The Crush

When we arrived, there were a bevy of liveried doormen on hand to open the door to the limo. There was a little crowd gathered on the sidewalk -- it was a beautiful, warm evening -- and they were trying to make sure they caught a glimpse of me on my way in. We'd give them something to talk about.

I stepped out of the limo, straightened up and reached my hand out to Chantel. It was tougher for her to get out gracefully and in the end, she showed a lot of leg, but when she got out finally, I put my arms around her waist, and kissed her, then offered her my arm. I caught a look at some of the faces in the crowd. Some of them didn't recognize her. Others did, and their faces showed open-mouthed astonishment. A few weeks ago, most of these people thought Chantel and I were desperate political enemies. I hoped to make clear to them tonight that things had changed.

We walked into the civic center and were quickly surrounded with well-wishers, many of whom wanted to get closer to see just who I was with. Bill greeted us almost as soon as we got in the door.

"Good evening, Mr. Mayor," Bill said, shaking my hand. "Good evening, Chantel. Thanks for joining us tonight." He took her hand and leaned in and whispered something to her, which clearly pleased her, then led us into the main ballroom.

The music had already started, so as soon as we had a drink, we set it down at our table and I took Chantel out on the dance floor. When we were dancing, I spoke close to her ear.

"What was it that Bill said to you." She leaned back a little and smiled. "He said, 'I've never seen the boss so happy.'"

I had one little speech to make, a little welcome where I intended to introduce Chantel and make it clear that we were together. I'd tried to write something, but no matter what I wrote it sounded stilted and rehearsed. So, I decided to wing it.

Bill had the band cued up, so when we went up the stairs, the band's lead singer quieted the crowd and announced us. "Ladies and Gentlemen. Give a big round of applause to Mayor Rory O'Grady and Miss Chantel Blackman-Smith."

There was raucous applause and cheers as we made our way to the mic at the center of the stage.

"Thank you for that kind welcome. I think you all know Chantel." More applause.

"What you might not know, is that Chantel and I have known each other for a very long time. Her father is my best friend...Leon, where are you?" A spotlight found Leon in the crowd and he and Lolita gave a gracious wave.

"Tonight, I'm happy to say, we stand on the cusp of great things for our city. Crime is the lowest it's been in a decade, more of our people are working than ever in our history. Our schools are better, our streets are safer, we've managed to get more of our community's lost souls into housing and off the streets. So, we have much to celebrate tonight. A great deal of what we've accomplished is because of your support. You've backed us through thick and thin these last five years -- even when the opposition was clearly better looking!" I held my arm out to indicate Chantel and she got a big round of applause.

"That's not to say we don't have challenges as a community and an administration. Crime is down, but it's still too high. We can't become all we want to become if people are afraid to go out of their homes at night. We need to pull together to find a way to make this city as safe as it was when I was a kid.

"Our infrastructure needs work. You all know that. We need major improvements -in roads and bridges, but also in the things you don't see like water lines and sewer lines. We need more places for our young people to go safely. We need to do more to help end poverty and end the scourge of drugs and overdoses.

"I can face these challenges with confidence, though, because I know that I'll have the love and support of a very special woman." I put my arm around Chantel and pulled her close. "You may know her as the opposition," -- that got a laugh -- "But you're going to need to start thinking about her differently. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome my fiancé, Chantel Blackman-Smith."

There was just the slightest delay in applause as people absorbed what we were telling them, but when Chantel put her arms around my neck and kissed me, the room exploded in applause.

"I saw you talking to your dad. Everything all right?"

She was snuggled into me in the back seat of the limo. We were in a bit of a traffic jam leaving the civic center and were only inching forward.

"Oh, yeah. My mom's on cloud nine. He's a little more reserved, but I heard people coming up to him and congratulating him. I know that pleased him."

The car started moving, finally, and I kissed her.

"I can't wait to get you home."

"Mmmm. You know that window to the front seat goes up, if you don't want to wait."

-The end-