He muttered something about being too busy.
Too
busy
? For a honeymoon or for Spain? She took a deep breath and reminded herself that her scholarship debt was her problem, not his, that she was the one interested in the swallow, not him. She would be a good sport about it. “Oh. It’s OK. I understand. I’ll manage by myself and go later. The scholarship will cover it.”
Theo interrupted, “The thing about tonight’s dinner is, we’re both on show.” He took one hand off the steering wheel and put it on her knee. “Things are moving sooner than we expected. Old Tubby Gaines who’s been in the state legislature forever is retiring after one more term—and that’s created an opportunity for me. Tonight they want to discuss precampaign strategy. It depends on whether voters will see me as a solid citizen, not a rich kid. If I get elected, a couple of terms in the state legislature would pave the way for a Senate race in the future. How about that? Exciting, huh? In fact, everything hinges on you tonight.”
“
Me?
”
“You. Because I’m a Bonner it’s easy to discredit my bid for the nomination; they’ll say I’m a young rich guy dabbling in politics. But with a lovely wife and a young family, bingo, I’m John Kennedy. You’re beautiful and smart without being a ballbuster or a pushy career woman. You go to church and, well, you’re such a lady that I could be an ax murderer and you’d make me look good. And with your background, you know, your adoption, being Hispanic, your volunteer work at the Hispanic center, you’ll draw the Hispanic vote. That’s the crucial demographic these days. So brush up your Spanish, honey, and you can translate my campaign speeches.” He gave her knee a squeeze.
“Mmmm.” Menina looked out the window, feeling deflated. Her own plans had just been swept aside like dust.
Nevertheless, at dinner Menina did her best. She made polite small talk until dessert, when Theo’s mother steered the conversation toward her female guests and the volunteer activities that filled their free time and offered such wonderful networking opportunities. The women responded with a chorus of offers. One said the symphony fund-raising group could use someone young on their committee. Another offered there was a vacancy on the board of her children’s charity that she was sure would be perfectfor Menina. A third insisted Menina should come and talk to her about a museum trust that had been run by old ladies from the same families for too long. When Menina tried to think of a way to refuse politely, Theo’s mother pointedly told Menina, “Women wait years for invitations to joint these very high-profile causes.”
Menina rebelled. She managed a tight smile and said that she wouldn’t take on any new commitments; she had plenty of commitments of her own between her thesis and finishing college. The governor overheard, raised his eyebrows. Theo scowled at her and shook his head slightly and his mother asked sweetly if Menina’s little projects couldn’t be put on hold. Shouldn’t a wife put her husband’s career first? Menina stabbed her spoon into her peach melba, but was too polite to argue in public.
On the way home Theo asked why couldn’t she see that the ladies were doing her a favor.
“Doing you and your mother a favor, you mean! My ‘little projects!’ Please!”
“Menina, be reasonable. My mother’s going to pull strings so you don’t have to write the damn thesis, because you won’t have time to go running off to Spain or burying yourself in the library. We need to look for a house—my parents will buy it as a wedding present—and you’ll have to decorate it and then entertain. I know my mother’s talked to you about stuff, like the Junior League. And the other thing is, we should start a family soon—maybe not within nine months, people will start counting, but we could have a baby by the end of the first year. Voters want to see a candidate’s family on the
Too
busy
? For a honeymoon or for Spain? She took a deep breath and reminded herself that her scholarship debt was her problem, not his, that she was the one interested in the swallow, not him. She would be a good sport about it. “Oh. It’s OK. I understand. I’ll manage by myself and go later. The scholarship will cover it.”
Theo interrupted, “The thing about tonight’s dinner is, we’re both on show.” He took one hand off the steering wheel and put it on her knee. “Things are moving sooner than we expected. Old Tubby Gaines who’s been in the state legislature forever is retiring after one more term—and that’s created an opportunity for me. Tonight they want to discuss precampaign strategy. It depends on whether voters will see me as a solid citizen, not a rich kid. If I get elected, a couple of terms in the state legislature would pave the way for a Senate race in the future. How about that? Exciting, huh? In fact, everything hinges on you tonight.”
“
Me?
”
“You. Because I’m a Bonner it’s easy to discredit my bid for the nomination; they’ll say I’m a young rich guy dabbling in politics. But with a lovely wife and a young family, bingo, I’m John Kennedy. You’re beautiful and smart without being a ballbuster or a pushy career woman. You go to church and, well, you’re such a lady that I could be an ax murderer and you’d make me look good. And with your background, you know, your adoption, being Hispanic, your volunteer work at the Hispanic center, you’ll draw the Hispanic vote. That’s the crucial demographic these days. So brush up your Spanish, honey, and you can translate my campaign speeches.” He gave her knee a squeeze.
“Mmmm.” Menina looked out the window, feeling deflated. Her own plans had just been swept aside like dust.
Nevertheless, at dinner Menina did her best. She made polite small talk until dessert, when Theo’s mother steered the conversation toward her female guests and the volunteer activities that filled their free time and offered such wonderful networking opportunities. The women responded with a chorus of offers. One said the symphony fund-raising group could use someone young on their committee. Another offered there was a vacancy on the board of her children’s charity that she was sure would be perfectfor Menina. A third insisted Menina should come and talk to her about a museum trust that had been run by old ladies from the same families for too long. When Menina tried to think of a way to refuse politely, Theo’s mother pointedly told Menina, “Women wait years for invitations to joint these very high-profile causes.”
Menina rebelled. She managed a tight smile and said that she wouldn’t take on any new commitments; she had plenty of commitments of her own between her thesis and finishing college. The governor overheard, raised his eyebrows. Theo scowled at her and shook his head slightly and his mother asked sweetly if Menina’s little projects couldn’t be put on hold. Shouldn’t a wife put her husband’s career first? Menina stabbed her spoon into her peach melba, but was too polite to argue in public.
On the way home Theo asked why couldn’t she see that the ladies were doing her a favor.
“Doing you and your mother a favor, you mean! My ‘little projects!’ Please!”
“Menina, be reasonable. My mother’s going to pull strings so you don’t have to write the damn thesis, because you won’t have time to go running off to Spain or burying yourself in the library. We need to look for a house—my parents will buy it as a wedding present—and you’ll have to decorate it and then entertain. I know my mother’s talked to you about stuff, like the Junior League. And the other thing is, we should start a family soon—maybe not within nine months, people will start counting, but we could have a baby by the end of the first year. Voters want to see a candidate’s family on the
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