Gloria's Second Wedding Ch. 06

"Thanks for acknowledging that Buck and I really appreciate that."

"Fine I understand a preliminary poll count will be available on election night and then two working days have been set aside for checking that all votes in the initial count are confirmed as registered voters including absent voters and that all processes had been followed correctly and then the official announcement is made. Two more days are allowed for any call for a recount and then after the declaration of any recount is declared any petition must be filed with the court within fifteen days I think it is."

"Yes that's about right. Will the wedding be delayed if court action is sought?"

"Hell no."

"I can't say whether Mayor Black has had any discussion with me about the handing over but what I can say is my pick is any transition of change will be accomplished smoothly."

"Thanks Tony Please tell Maria that Gloria and I look forward to meeting her at our wedding but in all probability we will be socializing with your two before then."

"I like your confidence and your pleasantness Buck. Bye."

* * *

Election day dawned fine but there was a chill in the air, perhaps an ominous sign for one of the mayoral candidates Buck grinned, that bringing a smile to his face.

Buck had wanted to sleep out up at Skipper's Pool to enjoy the peace and quiet on the eve of election day but Gloria said if he wished to get a frozen ass sleeping in a tent he could count on her not being beside him.

"Were will you be?"

"Home here in the warmth you knucklehead."

Anxious to do something different, Buck decided they should take a secure suite at the Sunderland Hotel and Gloria thought that was a good idea.

She suggested they should book in key team members and their spouses for dinner on election eve.

"Brilliant baby. With all the work done those key players will be on tenterhooks."

Campaign chairman, as Thelma Eliot now named herself, thought that was a great idea and Gloria took the phone from Buck and she and Thelma arranged the dinner guest list.

Late afternoon before leaving for the hotel Buck heard a car horn and told Gloria to grab her handbag.

She arrived with it and asked, "What?"

"Your new car awaits you outside. Drive back to the dealership with Harry and he'll explain its operation to you. It's a white Chrysler 200 convertible demonstrator and from tomorrow we should drive around it together to give people who wish to wave and talk to us good access to us. After that you can drive the car as if it is yours but when it's at the dealership it should be available as a demonstration vehicle. I'm giving you full ownership the new model 200 due out later this year as your wedding present."

"A car as a wedding present? God you must like me?"

"Yeah you are a real sweetie honey. The new model looks much improved on the model it's replacing and by all accounts will handle much better."

"You're a darling. Let me kiss you."

"Thanks, enjoy."

The dinner was a very happy affair, Buck making a short speech over cocktails thanking the team for supporting him so ably and after Thelma spoke in reply she invited Jessie to say a few words.

"It's been great working with you Buck and with the team and has been so exciting at times. But of course we'll know possibly by as early as 9:00 tomorrow night the provisional result and that will be followed by a confirmed result some time on Tuesday afternoon. I have been officially advised on behalf of Mayor Black that he has no intention of attempting to delay the inevitable but we still must wait for that two-day gap for request for a recount to pass. So expect to party big with the new mayor on Thursday evening. Buck thanks again on behalf of us all for being such a great guy to work for. You were a winner to some of us as soon as we knew you'd registered as a mayoral candidate. You've run a brilliant campaign Buck."

"Thanks guys I'll have other occasions to express my gratitude to you, at the time of the provisional declaration and at the time the final result is declared. Now let's go through and enjoy some good food with convivial company."

* * *

On Tuesday, Election day, Brett arrived for breakfast with Buck and Gloria at the hotel and Brett was their chauffeur all day. He'd arrived with red bunting to hang on the rear sides and over the hood and trunk of the convertible. The three of them, as previously arranged, were dressed in thick white turtlenecks, blue jeans and brown boots.

As requested by the Guardian Newspaper, Buck and Gloria arrived to cast their votes at 9:00 and were photographed watched by a lowly turnout of five bemused voters.

Buck was calm while Gloria was even more talkative than usual and almost tripped entering the polling place and stuttered when saying what a r-ridiculous place to p-put a s-step. She scowled when Buck laughed and said what a novel idea, all steps should be placed inside the entrance.

As they departed from machine voting Buck said quietly, well that was one vote for him.

"Two," said Brett.

"Three," Gloria said and that prompted the candidate to comment, "Jeeze, I've won the mayoral race."

Brett drove slowly and drivers tooted and people in vehicles and on the sidewalks waved.

"Christ this doesn't look promising," Buck said in disappointment. "This looks very little different to any other morning driving along Centennial drive. Don't citizens know there's an election on?"

"You can't be popular yet Buck because you haven't started in office yet," Brett said dryly.

They laughed.

"Coffee time," Gloria said. "Turn into Settlers Place; it's full of coffee shops and we might get some action there."

Brett signaled to make a turn when a police cruiser passed them and the driver called into the speaker system. ""Morning Brett, Gloria and the Honorable Candidate. Where are you heading?"

"Brett called via the second cop's open window, "Oasis Coffee House."

"Right we'll give you an escort," said the driver and Brett waved and yelled "Thanks Sally."

They turned into the square with the cruiser's lights flashing and siren on full and moving at a leisurely 10 mph.

People piled out of shops and offices.

"That's Sally Monk, wife of the city attorney," Brett laughed. "This is highly irregular and she could get her butt kicked."

Gloria whispered to Buck, "That's the same cop you let you off the other night."

Brett said firmly, "Um who found I had no charge to answer."

