April Fool's Day 2016: Part VI
When the news of Nick's father's candidacy for the forthcoming congressional election emerged, it was a surprise to all of them, and the fact that he was standing not only as a Republican but with backing for Trump had just made it all the more revolting to come to terms with. The news had leaked out gradually, and all of them had every bit of sympathy for Nick; all were equally glad that it wasn't Sebastian's father that was standing. It had also healed all and any resentment that had still been felt over the prank, which had been consigned to history, never to be mentioned again. Luke was still wary of his cousin, and no longer believed every word that he said without question, but he also realised that there was fault with his sister, who should not have listened to Tina and accepted every word that she said as gospel truth. He had been invited for dinner at the loft, and he and Duncan had attended, insisting that they bring Seth too. There had been apologies all round for a few moments, and then they had eased their way back into the old ways, as if none of the madness of April Fool's Day had ever occurred. As Jeff put it, good family were more important than anything else, and now that there was a threat to be overcome, they had to stick together. That Sunday lunch saw all the problems caused at the start of the month set behind them.
Then on the Monday morning a fresh set of issues arose, and this time it directly impacted on Luke, Duncan and Seth. They had grown quite contented living together in their little apartment in Bushwick, and even the threat of the demise of the L Train had not put them off renewing their lease when the time came. That they did not have to do until the summer, and they had all anticipated it being a mere formality. So it was a shock when the knock on the door came first thing that Monday morning, and Duncan opened it to reveal their landlord's mother. She was immediately invited in, all of them glad that they always kept on top of the housework, so that the place was presentable. Seth insisted on making her a cup of tea, and she felt unable to decline. It was once she had it in her hands that she told them the bad news. Her son had been offered another promotion up in Albany, and this time the new position was a permanent one, that would keep him upstate for many years to come. His wife was also expecting another child, and so a larger house would be needed there. In consequence, they had decided that they no longer needed to hang on to the apartment in Bushwick as an alternative home for the future, and given that property prices might actually fall when the subway closed down, they had decided to sell up. They had an old friend that had always coveted their apartment, and they were more than interested in buying it. They wanted vacant possession. She was apologetic, but she had called that day to give them notice that they would need to move out in three months' time.
After she left, the three young men convened a council of war in the sitting room. They could not blame the owners for wanting to capitalise on their investment, and for wanting to settle down now that they knew their move was permanent. It was a nasty shock nonetheless, and it meant that they would have a very busy few weeks as they desperately sought out somewhere new to live in the city. Seth was already on the lookout for a place for his three cohorts from Dalton that would be heading to the city after the summer, and that made it his role to break some very bad news to his roommates. "This is not going to be an easy ask in such a short space of time. As you know, I have been trying to find somewhere for the guys since before Christmas, and everywhere that I have found that is within their budget is either miles from transport, or in an area that you just wouldn't chose to live in. We are going to have the same issue, I'm afraid. I know that Nick and Jeff have been looking too, and are struggling to find somewhere that suits all of their wishes."
"Do you think that more options would open up to us if we combined forces with the Dalton guys and looked for somewhere for the six of us to live in?" queried Luke. "I know that Duncan and I like our alone time, but we could manage if that was just in the bedroom, I guess. The fact is it might help us save money, as we would only need three bedrooms for the six of us, rather than trying to find two two bedroom places."
"It would, there is no doubt about that, but we are still going to face an issue in where we are actually going to be living. With this area out of the question due to the subway closure, we are probably looking at the southern end of Brooklyn, the Bronx, or the dreaded option…"
"Jersey City," said Duncan quietly. "I have heard that it is not that bad, and you can get over on the PATH Train pretty quickly to NYU. I know that it isn't New York, per se, but if it means we are more comfortable, then I guess we have to do it." He turned to Luke, who nodded in agreement, a sad look on his face.
"Right. I will take a look at what is available in Jersey City, and I will speak to the guys, not that I anticipate them having any problem with living with the two of you."
"No, nor do we. In fact, it will be nice to be the second of two couples in the place, given that Colin and Edward will be together too. Then again, that fact might drive you and Skylar crazy…" said Luke. Seth said nothing, but silently thought that he might have to spend a lot more time at work to avoid the lovefest that would be their new apartment.
