Katherine noticed the smallest of frowns tugging at her husband’s lips. “What is it?” she asked, attempting to read over his shoulder.
“It’s nothing,” Anthony said. “A minor fluctuation in our stats.”
“It’s that Twitter crap, isn’t it?” Katherine asked. “That stuff from the girl’s speech? They’re calling it some sort of movement.”
“A hashtag doesn’t make a movement,” Anthony said. “There’s no organization, just a bunch of sob stories online.”
“Well, they’ve already pulled off multiple rallies,” Katherine warned. “And now there are rumors they’re trying to plan some sort of worldwide day of . . . short string awareness or something.”
“A few scattered protests and some child’s speech won’t eliminate people’s fundamental fears,” he said. “The convention will be here before we know it. That’s hardly enough time to mount a real offensive.”
Anthony skimmed through the rest of the article. Senator Johnson’s support had apparently risen for the first time since revealing his short string in September, though his numbers remained lower than his pre-autumn peak.
“See here,” Anthony said, pointing to a quote from an interviewee.
Certainly, the incident onstage with Rollins’s nephew was disturbing, but it doesn’t take away from all the work that he’s done. And, honestly, it just shows what we’re up against.
Anthony smiled. “I’m sure there are plenty of others who feel this way, even if they won’t say it. We both know that what people post online, and what they tell their friends, isn’t always the way they vote when the curtains close.”
Anthony and Katherine were feeling calmer now, when a familiar tune wafted toward them.
When I grew up and fell in love
I asked my sweetheart what lies ahead
“Will we have rainbows, day after day?”
Here’s what my sweetheart said
They realized the music was coming from a cyclist, heading in their direction, with a stereo attached to his bike.
“New York is such an odd place,” Katherine scoffed.
But Anthony was convinced that his triumph was nigh. Who cares what one article said? He was nearing the sun now, but he had no fear of falling, his wings built of something more powerful.
He stretched his arm out toward his wife. “May I have this dance?” he asked.
“Are you crazy? We’re in the street.”
“We have to practice for the inaugural ball.”
Katherine relented with a grin and grasped the hand of her husband, just as the cyclist pedaled past, tipping an invisible chapeau in their direction.
Que será, será
Whatever will be, will be
The future’s not ours to see
Que será, será
“We’re going to look so much better than the last ones,” Katherine said gleefully, spinning into her husband’s arms. “Do you remember how horrendous the first lady’s dress was?”
What will be, will be.
Jack
They were seven months out of college now, but nearly everyone at the New Year’s Eve party was still getting drunk on cheap beer, just as they had done for the last four years. Only this time they sported glittery glasses and festive hats.
Standing in the living room of their friend’s D.C. apartment, Jack and Javi were in the same space together for the first time since Javi had left for Alabama, and Jack could instantly sense the change in him.
Javi seemed confident and self-assured, regaling the group with tales from his first months of aviation training. He even looked taller than Jack remembered.
“And then, with zero warning, the pilot flips the plane upside down and does two spins in a row. The guy next to me vomits all over the side of the plane, and I couldn’t eat a thing for the rest of the day.” Javi laughed. “But apparently we’ll get used to it.”
Jack was struck by how different Javier’s life had become. His friend was flying across the sky, learning how to conduct dangerous missions, while Jack was working a safe desk job in cyber operations （though his daily tasks felt more administrative than operative, his “short string” a barrier to any high-level clearance）。
“Hey!” one of the guests interrupted the group, looking down at his phone. “Wes Johnson just released a new video.”
“Is he dropping out of the race?” a girl asked.
“Why would he drop out now?”
“He’s still lagging behind Rollins.”