The Beard - 12. Chapter 12

“Oh God, how did they get in here?” Cole murmured as he came up behind Dale, who was leaning on the railing, watching the choir below them. They stood just inside the convention center’s main doors, and were mostly young people. Half of them looked like ‘emo’ types while the other half just looked grungy. Still, they had beautiful voices and Dale found himself enjoying the tune they were singing, although he didn’t recognize it and couldn’t make out more than every other word in the buzz of the convention center.

“Who are they?” Dale asked as he resisted scratching at his collar. He hated suits, but Cole had insisted they should dress up and so here he was in a blue three-piece suit complete with purple tie. Cole’s suit looked natural on him, while Dale was certain he stuck out like a sore thumb in his. He’d even gotten a haircut for this event, going to the same stylist Cole used, although his brown hair would never look as good as Cole’s black hair.

“LaRouchies.” Cole said with a sigh. “C’mon, Dad’s looking for us.”

“How the hell do you know that and what the fuck is a LaRouchie?” Dale asked, letting some of his irritation show.

“Calm down.” Cole said with a frown as he held up his new Blackberry. “Dad sent me a text and LaRouchies are the crazies of the Party. If you want to know more about them, do a search on your laptop sometime. We need to get going.”

“Fine.” Dale said with a sigh, turning away from the railing and following Cole down the hall. He reflexively reached out for Cole’s hand and laced his fingers through his boyfriend’s. They got a few looks, and it made him feel kind of nice to see the jealousy on a few faces. That was at least something for all the crap he put up with pretending to be Cole’s boyfriend.

In the last few weeks, he’d hardly said two words to Jer when they were alone, and while he’d said quite a few to Cole, none of them had been of any consequence. When he’d gone to see Cole the day after the set of fights with Cole and Jer, he’d been quite clear that he didn’t want to talk about what had happened, and so far Cole had respected his wishes. The Congressman’s son must have felt guilty about their fight, even if he hadn’t said anything because in the time between then and the start of the Convention, Cole had kept buying him presents, taking him on ‘dates’, and even going so far as to send him flowers at work.

It was all kind of sweet, and it only made Dale feel worse about things, but he resolutely kept his mouth shut about anything besides the most basic of pleasantries when they were alone. Now he just followed his tall ‘boyfriend’ through the crowds, past the line of vendor booths, and imitated Cole’s attitude. Somehow, the way Cole carried himself and moved through the crowded convention center made it clear he didn’t want to be disturbed, and several times Dale saw people start to head their way when they saw Cole and then stop as they saw Cole’s demeanor. He didn’t even look angry or rude as he did it, but he somehow made it clear he didn’t want to be disturbed as he led Dale towards a set of doorways.

“Excuse me, oh, sorry.” A young woman in her twenties said as they went through the doorways. She had a ‘Staff’ badge on and Dale knew she had been about to tell them they couldn’t go through here before she’d seen the badges that hung from lanyards around their necks. One of Cole’s father’s staffers had given the badges to them when they arrived and they were told quite explicitly to not give them away to anyone.

“Where are we going?” Curiosity got the best of Dale and he asked the question that was on his mind. Cole could be very secretive about things at times, and apparently this was one of them.

“You’ll see.” Cole told him with a flash of his beyond-white teeth. They were obviously in a back corridor of the convention center. So far Dale had found out more about how these things were run than he had ever imagined, especially since their “VIP” badges gave them access to a lot of places most people never got to go. When they approached another set of doors, this time with two big men in black suits, he started to get a little nervous. The men just nodded at them though, as Cole opened one of the doors and led them inside.

“There you are.” Congressman Pritchard said from where he sat in a fold-up chair in the small room. Dale certainly hadn’t expected the Spartan setting, but there were just a few chairs, and most of them already occupied by Cole’s mother and father. The other chairs were occupied by the state’s Governor, and her chief-of-staff who both looked very serious despite the smiles that dawned on their faces. “Boys, I believe you know the Governor. Madame, my son, Cole, and his boyfriend, Dale Andrews.”

“It’s a pleasure to see you again, Cole.” The older lady said with a smile as they crossed the room to stand near Cole’s father. She stood up and shook Cole’s hand before turning to Dale. “It’s also a pleasure to meet you. I saw the interview you did with the man from the Traditional Values Coalition. You put him in his place very neatly.”

“Thank you, ma’am.” Dale said to the older woman that had been a fixture in California politics for most of her career. “It’s an honor to meet you.”

