Leo stood to accept a warm round of applause even as he blushed from the attention. Nick had cleared what he planned to say with his father in advance and had received his support.

“Leo was two years older than my son Scotty is now when I was born. Needless to say, at sixteen, he was in no way ready to be a parent, which is how I ended up being raised in a one-bedroom apartment in Lowell, Massachusetts, by Leo’s mother, who’d already raised her family and wasn’t looking for a do-over. She kept me clothed and fed, but never missed an opportunity to tell me I was keeping her from enjoying the retirement she’d worked so hard for. I rarely saw either of my parents while I was growing up, although my dad has more than made up for that in the ensuing years. The one thing he did for me when I was a kid that I’ll be forever thankful for was work a second job that allowed me to play hockey. That was my greatest joy in a childhood bereft of many others. My first bedroom was a dorm room my freshman year of college. My first Halloween costume was also that year, when I attended a college party. My first birthday party was the year I turned nineteen and was celebrated by the O’Connor family at their farm in Virginia. Senator and Mrs. O’Connor are with us tonight.”

Nick led a round of applause for his adopted parents. “Everything I know about what it means to be part of a family came from Graham and Laine O’Connor, their sons, the late Senator John O’Connor and my devoted chief of staff, Terry O’Connor, as well as their sister, Lizbeth O’Connor Hamilton. I love you all very much, and I thank you for everything you’ve been to me.”

After another round of applause for the O’Connors, Nick continued. “If you’re struggling to get by, if you feel that the American dream has left you behind, if the mountain before you seems too steep to climb, I want you to know I understand. I’ve been right where you are. I know how exhausting it can be to face that same mountain day after day, thinking climbing it will never get any easier. I’m determined to do everything in my power to make that mountain more accessible to everyone who faces the daily climb. I want to hear from you about your struggles, your worries, the things that keep you awake at night. I promise I will read your messages. I may not be able to solve every problem you have, but I can’t do anything if I don’t know about them.”

After another round of applause, he slowed the tempo for this next part, in which he’d make his case for legitimacy.