![\"Image\"](\"http:\/\/writedrunkandeditsober.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/11\/111.jpeg?w=244&h=232\")
<\/a><\/b><\/p>\nElection Day<\/strong><\/p>\n It was election day. Election day! All that morning the whole fourth grade had been talking about it. Everyone <\/i>was voting for Romney, even though he was a Mormon. Evan didn\u2019t understand that word: Mormon. (What was<\/i> a Mormon? Someone who didn\u2019t drink sodas? What was so wrong with a coke?)\u00a0 But still, Romney was better than Obama. Obama was stupid. Obama was a fartbag.<\/p>\n Evan\u2019s sister Caroline was voting for Obama. Their dad had flown her in to<\/p>\n Houston the day before, all the way from Vermont, where Caroline went to college.<\/p>\n \u201cShe didn\u2019t fill out an absentee ballot,\u201d Evan\u2019s dad had explained. Then he\u2019d called Caroline on the phone. \u201cI\u2019m spending three hundred dollars on a ticket, and you\u2019re going to vote.\u00a0 This isn\u2019t just any election. This affects your future.\u201d<\/p>\n Evan and his mom went to pick her up from the airport, and she was all wrapped up in winter clothes. In Houston, it was warm out. Evan had worn shorts to school. That was one of the only things Evan knew about the North. It was cold and there was lots of snow.<\/p>\n On election day, Evan\u2019s dad picked him up from school (this alone was exciting, because Dad normally worked late, sometimes until after Evan had gone to bed). Caroline was in the car, and together, the three of them drove to the polls. Evan\u2019s older brother Paul, who was a consultant (just like Romney!) would meet them at the voting station.<\/p>\n Paul was voting for Romney. Mom was voting for Romney. Evan was voting for Romney, though only through Dad, and Caroline\u2014Caroline had been brainwashed by her professors, like Paul had guessed. Caroline was voting for Obama.<\/p>\n The voting station was at the neighborhood community center, next to the neighborhood pool where Evan\u2019s babysitter took him to swim. When Evan walked down the white plank of the diving board, he could look over through the community center windows, where the old white-haired ladies jazzercised in the afternoons. Evan\u2019s babysitter, who was also training to be a nurse, was voting for Obama. She was the only person beside his sister who wasn\u2019t voting for Romney.<\/p>\n When Evan\u2019s dad pulled the car up to the polling station, there was a long line of people waiting to vote. Paul stood at the curb, wearing his work suit and a bright red tie. They parked the car and Evan skipped up to Paul. Caroline and Evan\u2019s dad followed behind.<\/p>\n \u201cHey look, it\u2019s our little lib,\u201d Paul said, giving Caroline a hug. She laughed and punched him in the arm.<\/p>\n \u201cNice to see you, too,\u201d she said. Caroline was wearing leggings and a college sweatshirt, and she didn\u2019t fit in next to Paul and Evan\u2019s Dad, who was also wearing a suit. She looked too young to vote, even though this would be her second voting election.<\/p>\n All the time they were standing in line, Paul tried to convince Caroline to vote Romney. \u201cJust tell me one good reason why Obama would be better.\u201d<\/p>\n Caroline had just laughed and shook her head. \u201cI\u2019ve got lots.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLet her vote for who she wants,\u201d Evan\u2019s dad said.<\/p>\n But Paul didn\u2019t stop bothering her.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re a hippie!\u201d Evan said, and that was mostly to make Paul laugh. Paul gave him a high-five. Evan\u2019s Dad laughed, too, but Caroline crossed her arms.<\/p>\n When they reached the doors to the community center, Caroline had to go to a separate table to sign in for voting. There were only two other people in line at her booth. It made Evan feel embarrassed. Everyone in line was looking at Caroline, or at least it felt that way.<\/p>\n But soon enough they had reached the Republican sign-in table.<\/p>\n A little old lady with bright red lipstick and an American flag pin looked up his dad\u2019s name in the roster. She smiled at Evan when she\u2019d found his dad\u2019s name.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd who are you voting for, young man?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRomney!\u201d Evan had squealed, raising one fist in the air.<\/p>\n The woman had laughed. \u201cGood boy. You\u2019re smart.