“It seems like it. And I had a really great time volunteering at the community center’s food pantry this week. Well, it’s both a food pantry and community kitchen; do you know their model?”

He shook his head.

“I don’t. Tell me about it.”

She spent the rest of their drive to the movie theater doing just that, and he was captivated the whole time. Olivia seemed to really care about the place and the work they did, after only one time there. It made him like her even more, this enthusiasm and joy for a project that was built to help people who needed it.

“Speaking of,” she said. “I saw you on TV the other night, talking about the need to improve the food stamps program. I liked what you said.”

He tried not to smile too big.

“You saw that? Thanks for watching.”

That had been some good timing on his part. It probably helped that he actually cared about that issue.

“Do you like that part of the job? The TV, and all of that? It’s one thing to mess up in front of a judge, and another to mess up live, in front of millions of people.”

He laughed.

“Thanks, now I’m sure I’ll have that going through my head the next time I’m on TV. But actually, yeah, I do like that part, and it helps that I’m good at it.” He winced. “Does that sound arrogant? I don’t mean it that way … well, only partly, I guess. But in the past year or so I’ve had to be honest with myself about what I’m good at in this job and what I’m not good at—I’m good at TV spots, speeches, and talking to constituents, and it helps that I enjoy doing all of that.”

She looked at him sideways.

“And what are you not good at?”

He laughed again.

“I guess I walked right into that one, didn’t I? I’m less good at all of the politicking on Capitol Hill, the trading favors and using coded language and being passive-aggressive—I hate all of that, but I feel like I’m going to have to learn how to do a better job of it in order to get anything done in the Senate.”

He was probably being too honest with Olivia, but he couldn’t help it. She’d asked him a real question; he wanted to give her a real answer.

“Why did you run for Senate in the first place?” she asked.

He shrugged.

“I’m an arrogant asshole who thought I could handle it?”

They both laughed.

“I’m sure that’s true, but why else?” she asked.

He pulled into the movie theater parking space and turned off the car before he answered.