Phoenix (21 page)

Christine spoke first. She was never one for flip remarks or jokes; she went about her business, told it straight, and explained her policy positions. It was effective enough because crowds always cheered loudly at her speeches. But to say her public speaking style was different from Caroline’s was a huge understatement.

Caroline agreed to introduce Jack before he spoke on Capwell’s behalf. While the candidates were expected to work in a few policy points of their own, Caroline’s job was to be short, sweet, and supportive. She figured she could handle it. Kathleen offered to prepare some remarks but as with most other appearances, she preferred to speak from her heart.

This made Greg and the rest of Jack’s staffers nervous, even though Caroline had never done anything but speak extemporaneously while on the trail. She didn’t want to get tricked into touching any political third rails.

Caroline insisted that Chrissy introduce her. She hadn’t been able to bend the rules at many appearances that summer but finally put her foot down. She was more comfortable when Christine transitioned to her. Christine was never one to get mushy during her public appearances but her affection for her best friend was hard to hide.

The chair appeared rather upset that Caroline was stealing his thunder by having the gall to introduce her own husband at a campaign stop. The GOP county leaders wanted their moment in the sun with the candidate and resented that he wanted his wife to speak before him instead. Greg and the others had the annoying habit of telling them ten minutes before rallies started. Caroline tried to let the party bosses know it wasn’t her choice but that was hard to do when Jack’s minions were sticking to her like glue.

Christine switched from businesslike to warm and fuzzy so quickly that the entire room picked up on it. The mood on the stage changed. Caroline liked that sort of inexplicable but palpable vibe; it was one of the few things she appreciated about campaigning.

Christine announced her name and the crowd cheered. Caroline crossed the stage. After that sort of introduction, she wasn’t going to let Chrissy sit down without a hug.

Christine kissed her on the cheek before pulling away. “Knock ‘em dead, Punky.”

“Thanks for warming them up, Iron Lady.” Caroline laughed. “Could you maybe work in a joke next time?”

She waved at the crowd, waiting for the sustained applause to lessen. She wondered if they’d give her a chance to start her remarks before she’d have to ruin their momentum. They cheered a little longer, until they finally gave her a minute to break in.

“All right,” Caroline said. “That’s enough. I know you’re not here to see me.”

They continued to cheer, louder this time, and Caroline waved her arms downward, indicating that they should be quiet. “I don’t know.” She grinned. “Maybe you
are
here to see me!”

They started cheering again and Caroline turned around to face the other people on the stage.

“I’ll take it from here, Jack. I have your usual speech memorized.”

He laughed along with the crowd.

“It’s wonderful to be in Pittsburgh again,” Caroline said. “Of course, the last time I was here I spent a good deal of time familiarizing myself with some of your city’s finest elevators but-” She waited for the laughter to die down. “I have been told this is simply a lovely town.”

Whenever Caroline spoke to large crowds she tried to find friendly faces amongst the throngs who came to see them. Even though she was quite comfortable speaking in public, she had occasional moments of panic when she thought about how many people were hanging on her every word. As she looked out over the masses, she saw that most of them were smiling at her. Genuine smiles. They
liked
her. Since they’d laughed at the elevator joke she knew there was a chance she might have won them over.

“A lot of people ask me why I make all these appearances,” Caroline said. “I know, I’m a Democrat-”

She heard some boos, but not many. It wasn’t a hugely partisan gathering, which she took as a positive. The diversity in the audience was consistent with Jack’s poll numbers. He had held a steady lead over his opponent for most of the spring and summer.

“Hey, come on guys, we all have flaws,” she said.

Laughter again. She plowed ahead.

“This transcends party politics for me. First off, let me say what a delight it is working with Representative Capwell every day in the House. He is a consummate professional, a sharp mind, and you are quite fortunate to have him as your voice in Congress. I would also be remiss if I didn’t thank Representative Sullivan for that kind introduction. She doesn’t normally say nice things about me unless I bribe her, which is why I suspect I’m going to have to ply her with cookies later.” Caroline grinned. “I make magnificent cookies.”

More light laughter.

“But she is a wonderful friend, a capable member of Congress, and one of the best people I have ever had the privilege of knowing. I know you’ll help her get to the Senate, where she can represent all of Pennsylvania with grace, tenacity, and common sense.”

Polite applause, a little louder this time.

“And now,” Caroline said. “This guy-” She jabbed her thumb toward where Jack was sitting. “What can I say about him?” She glanced behind her. “You know, I just realized I’m vastly outnumbered by conservatives at this rally. I’d better watch what I say or I’ll lose one of my few allies on the stage. And I think he’s the only one who can get me on the plane to Philadelphia tonight.”

More laughter.

“To get back to what I was saying earlier,” she said. “This isn’t about left or right, liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican. We don’t need to worry about the letters next to the names of the individuals who represent us. We need to care more about who they are as people. We need good citizens, good legislators, good human beings running our government. We’ve gotten to the point in this country where we’re so concerned with ideology and sound bites and the lowest common denominator that we forget we’re all Americans. Most of us are trying to do the right thing, providing for our families, loving our children, hoping we can keep them safe, praying we can give them a good life. We want them to know complete and utter happiness, to grow in their education and social development, in their ability to build community with one another. That can’t be legislated. But it helps to have people in power who understand those values.”

The crowd was silent.

“I’ve had the opportunity to speak with some incredible Pennsylvanians as we’ve crossed the state during the last few months,” Caroline said. “Many of them have thanked me for representing people who feel they have no voice.” She smiled. “I guess there are more liberals around here than you think there are.”