Luke broke the news to Jeff later that day, feeling that his cousin, who had found the apartment for him, deserved to find out before he walked into the store and she apologised to him for throwing his cousin out. Jeff was sympathetic, and also worried. True, they had a plan to save themselves a bit of money on rent, but Jersey City was very much up and coming, and the prices there might already have raced upwards with the knowledge that Bushwick was about to became a lot less desirable. He was also concerned that if they moved there, and he and Nick moved to Pelham, he would no longer be close by to assist if there was a crisis for the younger guys.
Although there was no easy solution in sight for the growing accommodation crisis amongst them, they had a plan to deal with the other big issue. The only question was who would approach the lady in question, and would she even go along with it. True, Kurt could be sent in, as they all knew just how much she had loved her sweet Porcelain, but they all agreed that the initial approach had to come from someone that was still here on earth. Nick considered making the journey to Ohio himself, but that would not be easy, between the increased workload as the school year came to an end, and his commitments at both the Law Library and the Spotlight. A partial solution did come to light quite by chance. Jeff had called Trent to discuss a totally different subject, but the talk soon came round to the major issues that were afflicting those in New York, and to the thorny subject of Mr Duval. Trent could sympathise, knowing that even Burt was struggling to keep hold of the voters in his own District, as those that had once been amongst the most loyal were swayed by the political rhetoric from the businessman. To that end, he was planning on holding a number of meetings in the Lima area the following weekend, and had asked Trent and Rory to go with him. As he was well ahead with his coursework, Trent was able to spare the time, and had agreed to help set up a rally at McKinley. The moment he said those words, Jeff knew what the solution to the problem of Sue was…
When Nick eventually found time to ask Trent, the initial reaction was not exactly favourable to say the least. Although Sue had mellowed a lot since she had first appeared on the radar of the Warblers, she was still quite an intimidating figure to Trent, and he had never had the misfortune to actually be in the same school as the lady in question. Yes, he had told Nick that he would do anything that he could to assist him with the issue of his father's candidacy, but there were limits on that friendship. Rory had walked in halfway through the conversation, and he had blanched at the prospect of having to talk to Sue one on one again; it had been bad enough on the handful of occasions when their paths had crossed in his year at McKinley…
"Look, guys, I know that it is a big ask, and if there was any practical way for me to get up to Lima this weekend, I would go myself and face her. The fact is that we need to get her candidacy registered by the end of this month, and even that will be late in the day. If I have to go myself, then it will be the graduation weekend at Dalton, when we will all be busy with a wedding too, and by then I think the deadline for registrations will have passed," said Nick, pleading with his friends. "I think we can get Kurt to be in the room with you, and he can back you up. We all know that Sue has a soft spot for him."
"I like the idea better that we are the back up for Kurt…" said Trent. He sighed, and continued, "Ok, I will do it. We will probably run into her as we are setting up anyway and if we can tempt her with the chance of power, then she will lay off us as we set up for the rival party. I mean, she might like Burt as a person, but she still hates his political leanings. Just so you know though, you and Jeff will owe us a favour, ok."
"That's ok by me, though Jeff might not see it that way! Anyway, I will write you a letter to take to her, and I will send it to Burt's place in Lima, because I am guessing that is where you will be staying. A handwritten plea from me, Jeff and Grace will carry a little extra weight. Just make sure to tell her everything that happened at Jeff's place that Saturday afternoon, and the fact that I had been injured by him the night before. Sue might be a right winger, but she doesn't approve of anyone being injured because of their sexuality."
Nick wrote his letter that night, a mixture of pleading for her assistance for his own benefit, the fact that she was the only possible candidate for the job in question, and the fact that she would quite probably win, given that she was a well known figure in the media, and a strong woman, which would appeal to the female electorate that was increasingly resentful of some of the things that Mr Trump was coming out with. In fact, he sang her praises so strongly that both Jeff and Mike asked him if he was feeling ok when they read it for him. He signed it, then handed it to Jeff to do the same. To his shock, Mike insisted on signing it too, reckoning that the more signatures they garnered on the letter, the bigger the boost to Sue's ego. Given that theme, the letter was duly taken across the landing, where even Rachel agreed to sign it. Santana suggested taking it to the diner, and by the end of the following day, when Nick posted it for urgent delivery at the Post Office, Artie, Kitty, Marley, Ryder and Mason had all added their names, barely leaving space for Grace and Cooper. All Nick could do now was hope that this overwhelming display of support would be enough to sway the lady into agreeing to stand on their behalf.
