Yesterday was election day! Though he felt it a bit silly, Jonathan went and placed his vote for himself. Lauren did the same, with great enthusiasm. Then they went out to dinner with Jonathan’s parents, who had just arrived in town to support their son, and perhaps to distract him. It was very effective in that latter respect, although to be fair, Felicity Harris is a very distracting person.
The results were to be announced this afternoon. The four of them lingered at the store, checking the website where the results would be posted every hour, though it stated right at the top of the page that results would not be available until afternoon. Even Felicity could not focus on the store inventory or the way Jonathan has rearranged the shelves.
By the time noon rolled around, there was quite a little crowd of people there—the rest of Jonathan’s campaign team had arrived, Lauren’s parents had also come into town, and several of her students and their families had stopped by and stayed. Jonathan was talking to his father about getting some food for the crowd when Lauren shrieked aloud.
The store immediately fell silent, and Jonathan turned to look at Lauren, who was beside the laptop, her hands clapped over her mouth. He couldn’t tell whether she was excited or horrified, and for an instant he was too frightened to say anything.
“Courage, my friend,” I said to him. “Look around you. Whatever happens, all of these people are here for you.”
“What?” Felicity demanded. “Good or bad?”
Lauren tugged her hands away from her mouth. “Good!” she gasped. “School board, Jonathan Harris!” She met Jonathan’s eyes across the room, and they were bright with tears. “We did it!”
Cheers exploded through the entire store, and Jonathan nearly wilted. He didn’t get the chance, though, because Lauren’s father seized his hand and pumped it, and then his mother was there, throwing her arms around him, and then there were so many people, pounding his back, squeezing his shoulder, kissing his cheeks.
Jonathan returned their smiles and responded to their congratulations, but there was only one person he wanted to find in the crowd. She was the one who found him, in the end, squeezing through the exultant crowd to throw her arms around his neck. “I’m so proud of you, baby,” she whispered.
He kissed her, thoroughly, ignoring the wolf whistling of a nearby group of teenagers. Pulling back from her, he held her face and said what had been in his heart for some time: “I love you.”
Lauren blinked, but she wasn’t really surprised. She beamed and kissed him again, tears running down her face. “I love you, too,” she answered, and she pressed her face against his.
They only had those few moments, for soon after Felicity began popping open wine bottles, and both Jonathan and Lauren sprang forward to make certain that no one underage got a glass. But even as they celebrated and gave speeches and thanked everyone who had helped them, they continued to look at one another with new secrets and understanding in their eyes. It was a joy to see.
I am so very proud of Jonathan, and I know that he will be excellent in this position. I would love to see what he can accomplish, but I am beginning to suspect that my work is done with him. If that is so, I have no reason to regret it, aside from that I will miss him. He is well and he is happy, and that is all that an angel can ask for.