Top 10 - Diversity
Vidhi Patel has spent a large part of her childhood immersed in the world of politics. Now, after graduating from medical school and becoming a pediatrician, she has to make life-changing decisions. Get married and go down the pat...
As Terrence wrapped up his remarks and prepared to introduce me, I tried to quell the nervous waves crashing against my ribs from the inside. Hearing my cue, I walked out from my hiding spot in the wings and joined Terrence in front of the setup. Seeing so many familiar faces in front of me, I could feel my confidence growing.
Beginning my speech with an exposition of what happened one week ago today brought tears to the eyes of the gathered crowd, reminding them that I had lost a part of my heart that day.
Continuing on, I outlined my main reasons for running. Looking around, I saw many approving nods from the audience, easing what was left of my nerves.
As I finished up my speech, I found myself blanketed in applause and smiles. I stepped down from the makeshift stage and made my rounds, hugging everyone and thanking them for coming.
Looking around, I spotted Terrence giving me a thumbs up with a smile brightening his features. That was the signal for a full house. I felt my smile become more genuine as an immense feeling of gratitude washed over me. How many people were able to have someone as supportive as Terrence by their side, helping to run their campaign?
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As the event came to a close, everyone had filtered out except my closest friends; Sabrina, Helena, Priti, Anjali, and Terrence. All of us were huddled near the entrance, three different conversations happening simultaneously. I was about to suggest we get going when Anjali exclaimed,
"Wait a minute! Vidhi, honey, when you officially start campaigning, who's gonna be your First Man, hmm...?"
A blush rose to my cheeks as she wiggled her eyebrows at me suggestively. The other conversations stopped and everyone looked at me expectantly. My eyes widened and I looked at my shoes, knowing I only had two options.
First option: Terrence. Second option: be the first presidential candidate without a partner. Figuring I had better play it safe, I answered,
"I can worry about that later. I have a few options. But let's get back to the matter we gathered here to discuss. So, Helena, I was hoping..." I mentally crossed my fingers as I changed the topic, hoping the conversation would be buried and forgotten by the time we were done.
Terrence's POV:
Hearing her say that she had a few options felt like a vise tightening around my heart. The thought of her already having someone in mind, someone that wasn't me, made jealousy rise, hot and demanding in my chest. But I smiled through it and guided her into her office, where we would have to go through the exploratory personal calls before we could move forward.
"We need to get at least a page of exploratory calls done today before we start planning our demographic map and figuring out the finer details. There was a call asking you to participate in a local town hall. I ran it by the officials and they said it would be good for you, and your platform, if you got some exposure before officially running it. I already took the liberty of putting it in your campaign calend-" I was cut off by her arms wrapping around me, her head resting against my chest.