“Thank you, Dale.” She told him with a warm smile. “Congressman Pritchard and I have been talking and he wanted the two of you here before we went any further.”

“What’s going on, dad?” Cole asked with a slight frown.

“You’ve heard about the condition of the junior Senator from California?” The Governor asked Cole with a frown.

“Yes, ma’am.” Cole said. Dale knew the frown was because she hated the junior Senator, and he wondered if she was secretly happy that the man had suffered a serious stroke last week.

“I’m afraid he’s gone to his reward in the afterlife.” She said with a heavy sigh, and the edges of her lips quivered slightly. Dale guessed there really was little sympathy lost between them.

“No.” Cole said, quicker on the uptake than Dale. His voice expressed his disbelief, but the Congressman nodded.

“I wanted to get input from the both of you before I give an answer.” Congressman Pritchard said seriously.

“What my good friend is trying to say is that he wants all his eggs in the basket before he tells me ‘yes’.” The Governor said, finally allowing the smile onto her face. Dale caught up to Cole’s understanding of the situation and looked at the Congressman who met his look with a smile.

“I know things have been a bit strained between the two of you, but I like you, Dale and I want you to understand that I think of you as part of my family.” He said and Dale felt his heart do a little flip-flop at the words. Tears sprang to his eyes and he mentally debated between trying to ignore them or wipe them away. Now he was feeling even more guilt than ever before about the deception of his relationship with Cole. A quick glance showed Cole beaming with pride. “I’d like to hear what both of you think about my accepting the Governor’s offered appointment.”

“You know I’m all for it.” Cole said at once.

“It’ll give the congressional seat to Headley.” Dale said with a frown as he thought the politics of the situation over. He looked over at the Governor. “Ma’am, do you think Congressman Pritchard would be more viable with the moderates even after his changes on the issue of gay rights?”

“I think it’s the thing that moved him to the top of my list.” She answered with a wider smile. “He still has his fiscal conservative credentials, and some new social liberal credentials. After the uproar a few years back about gubernatorial appointments to the senate, I’m not about to wait for the next cycle to hold a special election. The Secretary of State assures me it’s too late to add the Senate race to the June Primary ballot, so I will call an August special primary election. Congressman Pritchard has a fairly large war chest already because of his contested primary, and lately he’s been getting a large amount of statewide attention. If anyone on our side can take the seat it will be him.”

“The appointment will be just until after the November election, so if I lose the primary in August, I’ll be out of a job.” Congressman Pritchard told Dale.

“I think you’d make a good Senator, sir.” Dale said and was glad that it was the honest truth. Ever since he’d started his fake dating with Cole, he’d been impressed by Cole’s father.

“Well, I guess it’s official then.” Mrs. Pritchard said with a smile. “The entire family is agreed.”

“I’d be honored to accept the appointment to the Senate, ma’am.” Cole’s father said with a smile as he held his hand to her.

“We’ll announce it at the lunch today.” The Governor said as she shook his hand. “I believe I’m running late for my meeting with the Chair, so I’ll leave Tom here to go over the details with you.”

“Thank you, ma’am.” Cole’s father said. “Cole, Dale, why don’t you go ahead and attend those meetings like we scheduled. We should keep things under wraps until the announcement.”

“Sure thing, dad.” Cole said as he gently put his hand on Dale’s elbow.

“Congratulations, sir.” Dale said.

“It was a pleasure to meet you, young man.” The Governor said to Dale, shaking his hand again before she left, using the same doors that Cole and Dale had used to enter. They ended up leaving as well, just a few steps behind her. Once in the hallway, they turned right while she turned left with her security guards.

“Wow.” Dale said when the hallway was clear, and before Cole could lead him back down the hallway. The female staffer was at the doors, looking bored out of her mind, and Dale was sure to keep his voice barely above a whisper.

“Kind of depressing, eh?” Cole whispered with a little smile. “The back-room deals still happen but there’s no haze of cigar smoke anymore.”

“It’s still… amazing.” Dale said and then he frowned. “So, what does this mean about us?”

“What do you mean?” Cole asked with a strong hint of worry in his voice. “You in a hurry to break up? I thought you and Blochs were still on the outs.”

“Jeremy has nothing to do with this.” Dale said defensively, feeling the now-familiar anger well up in him at the mere mention of Jeremy. “You said you needed a boyfriend to help your father in the election against Headley, and you were right, but now he’s not facing Headley. Most likely he won’t face any serious fight in the primary, right? That means he’ll face a Republican in the General, and a gay son with a boyfriend isn’t going to be exactly helpful in the red counties.”

