going to win, our margins were so large that we were going to crush our opponents. We let go of social time, and extra activities, the sacrifice considered inconsequential by our bosses. Some strained their relationships with loved ones and friends, some left them behind to travel across the country and campaign. Folks left behind good paying jobs for shitty ones with little pay. And I was simply alone.

Stacy said I should get a cat if I was lonely. Might as well get two while I'm at it. Cat lady sounded good right about now.

I sat outside and cried in the moonlight. I am going to be a freaking cat lady. After a few minutes, I wiped my tears on my sleeves, stood up and took in a deep breath of the crisp November air. My life could have gone in a much different direction, but tonight was not the night to think about that. Tonight was election night. One more deep breath after I passed a new set of smokers assembled outside the office. I thought of the only thing that could bring a smile to my face and I walked back inside displaying the largest grin imaginable and joined my cheering volunteers.

I pictured his face.