The Romance Vote

by Ali Vali

  “Easy climbs usually do lead people to search out new challenges, Ms. Stern. Have a great day, unless you need anything else.” The dial tone made her laugh.

  “Samantha?” She glanced up at hearing her name, finding the same flower-delivery guy from the night before. “Are you Samantha?” he asked, as if he’d never once laid eyes on her.

  If she didn’t know the truth, she’d swear she was still dreaming because the day was so bizarre thus far. “Yes, that’s me,” she said, and he winked.

  “Must be your birthday,” he said, and turned so she could see the arrangement of orchids. “Or someone really likes you.”

  “Seems like it. What’s your name?”

  “Jerry, but my friends call me Daisy.”

  “Seriously?”

  “It’s meant with love, but it’s caused a few black eyes along the way if you want to get snippy about it.” Like he did before, he put the flowers down and made sure they were perfect.

  “Thanks, Daisy.” She took his hand when he was done. “If you don’t mind me calling you that.”

  “I’ve got a feeling we’ll be good friends, so call me whatever you want,” he said softly. “Great meeting you.”

  She wondered why Daisy had raised his voice, then noticed her father going into Chili’s office. “At least I’ll have a friend in the floral business when Daddy keels over in a fit and takes Chili with him.”

  *

  “Who’s Sam getting flowers from?” Huey asked as he glanced out the glass wall Chili had insisted on so the staff would feel comfortable coming into the space.

  “A Bradford something.” She smiled as she listed the precincts for Virgil’s campaign on the board.

  “You’re such an asshole sometimes.” When she glanced back at him he was still looking out toward what she assumed was Sam’s cubicle. “Has she been getting along with everyone?”

  “Sam’s fine, but you, I’m not so sure about.”

  “What are you talking about?” He sat down and crossed his legs.

  “When I first met you, Sam was in high school, and back then you didn’t act like the guy with a shotgun guarding his girl’s virtue. She starts working here and you’re beginning to unravel.” She finished writing and dropped into her chair. The night with Sam had left her charged enough to be awake for the rest of it after she’d dropped Sam off, so now she was running on caffeine. “Who knew you were this big a nut job?”

  “I sign your paychecks.”

  “No, you don’t. Julie from accounting direct-deposits my check, so tell me why you’re down here.”

  “What did you do last night?”

  She stared at him until he broke first and lowered his head. “I took Paula Stern and Sophie Grossman home last night and broke out my vat of oil, a roll of Visqueen, and porn tapes. If I were Bacchus I couldn’t have thought up that much debauchery, but the company was inspiring.”

  “Cut the bull.” Huey’s eyes were glued to his lap. “After our talk, I was surprised when Sam said you took her out last night.”

  “In my time as a sexually active adult I’ve done some crazy stuff that’s gotten me chased by some daddies along the way, but that hasn’t happened since my sophomore year of college.” She took a blank sheet of stationery out and started writing. “Some men go bat-shit crazy over their children, and I totally get that. My dad defends me like that up to a point, but if he was here every day beating you over the head every time someone looked at me funny, I’m sure it’d get old.”

  “True, but I thought we had a deal.” Huey was looking at her now with a somewhat smug expression.

  “Sam,” she said, and Huey’s face went blank when she kept the phone on intercom.

  “What can I do for you?”

  “Get the staff started on Virgil’s briefing for today.” The sudden panic disappeared from Huey’s expression. “What’d you do last night?” Huey’s exhale was long and loud.

  “Stayed home and listened to music to try to unwind. Why do you ask? I’m curious because that’s been a popular subject today, and if one more person asks me I’m going to have to put out a newsletter.”

  “Fascinating reading, I’m sure.” She picked up the phone and gently put it back down to disconnect from Sam. “There’s a meeting with Virgil today,” she said as she put her coat back on and shouldered her bag. “And Rooster’s expecting a contract by early next week.”

  “Okay,” Huey said, sounding as if he’d just realized something was wrong. “You need my help with anything?”