\u201d Then she gave him a sticker that said \u201cI Voted\u201d to put on his shirt. That made Evan feel proud. He grinned and puffed out his chest, and then he went with his dad to the booth, where they found Romney\u2019s name on the computerized ballot. Evan\u2019s dad even let him do the voting. He felt a little surge in his chest when he touched his finger to the ballot, and after they left the polls, Dad took Evan and Caroline out to ice cream.<\/p>\n That night they had an election party. It wasn\u2019t much of a party\u2014just the family\u2014but it had been a long time since everyone was home, and they ordered fajitas, Evan\u2019s favorite, that came in round cardboard boxes, greasy on the bottoms with oil and heat.<\/p>\n The whole family took their fajitas to the living room, where CNN was forecasting the election. Paul insisted that they flip to Fox, which he said would have better coverage. And look, look what was happening! Romney was in the lead!<\/p>\n Now that Evan had finished his fajita, he worked on his Legos. Legos were his favorite. They taught him how to build things, and he wanted to be an engineer. He also had his pile of Halloween candy sitting on the table.<\/p>\n Caroline came over and sat down on the carpet beside him. \u201cLook, Ev, you can make a castle out of the chocolate bars. That\u2019s what Paul and I used to do when we were kids.\u201d She took a few of the Hershey\u2019s and began to stack them up on top of each other. But soon enough they lost balance and toppled.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s okay,\u201d Evan said. \u201cMy Legos work better.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, true,\u201d Caroline said. She picked up a Kit-Kat as she stood. \u201cDon\u2019t mind do you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, I\u2019ve got a lot,\u201d Evan said, pointing to the pile.<\/p>\n \u201cGracias,\u201d Caroline said. She plopped back down on a chair. Meanwhile Mom and Dad were discussing the election.<\/p>\n \u201cRomney really might win this,\u201d Mom said. \u201cAnd I\u2019m glad. We need this economy to change. We really do.\u201d<\/p>\n But Paul wanted to argue. He\u2019d been a debater in high school, and that was his thing. He especially liked proving Caroline wrong.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, Caroline, really, I want to know. Why would you vote for Obama? Because honestly, I just don\u2019t get it.\u201d<\/p>\n Caroline had said a lot of things. She didn\u2019t believe in the tax cuts. She wanted to protect the environment. She wanted Roe-vee-Waid, whatever that meant, and she thought the stimulus was working. Besides, she believed in Medicare and Medicaid and Social Security.<\/p>\n \u201cEvan, it\u2019s like this book, The Catcher in the Rye. <\/i>You\u2019ll read it in high school.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, it\u2019s about some loser wandering around New York feeling sorry for himself,\u201d Paul said. \u201cWhat Caroline\u2019s going to do next year once she figures out the economy\u2019s shitty and she can\u2019t get a job.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo,\u201d Caroline said. She raised both her eyebrows, like she did when she was angry\u2014and most always with Paul. Now she turned back to Evan. \u201cIt\u2019s like this. There\u2019s this part where Holden Caulfield is listening to this song. \u2018If a body catch a body, walking in the rye.\u2019 And he imagines all these little kids, playing in the rye fields, but there\u2019s a cliff. And all he wants to do is be the person to save them, to catch them if they go over the ledge. Isn\u2019t that great? And that\u2019s what Obama wants. All these people, getting too close to the edge. He wants to help them. It\u2019s like when Holden thinks about what happens to the ducks in the winter in Central Park. He cares <\/i>about them. He worries<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\n Paul snorted when she finished. \u201cAll this liberal do-gooder bullshit. Who\u2019s going to pay for it?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPeople like us!\u201d Caroline yelled. \u201cPeople who can afford to help!\u201d<\/p>\n Paul smirked and turned back to Evan. \u201cOkay, Ev, here\u2019s how it really is.