To Leap From Heaven [A Romantic Thriller]

2.

At breakfast the next morning, the family was still on a high, and full of plans for the weeks and months that lay ahead.

Catherine, bubbling over, as usual, said, "First, we must get you a new suit. You cannot appear in your old rags in a new position, and it must be navy blue. The color is easy on the eye, and it will give you greater confidence, and inspire trust in your listeners. I have opened your social media accounts, and now it is only a matter of shooting some videos and uploading it.

"You are going to need a truckload of followers, but don't worry about that. I will ask my followers to follow you, and they will ask theirs, and so the chain will get longer, and before you know it, you will be a social media star. They might monetize your account, and you can endorse products, and earn extra cash in the process."

Catherine stopped to catch her breath.

"Good job. I can see you have been hard at work. Thank you."

"And you Mrs. Rossdale? What have you done so far?"

"Well." She put her index finger to her head, and closing her eyes, she thought hard of what to say.

"Well, so far, I have made breakfast."

They cheered and laughed at her evasive answer, and left it at that.

"I was up all night writing and editing my maiden speech. I am happy with it, but it still needs a little smoothing round the edges. But it is almost ready."

"Oh, what name did you give to your party?" Catherine asked.

"After having thought long and hard about it, I have decided on 'One United Family’. And by that I wish to convey the message that we are not individuals standing alone, but we are part of a cohesive family. And family helps one another, stand together, and are there for each other through the good and bad times. What do you think?"

"I think it can work," Catherine said.

"I think it is perfect, Jim," his wife answered.

"Good, we rise and fall as one," Jim said.
"Emma, you need to get to work, and Cathy, you need to get to Varsity. I shall work on finishing my speech, and get my plan of action going."

The two ladies departed, and Jim sat down in his study to get some work done. Thoughts of his deceased parents came to his mind, and memories of his childhood years jumped in front of his mind's eye. Being in the middle of five children of two hard working parents was hard. There was never enough to go around, and he had promised himself that when he marries, he will not have as many children, and that he will give them the kind of love, attention, and education he never had.

Without a decent education, one has to work twice as hard to prove oneself, and he has had his fair share of that. Throughout his working career he had this burning ambition to make it big. In which field of endeavor he did not know, and when he stumbled into politics, he realized they were a good fit. Now that he was going to stand to be elected as President, he was absolutely certain he was about to fulfill his destiny.

"Mom, dad, I am going to make you proud," Jim said to his deceased parents as he pulled  his laptop closer and read through his speech one last time.

-•-

"Kim, I have great news," Catherine said. She said it in a breathless manner, almost as if she could not get the words out fast enough, when she met her friend on campus.

"Great, what is his name?"

At first Catherine was a little confused before she said, "No, no, no. It is not about a boy. It is about my dad."