Small Town Boy

Chapter 9

"Landon! Did you get the drinks out?" Mom yelled. Dad would be due home any minute. The polls would be closing soon, and we were hosting the watch party for the local Republican party. Or, as Parker called it, hell. 

There were already guests milling around on the deck and back lawn. Thankfully, the weather was alright, and people would be able to go outside. Dad had hired one of those outdoor gas heaters for the deck, and there was a bonfire on the lawn. Mom was running around the house, straightening furniture and making sure the house was in its most presentable state. 

"Yes!" I yelled back. A table on the deck had been turned into a self-service bar, which I'm sure would be well used. Dad had ordered a large amount, which had been delivered yesterday and ended up stacked in the basement. It had taken me almost ten minutes to get it all outside. There might have been two dozen people already here, but Mom had said there could be at least a hundred, and potentially some media. 

"Linda the catering is here." Dad's chief of staff, Peter called. "Do you want them to set up around the back?" 

"Yes. Tell them they can bring their cars around and park them around the other side of the barn if they want to." She instructed, rushing back inside. Peter did as he was told. I had never really liked Peter. He was stuck up, and I don't think he really liked any of Sofia, Parker, or I. 

Parker came and stood next to me. He shook his head. 

"What a mess." He said.

"I know, this was all supposed to be done hours ago." I agreed. "Wait, did you end up voting?"

"Yeah." He grinned, unzipping his jacket to reveal his 'I voted' sticker. "First time." 

"Did you vote for Dad?" I asked. 

"What do you think?" He responded flatly. 

"Probably not," I answered. 

"There you go." He said, then lowered his voice. "But don't tell anyone here." 

"I hope I don't even get the chance. The last thing I want to do is talk with the kind of people that show up to these events." I laughed. 

"Yeah, one can hope." He agreed. Mum rushed back outside. 

"Landon dear, can you go and help the caterers with the food please." She instructed. "Parker, go and make sure the fire has enough wood."

She didn't wait for us to respond and ran back inside. I gave Parker an unenthused look and trudged over to where a pair of SUVs had stopped. Peter was there, pointing and waving at the poor worker. Two were constructing some fold-up tables, while another was unloading crates of food from the back of one of the cars. Peter saw me approach. 

"You, help with the food." He demanded. "Come on, hurry up." 

Once he looked away, I rolled my eyes but made no move to increase my pace. If it needed to be done urgently, he could have helped, but he was busy directing the imaginary traffic. I gave a sympathetic grin to the lady who was unloading the car and began helping her. 

With no help from Peter, everything was ready by the time Dad's car pulled into the driveway. The crowd had grown to about fifty. I didn't recognize most. They were most Mom and Dad's age or older, although there were a few younger, with families. There was no one my age, not yet at least. I'm guessing most kids would opt out of an event like this. Especially, as Parker had said, because we lived in a little blue do in a sea of red. 

He walked in, followed by another staffer, Sarah, and two campaign volunteers, all wearing hats with Dad's name on them. The small crowd let out a cheer, and Dad thanked them for coming.