“Bi.” Cole corrected him with a frown. “Us breaking up before the general won’t work and you know that. It’ll look like we were just together to help dad.”

“Which is exactly what we’re doing.” Dale said flatly, ignoring the frown that filled Cole’s face.

“Dale, I thought you understood…” Cole started to say but Dale cut him with a shake of his head.

“I do understand.” Dale said with a sigh. “So we stay together but keep a lower profile. That’s fine, and it’s probably for the best anyway. If we kept up the way we were going my mother would be fitting us for engagement rings before November even came close.”

“Don’t tell her I admitted it, but she asked me my ring size already.” Cole said with a sudden smile on his face.

“I hope you put her in her place.” Dale said through gritted teeth.

“No worries, I told her you weren’t ready for that level of commitment.” Cole laughed.

“Okay, we’re going to be late.” Dale said, satisfied that things were under control. Sure, he’d prefer to have been single again at this point, but Cole was right. It would be best for them to wait until December, or maybe January to end their so-called ‘relationship’. Any sooner would look suspicious. As long as Dale didn’t do a Levi Johnston, no one would ever be the wiser, and he doubted that anything Cole did would ever tempt him to do that.

This time as they passed through the crowded vendor area of the California Democratic Party convention, several people came up to talk to Cole, making it possible for Dale to slip away with a smile and a nod at Cole. He was surprised when someone came up to him after he’d taken all of six steps away from Cole. The woman looked like she was closer to forty than twenty, and she had long black hair.

“You’re Dale Andrews, right?” She asked him with a slight smile that instantly put him on his guard.

“Yes, you are?” He let the question hang and she laughed.

“My name’s Crystal Delong.” She said with a light laugh as she held out what looked like a business card. “I work for the Leadership Foundation. Have you heard of us?”

“A little bit.” Dale admitted, impressed enough to take the card she handed him. It had the logo of the Foundation on it, as well as her name and contact information. Cole had told him about the organization a few times, mentioning how they sponsored seminars and forums around the world, all focused on teaching and supporting ethics in government. They were also the source of several large scholarships he hoped to apply for when it came time to go to college. Cole had mentioned the scholarships to him a few weeks ago when they were talking about what universities they were going to apply for in the fall.

“I really liked several of the interviews you did recently, and so did my bosses.” She continued with the same smile on her face. “They asked me to see if I could find you and invite you to a reception they are hosting over at the Hyatt later tonight. You can bring your boyfriend if you wish.”

“Are you sure they wanted me to attend or him?” Dale asked with a slight frown. Her title on the card was Outreach Director, and he wasn’t naïve enough to not suspect the invitation was really meant for Cole but she had approached him instead as an easier mark.

“Oh, I think they’re more interested in meeting you than Congressman Pritchard’s son.” She said with a laugh that sounded genuine. “He didn’t impress them too much the last time they met.”

“Why not?” Dale asked, frowning even more. “He’s a good guy.”

“I didn’t mean to imply that he wasn’t.” She backpedaled quickly, assuming a more neutral expression. “The Foundation is interested in more than just ‘good’ though. We try to find exceptional people and help them pursue their goals. I’m sure Cole is a very good person, but he already has plenty of advantages in his life, so he doesn’t really fit the profile of what we look for.”

“You sound like a recruiter.” Dale said to her.

“I am, after a fashion.” She said with more straightforwardness than Dale had expected.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Dale asked cautiously.

“It means that you’ve managed to attract the attention of people who watch out for smart people that might be able to make a difference with their lives.” She told him bluntly, all traces of a smile gone from her face. “You are a refreshing voice in an argument that has been ongoing for decades, and they would like to meet you in person tonight. The reception begins at eight tonight in the El Dorado room over at the Hyatt. If you wish to bring your boyfriend, he is more than welcome, but the invitation was made to you. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“Oh, well I’ll have to discuss it with him before I can say anything.” Dale said, his caution undiminished by her explanation.

“I hope to see you there.” She told him with another of those smiles of hers and walked off, leaving Dale holding her card and trying to think about what the invitation meant. He was still standing there several minutes later when Cole came up to him.

“I thought you were heading to that meeting.” Cole whispered into his ear as he stood very close to Dale’s left side.

“Huh?” Dale said as he jumped slightly. He hadn’t even heard Cole come up to him.

“What’s wrong?” Cole asked with a worried look. He took the card that Dale was still holding. “Did one of those LaRouchies get in here and ambush you?”

