American History 1988
Chapter 292 - 282: Election Night

Chapter 292: Chapter 282: Election Night

"What’s the due date?" Rachel’s aunt asked, holding Miranda’s hand with such affection.

"Sometime at the end of March next year." Miranda really liked Rachel’s aunt, for she exuded an irresistible warmth.

"Great! That’s just in time for the spring." Rachel always managed to find a joyous reason for everything.

"I have a feeling this little guy is going to be really strong!" Peter said proudly, having had a few beers.

The Mathers smiled and nodded in agreement, their daughter was very happy today.

Like the current scene, the place was bustling with people filling the house.

Besides the Mather couple, Dean’s relatives were also there, their presence greatly livening up the living room atmosphere.

Seeing their daughter with a face full of smiles, the Mathers simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief.

Although Dean was a playboy, he at least cared about how his daughter felt.

He hadn’t promised Miranda marriage, but he had given her the feeling of home.

Perhaps Americans don’t care too much about the ceremonial aspect of marriage; however, the sense of family is very important.

Now they were sitting together, looking forward to the arrival of a new life like a family.

"Son, when do you and Miranda plan to get married?"

Taking advantage of a lull in the conversation, Peter quietly approached Dean.

"Dad, I don’t have such plans for now." Dean replied in a low voice, making sure no one else was listening.

"Why?" Peter’s eyebrows raised, "Aren’t you two in a good relationship?"

"Things are a bit complicated." Dean didn’t want to discuss it at this event.

Peter’s eyes darted around, "You still haven’t had enough fun?"

"Err," Dean choked, "I just think it’s too early."

Peter said nothing, his face filled with disbelief.

"Alright, you’re going to be a grandfather."

"I can see that." Peter glanced at Miranda, who was sitting on the couch with her belly protruding, "Your old man here has been through it twice."

"What I mean is, you’re going to be a grandfather to two kids." Dean gave him a look.

Peter was stunned, then happily exclaimed, "Miranda has twins in her belly?!"

"Shh~!" Dean signaled him to keep his voice down, "No, there’s only one Roy in Miranda’s belly."

"What?" Peter felt his brain wasn’t keeping up, "Then why two?"

Suddenly he stopped talking and stared straight at his son.

Dean nodded to confirm his guess, "The other one isn’t here."

"Crap! You got two girls pregnant at the same time?! You young people sure know how to have fun!"

"Uh, it’s not what you think." Dean was a bit flustered, why did everyone have such wild imaginations?

"Where’s my other grandson?" Peter didn’t listen to Dean’s explanation, he was more concerned about his poor little grandson.

"They’re in San Francisco, and right now we’re not sure if it’s a boy or a girl."

Thankfully, Dean had forewarned them not to mention marriage, or it would have been very awkward indeed.

"We’ll drive to San Francisco in a few days," Peter decided after a moment’s thought.

"Wait, Dad, I can’t go back to San Francisco right now, I have to go to Arkansas soon."

Dean had to quickly dispel his father’s unreliable idea; nearly three thousand miles across North America, what a joke?

"We should see her, at least let her know that we are a family!" Peter looked sternly into his son’s eyes.

Dean was struck by his father’s reminder. It wasn’t just Miranda who needed family; Jennifer did too.

"OK, but we’ll have to wait a bit longer, the election’s about to start."

"What damn election?" Peter never cared who lived in the White House.

Dean shrugged, "You’ll find out when it happens."

It was now late October, and the third debate between the presidential candidates had ended.

This meant the last sprint was over, and in just a couple of days, it would be Election Day when the public would vote.

In a sense, the vote could actually determine the final electoral votes.

That’s because on that day, when voting, people not only vote for the presidential candidates but also for the electors of their state.

Beforehand, electors typically make their political affiliations publicly known, and voters will vote for electors who share their own views.

Each state has its own electoral college, and the number of votes each holds is allocated according to the state’s population.

Principally, the Electoral College follows the winner-takes-all rule.

If a presidential candidate receives over half the votes in a state, then they will earn all of the state’s electoral votes.

Thus, the popular vote in some ways decides the electoral votes, indirectly determining the eventual winner.

So, November 3, Election Day, is also known as Election Night.

This time, Dean’s visit to Washington wouldn’t last long; if it weren’t for Miranda, he would already be in Arkansas.

He needed to stand with Clinton before the final results came in, who had already extended him multiple invitations.

Election Day is a grand event in America; almost all TV channels provide live coverage.

Not just Dean, many of Clinton’s allies were also going to be there personally to boost his momentum.

Although the Washington villa was spacious enough to comfortably accommodate the three families’ joyous reunion,

after all, it wasn’t a holiday. Mather had work to attend to at the Federal Reserve, and Dean needed to head to Arkansas.

As for Peter and Frank, a little travel was fine, but they couldn’t just neglect Byte Company.

