The Prodigal Daughter (41 page)

The one good
thing to come out of this is that Mr. Brooks will have killed off any complacency
among our workers. Everyone will now know they have a fight on their hands,
which will be good training for when we face the Republicans.”

Florentyna was
reassured that Edward still sounded confident, although he confided in Janet
Brown later that it was going to be one hell of a fight. During the next few
weeks Florentyna learned just how much of a fight. Everywhere she
went,
Ralph Brooks seemed to have been there just before
her. Every time she made a press statement on a major issue, Brooks had given
his opinion the night before.
But as the day of the primary
drew nearer.
she
learned to play Brooks at his
own game, and beat him at it. However, just at the point when the opinion polls
showed she was holding her lead, he played an ace that Florentyna hadn’t
foreseen,
She
read the details on the front page of
the Chicago Tribune.

“Brooks
Challenges Kane to Debate” ran the headline. She knew that with
afl
his court experience and practice at crossexamination he
was bound to be a formidable opponent. Within minutes after the paper hit the
streets, the phone in Florentyna’s headquarters was besieged with queries from
the press. Would she accept the dhallenge? Was she avoiding Brooks?

Didn’t the
people of Chicago have the right to see both candidates debate the issues?
Janet held them off while Florentyna held a hasty conference with Edward. It
lasted for three minutes, during which Florentyna wrote out a statement for
Janet to read to all inquirers.

“Florentyna Kane
is delighted to accept the invitation to debate Ralph Brooks and looks forward
to the encounter.”

The Present:
1968-1982 253

During the week,
Edward appointed a representative to consult with Brooks’s campaign manager in
determining the time and place for the debate.

The Thursday
before the primary was the date agreed to by both sides; the venue was to be
the Bernard Horwich Jewish Community Center on West Touhy. Once the local
CBS-TV affiliate had agreed to cover the debate, both candidates knew that the
outcome of the election might well depend on the confrontation. Florentyna
spent days preparing her speech and answering questions shot at her by Edward,
Janet and Richard. It brought back memories of Miss Tredgold and their
preparation for the Woolson Prize Scholarship.

On the night of
the debate every seat in the Community Center was taken.

People were
standing at the back while others sat on windowsills. Richard had flown in from
New York and he and Florentyna arrived a half-hour before the debate was to
begin. She then went through the ordeal of television makeup while Richard
found himself a seat in the front row.

She was greeted
by warm applause as she entered the room and took her seat on the stage. Ralph
Brooks arrived moments later to equally enthusiastic applause. He pushed back
his hair rather self-consciously as he strode across the floor. No woman in the
hall took her eyes from him, including Florentyna. The chairman of the Ninth
District Democratic Congressional Committee welcomed them both before taking
them to one side to remind them that they would each make an opening speech,
which would be followed by a question-and-answer session, and then they would
be invited to make a closing statement. They both nodded; the chairman had only
repeated what had been agreed to by the two candidates’
representatives
days before. He then took a new-half-dollar from his pocket, and Florentyna
stared at the head of John Kennedy. The chairman spun the coin and she called
heads. Kennedy looked up at her again.

“I’ll speak
second,” she said, not even hesitating.

Without another
word, they walked back onto the stage. Florentyna took a seat on the right of
Edward, and Ralph Brooks sat on his left. At eight o’clock, the moderator
banged the gavel and called the meeting to order.

“Mr. Brooks will
address you first and then Mrs. Kane will speak.”

Ralph Brooks
rose and Florentyna stared up at the tall, handsome man. She had to admit it:
if a film director had been casting for the role of President, Ralph Brooks would
be given the part. From the moment he started to speak, Florentyna was in no
doubt that she would not have to travel beyond Chicago to face a more
formidable rival. Brooks was relaxed and
assured,
his
delivery was professional without sounding glib.

“Ladies and
gentlemen, fellow Democrats,” he began. “I stand before you tonight, a local
man who has made his way in life right here in Chicago.

My
great-grandfather was born in this city and for four generations the Brooks
family have
practiced law from our offices on La Salle
Street, always serving this community to the best of our ability. I offer
myself today as your candidate for Congress in the belief that representatives
of the people should always come from the grass roots of their community.

I do not have
the vast wealth that is at the disposal of my opponent, but I bring a
dedication to and care for this district that I hope you will feel surpasses
wealth.” There was an outburst of applause, but Florentyna could see several
people who were not joining in. “On the issues of crime prevention, housing,
public transportation and health, I have for several years sought to promote
public good in the courts of Chicago. I now seek the opportunity to promote
your interests in the United States House of Representatives.”

Florentyna
listened intently to each well-delivered word and was not surprised when Brooks
sat down to applause that was loud and sustained.

The chairman
rose to make Florentyna’s introduction. And when he finished, she stood up-and
wanted to run out of the hall. Richard smiled up at her from the front row and
she regained her confidence.

“My father came
to America over fifty years ago,” she began, “having escaped first from the
Germans and then from the Russians. After educating himself in New York he came
to Chicago, where he founded the hotel group of which I have the privilege of
being chairman, right here in the Ninth District of this city. A group that now
employs twenty-seven thousand people in every state in America. When that
career was at its zenith, my father left this country to fight the Germans
again and he returned to America with a Bronze Star. I was born in this city
and went to high school not a mile from this hall, a Chicago education that
made it possible for me to go to college. Now I have returned home wanting to
represent the people who made my American dream possible.”