“No, not them.” Dale said with a little chuckle. “Some woman from that Leadership Foundation.”

“Wow, you’ve got one of Crystal’s cards.” Cole said with an impressed whistle. “Did you go up to her or did she come to you?”

“She approached me.” Dale answered in surprise. “What do you mean did I go up to her? I didn’t even know who she was when she came up and invited me to the reception tonight.”

“You got an invite?” Cole asked with a look of shock on his face. “Damn, guess you will be getting one of their scholarships then. That’s way cool. Can I go with you?”

“Who says I’m going?” Dale asked crossly. “I don’t know if I liked her or not.”

“She’s kind of weird, but it’s all good.” Cole assured him. “Look, not many people get one of their invites. If you ask dad, he’ll tell you the same thing I am. You should go.”

“She said I could bring you if I want.” Dale said as he sighed in defeat. It sounded like he was going.

“Hell yes, I’d love to go.” Cole said with glee. “I’ll make sure to talk with Aunt Trish so she knows where we’ll be.”

“Were we supposed to be doing something tonight?” Dale asked with a frown.

“Who knows, but she’ll clear the schedule if we were.” Cole said. “Especially with the news that’ll break later this afternoon. They have an independent expenditure group that’s already run at least one ad for Dad in this race, and they might do more after the announcement.”

“I don’t know if that’s why they invited me.” Dale said.

“Of course it isn’t.” Cole said with a shake of his head. “They invited you to meet you, not because of Dad. I’m just being opportunistic.”

“Yes, always thinking of your dad.” Dale said, and then winced. “That sounded a lot worse than I meant it.”

“It’s true though.” Cole replied with a shrug.

“At least you’re honest about it.” Dale said with a hint of irony in his voice. The conversation was moving back to easier ground, and he smiled. “We better get going. We’re late already.”

“We can be late.” Cole said with a shrug, but he began walking. Dale joined him in weaving through the crowded area, feeling a little bit better than he had in the last few days.

The ‘meeting’ they attended was boring to say the least. The best part about it for Dale was that they had missed the first fifteen minutes of it, and only had to sit through the remainder. This was the LGBT Caucus meeting and it seemed like all they did was either talk about how unfair the world was, or about how they were being ignored.

“If they were being ignored things would be a lot easier, right?” Dale whispered to Cole at one point. The comment cracked a bit of a smile on the handsome face and Dale let himself enjoy the sight for a moment. As often as Cole irritated him, he really was handsome and Dale enjoyed spending time looking at him.

After the meeting was over was when the real work began. Dale found himself in an argument with an older man from their County who kept insisting that his relationship with Cole wasn’t ‘real’ because they hadn’t ‘gone all the way’. He’d made that comment during an interview and it seemed like this man didn’t believe you could be in a real relationship without sex.

“Look, just because you can’t form a relationship with someone you haven’t screwed doesn’t mean we’re all that way.” Dale finally said in exasperation and almost panicked as the man started to turn purple. “Cole and I both agree we want to wait.”

“Well he’s not really one of us anyway if he can’t make up his mind if he likes girls or boys.” The man replied. Dale had long since forgotten his name.

“You look like you’ve been in the LGBT movement for a long time.” Dale said, unable to keep from expressing his anger just a little. He enjoyed seeing the man’s expression as he heard Dale’s implied insult. “I’ve always wondered why they include the “B” in LGBT but most of the gay men I’ve ever met say that bisexuals ‘just can’t make up their minds.’ I’ve heard the same thing from straight people. Why is that? If they’re important enough to include along with the lesbians and transgender folks, why do so many people denigrate them by implying they’re only bi because they can’t make up their minds?”

“You’re impossible!” The man fumed and stomped away from Dale, who was left with a smile of triumph on his face.

“We’re supposed to be making friends, not enemies.” Cole whispered into his ear a minute later and Dale chuckled.

“We don’t need friends like that guy.” Dale said. “You ready?”

“Actually, there’s a couple of people I’d like you to meet.” Cole said and Dale kept the smile on his face as he turned and let Cole introduce him to those people.

Dale lacked Cole’s ability to remember the name and face of everyone he met. Cole had introduced Dale to the two women and three men and less than three minutes later Dale was struggling to remember just their first names, much less the organizations they represented. What made it worse was the fact that it seemed one of the women and the man had a long history of belonging to many different organizations and titles from at least two or three of them.

