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Episode 26: The Sheriff's Wife
Mr. Benson's campaign for county sheriff culminates with an election-night banquet. His wife is excited but also nervous about the election results. Will her husband come out victorious? Will the formal evening go as smoothly as she hopes? --The Author
A cool November evening was just starting to transition into the darkness of night as Josephine Benson briefly paused to look out the bedroom window at the fading oranges and reds of sunset. In the midst of getting ready for the election-night dinner, it was nice to stop for a moment and just take a deep breath. Still, her mind raced with nervous anticipation. Attending a fancy dinner at the country club is one thing; attending said fancy dinner while anxiously awaiting your husband's election results is another thing entirely.
Even though he showed little concern, she knew how important this was to him. He had taken a risk: stepping out to run against an entrenched incumbent for a position that badly needed some new blood. After all, if his run was unsuccessful, it was going to make things very awkward at work! But beyond that, he was standing up for what he felt was best for the department, for the people of the county. To fail would be a crushing blow, she knew.
It wouldn't do to dwell on the possibility of defeat, though. The excitement, the feeling of success and accomplishment that would come with victory would be so well deserved. What a great experience it would be for him! In the end, that was her role tonight: to gently support him, but to let it be his moment. She closed her eyes and imagined him at the podium, beaming, ready to give an acceptance speech as the gathered throng cheered, and confetti flew. Perhaps her imaginary crowd was a bit larger than the smattering of local politicians that would attend tonight's dinner. Perhaps there would be no confetti. Perhaps her imagination was more befitting a Presidential inauguration than a county sheriff's election victory. But one thing she knew: she couldn't be any prouder of him even if he had been elected President.
Of course, he hadn't been elected anything yet. But surely he would win, right? What if he didn't? How should she react? The whole thing made her feel very sympathetic to the First Lady!
Her thoughts were interrupted by a gentle touch on her shoulder. He seemed to know what she had been thinking, without her saying a word. Then again, he usually did. "Thank you for all you've done, dear. No matter what happens tonight, your support has meant the world to me."
She turned to him and smiled. "Oh Dave, I'm so proud of you."
"I couldn't do it without your encouragement," he said appreciatively. Then he commented, "My, you look beautiful tonight."
Her elegant red chiffon dress rustled slightly as she turned to inspect his work in the mirror. "Thank you, you look pretty dashing yourself," she said with a smile.
"Just another day at the office," he said, adjusting the tie he wore with his smart police uniform.
"There just might be one more badge to add to that uniform after tonight," she reminded him, her eyes sparkling.
"I hope so!" he agreed.
"Could you pin this on for me?" Josephine asked, handing her husband a small brooch.
He carefully pinned it onto her dress, just over the left breast.
Just as he finished closing its clasp, they were interrupted by the ringing of a phone. Josephine extricated the phone from her purse just in time to answer. Seeing Hannah Jamison's name on the screen, she brightened. "Hello!" she answered cheerfully.
Hannah was at the Beloits' house with Chris and Amanda, getting ready to go to the dinner as well. In the midst of another of her trademark cases of hiccups, she was merely asking for directions to the country club, which Josephine gladly provided.
"Then you turn right on Tee Time Lane, and it's at the end of the road," she finished. She and Dave both chuckled as she had to clarify, "No, 'Tee'. T-E-E, like the thing you put a golf ball on." Apparently Hannah was writing this all down.
"Ohhhhh-*hic*!" Hannah exclaimed, "Tee time!"
"It's ok, I like drinking tea better too!" Josephine laughed.
"Thanks, M-*huck* Miss Jo! Sorry, I'm a little *hic* slow sometimes!" Hannah confessed, still giggling.
"No problem!"
"Hey, by the way, it's *huck* ok if I don't wear a dress, *hic* right? It doesn't ha-*hic*-ve to be super formal?" Hannah asked.
"Well, it is a rather formal event, but you don't necessarily have to be in a dress," Josephine assured her. "You could go with a... well, what are you wearing right now?"
It may have seemed like an innocuous response to a simple question, but between Hannah and his wife, Dave knew this was going to take a while. He was glad, though, to see Josephine looking much more relaxed as she and Hannah chatted eagerly about their style choices for the evening. He left the room to get a few things done before it was time to go.
When he returned, nearly twenty minutes later, they were just finishing their phone conversation. "We'll *hic* see you over there!" Hannah said excitedly.
"Sounds great, th-*hmk* thanks for calling!" Josephine answered.
