Chapter 56
Chapter 56
Sunday, 13 March 2022 – 12:00 p.m. MST
Quinn had been convinced by Valerie to go home after their meeting. He had too much on his mind to be helpful at the office, and he needed to be available for Laura. She had been chosen to receive the Arizona Court Appointed Special Advocate lifetime achievement award. The ceremony and banquet were scheduled to begin at noon and Quinn had been planning to attend for weeks. Valerie reminded him of his commitment to Laura’s political career. He agreed and returned home.
The kids were dressed and ready to go early. Laura was busily finishing her acceptance speech. Quinn sat in his study contemplating. He reveled in the quiet peacefulness and the warmth of the sounds of his home. He hoped that he would be able to enjoy more of it after this week. He prayed that he would even have his family at the end of this week.
Just before noon, they traveled together to the newly constructed Van Wyk Luxury Hotel in Tempe. As always, there was a small media frenzy as they approached and entered. Laura was more than just a well-known attorney and senatorial candidate. She attracted a devoted following of paparazzi that sought any opportunity to publish her pictures. She had been named the most beautiful billionaire’s wife and the most beautiful woman in Arizona. Many rumored that she would be named the most beautiful woman over fifty as soon as she qualified. She hated that her celebrity had grown to occasionally overstate her purpose, but deep down she enjoyed the accolades. She had learned to use both sides of the press for her benefit, and she relied on her upbringing to provide balance such that she never allowed herself to believe the hype of the media.
She smiled pleasantly at the cameras as her family entered the hotel lobby. As expected, a second group of media personnel waited inside for additional photos and sound bites. She greeted as many as she could while she made her way through to the VIP entrance of the large conference auditorium. She hugged her family as they separated. They would be seated in a private box. She would be on stage. Quinn seemed particularly distracted as she kissed him.
“Wish me luck,” she commented. He smiled, but said nothing. He hadn’t heard what she said.
As Laura walked onto the stage, the auditorium filled with applause. She smiled and waved. The crowd continued until Adam Carey, the event spokesperson stood to make his introductory speech.
“Ladies and gentlemen, it is my distinct pleasure to be here with you today,” he began. “As you know, the mission of Arizona CASA is to promote and support volunteers in their efforts to provide advocacy in the lives of our state’s children. Each year we name an Advocate of the Year. Today we come together to present the first-ever lifetime achievement award for CASA.”
Mr. Carey paused as the crowd erupted in another round of applause. Laura smiled. “Mrs. Sorensen has dedicated her career to providing pro bono legal services here in the valley with a majority of her work focusing on family services and children’s rights. She has spent countless hours ensuring that children are provided with the best opportunities to be raised in supportive, loving and nurturing homes. She herself has a special interest in children’s rights being the adoptive mother for her three children. She is a beacon to the community. We proudly present Mrs. Laura Sorensen with the first-ever Arizona CASA Lifetime Achievement Award.”
Laura stood. The crowd stood. Quinn and the children stood. There was an overwhelming round of applause again and Laura felt herself choke up as she approached the podium. Hearing others speak of her children and their adoption always reminded her of the emotions associated with their placement and of the strong personal ties she had developed with their birth mothers.
She accepted the award plaque and shook the hand of Mr. Carey. She then stood behind the podium and waited. The applause continued. She smiled and wiped a tear from her eye and then smiled again.
“Thank you,” she said into the microphone. “Thank you so much.” From her side, a small box of tissues was passed to her. She chuckled and took one.
“I didn’t expect to need this,” she said as she held one up. She dried her eyes and then began.
“There are so many people that are involved in this award. If I could thank everyone I most certainly would, but this is the culmination of decades of work in which I was only a minor participant. So much time and energy have been devoted to this effort by my partners and our staff. This award is as much to you as it is to me.” Laura held up the plaque again gesturing to the group of her staff and partners seated near the front of the auditorium.
“And I must thank my family. Without the support of my husband and my own children...” Laura paused. She swallowed back her tears. “Without them, I could not have done this.” She paused and refocused. She began the speech that she had been developing for the past few weeks.
“CASA is about advocacy. I am so proud to say that in recent years Arizona has become one of the most child-friendly states in the country. We have increased per-student spending. We have reduced classroom sizes and we have increased the percentage of graduating high school students to become counted amongst the top five in the nation. Our students are also more likely to enter college than they were just ten years ago. And they are better able to compete academically.
“We have passed adoption legislation that has made Arizona one of the most adoption-friendly states in the country while at the same time protecting the legitimate rights of birth parents. We have improved our state’s foster parenting system to better the lives of countless thousands of our children in foster care.
“We are now at a crossroads. There is still much work to be done to ensure and improve the welfare of Arizona’s children. Now is the time for us to carefully consider the impact of our actions as they relate to the growing Hispanic population. We may spend years and decades continuing to debate the issues surrounding immigration, but we must always be mindful of the children – of our children. Let us never withhold our love from any of our children.”
Laura stopped. There was another round of applause. It was not as vigorous as before, but she knew that her comments touched a nerve with the citizens of Arizona. Immigration had been a topic that divided the public for decades. She had hoped to plant a small seed in this forum that she could use later in her political race. But more importantly she needed the people to hear her position – that she truly loved all children.
“There are no more words to describe the overwhelming gratitude that I feel. Thank you again.”
Laura had intentionally written a very short speech. She had learned that it was always best to leave an audience hoping for more rather than praying for an end. She waved again and returned to her seat. Mr. Carey stood and thanked Laura for her time. He then closed the gathering and mentioned that Laura would be available for a short question and answer session in the salon opposite the auditorium.
Laura stood and waved. She greeted a few of her staff as they walked in front of the stage toward the exit. Within a few moments she was seated in the adjacent room with a much smaller group answering questions. As she had expected, the question of the Karachi tragedy was presented. She answered diplomatically and honestly. There were still few answers, but she pledged to do all she could to ensure that the situation would be addressed.
Quinn sat with the kids in the back of the room. He watched in amazement as his beautiful wife handled the pressure of a political life with such ease. He reflected on how she had been so timid when they had met and how she had bloomed into such a wonderfully powerful woman as she gained experience and proved herself in her life. He smiled to himself as he realized that so much of her strength came from her complete honesty. She was completely congruent with her personal beliefs and she had no skeletons to hide from the world. She could withstand any personal assault because she had so much character and she had no fear of her past. Quinn shrank inside as he realized that he could never be as honest as she was. He hoped that the most recent developments in his business would not detract from Laura’s efforts, but he feared they would.
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