Doing the Wrong Thing Right

The town election for mayor was going to take place within a few days. Bill certainly knew who he was going to vote for. There was no doubt in his mind as to who that should be, and definitely who it should not be. He was driving to his best friend Bob’s house to help him with his election campaign, knowing that such help was very much what Bob would want. Bob had done so much for him in the past. He had assisted Bill in getting his first job, which had led him to the fine position he held now. Not only that, but he had introduced Bill to his cousin Sheila, the woman that he was going to marry in a few weeks. In high school, Bill and Bob had both been on the football team for two years. Bob was the quarterback. Bill was one of the wide receivers, Bob’s favourite teammate for his long passes. Bill had scored more touchdowns than anyone else on the team.

Bill drove his car up the left side of Bob’s two car wide driveway. As soon as he went to open the car door, he saw Sheila bursting through the front door, followed by her running as fast as she could in her high heels to meet him. They put their arms around each other. Their hug lasted well over a minute. When they finally released each other, Sheila said in a cautious voice, “I am glad that you are here to help me direct Bob with his preparations for his speech tonight. He is quite nervous about it, and needs direction to be sure that the best man wins. He said that he was glad that you and I were coming over to guide him away from stumbling with his words.”

When they both entered through the front door they saw a sad and frustrated face on her cousin and his long term friend. Bob was intimated by having to make a public speech in front of a crowd that may or may not elect him. He told his two friends that he did not mind talking on the radio or television or on self-produced videos as he had been doing up until today. There had to be no one to challenge him, but seeing and listening to a “mass of people” in front of him who could challenge him was another experience altogether. It was one that he certainly dreaded.

Bill started to change the mood. He began by saying to his friend, “Imagine that everyone in front of you just peed their pants or dresses.” A few seconds passed, and Bob started to laugh. “I’ll remember that tonight, my friend. It might just help.”

For the rest of the long afternoon before Bob’s presentation, all three of them worked on what he was going to say. Bill was particularly useful in this regard, as he was gifted with words, being pretty much the voice of the company for which he worked. Beyond that he regularly wrote short stories, and had recently finished writing his first novel about a mythical dictator, hoping to find a publisher soon. He was able to put some fluency into what Bob was going to say, not only changing his words, but also instructing him on how to say those words with proper emphasis.

When he adopted the advice that Bill had given him, Bob definitely sounded stronger and more confident than he had when he first told them what he was going to say.

Going to the Presentation

Bill and Sheila sped to their respective homes to spiff themselves up and returned to his place. Bob was already dressed in his most formal of clothing. All three of them soon hopped into Bill’s car and went to the location of the presentation. Sheila sat beside driver Bill, and Bob sat in the back, looking like a rich man with a chauffeur. When Bill looked into the rearview mirror, he could see that his friend sitting with confidence, bordering on arrogance with the look on his face. Bill’s help had obviously worked its intended magic.

As they stopped in the parking lot, and before they open the doors, Bob declared, “You two did such great work with me back at home. I will now impress the audience with my words, and respond to questions with confident replies. It will be because of your help. You two just might be what makes the difference between a win and a loss for me”.

As Bob kept speaking, his two companions could sense his confidence growing more and more, by metaphorical leaps and bounds. It was what the two both expected and wanted. He was going over the line of self-confidence into quite another place.

When they arrived back at Bob’s house, he poured a drink for all three of them. He then asked the other two, “What should we drink to on this fine night? What do you say my friends.”

Bill replied by saying, “Let’s drink to the best man winning the election. What do you say to that you two?” The two cousins both said ‘yes’ in voices that could almost be heard outside the house. Glasses were clinked and Bill said in his loudest voice short of a scream “May the best man win this election”.

Then he and Sheila gave each other a knowing smile and a nod of the head. It had a meaning that only the two of them understood completely.

There was going to be a debate between the two mayoral contenders in a day’s time. And what would happen there and then was what the two companions had expectations and hopes for. Bob’s growing confidence slowly became a noticeable arrogance, and they could see that the audience could sense it too. There were a few loud boos coming after he verbally abused his competitor and that man’s supporter. Two days later was the election. It was a close race, with Bob receiving 25 fewer votes than his opponent.

Bill and Sheila were at her apartment talking about the election after the results were posted. Her first comments were “Well that was certainly close. I am glad that we did what we did. Bob would have been a horrible mayor.” Bill nodded his head in agreement, and then said, “What we did was wrong in a number of ways . We took advantage of his trust. We could have advised him about not looking too confident, as on him it looks to be too arrogant. In a sense what we did was wrong to him, but we had to do it for the political results to be right. Now the right thing is to try to help him survive his loss, and regain some of his confidence.”