"Miss Jo, do you h-*hic* have the hiccups too?" Hannah asked in surprise. Josephine had hiccupped a couple times already, but neither of them had really paid attention. Now it felt like she actually had them.
"I think I d-- do!" Josephine admitted.
"Oh no, I hope y-*hic* you can get rid of *hic* them!"
"I'm sure I *hmk* will," Josephine said, with a little more confidence than she felt. The few times she'd tried to cure the hiccups, she hadn't always had great success, but she definitely needed them gone before the dinner!
After she hung up the phone, Dave asked with a chuckle and a knowing smile, "Did you catch the hiccups from her?"
"Oh my, I'm af-- afraid I did!"
Normally she would have paid her hiccups relatively little mind, but considering the event they were about to attend, she did her best to try to stop them. The last thing she wanted to do was ruin Dave's special evening with an embarrassing case of the hiccups. Yet holding her breath and drinking water were both fruitless, as her hiccups continued unabated.
Ellie, equally eager to see her mom's hiccups cured, emerged from her room to suggest drinking water upside down. Seeing her mother's confusion at the idea, she demonstrated the technique of drinking from the wrong side of the glass, without spilling so much as a drop.
Josephine didn't have as much faith in her own coordination as she did in her nimble daughter's. "I'm going to get *huck* water all over this dress if I try th-- that!" she insisted. Nonetheless, Ellie helped her bend over and placed the top edge of the glass on her lips. She did manage to get some of the water in her mouth, although as she had expected, quite a bit was spilled - fortunately on the floor, not on her dress.
After choking down a little bit of the water, she stood up straight again. The hiccups were indeed gone. "Thank you sweetie, I'd never tried that before," she told Ellie gratefully.
The little family had hardly left their driveway - in the squad car, naturally - when Josephine's hiccups came back. "Not again!" she thought as she hiccupped sharply. This was not how she wanted to spend the evening!
"Oh Mom," Ellie complained, "Please don't tell me you're going to have the hiccups all night."
"I guess you could try to cure them again when we get there," Dave suggested.
"I don't think drinking champagne upside-down has the sa-- same effect," she joked. Despite putting a brave face on it, she was worried that even if she could cure them, they would keep coming back throughout the evening. She tried to take her mind off of them by asking Ellie about the last- minute campaign efforts that she and the other girls had taken part in that afternoon.
"It went really good," Ellie told her. "We went to the different voting places and held up the big campaign signs as people went in and out."
"Did you get a pretty good *hmk* response?" Josephine asked.
"I don't know how it was everywhere else, but Juliana and I had a lot of people had a lot of people smile or cheer or come up to talk to us," Ellie recounted. "Several people actually told us that they had voted for Dad."
"That's gr-*hurk* great!"
Ellie winced. "Seriously, you've got to do something about those hiccups!"
Upon arriving at the beautiful clubhouse, it had been Josephine's plan to quickly find her way to the restroom and attempt another cure. However, that plan was quickly foiled as several people quickly approached the Bensons as they arrived. At first it was just a few friends with brief greetings and well- wishes: but then came Mrs. Robinson.
Perhaps it's unfair that higher-class older ladies sometimes get a reputation for being insufferable, stuck-up gossips. But in the case of Mrs. Robinson, the wife of a wealthy city council member, such a reputation was fully deserved. "Why good evening, Josephine," she gushed, the insincerity practically dripping from her words. "Soon to be the sheriff's wife, no doubt."
Josephine did her best to smile, as she hiccupped silently. "We certainly hope so!" she said quickly.
"What a lovely red dress! I believe I used to have one just like it," Mrs. Robinson commented condescendingly. Then, lowering her voice, she asked, "Did you see what Glenda is wearing tonight? Such poor taste, no?"
Josephine didn't want to be critical. "I, er, I don't know; she does her *hmk* best." A quiet hiccup slipped out but Mrs. Robinson appeared not to notice. She continued talking - and Josephine continued to grow increasingly uncomfortable - until the mayor's wife arrived to rescue her.
"Rose! So good to see you!" Mrs. Robinson greeted her.
Josephine sensed her opportunity, and excused herself, quickly heading toward the ladies' room.
"You would think a fine lady like Mrs. Benson would have better fashion sense," Mrs. Robinson commented to the mayor's wife after Josephine left. "I had that dress five years ago. And did you see her trying so hard to hide that she has the hiccups?" She shook her head dismissively.
