Chapter 58
The next couple of weeks flashed by. Ever since their night together, Dot found she was crushing big-time on Danny.
She thought about him constantly and found it hard to concentrate at work or to sleep when she wasn’t with him.
She couldn’t even read the books Harper passed on to her.
Every page, every paragraph became a blur.
“Who, at this point, hasn’t decided?” she asked Fletcher and Rose, exasperated.
“No idea. Just about everyone I know is voting early,” Rose said. “They’re sick of the ads and the arguing. They just want to vote and be done with it.”
“I hear that. It’s relentless. But I can tell from the data, she’s got more rizz than the president,” Fletcher said. “Polling shows people are ready for someone new.”
“What’s ‘rizz’?” Rose asked.
“Charisma! You know, that special something every candidate needs.”
“Then why don’t you just say ‘charisma’?”
“Too many syllables.” Fletcher loved to tease Rose.
“Can rizz get us what we need in a month’s time?” Dot asked Fletcher.
“We have just about eight weeks to get those four percent, or at least more than half of that four percent. I hope the DNC is paying attention to what’s happening here,” he said, obsessing over his get-out-the-vote spreadsheets.
Wisconsin allowed early voting for fourteen days before the election, so every scrap of information they could capture about who was likely to cast a ballot mattered.
That way, they could target every possible voter—even the reluctant ones.
“We really need that Lopez visit,” Rose said.
“We’re pressing. I almost want to drive to D.C. and confront those campaign pros in person,” Fletcher said.
“I don’t think Kitty gives them a moment’s rest,” Dot said. “But she’s one of those people you want on your side. It’s not good to have that kind of energy working against you.”
She had to admire Kitty’s diligence. She’d even arranged a surprise for Dot after the dating profile was a huge hit.
The FaceTime had come one day when Dot was in the office. She didn’t recognize the number, but she answered the call anyway. Immediately upon saying hello, Dot realized who it was—Lucy Lopez herself.
Dot sprinted into the conference room and shut the door behind her for some privacy.
“Dot, hi! I called to thank you.” Lopez had her long, dark hair pulled over one shoulder. She was wearing a cap-sleeved white T-shirt with her campaign logo and her red lips were on point. Her warm smile made her look even prettier.
Dot was shocked but pulled herself together immediately. “Oh! Hi! Senator Lopez, it’s so nice to get a call from you. I know you’re extremely busy.”
“Well, you really turned things around for us with that dating profile. It was great to get the drop on The New York Times. I knew it was a great idea, but who knew that so many people could relate to it?”
“Well, you’re a pleasure to work for, ma’am,” Dot said sincerely.
“I know you’re working hard up there. How do you think it’s looking? Be brutally honest.”
“I truly think you’ve got a great shot of winning here. Our get-out-the-vote is strong. And we’re slightly ahead of the Republicans in new voter registration. In addition to that, it feels good out there. We have more energy than the president’s team.”
“No doubt thanks in part to your efforts,” Lopez said.
Dot felt bold enough to make her pitch. “I do believe we need you to visit Cedar Falls though, ma’am. The voters here need your personal touch before they’ll commit. When your campaign canceled in August, it blunted our momentum.”
“Got it. I agree. That was an unfortunate outcome. And that trip to Texas was likely a waste of time. Thanks for being clear. I like that in a teammate. I’ll talk to my scheduler to see what we can do.” Dot watched her write down a note. “So, what are your plans after the election, Dot?”
“Oh, me?” Dot didn’t have a ready answer. “Actually, I’m not sure. I mean, I’m going back to New York. That’s where I live. But I don’t have a job to go back to yet.”
“Well, let’s keep in touch on that. You never know how things are going to turn out.”
“Wow, okay, thanks. Yes, I’d be glad to let you know what happens. And, before you go, I just want to say that I believe you’re going to win. And that you’ll make for an amazing president.”
“Well, thank you. I’m realistic. That keeps me motivated. I know it’s really tight. But we’re hitting all our numbers. And we need a bit of luck, too. These next few weeks will be brutal, but I’m with you—I also have a good feeling about the grind.”
“We’ll keep at it,” Dot said. Then she got the courage to ask her something that had been on her mind. “Senator, may I ask you something kind of personal? Off the record, of course. It’s just something I’ve been wondering.”
“Of course. Shoot.”
“Well, when I was writing the profile, I wondered . . . Have you ever been in love?”
“Wow. That is a very personal question,” Lopez said.
Dot cringed, worried she’d overstepped.
“But I don’t mind at all.” Lopez looked away for a moment then turned back to the camera. “Yes. I was in love once. I dated a wonderful man for several years. He adored me. We were very happy.”
“What happened?”
“Well, it kind of sounds ridiculous now. But we were on very different career paths. He was an international businessman, a successful architect. Our lifestyles weren’t compatible.
And after a while of trying a long-distance relationship, we finally called it quits.
He got married about a year later and has two children now. ”
“Oh. That must have been hard.”
“It was. It is.” Lopez went quiet for a few moments. “And the thing is, it didn’t have to be that way.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that we could have worked it out. I realized now that I could have made a different choice. Choosing to be with him didn’t have to be a career-limiting decision. It just might have been a different career. But he’d have been with me. And I wouldn’t be facing this alone.”
They let that sit there for a moment.
“I appreciate that, thank you,” Dot said. And then, out of respect for the candidate’s time, decided it was time to wrap it up. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”
“Just help us win, Dot. Keep up the good work. Oh, and, if you happen to have a chance to be loved—don’t pass it up.”
Dot tucked that advice into her pocket. “Thank you, ma’am. We’re pulling out all the stops for you in Wisconsin. Don’t worry!”
“I’m not worried.” She winked, flexed like Rosie the Riveter, and waved goodbye.
Dot sat for a while thinking about what she’d said. And while Lopez’s advice made her feel a little smarter, it left her with more questions than answers.
Could she and Danny stay together and have a long-distance relationship? Would he move to the city? How could he? His entire life was here. His business was here. And she didn’t even have a job in Wisconsin. Not to mention she couldn’t imagine living anywhere but New York.
Plus, was she falling in love with Danny? What would her friends think if she didn’t go back to New York? How could she stay here without a job? How could she ever choose . . . and what if she didn’t have a choice?
Her mind was jumbled, and she leapt from thought to thought. She felt her next set of decisions were big ones—it would matter. She needed to figure out what she would like to do, who she was, and most important, who she wanted to be.