Loud applause
greeted Florentyna’s words, but she noticed once again that several people did
not join in. “I hope I will not be prevented from holding office because I was
born with wealth. If that were to be a disqualification, Jefferson, Roosevelt
and Kennedy would never have held office. I hope I will not be prevented
because my father was an immigrant. If that were the case, then one of the
greatest mayors this community has ever known, Anton Cermak, would never have
worked in City Hall, and if I am to be prevented because I am a woman, then
half the population of America must be disqualified along with me.” This was
greeted with loud applause from all parts of the hall.

Florentyna drew
a deep breath.

“I do not
apologize for being the daughter of an immigrant. I do not apologize for being
wealthy. I do not apologize for being a woman and I will never be apologetic
about wanting to represent the people of Chicago in the United States
Congress.” The applause was deafening. “If it is not my destiny to represent
you, I shall support Mr. Brooks. If, on the other hand, I have the honor of
being selected to be your candidate, you can be assured that I shall tackle the
problems that Chicago faces with the same dedication and energy I put into
making my company one of the most successful hotel groups in the world. “

Florentyna sat
down to continuing applause and looked toward her husband, who was smiling. She
relaxed for the first time and stared into the hall, where some people even
stood to applaud although she was only too aware most of them were on her
staff. She checked her watch: 8:28. She had timed it perfectly. That week’s
“Laugh-In” was due on TV and the Chicago Black Hawks would be warming up on
another channel. There would be a lot of changing of channels in the next few
minutes. Judging by the frown on Ralph Brooks’s face, he was equally aware of
the scheduling.

After
questions-which brought no surprises-and the closing statements, Florentyna and
Richard left the hall surrounded by well-wishers and returned to their room at
the Baron. They waited nervously for a bellboy to deliver the first edition of
the papers. The overall verdict was in favor of Florentyna. Even the Tribune
said it had been a very close-run affair.

During the last
three days of the campaign before the primary, Florentyna pounded pavement,
pressed flesh and walked the entire length of Michigan Avenue. She collapsed
into a hot bath every night. She was wakened by Richard each morning with a hot
cup of coffee, after which she started the whole mad process over again.

“The great day
has at last arrived,” said Richard.

“Not a moment
too soon,” said Florentyna. “I’m not sure my legs can go through anything like
this ever again.”

“Have no fear.
All will be revealed tonight,” said Richard from behind a copy of Fortune.

Florentyna rose
and dressed in a simple blue suit of a noncreasable fabric-although she would
feel crumpled at the end of the day. She put on what Miss Tredgold would have
called sensible shoes, having already wom out two pairs on the campaign trail.
After breakfast, she and Richard walked down to the local school. She cast her
vote for Florentyna Kane.

It felt strange.
Richard as a registered New York Republican remained outside.

In a heavier
turnout than Edward had predicted, 49,132 other people voted for Florentyna
that day, while 42,972 had voted for Ralph Brooks.

Florentyna Kane
had won her first election.

The GOP
candidate turned out to be Stewart Lyle, who was an easier opponent than Ralph
Brooks. He was an old-fashioned Republican who was always charming and
courteous and who did not believe in personal confrontation. Florentyna liked
him from the day they met and had no doubt that, if elected, he would have
represented the district with compassion, but after Nixon had resigned on
August 9 and Ford had pardoned the ex-President, the Democrats looked set for a
landslide win.

Florentyna was
among those elected on the bandwagon. She captured the Ninth District of
Illinois with a plurality of over 27,000 votes. Richard was the first to
congratulate her.

“I’m so proud of
you, my darling.” He smiled mischievously. “Mind you, I’m sure Mark Twain would
have been as well.”

“Why Mark
Twain
?” asked Florentyna puzzled.

“Because it was
he who said: ‘Suppose you were an idiot and suppose you were a member of
Congress. But I repeat myself. “‘

W
ILLIAM AND
ANNABEL JOINED THEIR FATHER and mother for Christmas at the Kane family house
on Cape Cod. Florentyna enjoyed having the children around her for the
festivities and quickly they recharged all her human batteries.

William, nearly
fifteen, was already talking about going to Harvard and spent every afternoon
poring over math books that even Richard didn’t understand. Annabel spent most
of her holiday on the phone talking long distance about boys to different
school friends until Richard finally had to explain to her how the Bell
Telephone Company made its money. Florentyna read James Michener’s Centennial
and under pressure from her daughter listened to Roberta Flack singing “Killing
Me Softly with His Song” loudly, again and again. Richard got so sick of the
record he begged Annabel to turn the damn thing over. She did, and for the
first time Richard listened to a popular record he knew he would enjoy for the
rest of his life.

Annabel was
puzzled when she saw her mother smile at the lyrics her father seemed entranced
by:

Jesse, come
home, there’s a hole in the bed
Where
we slept.

Now it’s growing
cold.

Hey, Jesse...
All the blues...

When the
Christmas vacation came to an end, Florentyna flew back to New York with
Richard. It took her a week of going over reports on the Baron Group and being
briefed by the heads of each department before she felt she had been brought up
to date.

During the year
the Group had completed hotels in Brisbane and Johannesburg and had begun
refurbishing old Barons in Nashville and Cleveland. In Florentyna’s absence,
Richard had slowed the forward planning program down a little but had still
managed to increase the profits to a record $31 million for the year.
Florentyna was in no position to complain as Lester’s was on target to show a
massive increase in the profit column that year.

Florentyna’s
only anxiety was that Richard, for the first time in his life, was beginning to
look his age: lines were appearing on his forehead and around his eyes which
could have resulted only from continual and considerable stress. Even his cello
practice seemed less frequent. When she taxed him with working uncivilized
hours, he chided her that it was a hard road to toil when one wanted to be
First Gentleman.