Josephine's attempts at repeating Ellie's drinking cure met with no success. She thought for a moment that her second attempt had worked, but after several seconds of watching herself hopefully in the mirror, she felt - and saw - another hiccup jerk through her body. She stood in front of the mirror a bit longer as the hiccups continued, one every several seconds. They were mostly quiet - only if she wasn't paying attention would a stubborn-sounding *hup!* find its way out - but each one made her head and shoulders jerk back and caused her chest to jump upward. The movement seemed to ripple lightly through her dress. In a different setting, she wouldn't have minded. She would have found it humorous; maybe even kind of cute. The thing is, that wasn't exactly the image she was going for tonight!
An ill-timed case of the hiccups was hardly the end of the world, but it sure was frustrating. Here she was at a night that was supposed to be all about her husband and the other candidates, and her hiccups were threatening to steal the show in all the wrong ways. She had been looking forward to being the lovely, dignified wife of the new sheriff; to relaxing and enjoying the evening - once the election results were announced, anyway - but now was she going to have to deal with a stubborn case of the hiccups all night? Who would take her seriously?
Feeling sorry for herself wouldn't make anything better, though, so she might as well make the best of it. Hiccups notwithstanding, she took a deep breath and decided to go back out to the party. Despite the potential for embarrassment, she had to chuckle, seeing herself with the hiccups like this. She smiled and spoke aloud, "You can do this, Jo. It's j- just the hiccups!" They might be gone in a few minutes, after all. And if not, well, she wasn't going to let that ruin the night that they had all been working towards for months! She was a pretty tough lady; something as simple as hiccups wasn't going to get her down!
Emerging much more cheerily from the restroom, Josephine was determined not to let a little case of the hiccups keep her from being herself and enjoying the celebration. As her husband chatted with some of the other candidates for various offices, she went to see if she could help with any of the final preparations.
Mrs. Butler, the director of the local party office, gladly accepted the offer of help. She soon noticed Josephine's quiet, but very regular hiccups. "Bless your heart; hiccups always come at the worst times, don't they?" she sympathized.
"They definitely seem to," Josephine laughed. "I'm glad *hmk* I won't have to make a speech!"
Mrs. Butler laughed, too. "That would be bad, wouldn't it?"
Josephine had expected that she soon wouldn't be the only one at the party with the hiccups. After all, Hannah was on the way, and she'd heard how badly she had them on the phone! But to her surprise, when Hannah arrived with Chris and Amanda, Hannah no longer had them at all.
"Hey girls!" Josephine greeted Hannah and Amanda as they came into the kitchen to offer their help. She gave them each a hug in turn. As she hugged Hannah, she was interrupted by a sharp hiccup.
Hannah giggled. "You still have the hiccups, Miss Jo?"
"I do!" she admitted. "Ellie he- helped me cure them but then they came right *huck* back."
"Aww, I'm sorry," Hannah sympathized. "Mine went away on the way over here."
Seeing that Chris had trailed in behind the two girls, Josephine greeted him warmly as well. "How are you doing tonight, *huck* Chris?" she asked, with another loud hiccup.
Chris blushed and looked down at his shoes. "I'm good, thanks," he mumbled unconvincingly.
Josephine was about to ask, "What's wrong?" when she saw the amused smirk on Hannah's face. Instantly she understood. She had to smile, even as she hiccupped again. "Thank you all for c-- coming out," she said, trying to defuse the awkwardness.
"Hey Chris, let's go say hi to Ellie," Amanda suggested, motioning to where Ellie stood out in the meeting room, talking to a couple friends. As she and Chris left, Amanda looked back at Hannah and Josephine with a little grin.
"Poor thing," Josephine said sympathetically, turning back to Hannah. "He's so *hmk* used to it being you with the h-- hiccups!"
Hannah just laughed. "I know, right? He doesn't know what to do!"
Accustomed as she was to hiccups, Hannah said nothing more about Josephine's ongoing case, even as she stayed to help her and Mrs. Butler with the preparations. She chatted pleasantly with the two ladies as they worked. Though she was only mildly embarrassed about her hiccups, Josephine was glad to have the conversation on a different topic.
She wasn't as lucky with others. As the starting time for the dinner drew near, practically everyone who arrived stopped to greet her and Mrs. Butler, and nearly all of them had something to say about the hiccups. And above all, everyone seemed to have a different offbeat cure that they swore by. A councilman's wife suggested a spoonful of sugar. Her husband suggested several spoonfuls of sugar. A deputy from Dave's force recommended ten quick sips of water. A physician advised holding her breath for "at least twenty seconds".
