They passed so quickly, the reel of photos, but he didn't mind, he knew most of them and he'd get Anthony to send him a copy of the video anyway.
The atmosphere was electric.
The roar or the crowd and the thump of the music, the applause as each speaker ended and the next introduced all seemed to vibrate inside his chest.
The images on the giant screen stopped and the footage returned to the little girl who'd spoken at the top. He remembered Jill telling him about her that day. As soon as she'd come back to the White House they'd had dinner together and it was the main topic of their conversation.
It was still at the height of Covid. They were just tentatively reopening schools, putting every precaution into place, extra staff, extra buses, overflow areas for cafeterias and staff rooms. Gyms weren't yet allowed to facilitate much activity for fear of spreading the virus and away, most school gyms were in use as vaccination centers. They'd mandated that teachers and school staff were to get to the top of the queue for vaccines, and be considered front line workers. He'd gotten flack for that too but he didn't care, they had to get schools open, get kids back into the classroom and parents back to work if there were to have a chance of returning to some semblance of normality. It was a sign to the country that it was time to reopen, and Jill had spearheaded the campaign, traversing the country first to encourage vaccinations and then to show that it was safe for the kids to go back.
His eyes slid to some of the other monitors. The auditorium was packed, tens of thousands in party faithful and media. He couldn't help but do the math in his head. Just two years ago this would have still been a novelty, three years ago it would have been at half capacity, maximum, four years ago the convention was virtual, the world locked down, terrified of the virus, the vaccination a distant hope, the death toll hadn't even peaked and wouldn't for another six months or so.
How soon folks forgot. But then, as he'd been telling himself these past few weeks. It was a backhanded compliment that now, a mere three years after the peak, people didn't even mention it. They didn't want to be reminded of those dark days. But it also meant that they didn't give him and Kamala much credit for what was an unbelievably complex recovery, one that was thwarted at every turn by the other team. Folks had moved on, forgotten. But not, he'd wager those who had lost a loved one. They didn't have that luxury.
He felt Jill shift her weight from foot to foot beside him and he squeezed her hand as he focused again on the little girl. He remembered Jill telling him how the kid had cried as Jill had entered the school; overcome with emotion at seeing the first lady, the relief that help was on the way and competent leadership back in government.
No more than ten years old he couldn't help but imagine her telling her grandkids about how her recording was used to introduce the first lady at her final convention. Everything these days was part of history. Each moment passing was a last of something or a significant moment or a beginning of the end and they were going to have a lot more of those days over the next five months.
Jill's hand was safely ensconced in his but he'd have to let her go in a second. As the video began to reach its conclusion he turned and pulled her in for a hug. 'You've got this, babe', he whispered into her ear, 'and I couldn't be more proud'.
Jill hugged him back then stepped away. On second thought she turned back and squeezed his shoulder. One more kiss, one more touch, one more smile and then he winked at her and she was gone, through the door and out onto the convention floor.
The swell of noise that crashed into the little hold room was incredible. He peeped out while the door was ajar and followed her progress. She waved and smiled and walked confidently to the podium.