  “Nope.” She handed him the sheet of paper she’d folded down the middle. “I just thought you might want to make a list so you won’t forget anything.”

  Everyone stopped talking when she walked to the elevator and punched the button. She never took the elevator, so that must’ve been the cause for the stillness. This will give me plenty of time to plan all my romantic dates, she thought as she got in and leaned against the back wall of the car.

  *

  “Where’s Chili going?” Sam asked as she noticed the letter Huey still hadn’t opened. “What’s that?”

  “My to-do list, I guess.” Huey finally unfolded the note, and Sam couldn’t help but rush to his side when he paled and said, “I’ve got to go.” Huey dropped the sheet and rushed to the elevator and started pressing the button repeatedly.

  Until Bradford gets here, I’ll take myself out of the picture so you won’t have to worry about me. Thanks for everything. You’ve been a great teacher, but as your friend let me teach you something now. No one needs to tell you what a wonderful woman Sam is, I think you have that part down, but give her the right to find her path. If you don’t, the destination will never really be hers. I know you love her, but if you keep pushing her in the direction you think is best, she’ll never really be happy.

  Again, thank you for all the lessons you taught me along the way. That there’ll be no classes saddens me, but please accept my resignation.

  “Chili, you’re going to pray to die from throwing yourself on your sword and not from me kicking you real hard,” Sam said softly when she read the letter for the third time.

  She went back to her office for her cell phone, and the second she picked up it rang. “Tell me you aren’t serious?” Sam whispered into the phone.

  “Don’t make waves, and Tsunami Huey will calm down.” Sam heard a bunch of car horns and squealing tires. “Idiot,” Chili yelled.

  “Slow down and tell me why you did this.”

  “To get what I want shouldn’t compromise who I am, and I don’t want it to.”

  Sam closed her eyes and prayed for patience. “Pretend you’re not Confucius and explain what you mean.”

  Chili told her about the talk she’d had with Huey. “So he threw the question out, and had I not grown up with the female version of Elliott Ness, I might’ve fallen for it. I knew you hadn’t told him we went out on a date last night, but I don’t want to lie to him either.”

  “So you want to give up?”

  “Sam, breathe, okay?” Chili said, and Sam heard more car horns. “Against reasonable thinking, I resigned my job today after a picnic because I’d like to go out with you again. A part of me thinks it’s unreasonable, because from the first day I started working there nothing has ever meant more to me than that job.”

  “I don’t want you to quit.” Sam could hear her heartbeat in her ear. “We’re not off to an auspicious start, huh?”

  “When you’re old and start on your memoirs, this will guarantee you have to write about what a wonderful person you thought I was. I want to read the phrase ‘goddess-like’ more than a couple of times.”

  “Stop it, this is serious.”

  Chili laughed and Sam relaxed. “This is going to make me sound like I know how to play people to get what I want, but forget about this morning and have Beth help you run Virgil’s meeting today.”

  “Why would that make you sound bad?”

  “Because given a few days of torturing himself
for gambling on a bad bet, your father will back down. Once he does, we won’t have to lie.”

  “Just omit the obvious?”

  “Tell me what you want,” Chili said in a monotone fashion, and Sam wanted to leave the office.

  “No sense in scaring you off for good if I’m completely honest. Not that I think you’d get far in that box you drive.”

  “Scare me later then, and call me after you decipher my note.”

  “I’m reading your note and I get that you quit.”

  Chili’s laugh was making her fear disappear. “Not that note. The one with the flowers Daisy delivered.”

  Sam reached for it and read it more than once, wondering what Chili could’ve meant. “Were you drunk when you wrote this?”

  “No hints. You have to figure it out on your own,” Chili said, then hung up.

  For the rest of the day Sam went through the motions except when they met with Virgil. He was so nice Sam couldn’t help but give her all. Her father sat through the meeting but watched the door more than he paid attention. She was guessing he was wishing for the same thing, but Chili didn’t appear.

