THE AUDITORIUM AT ST. ANTHONY’S WAS FILLED TO OVERFLOWING THAT night. We’d already moved the event over from the cafeteria when word got out that Regina Coyle would be speaking.
I had the pleasure of introducing the First Lady, and I’m pretty sure I impressed a few patriotic biddies in the audience when she stopped to kiss me on the cheek as she came to the podium.
Then she spoke beautifully, all about the importance of quality neighborhood schools. She talked about her admiration for what a lot of charters had been able to accomplish in Washington—mentioning Arts and Technology Academy and Booker T. Washington specifically—and told the room how she just knew that the Southeast Children’s House was going to be a huge success when it opened its doors.
“And with your help, it will open. I have no doubt about that,” Mrs. Coyle said. Her husband may not have exactly swept the District in the last election, but we were all on our feet when she finished, applauding like crazy. As Nana put it later, politics stayed home that night. For once, thank goodness.
Afterward, we had a few minutes with Mrs. Coyle, and I got a chance to introduce our family to her.
“I’m sorry the president couldn’t be here tonight,” she told us. “I know he would have liked to have come.”
“Maybe next time,” Nana said with a wink. “I’d just love to talk to him about his education funding proposals.”
“This is my wife, Bree,” I said, moving things along. “And my two oldest, Jannie and Damon.”
“I think very highly of your father,” she said, shaking the kids’ hands.
“We do too,” said Jannie, “most of the time, ma’am.”
Mrs. Coyle laughed, and I imagined that Jannie reminded her a little of Zoe.
“And this is Ali and Ava. They’ll both be going to SCH when it opens.”
“Wonderful,” she said. “Does that mean you’ll be able to walk to school?”
Ava looked up at her, awestruck. She barely nodded before she turned away, but I caught a little smile, too—and with all due respect to everyone who was there, it was the highlight of my night. If I wasn’t mistaken, I’d finally just managed to impress Miss Ava. All it took was an introduction to the First Lady of the United States.
So I rode that wave. I spent the rest of the night feeling good about myself, and pretending for just a little while longer that I was someone important.
But don’t ever tell Nana I said that.