The Romance Vote

by Ali Vali

  “The future Mr. Sam Pellegrin has to pay for the sins of the past, huh? Makes sense, and no matter what, you shouldn’t bend on that long-ass list you got going.” She decided to reciprocate and scooped up some of Dale’s specialty pasta and offered it to Sam. The afternoon was starting to get interesting, but it wouldn’t last, since the song had ended and her mom was on her way over.

  “Did you see your grandmother’s expression?” Joni Alexander asked when she sat down and ate an oyster off Chili’s plate. “The last forty years of my life have been worth it just for that.”

  “Mom, you need to stop hoping Grandma will accept you and get some other goal in this life. And this is Sam Pellegrin, before you start using curse words to describe my grandmother to an invited guest who doesn’t know you’re joking when you say you hired a killer to take Granny out.”

  Her mom laughed but didn’t appear too upset at having spilled the not-so-hidden family secret. “Nice to meet you, Sam, and thank you for coming.”

  “Are you having a good time aside from making your nemesis look like she’s sucking on a lemon?” Chili asked.

  “You and your brother are the best things that God has ever gifted me with, aside from your father, so thank you for all of this. Y’all outdid yourselves this time. It’s been a great ride so far, and I’m looking forward to a minimum of another sixty or seventy years, as long as you throw us a good party. Today reminds me of our wedding. It’s a shame you and Dale missed that.”

  Her mom jumped up at hearing her name and excused herself a minute when a new set of guests arrived.

  “I take it your dad’s mom never took to her.”

  “I think the fact that I was in a way present at her and dad’s wedding had something to do with it, but she’s never admitted to it. To this day my mother insists I was the only nine-pound preemie ever born in the state of Louisiana, and my grandmother thinks she did it to trap my father into a life he really didn’t want. In Granny’s mind my dad was destined for greater things than his career in the oilfield.”

  “Is that where you get your will to win at all costs?” Sam asked, and Chili wanted to flick the remainder of her plate on Sam’s head.

  “I’ve never done anything unethical to win an election. Not that I’m perfect,” she said, and moved her chair back a little, “but most of my mistakes have come in my personal life, not in any election.”

  “I’m sorry, Chili.” Sam slid closer, as if to make up for the slight barrier Chili had tried to create. “It wasn’t a very good one, but I was joking. My dad has preached to me for a long time to follow your lead when it came to ethics. The profession we’re in has very little left, if you ask the average person, but I’ve admired you and my father for a long time because you’ve never compromised for the sake of an election outcome.”

  “I’m sure Huey will take over your education soon enough, and he’s the guy who taught me almost everything I know.”

  “Almost everything?”

  “He can’t take credit for the question that runs through my head when I first meet with any client.” She tried to let the sudden anger go and simply enjoy the party and the fact that Sam was here.

  “Not going to share?”

  “Before your first solo interview I promise I’ll give you a clue.” Her mom was looking at them and crooked her finger at her. “Would you excuse me a few minutes?”

  “Take your time. I don’t want to monopolize your attention.”

  “You’re a lot more pleasant to talk to than my extended family, so don’t apologize.” Sam laughed, and she almost hated to leave now that they were talking like normal adults who didn’t in fact hate each other.

  “How does your mom’s mother feel about your dad?”

  “It took her a few years, but she finally warmed up to him.”

  “Did she think he wasn’t good enough for your mom?” Sam asked, as if wanting to know her whole life story in one afternoon.

  “Granny’s a devoted Catholic who doesn’t like to judge, but in her opinion, good Catholic boys wait, along with the girls they love, until their wedding night. I don’t think she’s ever forgiven him for making them have to rush a wedding.”

  “What did she think about Paula?”

  “The same thing she thinks about using quantum physics to balance her checkbook.”

  Sam’s eyebrows came together as if she was confused. “Your grandmother uses quantum physics in everyday life?”