\u00a0Do you remember that book you read when you were little? About that dumb mouse? Remember? If you give a mouse a cookie, it will want some milk. And if you give a mouse welfare, it\u2019s never going to want to work another day in its life. You start with handouts, and people get lazy. They\u2019ll never want to work ever again. And you know who pays for that? We <\/i>do. People like Mom and Dad and me, who work, and not silly artists like Caroline, who\u2019s going to milk Mom and Dad for all they\u2019re worth.\u201d<\/p>\n Caroline gritted her teeth. She made a noise like a train screeching across the tracks. \u201cFor the millionth time, I am <\/i>getting a job. I\u2019m going to get my PhD and I\u2019m going to be a professor and believe it or not they make good money and do important work. How many times do I have to tell you that?\u201d<\/p>\n Paul glared at Caroline. \u201cRight, Art History. And I just hope you know that 1% of PhDs are on welfare. It\u2019s people like you who are so selfish that you go after these jobs that aren\u2019t useful to anyone. You don\u2019t understand how the real world works. You\u2019re living some little rich girl fantasy.\u201d<\/p>\n Now that Caroline was a senior, one of the only things Evan\u2019s mom and dad had been talking about was what she would do once she\u2019d graduated. Paul would come over for dinner some nights, and he and Evan\u2019s parents would discuss “Caroline\u2019s future,” as they called it. Paul already knew what he wanted. He had just gotten engaged to another consultant, and they were already searching for a house. Paul had sent Caroline consulting job applications, and she hadn\u2019t applied to a single one.<\/p>\n That’s because Caroline was a painter, and she was getting her degree in Art History and Studio Art. The whole family loved what she made\u2014they had one of her paintings hanging in the downstairs bathroom\u2014but still, they didn\u2019t want her to be an artist. That made no sense. How was she going to pay for her kids to go to private school?<\/p>\n Evan liked her paintings, too. He didn\u2019t understand most of them now, but he knew she was good, or at least he thought he knew she was good. When Caroline was in sixth grade, and he had just been born\u2014a surprise, like his Mom said, for the family\u2014Caroline had painted a picture of a mommy and baby zebra together in the Serengeti, touching their muzzles together in a horsey, sweet way. The painting was a little bit embarrassing, now that Evan was older, but it still hung in his room, underneath the silvery painted wings of model airplanes Paul had made with their Dad.<\/p>\n Now that Evan was older, he was good at drawing, too, but he wanted to be an engineer. That\u2019s why his parents gave him so many Legos, even if they liked his drawings, too. The Legos would help him think like an engineer, they always said.<\/p>\n Now Paul brought up Evan, who was busy putting gray, blue, and black lego pieces together to make a helicopter.\u00a0 \u201cSee, Evan\u2019s going to be an engineer, but he can always draw for fun, right Evan?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRight,\u201d Evan said, grinning. \u201cWhen I\u2019m an engineer I\u2019m going to make sure you get enough to eat, Caroline. I\u2019ll buy you a house.\u201d<\/p>\n Paul laughed, but Evan felt bad\u2014just a little bit\u2014because even though Evan was being nice, offering to help, he felt guilty for some reason, too.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t do that, Paul,” Caroline said. “That\u2019s not fair to Evan. You can be whatever you want, Evan. And besides, this isn\u2019t even about<\/i> me. Don\u2019t even worry <\/i>about me. There are people with real <\/i>problems. People who can\u2019t afford to go to the hospital. Who don\u2019t have the money to feed their kids.\u201d<\/p>\n “Maybe they shouldn’t have had kids in the first place, then,” Paul said.<\/p>\n \u201cWell maybe you\u2019re right, but maybe they won\u2019t be able to decide in the future. I\u2019ve had a lot of friends who have been in that situation. What do you want them to do, drop out of college?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBecause they\u2019re sluts.\u201d<\/p>\n “They’re not\u00a0sluts,”<\/em> Caroline said. “God, you’re such a fucking asshole.”<\/p>\n Evan’s Mom stood from the couch. \u201cJesus, you two. Ev\u2019s right here.”<\/p>\n But Paul never stopped talking, not unless he was sick of everybody. \u201cYou <\/i>wouldn\u2019t need an abortion,” Paul said.<\/p>\n “What’s an abortion?” Evan asked. But his sister and his brother weren’t looking at him. Maybe they didn’t hear him. They were looking at each other\u2014like they were in a staring contest\u2014and all the time they were blinking, but the staring contest didn’t finish when they did.