It was still with trepidation that Trent and Rory entered the corridors of McKinley on the Saturday morning, not knowing quiet what sort of reception they would receive. Sue they knew would be around, as she had a big Cheerios practice scheduled; she had tried to argue with Principal Figgins that the rally should not be allowed as it would disturb her cheerleaders, but had been defeated. Therefore it was on virtual tiptoe that the two young men approached her office and knocked on the door. There was a brief moment of silence before a voice from inside shouted, "Well come in, let's get the grovelling over with!" They opened the door to see Sue sitting there, leaning back in her chair, and fixing a glare on the pair of them. They also saw the figure of Kurt standing to one side, which gave them both cause to breathe a sigh of relief. "Ah, the Leprechaun and the Informer. Porcelain here told me what I was going to be asked, but he didn't tell me which of you was coming, and I must admit that on such an important errand, it is a disappointment that the Klaine Alternative couldn't come themselves. Still, I guess I can understand why; I must be an intimidating figure to young men used to being in the company of their own gender at all times. All that testosterone…"
Trent just nodded, conscious of the fact that Rory was cowering behind him. "As I am sure Kurt told you, ma'am, Nick would have come here himself if he had not made other commitments that he could not break. He has sent us as emissaries, and has asked us to pass on this letter from him, and indeed his sister, in which he tells you his reasons for requesting that you consider standing against his father."
Trent took the envelope from his pocket and handed it to Sue, who nodded, and put on her glasses. As she read down the letter, they all saw how her expression darkened as she read about what he had done to Nick on that fateful day, and about the little things that he had continued to do to Nick ever since. She had witnessed his behaviour at the wedding first hand, but until that moment, she had not been aware that he had tried to send Nick away to a conversion camp. That was the factor that triggered her sympathies for him; if there was one thing that she detested more than wishy washy liberals, it was the fundamental Christians that tried to change people. In the end, all they succeeded in doing, if the statistics she had seen were to be believed, was making people suicidal.
"So, what you have be sent here to ask me is to split the Republican vote to such an extent that his sorry excuse of a father has absolutely no chance of making it to Congress. Much as I would like to ensure that he does not make it to the House, I see a flaw in your plan, namely this. If I split the vote, then by default, the Democrat might well win, and that is also unacceptable to me. Don't get me wrong, I think that it is high time that we had a woman President, but not the particular woman in question as far as I am concerned. On that basis, I must say no, although I am very flattered that he thought of me as the ideal candidate to oppose the idiot they have chosen."
Trent nodded sadly, and shrugged his shoulders. "Well, at least we can say that we tried to prevent Mr Duval from getting to Washington. I guess that we need to start looking for another candidate, although given that the person that Burt Hummel feels is without doubt the best possible person for the job has just turned us down, it will not be easy."
"Wait, I'm sorry, did you just say that Burt…"
Kurt, who up until that point had been silent, now spoke up. "Yes, my dad did say that if he had to face another Republican in Congress, then he could think of no better person than you, Coach. He knows only too well that had he not stood against you, then you would have been elected here in Lima back in my Senior year. After all, you are a strong woman that will not let herself be pushed around by anyone; a woman that would vote with her own conscience, rather than toe a party line that she does not give credence to. A woman that would stand with him to fight for the best for our kids, for our schools, for Ohio. A woman that would support his attempts to get more done for those in our country that are less able, for whatever reason, to defend themselves against those that say the state should do less."