  “No, and she doesn’t know anything about Paula either,” she said, and winked before going to see what her mother wanted.

  *

  Sam watched Chili walk across the room and noticed how most of the people in her path stopped her, if only to say hello. Her dad had insisted that she attend a few events with him, and when Chili was present, Sam always saw the same thing. Chili seemed to put out some kind of pheromone that made people want to be around her, as if she were some kind of pied piper. Chili’s uncanny knack for remembering names also impressed her, especially when it made whoever she was talking to puff up like a peacock on steroids as soon as Chili addressed them.

  Her father had told her plenty about Chili, including his warning to stay away from her, but he’d never mentioned how lucky they were Chili was still at the firm. By now Chili should’ve moved on and used the contacts she had to catapult up to heading the national campaigns that eventually carried you to the promised land—a presidential run. Virgil was, in Sam’s opinion, way beneath Chili’s talents, but hell if she didn’t give him the same attention she had everyone else’s campaign they’d ever handled.

  “Are you here with Chili?” an attractive older woman asked when she sat down with a glass of champagne.

  “Yes, I’m Sam Pellegrin,” she said, holding her hand out to the woman.

  “Eleanor Alexander, Chili’s grandmother,” Eleanor said before taking a large sip of her drink. “I’m surprised she brought anyone to this shindig.”

  “Really, why?” The way Eleanor had said it made her want to side with Chili’s mom when it came to this woman. “Chili’s a pretty social person, from what I can see.”

  “As long as our families have had to come together because of the choices my son has made, I’ve never seen her bring anyone to anything. To see you here is a change that makes me wonder what the future holds.”

  Sam watched as Chili took her mother’s hand and headed out to the dance floor, both with huge smiles. She didn’t want to insult Eleanor, but the woman spoke with a distinctive sarcastic edge that was starting to annoy her. In her experience grandparents were loving people who doted and spoiled you rotten. “Mr. Alexander’s choices, from what I can see, are better than most. He seems very happy, and he has a beautiful family that loves him. As for Chili, I can’t explain why she always attends family functions alone. Maybe she’s afraid to subject anyone to her family’s views.”

  “I take it you have no children.”

  She shook her head at Eleanor’s statement.

  “I have four sons, and every one of them is divorced but one, so you’re right. My son’s happy and his family loves him.”

  “You should tell him that every so often.”

  Eleanor laughed and took her hand. “For an invited guest you certainly are opinionated. Did Chili paint me as the wicked side of the family who hates her mother?”

  “I work with her, and I’m sorry to say, but she never really talks about her family. So my slate is clean as far as any of the Alexanders are concerned. Are you the wicked grandmother who doesn’t care for her mother?” she asked with a smile.

  “I’m a widow who’s happy to see this day.”

  “What, their wedding anniversary?”

  “That too.” Eleanor laughed again. “Chili’s mother is as passionate a woman as I am, so we’ll always be oil and water, but she’s given me the greatest gifts any woman could hope for. Chili and Dale are my only grandchildren, and they’re both a lot of fun.”

  Sam nodded as she placed her other
hand over Eleanor’s. “Thanks for sharing that with me, but I’m not sure why you did.”

  “I sat over there and watched you and Chili share a meal, and it made me want to come and introduce myself. Hopefully the next generation will see me as the fun grandmother.”

  “Did that title go to Chili’s other grandmother in this generation?”

  “I think we shared that role, but there was too much tension for too many years, and it tainted so many things.”

  Sam wished her bladder would shrink a few sizes so she could excuse herself and hide in the bathroom, but she wasn’t that lucky. Eleanor seemed to want to unburden years of pent-up emotion on someone, and she’d picked that winning lottery number. “Chili’s my boss, Mrs. Alexander, and she’s a really cool person who I’m sure loves you. Whatever happened, you should put that in the past and enjoy the person she’s become.” The advice sounded good, and with any luck Eleanor would move on and leave her to watch Chili move around the dance floor.

