SugarCube's Insomniac Asylum

“Run, boy, run,” Shouted Tom Avary’s campaign manager, Alice Berry. She’d known her hero since he was a kid and her next-door neighbor. Back then he’d been the shyest creature in the world. What a turn-around. Running for office was the last thing she’d expected.

“I’m tired of smiling, people wanting me to fix everything, dumping the responsibility off when they own the problem.” Tom only let loose his true feelings after a rally and only with her. At first, she’d thought it something intimate. Now she felt like a used towel.

She could do better than this on her own. Politics, after all, was all about helping people see they were the answer, not the problem. Tom Avary had it backward. Alice thought about trying to convince him but it would take more political maneuvering than she had in her. “Take a break, Tom. You need a little rest.”

That was halfway through the year until election time. Her advice was the opposite of what Tom should be doing. It had taken all the convincing in her to get him to relax, back off, and take it. Alice’s promise to keep things in the campaign going had been the key. Their experience together was enough to know she wouldn’t break her promises.

Not only had the campaign taken off, it soared. Alice’s face soared with it. She became the spokesperson, then the unofficial candidate, a sure shoo-in for the office. “Tom? I need to see you. Have you been watching the news stations? All of them?”

“Yep, babe. I’ve been the cause. I’ve known for a long time I’d be a better behind-the-scenes campaign manager than the frontman. I like the job. I’ve been waiting for this call, dreading finding out you didn’t care for your new position.

Alice drew a deep breath. Her feelings inside. Tom was the only man she knew who would not only take things this way but push for them. She laughed at what her best friend said before hanging up. “Run, girl, run.”