Run into Trouble

see any runners in front of them. As they drew closer, they saw Peaches standing beside the bus, presumably holding a stopwatch, but he appeared to be alone.
    “Where is everybody?” Melody asked. “Do you think they’re inside the bus?”
    Drake was afraid to speculate. Either he and Melody were very late, or just perhaps… As they came up to Peaches, he had a smile on his face. It was the first time Drake had ever seen him smile.
    “Congratulations. You’re the first team to finish.”
    As Peaches wrote their time down on a clipboard, Melody gave Drake a big hug. Memories of how good her hugs felt flooded back. They waited for the other teams to finish. And waited. It was a good five minutes before the next team came into view. The two runners approaching weren’t Tom and Jerry. Or Phil and Brian, the overall second place team.
    It took forty-five minutes before all the other teams straggled in. Drake and Melody stood on either side of Peaches, peering over his shoulder at the clipboard as he wrote down times, comparing them to the teams’ overall times, which were also on the clipboard. He didn’t seem to mind.
    When the dust settled, Drake and Melody had not only gained on all the other teams, they had passed Mike and Aki and were now in eighth place. They hugged again.
    ***
    Drake wasn’t a fan of speechmaking by politicians. He remembered being in a stadium full of Eisenhower supporters when he was in college. A member of Eisenhower’s campaign staff had the crowd chanting “I like Ike,” louder and louder, whipping them into a frenzy. Drake, who didn’t participate in the chant, felt like an observer from another planet. The ability of one man to bend the crowd to his wishes scared him. It reminded him of what he had heard about Hitler’s hypnotic power over audiences.
    The reason he wanted to hear this speech was because of the events that were taking place around them—and the fact that the speaker was Casey, making the first big campaign speech of his Senate race, right here in Santa Barbara.
    The other runners had passed on the event, feeling that their sleep was more important. Fred apparently had already been with Casey all day. Melody invited Peaches who declined to come. Grace produced the keys to the company car and sat in the backseat.
    “It’s curious that Mr. Messinger is giving a speech here in Santa Barbara just as the runners are coming through.”
    Grace was the only one who called Casey Mr. Messinger. Melody turned her head around from the passenger position in the front seat.
    “Everything in politics is curious, but you can bet your knickers it’s all carefully planned.”
    “Knickers?”
    Drake, an expert at Brit-speak, laughed. “She means panties. Casey will undoubtedly mention Running California in his speech. I just hope he doesn’t try to get us on stage like he did at the Coronado Bridge. We’ll sit in the back and be inconspicuous.”
    Judging from the number of cars parked in the lot beside the auditorium, it was a popular event. As they walked up the steps, Drake realized he was getting some looks from people wondering how he deserved to have a beautiful woman on either side of him, each dressed up in a short skirt and sheer silk blouse, as if they had consulted each other. They undoubtedly had. He had even taken some care with his own appearance. At least they didn’t look like runners.
    They found seats in the back as the crowd filled much of the auditorium. When the lights dimmed and a man appeared onstage to introduce Casey, it turned out to be none other than Fred. The three exchanged looks as Fred launched into a mercifully short introduction.
    When Casey appeared, he received a generous round of applause. Drake and Melody went through the motions of clapping; Grace was more enthusiastic.
    Casey was a good, if not great, public speaker. He touched on some of the usual subjects: prosperity, jobs, crime, taxes. Then he mentioned Running California. The runners had just come through Santa Barbara. They were a good advertisement for California and would promote tourism.
    Unfortunately, one of the runners had been killed in the Malibu incident. Of course this had been featured in all the media, and when he told a story about Harrison’s parents saying that the race must go on, he received a round of applause. This allowed him to segue into the security of the California coast.
    Casey talked about the troops in Malibu and the patrolling naval ships, but