  “Have you heard from Chili today?” Huey asked Sam outside Virgil’s headquarters.

  “She called before we left the office. Where is she?”

  “You read the letter, I’m sure, so why ask?”

  “Never mind. I’m sure you know what’s best, Daddy.”

  “I’m beginning to wonder about that,” Huey said, and didn’t complain when she got in the car without inviting him to get in. She’d driven him there but she left alone, sure someone else would take him back to the office. “Okay, what the hell does that note mean?” she asked when Chili answered her phone.

  “Are you home yet?”

  “The mariachis aren’t waiting for me, are they?”

  “Could be, but I don’t want to ruin the surprise. Before you ask for any more clues, would you have dinner with me tonight?”

  “We have a date.”

  “Good, but right now you’ve got a date with a man named Daisy.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Sam studied herself in the full-length mirror attached to her closet door. When she’d gotten home, Daisy had handed over another package, then left laughing. After she opened it and found the antique decoder ring, she joined in. However, a few minutes later, the gibberish on the note became something that made her happy.

  She twitched the dress she’d picked one more time when she heard the knock and took a deep breath to settle her nerves. Chili was ten minutes early, according to the clock on her nightstand, and that actually relaxed her more than anything. So far Chili hadn’t acted at all like she thought she would, and it was throwing her off a little.

  Maria had been right about the number of people interested in dating Sam while she was in college and how picky she’d been. She’d had a good time, but she’d never gotten serious with anyone. The fact that some people could be jerks after a few dates made her shiver to think what they’d be like if she’d given them a real chance and lowered her defenses.

  “You’re beautiful,” Chili said when she opened the door.

  “Thank you,” Sam answered, and her phone started ringing. “Do you want to come in?”

  “Do you want to let Huey know where we’re going?” Chili pointed to the phone as she stepped in.

  “I think he needs to sweat it out, don’t you?”

  Chili had on a greatcoat, and her shoes appeared to be made of nice Italian leather. She didn’t seem obsessive about it, but Chili always looked well put together, which made her wonder who’d taught Chili all that style.

  “I love your father so I don’t like seeing him in pain.”

  “Even if it’s of his own making?” She picked up her coat and smiled when Chili took it from her.

  “Huey loves you, so don’t give him too hard a time.” Chili helped her on with her coat, then rested her hands on Sam’s shoulders. “You ready?”

  Having Chili this close made her turn around and put her arms around Chili’s waist. “Would you do something for me before we go?”

  “Sure.” Chili lifted her hand and cupped Sam’s cheek. “What?”

  “Kiss me.” Sam needed to know how big the spark between them was.

  Chili lowered her head and stopped right before she reached her lips. So far this exceeded anything Sam had ever fantasized about, and then Chili kissed her. She pressed her lips to Sam’s, and Sam could’ve sworn every cell in her body came alive and electrified. No way in hell was she was giving this up for anything, if a kiss caused this reaction. The sex, she figured, would send her into an altered state.

  “Wow,” Sam said when their lips parted.

  Chili opened her eyes and kissed her one more time. “Wow is right.” After that, Chili stepped back as if she couldn’t behave if they stayed that close. “Thanks. I was going to try to figure out over dinner how to get you to kiss me. Who knew coming out and asking was the way to go.”

  “Why?” Sam asked, as she followed Chili when she moved.

  “Sometimes your heart—”

  “Doesn’t live up to the hype,” Sam said, taking a chance she was right.

  “Precisely.” Chili took her hand. “You never gave me the impression you were interested in me, but I’m glad you are.”

  “That doesn’t sound very romantic.”

  “True, but romance has never been a huge part of my life up to now.” Chili picked her purse up and handed it to her so they could leave.

  “You’re more of a hunter-gatherer, huh?”

  “More like a hunter-borrower since I didn’t want to keep anything I gathered. Politics isn’t a romance kind of thing, especially the politics of today.” Chili opened the car door for her and helped her put her seat belt on.