  “I know that, and I apologize for probably sharing more about our history than you wanted to hear, but I wanted to introduce myself and tell you not to be afraid of what’s in your heart.”

  Great. The old lady fancied herself a candidate for an operator’s job for the psychic hotline as well with that deep statement. “I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about?”

  “I see how you look at her, and more importantly how she looks at you. Demand things of my granddaughter, and this will be you a few years down the road,” Eleanor said as she waved her hand around the room. “You might think me a meddling old woman, but I want to see Chili this happy one day, and you’re a step in that direction.”

  “I’m not someone she feels that way about, ma’am, but I’m sure one day you’ll get your wish.”

  “That’s the fear talking for you, and you’ve got more spunk than that.” Eleanor finished her drink and stood. “I think it’s time for you to go cut in.” She pointed to Chili and her mother. “It’s a party. You’re supposed to have fun.”

  If she’d had more than one glass of wine she could blame the confusing conversation on the alcohol, but she hadn’t finished the drink Dale had brought her. Before she could try to start deciphering the uninvited tidbits of information, Chili came back and held her hand out to her.

  “Can I have this dance?”

  Eleanor flew out of her head as Chili led her around the dance floor, and they stayed there when the music changed to a slower-tempo romantic number. “Thanks for inviting me,” she said as she rested her head on Chili’s shoulder.

  “I’m glad you came,” Chili whispered back. “What deep, dark secrets did my grandmother share with you while my mother showed me what a bad dancer I am?”

  “If I tell you it won’t be a deep, dark secret, but I’ll give you a hint. She really does like your mom a little bit, since she’s the only daughter-in-law that’s lasted.”

  “You mean she spent time on that and not only how wonderful she thinks I am? My weekly dinners with her have been a waste then.”

  Sam laughed and slapped Chili’s other shoulder. “My God, you’re an egomaniac, and she did tell me how wonderful you are. That’s why we were arguing when you walked up. I was trying to set her straight on a few things.”

  “What’s the next thing on your list?” Chili said as she pulled back a little so she could see her face.

  “The mariachi band wasn’t enough to make you think I’m crazy?”

  “Of course I think you’re crazy, but I’m still curious as to what’s the next item.”

  “A picnic somewhere I would think is romantic.” She smiled up at Chili and thought about shooting the DJ if the song they were dancing to ended anytime soon.

  “No hints as to what you think is romantic?”

  “If someone is interested enough they’ll guess, taking into account how well they know me.”

  “You should write books on challenge dating,” Chili said as she moved them more toward the corner to get out of the crush of the crowd.

  “Do you think it would make people want to date more?” she asked as she straightened Chili’s collar even though it didn’t really need it. “Or would they run away fast?”

  “Depends, I guess.”

  “On?” She asked as the song ended but Chili didn’t let her go, and she wanted to cheer when another slow one started.

  “If the prize at the end of the list is worth it to undergo the date challenge.”

  Chili held her closer and waited for this song to end before walking her back to their table. The day had certainly turned out much differently than her usual eating ice cream on her sofa with her cat, and for that she was grateful.

  They talked some more after Dale joined them, and Sam stood along with everyone else as the siblings toasted their parents after a few funny stories. This was certainly a different family setting than her usual time with her father, aunt, and both sets of grandparents. Compared to the Alexanders, her family was mild and quiet. Seeing Chili in the middle of all these people made her even more curious about Paula and how Chili had ever spent any time with someone like that. It didn’t compute now that she knew that Chili was this loved and actually spent a lot of time with her family.

  “Thanks again for inviting me,” she said a few hours later as Chili walked her to her car. “I had a great time.”

  “Thank you for agreeing to come with me. I was the envy of all my cousins.”

  “You owe me a few favors then,” she said as she dug her keys out of her purse.

  “You can collect whenever you like,” Chili said, then fell silent when Sam’s phone started ringing.