Kurt paused, to let his words sink in. As he did so, Rory dug into his bag, and pulled out the document that he and Burt had been working on for several months; the basis of a bill that would guarantee the rights of those with disabilities of all kinds to equal treatment in all areas of public life, at all times, and make it an offence to show any sort of discrimination against them. Burt had support from both sides of the house, but the balance was close, and any extra voice that would be there to back him up would be helpful. It was a bill that would appeal to Sue naturally, given her experiences with both he sister and Becky, but it was a coincidence that he had been planning it, and Rory could prove it. "Now, before you say anything about it being a lousy trick, just check the dates on the bottom of this first draught, and on the letters of support from across the house. Burt, Trent and I have been working on getting this right for about six months now. We need more assenting voices in Congress to make it law. Your voice would be helpful - and I should also point out something here. In recent polls in the 12th District, 4 out of 5 voters said they would vote Republican, but some of them expressed concern about the policies of Mr Trump, particularly women. Based on that, if you split the vote and won, you would still beat the Democrats. Much as it pains me to say it, the Democrats don't have a hope in the 12th; all we need is a decent human with morals and decency to be selected. We had kind of hoped it might be you. If you aren't willing, then we just need to start searching for someone else…"
Sue looked up from the pile of documents that Rory had given her, all of them indeed dated for months earlier. Before she could speak, Trent handed her another sheet of paper, the article on which started with the words "The poll results…" She looked at them, and saw that they had been telling the truth. The Democrats really didn't have a hope in the 12th, and the idea that such an odious man could be elected; a man that supported all the divisive and frankly idiotic policies of that reality TV star…
"Well, what can I say? Porcelain, your father is a man that I have political differences with, but he has done good things. Between you, the Leprechaun and the Informer, you have presented a compelling argument. It would be unwise of me to give you an answer right now, but I will give it my thought tonight, and I will let young Mr Sterling-Duval know my thoughts in the morning. However, at this moment, all I can say is that my earlier reply to the suggestion was too early and ill-judged. If this state and this nation need me, then it would be remiss of me to stay here in my comfort zone…"
"That is all that we can ask ma'am," said Trent. "Thank you for your time, and I would like to add that if you do chose to run, although myself and Rory cannot be seen publicly to assist you as members of Burt's staff, there are ways that we can do so through an intermediary." With that, the two young men left to go an prepare for the rally, leaving Sue alone with Kurt.
"I think that you already know what your answer is… I think that you could be a very good member of Congress. Not many people get a second chance at it, and if it also means that you get to defeat a nasty piece of work in the process, then so much the better surely? Of course, as a journalist, you could legitimately call Mr Duval up at his work and ask him a few questions about his intentions, promising of course not to report on it until his candidacy is officially announced. It probably isn't strictly above board in the circumstances, but when has that ever stopped you?" He smiled at her, then took his leave. Sue shook her head, and then picked up the phone. She needed to find the number of the Duval law firm…
The following morning, Nick was just about to start on his breakfast when his phone began to ring with an unknown number. His initial thought was that he should not answer it, not knowing who it was, but then a little voice said he better had. He answered, but before he could speak, he heard a voice. "I will do it. I spoke to your father last night, and he is by far the most arrogant, bigoted, small minded halfwit I have come across in years, and that is saying something when you come from Lima, Ohio. The man had the audacity to speak down to me, and I think that was the thing that persuaded me. He seems to have the same attitude to woman as the man he seems to worship. It is time that he found out that this woman will not only stand up to him, but will beat him so badly in Ohio that he will never be able to hold his head up in public again. He might think that with Smythe as his campaign manager he can't lose, but trust me, I know some things about that creep too. So, you have a candidate. You and that sweet husband of yours owe me for the remainder of your lives, but we can discuss that later. I'm meeting your mother today by the way, although she seemed rather startled when I invited myself over. From what Kurt tells me, she was quite a successful woman herself back in Illinois, and she resents your father forcing her to give all of that up. I'm going to ask her to run my campaign. That would be a nice touch, don't you agree? Anyway, I have work to do. We will talk later."
Nick was still sitting at the table two minutes later, unmoving, when Jeff walked in. He saw the look of horror on his husband's face, and sat down next to him. "Nicky, what is it? What's happened?"
"Sue has agreed to be the alternative candidate, which is good. The thing is, I feel that I might just have done a deal with the devil… But, needs must. My father can't be allowed access to the power that Congress brings; he would just abuse it for his own ends and undo everything that is good. Sue might well abuse her authority, but it won't be for vindictive reasons, nor will she do anything extreme like banning show choirs in schools - at least, I hope not."
"I'm sure that she won't do that Nicky. She might try, but I can't see that gaining much support even with the most radical rednecks. There are far more important things that they will want to concentrate on. The one thing that we can be certain of is that the campaign is going to involve a heck of a lot of mud-slinging, and some of that mud might end up heading our way. Like it or not, we are going to be brought up, and you in particular. We might not live in Ohio anymore, but that won't stop the media coming in search of us - and Sebastian for that matter. After all, his dad is also going to be in the spotlight, as he is always going to be close to your father's side in the hustings and such like. We'll weather the storm though, as we have each other and we have our friends." Jeff pulled Nick into a hug, and the latter relaxed gratefully into it. He knew that his husband was right - for the next seven months, normality might be suspended at any moment when a camera crew appeared. The worst thing about that would be if anyone put two and two together and realised the role they had played on television at New Years; they had avoided the media scrum then, but it might not be so easy this time round.