"Salt of the earth is Sally. You guys will meet her at the swearing in because wives are invited and Sally is also the Chief of Police's niece."

"Do I smell police corruption?" Buck said firmly.

"No, no," Brett assured him. It's just Sally having fun here and it would not be a good look for the police department if Sally was denied attending a ceremonial occasion of that magnitude."

Cutting the siren and extinguishing the lights, Sally boomed through the speakers, "Would the owner of this incorrectly parked red Chevy please move it."

A red-faced woman hurried out of a bar to her vehicle already one-third out on the traffic lane and she drove off sedately. By coincidence the red Chevrolet had been parked right outside the Oasis Coffee Shop.

Sally gave them a wave out her window and slowly moved off and Brett drove into the vacated space.

"That Sally um..."

"Bronson," Brett filled in.

"That Sally Bronson looks like material for promotion," said the mayoral candidate. "Or else she should be in politics."

People began calling good luck to Buck and he smiled and said, "Thank you but I won't become mayor unless you vote for me."

They loved it and said they'd vote later.

"Liars," Brett whispered.

Many people had followed them into the coffee house. Several bystanders dumped clever asides on Buck and he managed to answer most of them with humor.

Perhaps the best one was a guy who claimed that the first thing a new mayor did was to order a new limo. "Will you be doing that?"

"No I like having big holes dug. I think if I have enough big holes dug and we get plenty of rain I will have solved the city water taste problem within my first 100 days of taking office."

"But there's not room in the city for 100 big holes," said the guy.

"I only need space for one hole. I'll then have the 99 other holes dug on the same spot."

Gloria rolled her eyes to the ceiling but many of the people were left rocking with laughter.

Buck asked, "Hands up all of you who have voted?"

Two women raised their hands.

"Hands up all of you who'd vote before the close of polling tonight at 8:00."

Nearly everyone raised a hand.

"Thanks," Buck said. "I scarcely think any liars are here so that means the city will have a record voter turnout this election. I would have expected only one in five of you would have raised their hand because the usual voter turnout in this city for council and mayoral elections is just over 21%."

"Are you calling me a liar?" asked a big guy with a handlebar moustache, standing and hitching his pants up higher.

"Have you voted yet?"

"No."

"Then I can't call you a liar until I ask you at one minute past eight tonight did you vote and you give me your reply."

"How will you know where to find me?"

"Look take it easy pal. Just walk down to the library now and vote and then I'll know not to call you a liar."

"Right," said the guy putting on his battered Stetson. "I'm off to the library now to vote for your opponent Buck."

"That fine buddy. I'm proud that we live in a democracy."

The big guy stood at the door and grinned. "I was just kidding."

Thelma was touring the eight polling places 'to keep an eye on things' although Buck and Brett had told her not to bother. She reported back at intervals but had nothing untoward to report.

Brett picked up Jessie at 1:00 and they drove thirty miles to a small city to eat at reputedly the best French restaurant in the state and enjoyed a wonderful meal and ate in relatively peace because no one knew who they were.

"Brett and I came to this city regularly before we married," Jessie confided. "It's a wonderful place for dirty weekends."

They didn't have time to have a good look around but Jessie had Brett take them to look at an old millhouse beside the river. It still had the old waterwheel in position but it was in a state of total neglect.

"There's the Waterford Inn just up there amid those trees. It's a bit pricey for young lovers and so it's a wonderful place to stay and look down here to this idyllic setting, especially in times of heavy snow."

""Very European don't you think?" Gloria said.

"Exactly," Jessie said. "Would you like to join me here for a dirty weekend Gloria?"

They giggled away in the backseat, leaving the men looking at one another and shaking their heads.

Jessie stayed the rest of the day with them and when they had early dinner in a back street café in their city, where no one appeared to recognize Buck or had no interest in following up recognition, the four of them agreed it had been a waste of time driving around.

"I must admit we made minimal impact," Brett said edgily.

"I'd say no impact but I feel we did everything right," Gloria said, braving Brett's stare.

"The truth is you have to boot apathy in the bum if you want to move it."

They all laughed heartedly at Jessie's contribution and cheered by that Buck had a wine, his first alcoholic drink of the day and later he had another before they set off for the Courthouse.

They were seated there with Thelma and her husband Archie when the first of the voting machines was brought in and placed in the custody of ballot counting officials at the far end of the room. Counting began and 8:12 and Jessie said that was pretty impressive.

"Compared with what?" Buck asked nervously.

"I really have no idea."

That eased some tension.

A guy walked in and they assumed he represented Mayor Black but he left when he found out it was not a night sitting of the Court.

At 8:52 the chief official called, "You can all come forward and see the results on our big screen here as they are posted on the Internet site.

"Oh Buck," wailed Gloria shaking. "Are you sure you'll win?"

"Of course."

They all looked at Buck.

"It's a mix of logic and math. I allow for a 10% error on our surveys and the Guardian's survey and decided on of registered voters at 24%, assuming most registered voters are intelligent enough to know how to vote correctly. The figure I got out of those calculations told me I'd breeze in."

Gloria hugged him and said he was an inspiration to her.

"I needn't had entered this election and the need was even less when I purchased the dealership but this city needs a mayor with vision and who'll kick butt and I assumed I was the man for the time."

"Yeah right," Brett said.

"Absolutely and we saw that from the outset," Thelma said.

More to Come