"Having the hiccups can be annoying, but it's all the cures that really get to you," Hannah commented after the latest well-meaning idea.
"I'm starting to *hmk* see that!" Josephine agreed. "How do you d- deal with that every day?"
"Well most people know me well enough not to bother! But when people tell me to try different cures, I try to picture them doing whatever it is they're suggesting. Of course, then they probably wonder why I end up laughing instead of trying their great ideas!" Hannah giggled.
Josephine herself chuckled, as she imagined Dr. Pettis with his cheeks puffed up and his fingers tightly plugging his nose.
Hannah grinned. "It's kinda fun; isn't it?"
Soon it was time for the event to begin. The country club's large dining room had been arranged with about a dozen round tables, each large enough to seat ten or twelve people. The Bensons chose a table, and were joined by Hannah, Chris, Amanda, and a few other friends who had come out to support them.
"What a lovely couple *hmk* you two are!" Josephine commented as Hannah and Chris took their seats. Hannah was dressed in a cute light pink skirt and a gray and white striped top, with a thin silvery belt. She wore her golden blonde hair down, with part of it pulled back into a hair clip. Chris had reluctantly dressed in his dark gray church suit, with a smart red tie. He didn't find it very comfortable, but Hannah thought he looked dashing.
"Thanks!" Hannah said with a smile. "We need to dress Chris up more often," she teased.
"Oh, I definitely *hmk* agree; it suits him well!" Josephine concurred, with a wink. "And I love th- that dress!" she complimented, turning to Amanda. She looked refined and elegant in her beautiful black dress. She had put her hair up with a matching ribbon, and wore a strappy pair of black shoes with just a couple inches of heel. She hated wearing heels, even short ones, but these shoes were beautiful and matched perfectly.
"Thanks, I like it too," Amanda said shyly.
"Could Brandon *hmk* not make it tonight?" Josephine asked. She did her best to time her words around the very regular rhythm of her hiccups.
"No, he had something he needed to do with his dad tonight," Amanda explained. "But he told me to wish Mr. Dave good luck!"
"That was nice of him," Josephine commented.
"Yes, tell him I appreciate that," Dave agreed.
"So what exactly happens tonight, other than dinner and finding out who won?" Amanda asked.
"I was wondering that too!" Hannah added.
"Boring speeches, mostly," Dave joked.
Ellie rolled her eyes. "Can we leave after yours?" she asked.
Dave laughed. "It isn't that bad, really. Each candidate who wins just speaks for a few minutes, thanking their supporters and all that. It doesn't take too long."
"Then there's time for so-*hmk* socializing and dancing," Josephine interjected.
"Dancing?" Amanda asked with surprise.
"Oh Chris, can we dance?" Hannah begged excitedly.
Chris blushed, and a couple of Dave's fellow officers chuckled. "Only if no one is watching!" he objected.
Dinner was delicious, but Josephine ate only sparingly. Her hiccups weren't fast enough to make it difficult to eat, but they had given her a mild stomachache, and she just didn't have much of an appetite. She chatted comfortably with the others at the table, however.
Dave noticed his wife's lack of enthusiasm for the food. "Are you feeling ok?" he whispered to her.
"I'm all right," she assured him, and squeezed his hand. "You know me; I'm *hmk* saving room for dessert!" she joked.
"Are the hiccups bothering you a lot?" he asked, still concerned.
She gave a wry smile. "They're a little frustr-*hilk*" A loud hiccup interrupted her response, even while whispering. They both chuckled, but Dave looked at her sympathetically. "They're a little frustrating but I'm *hmk* doing ok," she repeated. "I must look and *hmk* sound pretty embarrassing for you, *hmk* though."
Dave put his arm around her shoulder, just as she hiccupped again - silently this time. "You're beautiful, dear; I'm proud to have you by my side. I'm sorry about the hiccups, though. That has to be pretty miserable, but you're handling it great."
Josephine smiled. "Thanks, I'm just *hmk* trying not to think about it!"
Shortly after dinner was finished, Mrs. Butler stepped to the microphone. "Ladies and gentlemen," she announced, "We have received the preliminary results from the board of elections."
The room quickly grew quiet. "I am pleased to congratulate the winners of the following races," she continued. She began to list off each position up for election and the name of the winner. Each winner's name received a polite ovation, but when the winner was one of their own, the response was far more enthusiastic. Dave and Josephine, their hands tightly clasped together, waited eagerly for their results to be read.