  “Hey, Daddy,” Sam said, and reached for Chili’s hand when she turned to leave. “Sorry, I’ll be a few minutes late, but I’m on my way.” She ended the call and tried to decide if now was the time to ask Chili if her father had in fact talked to her about staying away from her.

  “Sorry if I’ve made you late for anything,” Chili said, not letting go of Sam’s hand.

  “My aunt Fern is in town and Dad wanted to take us out to dinner. I actually forgot all about it.”

  “Get going then before your uncle Tulip decides to show up,” Chili said, and laughed.

  “Can I ask you something before you go?” Eleanor’s warning to not let her fear stand in her way suddenly made sense.

  “I met Paula at a campaign early on in my career, and she didn’t like to be ignored. After coming on to me with the subtlety of a Mack truck, I gave in, and after that idiotic move, the real Paula emerged.” Chili stared at what Sam guessed was her shoes and appeared so uncomfortable Sam almost stopped her from finishing. “When I broke it off to save myself from any more of her insanity, she made a scene in the middle of our candidate’s headquarters. It didn’t leave anyone there with any doubt to what kind of relationship we’d had and what she thought of me in every sense, both in and out of bed.”

  “Why tell me after all this time? And for the record, that wasn’t what I intended to ask you.”

  “You really wanted to know, and I didn’t tell you before because Paula’s at the top of my list of embarrassments. If we’re going to work together I didn’t see the wisdom in denying you the answer to any question you ask. Keeping it from you might give you the impression I don’t trust you.” Chili finally glanced up at her and shrugged. “But having said that unnecessarily, what’s your question?”

  “Did my father talk to you about me? I mean about something other than work?”

  “If I answer that truthfully, it’ll make me sound like a twelve-year-old who’s whining, and if I don’t answer, we’re back in that no-trust territory. So how about you cut me some slack on this one?”

  “I don’t want to know so I can go back and yell at him, but you really put some distance between us the last couple of weeks, and I didn’t want you to think I had something to do with it if he did.” She stepped closer to Chili and took her hands. “I worked so hard to graduate early so I could work wit
h you. I have from the time my father hired you, and I don’t want his misconceptions about you to cloud whatever relationship we’re going to have.”

  “I apologize for that, so don’t blame Huey. Sometimes I’m not sure how to handle situations so I back off until something comes to me.”

  “Was the situation this time me?”

  “Sort of, but how about we start over in the morning and we’ll see where that gets us?”

  “I can accept that,” she said, and squeezed Chili’s hands. “Can I ask you one more thing and have you not think I’m totally crazy?”

  “I might have to go home and lie down afterward, but go ahead.”

  “Whatever we start over tomorrow, can we keep it to ourselves and leave Huey out of it?”

  “We’ll see,” Chili said, and let her go to open her door. “Now get going so you don’t keep Aunt Petunia waiting.”

  “It’s Aunt Fern.”

  “Then I might start calling you Petunia since you’re not a boring green plant. Have fun and thanks for the afternoon. Drive safe.”

  Chapter Nine

  As they continued their work on the Emery campaign, Sam noticed that while everyone had specific tasks to do, ever since their unplanned date, she worked with Chili every day overseeing the whole process. For once she was glad she’d kept quiet when Chili had asked what she’d learned at Tulane to get her degree. From Virgil’s wardrobe change to his improved message, she realized Chili was a better teacher than any class she’d sat in.

  It was like Virgil was a puzzle that Chili had torn to pieces and put back together in a way that made for a more appealing picture, though she hadn’t really changed any of the original parts. The first debate between the candidates from all accounts had gone to Virgil, and he’d cut his opponent’s lead to less than two points in the polls.

  The only drawback to their new and better work relationship was that after the day of her parents’ anniversary party, Chili hadn’t brought up anything else remotely personal. If she hadn’t been there, Sam would’ve thought she’d conjured the whole thing up, and she wanted to see that side of Chili again.