<\/p>\n Caroline didn’t say anything, and for a second everything was quiet. The only thing Evan could hear was the news in the background. Romney pulling ahead. The closing of the polls.<\/p>\n Then, what was it\u2014a smile?\u2014flickered at the edge of Caroline’s mouth. \u201cYou think you know everything,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0she said.<\/p>\n And then there was another pause. Evan looked down at his Legos. He squeezed the edge of plastic block between his thumb and\u00a0 his forefinger.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat<\/i>?\u201d Evan\u2019s dad said.<\/p>\n \u201cNothing,\u201d Caroline said. \u201cIt was a joke.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJesus Christ, Caroline,\u201d Paul said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a joke!\u201d she said, but her face was red and her eyes were shining.<\/p>\n \u201cSome fucking joke,\u201d Paul said.<\/p>\n \u201cFine,\u201d Caroline said. \u201cI\u2019m done.\u201d She grabbed a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from her purse and wrenched open the front door. She didn\u2019t have a car, though\u2014she\u2019d flown in\u2014so Evan didn\u2019t know where she\u2019d go.<\/p>\n \u201cJesus,\u201d Evan\u2019s mom said.<\/p>\n \u201cSo she smokes, now, too.\u201d Paul said. \u201cI bet she expects Obamacare to pay the cancer bill, huh?\u201d It was meant as a joke\u2014he was grinning\u2014but nobody laughed.<\/p>\n Evan\u2019s mother finished her glass of wine. Evan\u2019s father cleared the plates and took them to the kitchen.<\/p>\n Evan looked at Paul, who was still looking at the screen.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s our sister<\/i>,\u201d Evan said.<\/p>\n But Paul was distracted. \u201cOh shit,\u201d he said. \u201cOh shit. Obama just got Ohio.\u201d<\/p>\n Evan turned back to the screen, where blue and red and white confetti was falling around Obama. People were cheering. He\u2019d won?<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s over,\u201d Paul said.<\/p>\n Obama had won. Was he supposed to have won?<\/p>\n Caroline was outside. She didn\u2019t know yet. Evan stood and went to the front door. She stood in the middle of the driveway end, smoking one of her cigarettes. Evan walked up, quiet, behind her.<\/p>\n \u201cHey,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cHey.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou won, Caroline. Obama won. Aren\u2019t you excited?\u201d<\/p>\n But Caroline didn\u2019t say anything. Above them, the sky was a dark blue, skidded with clouds. There weren\u2019t any stars. It was hard to see the stars in Houston. Evan could see the moon, though, the silver of its light behind the trees.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re a good brother,\u201d Caroline said.<\/p>\n Evan smiled at her, but she didn\u2019t smile back. She looked sad.<\/p>\n \u201cOkay. I\u2019m going to go back inside now,” he said, but he didn’t go anywhere.<\/p>\n Caroline nodded. She smoked the cigarette down to the orange and then pulled out another. Evan didn\u2019t want to leave her, but he didn\u2019t know what to say. Finally he turned and made his way up the sidewalk to the front door.<\/p>\n When he got inside, he didn\u2019t know what to do. He didn\u2019t want to play with his Legos and he didn\u2019t want to draw. All he wanted to do was go to sleep. He went upstairs to his room without saying goodnight to anybody. He didn\u2019t ask for his mom to tuck him in, and he didn\u2019t ask for his dad to tell him a story. He just pulled his covers up to his chin and looked at the ceiling for a long time. He’d stuck glow-in-the-dark stars up there, a few years back, and they glowed a dim green in the dark.<\/p>\n Bare with me here. I\u2019m experimenting with new ways to make fiction relevant and timely (which in many ways isn’t the purpose of fiction), so\u00a0I submit to you this story, which revolves around Tuesday’s election. Got any comments or critiques? Let me know. Election Day It was election day. Election day! All that morning the […]![\"\"](\"http:\/\/stats.wordpress.com\/b.gif?host=writedrunkandeditsober.wordpress.com&blog=37194364&%23038;post=753&%23038;subd=writedrunkandeditsober&%23038;ref=&%23038;feed=1\")
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