So, within just two days, everyone had thrown themselves back into their work.

"Dear, how do you like this one?"

"Is it too big?"

"No, I think it’s just right. It’s enough for us to fly a round trip from the East Coast to the West Coast."

Miranda took the luxuriously bound product brochure from Dean’s hand and nodded.

"You decide. I only have one request, which is to allow me to take a bath in it."

"OK!" Dean snapped his fingers to signal Caitlin to make a note of this request.

"We’ll also need a private cinema. We’re going to spend a few hours in the sky from east to west."

"And we can’t do without a kitchen. I like to make some snacks when I’m free."

"Great idea, and if there’s a bedroom too, then it would be perfect."

The two of them pieced together their ideas, and quickly filled Caitlin’s notebook with a list of decor requests.

After a quick review, Dean, satisfied, handed the Dassault company’s product brochure to Caitlin.

"Have them fit out the plane according to these specifications, and then deliver it directly in Washington."

"Yes, sir." Caitlin took the documents and walked out.

"Darling, it’s time for you to go." Miranda knew he had to rush to Arkansas.

"If we had our own private jet, maybe I could’ve stayed with you a little longer." Dean stood up and kissed her on the forehead.

"We will soon." Miranda smiled as she bid him farewell.

They had just been selecting their first private jet, and Dean had his eye on Dassault’s Falcon 900 series.

This was a high-end business aircraft that could seat around 19 people if set up like a regular plane.

The aircraft was just over 20 meters long, with a maximum range of more than 7,400 kilometers, roughly equivalent to 4,600 miles.

This perfectly met Dean’s travel requirements; he could fly to every corner of America in it.

Of course, as a private jet, there’s no need for so many passengers.

So the saved space could be fitted out according to personal preferences.

As a high-end business aircraft, Dassault Falcon’s price tag was over twenty million US Dollars.

If you add in the cost of customization, the final price could exceed thirty million dollars.

They were expensive, but not a problem for Dean.

This year’s profits of Byte Company would solve everything for him, and the bank loan was already in place.

However, ordering a private jet wouldn’t be quick, because it needed to be fitted out, so delivery might take several months.

Dean had already placed an order with Dassault company, and he probably wouldn’t see his own plane until spring after the start of the year.

Now on his way to Arkansas, he could only dutifully take a regular flight.

...

Arkansas is one of the southern states, located just to the north of Louisiana and it also shares a border with Texas.

When Dean arrived in Little Rock, the capital city of Arkansas, it was already past six in the evening.

At the governor’s office door, on the Little Rock plaza, a large crowd waving the American flag had gathered.

They were all cheering for Clinton, with reporters’ flashes, photographers’ lenses, and the shouts of the people filling the entire square.

This was Clinton’s stronghold; the people of Arkansas would support him with all their might.

Dean, who had squeezed in a Lincoln car, made a low-profile entrance into the governor’s office with the help of the staff.

"How are things?" He walked in just as everyone was staring at the TV on the wall, completely engrossed.

"The votes are still being counted. So far, only the results from a few states near Vermont are out, with Bill leading by 16 votes."

Baram didn’t take his eyes off the screen as he reported, unwilling to miss even a blink.

"Dean," it was a smiling Clinton who got up from his chair, "you haven’t missed the most exciting time."

"Of course, I’m always lucky." Dean embraced him and then Hillary, who was wearing a lady’s suit.

There were many people in the office, mainly Clinton’s family and Gore, the candidate for vice president, with his family.

Yes, at this crucial moment, even their children were at their side.

Gore’s three daughters, Clinton’s daughter, two families complete.

Wait, what’s with the baby carriage here? Dean nudged Baram.

The latter followed Dean’s gaze and then broke into an understanding smile.

"A child adopted from the children’s home, only six months old.

If there’s good news later, he’ll also make an appearance. You understand."

With an insinuating glance from Barum, Dean got the picture.

Another touching image of a happy family? And with it, a demonstration of Clinton’s love and kindness to all of America.

After all, everything can be arranged for political needs.

The television channels ABS and CBS were broadcasting live, and Dean could even see the scenes outside Little Rock.

Clearly, America’s mainstream TV stations had set up their outside broadcast vans there.

"God! 235:28! We’ve won for sure!"

Just then, the office erupted in cheers—just after 8 pm, several pivotal swing states had finished counting their votes.

Without a doubt, they had overwhelmingly supported Clinton, and even though the vote count on the West Coast wasn’t finished, the overall outcome was certain.

"We’ve won!" Baram shouted, raising his arm.

"Yeah!" Everyone clapped and laughed as the Democratic Party ended the Republican Party’s 12-year rule.

"We don’t have the final results yet~" Clinton said with a beaming smile, "Darling, is my speech ready?"

Hillary’s eyes sparkled with joy, "It’s right here in my pocket."

With only two to three hours left until eleven o’clock, America was about to turn a brand new page.