More quick laughter, but they fell silent again. They were hanging on her every word. She didn’t know what else to do but keep going.

“These voters have asked me - why are you leaving the House of Representatives? Why don’t you stay there? And I’ve told them every single time: this gubernatorial race, the future of this Commonwealth, the future of this entire nation – those things matter. Don’t get me wrong. Family matters. Friends matter. A sense of purpose matters. That’s true of everyone. But I don’t need to stay in Congress to make a difference. I’m married to someone who can do that on a much greater level here in Pennsylvania.”

Caroline could speak from the heart when it came to her idealism, but making it personal proved a bit more difficult. “You have the opportunity to put a man in the Governor’s Mansion who has tremendous business acumen, who has shown himself to be a dedicated public servant, and who wants to lead Pennsylvania into the future. I wish you could know John Montgomery McIntyre the way I do. He is a good person. He is a visionary. He is a caring, loving, and incredibly inspiring man.”

She hadn’t wanted to cry at this thing, but damn it. Her emotions were too unpredictable. She cleared her throat. “He can do so much more for all of you as the chief executive here than he ever could in Congress. Which I hope means you’ll have me as your First Lady.”

More cheering.

She smiled. “I’m going to take that as a yes.”

They laughed.

“Well, thank you,” she said. “I appreciate it, as does Jack. Standing before you today supporting such amazing candidates is the most important thing I could be doing. All of us need to be more involved in the process. All of us need to start caring, not only about what happens to ourselves but what happens to our neighbors, or even complete strangers. We’ve gotten so focused on the game and meaningless and unworkable policy positions that we’ve forgotten our need to interrelate with one another. At times it seems we’ve abandoned our humanity. But I have no qualms about demonstrating mine.” Caroline grinned again. “Maybe that’s because I’m not on the ballot.”

“Jack cares about the things that you care about. Good schools, safe communities, jobs and investment opportunities, quality infrastructure, equality of opportunity. It gives me such pleasure to appear on his behalf. Every day is a joy knowing that I get to spend it with him.” Her voice started to shake. If she didn’t watch it, she was going to cry. Caroline took a deep breath. “It is an honor to be his wife.” She stared down at the lectern. “I just thought you all should know that.”

She kept her eyes on the podium, taking a moment to compose herself. “And so,” she said. “Before I start weeping all over the microphone, it is my proud pleasure to introduce the next Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, my husband, John McIntyre!”

The crowd started cheering again as Jack walked over to her. He put his arm around her waist and kissed her deeply. She caressed his cheek, leaving her hand there, and leaned toward his ear.

“Was that okay?” she whispered. “I’m not sure if it made any sense.”

He laughed. “That was spectacular. I’m not sure I can live up to that intro.”

She pulled back, his arm still around her. “I love you,” she said, seeing the camera flashes go off out of the corner of her eye. She wiped at his mouth. “This is the shot that’s going to be on the front page tomorrow. You with my lipstick all over your face.”

“I know.” He grinned. “It’s taking all my effort not to grab your ass. Would you mind terribly if I gave my speech now?”

Caroline laughed. “My work here is done.” She went back to her seat and stood next to Tom.

“Maybe you two should get a room,” he whispered, clapping furiously. “One in a swanky hotel with a tastefully lit elevator and a penthouse suite.”

Caroline caught Christine rolling her eyes at them both. “No hotels tonight. I’ll have my way with him when we get back to Philly. I doubt you get Chrissy to put out.”

“It’s not our anniversary so probably not,” he said.

Christine gave them a stern look. “I’m going to really owe her cookies now,” Caroline said. “I forgot your spouse is constantly judging our behavior.” She reached across Tom to give Christine’s arm a little squeeze.

Christine leaned over. “Way to keep it together, Punky. Must you cry at every speech?” She’d never let her hear the end of it after Caroline had gotten teary eyed during her endorsement speech the past fall.

“I only do it with people I love,” Caroline said. “Haven’t you noticed?”

Christine blushed. Caroline patted Tom on the shoulder. She’d won the battle. “We should probably pretend to pay attention now,” she said.

Tom sat down. “You’ll have to keep up your adoring wife routine for a bit longer before we scoot out of here. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone that it’s not an act.”

Jack started to speak. Caroline smiled, proud to be sitting there as he spoke, mesmerized by the strength of his words.

*              *              *              *              *

Natalie turned the laptop around. “How was that?”

Caroline had shed a few tears during the video without realizing it. “That was taxing.”

“Why?”

Where could she even start? “That’s not me. I barely recognize that woman.” She closed her eyes. “It’s hard for me to watch.”

“I know. But you need to talk about these things,” Natalie said. “Do you remember giving that speech?”

She could remember the designer of her suit, the shoes she’d picked out, the conversations she and Jack had in the car before and after the rally. She could have recited that entire speech by heart. But evasiveness seemed the best way to ignore the unease rising in her throat. “Kind of. I made a lot of campaign appearances that summer.”

“Were those prepared remarks?”

“No. I spoke on the fly.”

“That was Jack’s favorite speech. That speech you gave in Beverly Hills, the one I attended, was a close second. Did you have a prepared statement for that one?”

“No.” Caroline blushed, remembering that intense night in their room after the fundraiser. She wasn’t about to tell Natalie that he liked that speech in California because he knew what she had on her mind the entire time she was giving it. She didn’t want to think about any more memories she’d made with him.

“What?” Natalie asked.

There were some secrets she would never share. “Nothing.”

“Even on video, the electricity between the two of you is obvious.”

“That’s why he enjoyed my speech so much. He was always focused on getting in my pants.”