Sons of Fortune (30 page)

“So
what’s the problem?” asked Nat as they ran toward the Commons where the vote
was being counted.

“We
were leading comfortably until a few minutes ago,” said Joe, already out of breath
from his trip there and back and unable to keep up with what Nat would have
described as a jog. He slowed to a fast walk.

“And
then suddenly two new ballot boxes appeared, stuffed with votes-and nearly
ninety percent of them in favor of Elliot,” he added as they reached the bottom
step.

Nat
and Tom didn’t wait for Joe as they bounded up the steps and through the swing
doors. The first person they saw was Ralph Elliot-a smug look on his face. Nat
turned his attention to Tom, who was already being briefed by Sue and Chris.

He
quickly joined them.

“We
were leading by just over four hundred votes,” said Chris, “and we assumed it
was all over, when two new boxes appeared out of nowhere.”

“What
do you mean, out of nowhere?” asked Tom.

“Well,
they were discovered under a table, but hadn’t been included among those that
were registered in the original count. In those two boxes,” Chris checked his
clipboard, “Elliot polled 319, to Nat’s 48, and 322 to Nat’s 41, which reversed
the original outcome and put him in the lead by a handful of votes.”

“Give
me a few examples of figures from some of the other boxes,” said Su Ling.

“They
were all fairly consistent,” said Chris, returning to his list. “The most
extreme was 209 for Nat, against 176 for Elliot. In fact, Elliot only polled
higher in one box, 201 to 196.”

“The
votes in the last two boxes,” said Su Ling, “are not statistically possible,
when you compare them with the other ten that have already been counted.
Someone must have literally stuffed those boxes with enough ballot papers to
reverse the original decision.”

“But
how could they have managed that?” asked Tom.

“It
would be easy enough if you could get your hands on any unused ballots,” said
Su Ling.

“And
that wouldn’t have been too difficult,” said Joe.

“How
can you be so sure?” asked
Nal
.

“Because
when I voted in my dorm during the lunch hour, there was only one teller on
duty, and she was writing an essay. I could have removed a handful of ballots
without her even noticing.”

“But
that doesn’t explain the sudden appearance of two missing boxes,” said Tom.

“You
don’t need a
Ph.d.
to work out that one,” chipped in
Chris, “because once the poll has closed, all they had to do was hold back two
of the boxes, and then stuff them with ballots.”

“But
we have no way of proving that,” said Nat.

“The
statistics prove it,” said Su Ling.

“They
never lie, though I admit we don’t have any first-hand proof.”

“So
what are we going to do about it?” asked Joe, as he stared across at Elliot, the
same self-satisfied look still in place.

“There’s
not much we can do except pass on our observations to Chester Davies. After
all, he is the chief elections officer.”

“OK,
Joe, why don’t you do that, and we’ll wait to see what he has to say.”

Joe
left them to make his submission to the dean of students. They watched as the
expression on the elderly academic’s face became grimmer and grimmer. Once Joe
had made his point, the dean immediately called for Elliot’s chief of staff,
who
did nothing more than shrug
his shoulders and
point out that every ballot was valid.

Nat
watched apprehensively as Mr. Davies questioned both men, and saw Joe nod his
agreement, before they broke away to join their respective teams.

“The
dean is calling an immediate meeting of the elections committee in his office,
and he will report back after they’ve discussed the matter, which should be in
about thirty minutes.”

Su
Ling took Nat’s hand. “Mr. Davies is a good and just man,” she said, “he’ll
come to the right conclusion.”

“He
may well come to the right conclusion,” said Nat, “but in the end he can only
follow the election rules whatever his personal reservations.”

“I
agree,” said a voice from behind them. Nat swung around to see Elliot grinning
at him. “They won’t have to look in the rule book to discover that the person
with the most votes is the winner,” Elliot added with disdain.

“Unless
they come across something about one person, one vote,” said Nat.

“Are
you accusing me of cheating?” Elliot snapped back, as a group of his supporters
drifted over and stood behind him.

“Well,
let’s put it this way. If you win this election, you can apply for a job in
Chicago as a teller in Cook County, because Mayor Daly has nothing to teach
you.”

Elliot
took a step forward and raised his fist just as the dean reentered the room, a
single sheet of paper in his hand. He made his way back up onto the stage.

“You
just escaped a beating,” whispered Elliot.

“And
I suspect you’re just about to get one,” replied Nat, as they both turned to
face the stage.

The
chattering in the hall died down as Mr. Davies adjusted the height of the
microphone and faced those who had hung around to hear the result.

He
read slowly from a prepared script.

“In
the election for president of the student senate, it has been brought to my
attention that two ballot boxes were discovered some time after the count had
been concluded. When they were opened, the outcome of those votes varied
considerably from all the other boxes.

Therefore
as delegated officials, we were left with no choice but to refer to the rule
book on elections. Search as we might, we were unable to find any mention of
missing boxes, or what action to take should there be a disproportionate ratio
of votes found in any one box.”

“Because
no one has ever cheated in the past,” shouted Joe from the back of the hall.

“And
no one did this time,” came back the immediate reply, “you’re just bad losers.”

“How
many more boxes have you got hidden away just in
case.?
”

“We
don’t need any more.”

“Quiet,”
said the dean. “These outbursts do not reflect well on either side.” He waited
for silence before he continued to read from his script. “We are, however,
mindful of our responsibility as officers, and have come to the conclusion that
the result of the election must stand.” Elliot’s supporters leaped in the air
and cheered.

