Page 93 of The Mayor and the Mystery Man

“For years, you’ve been referencing your favorite movie,The American President,in our texts and calls. What does Michael Douglas do at the end? He pours his heart out to the American people.”

I didn’t start this fake relationship to deceive. I did it so I could continue serving them. But from their point of view, I began to see how cruel that seemed.

“This town has trusted you for eight years. Isn’t it time to trust them back?” Dusty had the sweetest grin on his face as if he had found all the answers to the universe.

“You’re down, but you’re not out. You still have one more big event,” Mitch said.

The debate.

I looked back at Dusty, my North Star. He kissed me. “Sourwood is a relationship worth fighting for.”

“The best ones are,” I said back. “I’m a fighter. So I’m gonna fight.”

26

LEO

“We’re ready, Mr. Mayor.”

I had a silent heart-to-heart with myself in the dressing room mirror. Wished myself luck, then told myself I didn’t need luck. I could do this on my own. I did one final check of my hair, one last smile to ensure no food was in there.

It was go time.

The auditorium was packed with Sourwood residents, more full than the last debate. I wondered how many were people hoping for a trainwreck, a continuation of this current news cycle against me. I chose to view it as people engaged in local politics.

I received a healthy, polite round of applause when I stepped onstage and took my place at the podium. I straightened out my suit jacket and gave the crowd a wave.

When we shook hands, Rita flashed me a plastered-on smile, a vicious warrior behind those eyes.

“It’s been nice working with you, Mr. Mayor.”

“Don’t count your chickens just yet.”

The moderator was Maria Lopez, who’d moderated debates in the past and who I appreciated as being very prepared and fair, even if I was on her shit list.

Rita and I got a small bit of applause as we walked to our podiums. In the crowd, I spotted all my favorite people silently cheering me on.

“Welcome, everyone, to the debate.” Maria’s voice echoed across the room. “I’d like to try something different tonight. We’re going to start by giving each candidate one minute to introduce themselves and give a final summation on why they’re running for mayor. Mr. Mayor, we will start with you.”

It was showtime—no going back. But I didn’t want to go back, not back to my old life alone. I straightened my tie—picked out by my kids—and cleared my throat.

“Good evening, Sourwood. I am your current mayor and have been so for the past eight years. I’ve lived in Sourwood my whole life and live here now with my two children, Ari and Lucy. Lucy is looking for extras for her film she wrote and directed, so if you’re interested, let me know.”

The crowd politely chuckled. I found Lucy in the second row and beamed a smile at her, then at Ari, and then at Dusty. I held on him a second, soaked in his spirit before moving on.

“So I know I have a minute to explain why I want to continue to be your mayor. And I do—more than anything. But serving a town, serving people, is about being honest with them. I know, honesty from a politician. What a concept. I’ve always striven to be honest with you, but recently, I’ve failed. I’ve been lying to you.”

Murmurs rose up from the crowd, as expected.

“By now, most of you have probably read the articles or spoken to others. Sourwood may be experiencing record growth, but this is still a small town. ”

I got some soft chuckles. Whoever they were, I’d take it.

“Dusty is a close friend of mine since college. I asked him to fly out here and pretend to be my boyfriend. My campaign manager and I determined that I needed a boyfriend to be more likable. We’ve been pretending for a lot of the time, playing it up for articles and social media. But a funny thing happened on the way to re-election.”

My body clenched with nerves and excitement. Was I really spilling my guts to a room full of people? I guess I was.

“This fake relationship with Dusty...well, it stopped being fake. Somewhere in there, I fell in love with my best friend. Or rather, the feelings I once had for him, feelings anyone in here who’d once crushed on a friend knew well, came rushing back.” Through the darkness, I caught a head nod here and there. “And it turned out I was the luckiest schmuck in existence because Dusty felt the same way.”

---