  The stiffness in Chili’s movements made Sam smile. Chili was the best at her job, but when it came to anything like this, she was definitely a novice. What had she said at her parents’ anniversary party? Chili’s parents were the best role models when it came to love, and she’d never thought she’d find the same thing, so Chili had obviously neglected this part of her life.

  “If I tell you something, will you do the same?”

  “How about if I go first?” Chili got in and turned to face her before starting the car. “You’re a beautiful woman, Sam, and when I was at your graduation I kept thinking about one thing. If I’m honest, it was something I thought when you worked with us during your breaks.”

  Sam took one of Chili’s hands between hers. “You can tell me.”

  “I thought about how I’d work with you every day and not become someone you’d eventually take out a restraining order on. On your first day I had to laugh at myself for not seeing the truth sooner.”

  “Let me in on the joke.”

  “You’re my first crush, and I wasn’t sure how to handle the truth of it. Considering how your first day ended, I didn’t think I’d have to worry about it for too long.” Chili laughed and shook her head. “Then you told me about your list, and I realized I couldn’t research it to come up with a plan. It’s just something to do because I want to.”

  “You’ve got a crush on me?”

  “I know, dorky, huh?”

  Sam shook her head and leaned forward. “No, it’s nice to know it’s a fair playing field.” Chili started the car and headed to the interstate but didn’t let Sam’s hand go. “We’re going out of town?” Sam asked.

  “You can get mad at me now, but no. I thought about you and what you’d consider romantic. A short trip to the boonies didn’t strike me as that.”

  “You’re hilarious.” Chili took the exit that led to the lake, but Sam wasn’t familiar with any restaurants in the area. “Another picnic?”

  “Before you freak out on me, we’re having dinner at my place. I wanted to be alone with you, and Dale taught me how to cook something to impress you.”

  Chili had been gone all day, and knowing she was with Dale learning ho
w to cook for her was incredibly sexy. “You cooking for me isn’t going to freak me out.”

  “Dale told me this dish is better cooked with no barriers between me and the stove, which I took to mean I had to make it naked, so I’m glad you’re so open-minded.” Chili drove over the levee, then stopped and came around to open her door again.

  “As enticing as that sounds, how about you keep your clothes on this time around so we don’t have to rush to the emergency room later when you literally burn your ass? That’ll put a crimp in my plans if I get frisky later.” They held hands on the walk to the end of the pier, and Sam was anticipating what Chili’s house would be like. “This is your place?”

  “It’s nice to come home to.” Chili unlocked her door and waved her inside. “It’s the one location I could find that allows me to decompress from the bullshit we have to put up with sometimes.”

  “Have you ever shared it with anyone?” It was a petty question, but she was still in the research phase of this operation.

  “Your dad’s been out a few times, and Dale comes once a week to cook for me, but he’s not interested in me romantically. If you’re talking about women, there’s no way I’d give up the location. Since up to now all those hookups have ended not so great, why would I give them somewhere to start giving me shit day and night? When it comes to this place, you’re the first.”

  After they went in, Chili handed her a glass of wine and went into the kitchen to start dinner. Chili hadn’t put any more moves on her after their couple of kisses, and Sam was sure if she did have another seventy-eight things on a list in her head, Chili would give her what she wanted. She was shocked she’d found the mariachi band, but this wasn’t about torturing Chili. If she needed any convincing about the depth of Chili’s honor, it’d come when she’d resigned earlier.

  “That deserves a reward.”

  *

  Dale had written the instructions so that a three-year-old could finish the dish he’d come up with and had demonstrated at lunch. Chili would’ve called and insulted him if she hadn’t wanted to make a good impression. The oven timer went off so she took out the starters Dale had made, saying hors d’oeuvres were a completely different lesson, and considering her total lack of skills in the kitchen, she didn’t have time to learn, so he’d made them. She took out the mushroom cheese puffs and placed them on the tray Dale had given her, the way he’d told her to do it.