Elliot
turned to Nat and said, “I think you’ll find it’s you who just got the
beating.”

“It’s
not over yet,” said Nat, his eyes still fixed on Mr. Davies.

It
was some time before the dean could continue, as few present realized that he
had not yet completed his statement.

“As
there have been several irregularities in this election, one of which in our
opinion remains unresolved, I have therefore decided that under rule 7B of the Student
Senate Charter, the defeated candidate should be given the opportunity to
appeal. Should he do so, the committee will be faced with three choices.” He
opened the rule book and read: “a) to confirm the original result, be) to
reverse the original result, or to call for a new election, which would be held
during the first week of the following term. We therefore propose to give Mr.
Cartwright twenty-four hours to appeal.”

“We
won’t need twenty-four hours,” called out Joe. “We appeal.”

“I
shall need that in writing from the candidate,” said the dean.

Tom
glanced across at Nat, who was looking down at Su Ling.

“Do
you remember what we agreed if I didn’t win?”

CHRONICLES

Nat
turned and watched Su Ling walk slowly toward him and recalled the day they had
first met. He had chased her down a hill, and when she turned on that occasion,
she’d taken his breath away.

“Do
you have any idea how lucky you are?” whispered Tom.

“Could
you please concentrate on your
job.
Now, where’s the
ring?”

“The
ring, what ring?” Nat turned and stared at his best man. “Hell, I knew there
was something I was meant to bring with me,” Tom whispered frantically.

“Can
you hold things up for a moment while I go back to the house and look for it?”

“Do
you want me to strangle you?” said Nat, grinning.

“Yes
please,” said Tom, gazing at Su Ling as she advanced toward them. “Let her be
my last memory of this world.”

Nat
turned his attention to his bride, and she gave him that smile that he
remembered when she’d stood at the entrance to the cafe on their first date.

She
stepped up and took her place beside him, head slightly bowed as they waited
for the priest to begin the service. Nat thought about the decision they had
made the day after the election, and knew he would never regret it. Why should
he hold up Su Ling’s career on the off chance of winning the presidency? The
idea of rerunning the ballot during the first week of the following term, and
having to ask Su Ling to hang around for another year if he failed, left him in
no doubt what he should do. The priest turned to the congregation. “Dearly
beloved
. .”

When
Su Ling had explained to Professor
Mullden
that she
was getting married, and her future husband was at the University of
Connecticut, they immediately offered him the chance to complete his
undergraduate degree at Harvard.

They
already knew of Nat’s record in Vietnam and his success on the cross-country
team, but it was his grades that tipped the balance. They remained puzzled as
to why he hadn’t taken up his place at Yale because it was clear to the
admissions office that they would not be carrying Su Ling’s husband.

“Do
you take this woman to be your lawful wedded wife?”

Nat
wanted to shout “I do.” “I do,” he said quietly.

“Do
you take this man to be your lawful wedded husband?”

“I
do,” said Su Ling, head bowed.

“You
may kiss the bride,” said the priest.

“I
think that means me,” said Tom, taking a pace forward. Nat took Su Ling in his
arms and kissed her as he lifted his left leg sharply and kicked Tom in the
shins.

“So
that’s what I get for all the sacrifices I’ve made over the years? Well, at
least it’s my turn now.” Nat swung around and took Tom in his arms and hugged
him, while the congregation burst out laughing.

Tom
was right, thought Nat. He hadn’t even remonstrated with him when he refused to
appeal to the elections committee, although Nat knew Tom believed he would have
been victorious in a rerun contest. And the following morning Mr. Russell had
phoned and offered Nat the use of their home for the reception. How could he
even begin to repay them?

“Be
warned,” said Tom, “Dad will expect you to join him at the bank as a trainee
once you’ve graduated from Harvard Business School.”

“That
may turn out to be the best offer I get,” said Nat.

The
bride and groom turned to face their family and friends. Susan made no attempt
to hide her tears, while Michael beamed with pride. Su Ling’s mother stepped
forward and took a photo of the two of them in their first moment as man and
wife.

Nat
didn’t recall much about the reception, other than feeling that Mr. and Mrs.
Russell couldn’t have done anymore had he been their own son.

He
moved from table to table, especially thanking those who had traveled a long
distance. It was only when he heard the sound of silver against crystal that he
checked to make sure his speech was still in his inside pocket.

Nat
quickly slipped into his place at the top table just as Tom rose to speak. The
best man opened by explaining why the reception was being held in his home.
“Don’t forget that I proposed to Su Ling long before the bridegroom did,
although inexplicably on this occasion she was willing to settle for second
best.” Nat smiled across at Tom’s aunt Abigail from Boston, as the guests
applauded.

Nat
sometimes wondered if Tom’s jokes about his love for Su Ling didn’t betray an
underlying truth about his real feelings. He looked up at his best man,
recalling, because he was late-thank you, mother-how he had come to sit next to
the tearful little boy at the end of the row on their first day at Tail. He
thought how lucky he was to be blessed with such a friend, and hoped it would
not be long before he was carrying out the same duty for him.

Tom
received a warm reception when he sat down to make way for the bridegroom.

Nat
began his speech by thanking Mr. and Mrs. Russell for their generosity in
allowing them the use of their beautiful home for the reception. He thanked his
mother for her wisdom and his father for his looks, which brought applause and
laughter. “But most of all I thank Su Ling, for going down the wrong path, and
my parents for an upbringing that made me follow her, to warn her that she was
making a mistake.”