“No, no, that was HRC that led that fight.” Laurie, one of the women said with a smile as she corrected something Cole had said. “That was back when Larry was with EQSC and Tina was over at HRMC.”

“Oh, that’s right.” Cole’s smile was every bit as effective on older lesbians as it was on everyone else and Laurie seemed to almost melt under its full blast. Dale knew how she must be feeling; after all it was how Cole got whatever he wanted from Dale.

“Enough about the past.” She said with a little laugh. “So, can you tell me if your father’s interested in the Senate?”

“I’m sure he is just like a lot of other people.” Cole responded amiably, and Dale wondered at just how he managed to say it exactly the right way without giving anything away. He knew it was hard for him to not blurt out what he knew.

“Well, it’d certainly make things a lot easier for us.” She said. “This whole fight between him and Headley hasn’t been easy especially now that he’s come our way a heck of a lot more on the issues.”

“Yes, he has.” The man with them said, and Dale still couldn’t remember his name.

“It’s in the Governor’s hands.” Cole replied to them both. “Maybe your organizations can put in a good word with her?”

“We might.” Laurie said. “I sure as hell wouldn’t want to see someone like Blakeslee get the job.”

“Not many of us would.” Dale added with a little shiver. “Why is it that people like him can claim to be Democrats when they hold up the state budget with the Republicans every year?”

“It’s a flaw of the system.” Laurie answered. “You can’t just kick someone out of the Party, no matter how awful they are.”

“If you could I don’t think the Governor would still be a Democrat.” The older man said with a snort.

“True.” Laurie added with a laugh.

“It’s been good chatting with you, but we need to go.” Cole said politely, and they said their farewells.

“Where are we going?” Dale asked as they headed out of the room.

“It’s almost lunch time.” Cole said with a distinct smile. “We should probably head over to the ballroom so we can work the room before everyone sits down.”

“Don’t you get tired of this?” Dale asked with a sigh. His feet were starting to hurt from the dress shoes, and the suit was too damn hot.

“I thought you loved the politics.” Cole stated and Dale sighed as they walked together.

“I do.” Dale said, and almost blushed at the hint of whine in his voice. “It’s just all this… schmoozing with people.”

“It’s part of the game.” Cole laughed again. “Just be glad you’re not Dad. He gets to shake hands with hundreds of people and then listen to people absolutely convinced they know things better than he does and he should just do what they tell him to do.”

“Maybe I should rethink this then.” Dale said with a shake of his head.

“No you don’t.” Cole said with a chuckle. “You’ve been bitten by the same bug.”

“You sound so sure of yourself.” Dale told him.

“I am.” Cole laughed. “It’s easy to see when someone shares the same traits. Why else are you still working out and practicing for the football team?”

“Huh?” Dale asked, not quite seeing the connection. “What does the football thing have to do with politics?”

“Why are you doing it?” Cole asked him and Dale frowned.

“Lots of reasons.” Dale said with a sigh after thinking things through. “Part of it is Ben. I mean, he needs the scholarship and if he had to be the QB, it’d be harder for him to get it.”

“You don’t do it because you’re interested in it.”

“No.” Dale said and then he stopped walking as a guilty feeling came over him.

“C’mon, the idea of being the quarterback on the school’s team and having everyone watching you doesn’t interest you in the least?” Cole said with a little bit of an edgy tone that slightly bothered Dale. “What about the photo-shoots?”

“I hated those.” Dale retorted.

“Did you like the result?” Cole asked him. “I saw you looking at the copy of the magazine for a long time when it came out.”

“I… okay, it’s kind of tight seeing my picture on the cover.” Dale said with a weird feeling that he couldn’t quite identify.

“You like the attention from all this.” Cole said. “It’s part of politics.”

“Does that make me an attention-whore?” Dale asked with a frown. The two of them had laughed at a few people at this very convention who did whatever was necessary to get themselves attention.

“What do you think?” Cole asked him.

“I’m not doing it for the attention.” Dale said after thinking about it for a moment.

“But you’ll at least admit you like the attention?” Cole pushed him.

“Fine, you’re right.” Dale said with a sigh.

“Good.” Cole said with a full-wattage smile. He started walking again and Dale scrambled to follow after him. “Just remember that and you’ll be fine.”

“Remember that I enjoy the attention?” Dale asked.

“That too.” Cole said with another chuckle. “The important point is that I’m right. I usually am.”

“Oh god.” Dale moaned, but he was laughing with Cole a second later.

There was just something about Cole Pritchard.