"For county sheriff, with fifty-seven percent of the votes, Mr. David Benson."
The room erupted into another round of cheers and applause. No one clapped and cheered more excitedly than Ellie, Hannah, and Amanda! Dave and Josephine embraced, wearing smiles of both joy and relief.
When it was Dave's turn to give his acceptance speech, he was brief, simply thanking those who had supported him as well as the entire department. Josephine and Ellie joined him on the platform. Though she was beaming with joy, Josephine kept her lips tightly closed in an effort to keep her hiccups as silent as possible. Her body still jumped with each one, but she could only hope people wouldn't notice.
As Dave finished his thanks, he said, "I'd also like to thank my daughter Ellie, who was far and away the best campaign manager one could ever ask for!" There was another round of applause, and Hannah and Amanda cheered loudly. Ellie gave a somewhat embarrassed smile.
"I think she and her friends visited just about every house in the county at least once," Dave joked. "And finally, above all else, I can't possibly say enough to thank my beautiful wife for her support and encouragement. We never could have done it without her." They embraced again, to the loudest ovation of all.
Then it was time to relax and celebrate. Mrs. Butler thanked everyone for coming, and turned the microphone over to her husband, who was the disc jockey for the night. He put on some upbeat, if somewhat dated, big band music for those who wished to dance.
After a few minutes of watching and laughing as several older couples danced with varying levels of skill, Hannah turned to Chris. "Come on, let's go dance too!"
Chris was hesitant. "I don't know; you know I suck at dancing."
"Oh come on, so do I; that's the point! Let's go!" Hannah insisted. She knew there was no way Chris could resist.
Sure enough, before he knew it, Chris and Hannah were out on the dance floor, trying their best to do something approaching a swing dance, and having a grand time of it. As Josephine chuckled at the adorable couple, Dave turned to her. "May I have a dance with you?" he asked.
Swing was a little old even for their time, but Dave and Josephine were fine dancers. They made their way over to the floor, and began with a few basic steps. "I don't think I've ever danced with a lady who has the hiccups," he laughed as he felt a hard hiccup with his hand on her back.
"Well I hope I'm *hmk* not throwing you off the tempo!" she teased. Then she sighed contentedly. "It's nice to be *hmk* able to just relax now and not have to h-*ulk* hide them! I don't think I've ev- ever had the hiccups this long!"
"They haven't stopped at all, have they?" he asked sympathetically.
"No, I th-*hilk* think I may need to try drinking some of the *hmk* champagne upside-down after all!"
Dave just laughed.
"By the way, congr-*hic* congratulations, Sheriff Benson," she said with a smile.
"Thank you; I owe it all to you and Ellie."
"We're so proud of *hmk* you!"
Ellie and Amanda sat alone at their table, watching the activity. "Your parents are too cute; they look so happy!" Amanda gushed.
Ellie rolled her eyes. "Kind of embarrassing," she commented.
"Oh come on," Amanda insisted, "I know you're proud of them."
Ellie shrugged, but a smile crept across her face. "I guess so," she admitted. "They really are pretty great."
Amanda nodded.
"But don't tell them I said that!" Ellie added with a grin.
"Your secret is safe with me!" Amanda giggled.
"Now if Mom could just lose those stupid hiccups..."
* * * * *
Late that night, back in their room at home, Dave and Josephine happily discussed the events of the evening. "That was such a nice party," Josephine commented. "The Butlers really did a great job putting all that together."
"They did; I'm glad they had it at the country club this year instead of the old party office," Dave agreed.
"I had such a nice time; dancing with you was definitely the best part," Josephine said, taking Dave's hands in hers.
"We really should do that more often," he suggested. "By the way, I've never seen anyone handle a case of the hiccups as elegantly as you did."
Josephine laughed. "Thank you; it figures that they would go away as soon as we left to come home. I wonder what caused them; I've never had the hiccups that bad!"
Dave thought he knew. Whenever his wife got the hiccups, it seemed to be after having been around someone else who had them. Since Hannah had them on the phone when Josephine's hiccups first started, perhaps her sympathetic nature was involuntarily doing its best to make sure that Hannah wouldn't be alone with them! "I still think you caught them from Hannah," he suggested.
"Hiccups aren't contagious, silly," she argued.
"Well, I'm just glad they're gone for you now."
"Me too," she said with relief. "Me too."