Out of the Blue:
Winter was on its way to the small mountainous community of South Park Colorado. Dark grey clouds loomed overhead. The heavens opened up releasing downpour. She didn't care. She didn't care about anything anymore. There was no hope for her anymore.
She'd spent the last few hours at the cemetery visiting him. Recalling the last three months of his life and taking care of him while he was sick. This day marked the fifth anniversary of his death. It was a date she dreaded every year.
She met her husband in college. They had a son together and became legal guardians to their nephew Pete who was two-years-old when his parents died in a horrific car accident cause by a drunk truck driver. Cancer robbed her of the love of her life; it robbed her of her future and her child's father.
Despondent she stepped onto the road without watching where she was going. She didn't care if she got ran over.
A car stopped just centimetres from her. The driver got out and approached her.
"Mayor?" A familiar bombastic voice asked with concern. "What are you doing out here?"
She didn't want to tell him the truth. She didn't want to admit her pain. She just wanted to disappear so she didn't have to explain herself.
"I was going for a walk." She croaked while desperately trying not to cry. She was at her most vulnerable and she didn't want him to see her weak.
"In this weather?" Barbrady looked at the sky and the thick black clouds above.
She focused on the road. She didn't want him to see her cry. She didn't want him to see the make-up stains on her face. She didn't want him to know she was a wreck.
She didn't realise that she was cold until he wrapped his police issue leather jacket around her. The wind blew through her and her wet clothes clung to her skin. Her fingers were numb with the cold.
He ushered her towards his squad car. "Come along Mary."
"I'm fine George. I can walk." She insisted. She just wanted to be left alone.
Barbrady repeated his offer to take her home. She didn't know why she was drawn to him in that moment. She wrapped her arm around his waist without realising what she was doing and allowed him to escort her to his squad car.
XXXX
She spent the ride back coiled up in a ball in the back seat. As soon as she lay down she couldn't will the tears to stop. The floodgates opened and she spent the rest of the trip sobbing uncontrollably. The fact that he knew she was crying only made her cry harder because she felt like an idiot for displaying weakness in front of him.
He pulled to a stop and killed the engine. When the sky lit up she could see they were parked at Stark's Pond. She was surprised to find him next to her in the back seat.
"You've been crying since I found you." He said with concern. "What's wrong?"
"N-nothing is wrong." She snapped at him. She didn't appreciate being treated like a damsel in distress. Looking at him in that moment she could tell that he wasn't buying it.
"Mary?" She sighed. He wasn't going to give up until she gave him an explanation.
Wracked with grief she threw herself into his arms and sobbed uncontrollably. She told him about her late husband and the significance of this day. She told him that if it weren't for her children she'd be dead and it was why she didn't care anymore. She explained that it was the reason she hated South Park because it just wasn't the same without him.
To her surprise he wrapped his strong arms around her consoling her. "I know how you feel Mary." He said as he wiped the tears and make-up stains from her face. "I lost my wife. I know how hard it is."
She didn't know this about him. She knew that he'd been married at some point, but she didn't know what happened to his wife. He'd never mentioned it before.
"H-how?" She croaked. He looked sad. It was clear this wasn't something he talked about very often.
"Breast cancer." He replied solemnly. "She didn't live long after diagnosis."
"I-I'm sorry you lost your wife." She never expected that she would be consoling him. She didn't expect that they would console each other.
"I'm sorry you lost your husband." They spent several minutes in each other's arms saying nothing. It was just what she needed.
She wriggled in closer and hugged him tighter. They made eye contact and she couldn't look away. Before she even realised what she was doing she held his face gently in her hands and kissed him on the mouth.
Taken aback he gaped at her when she released him. She made herself sit on the other side of the back seat away from him when she realised what she'd done.
"Mary?" He asked confused. Neither was expecting it.
"I-I." She couldn't explain herself. She couldn't explain the sudden feeling of hope that washed through her after she kissed him coupled with the fear that if anyone found out about what she'd done she would be embroiled in a scandal that would spell the end of her political career.
They sat in silence for several minutes and watched lightning light up the sky from the safety of his squad car.
XXXX
She couldn't stop herself from staring at him. She didn't know why she suddenly saw him in a different light. Unable to stop herself she kissed him again caressing his tongue with hers.
"M-Mary?" He looked dumbfounded, but he'd kissed her back so he must be feeling it too.
She sat back in her seat and fidgeted with her fingers. "I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have. I shouldn't have put you in that position. I-I don't know what I'm doing."
They exchanged awkward glances. She knew she wouldn't be able to keep her hands off him. What was she doing? Why was this happening? And why of all people in the world did it have to be George Barbrady?
After several minutes of awkward silence Barbrady returned her kiss with more passion.
Something woke inside her. She didn't care only this time she didn't care about anyone but him. She longed for his touch. She hadn't wanted a man like this since she started dating her late husband. She couldn't stop staring and he was staring just as intensely at her. She threw herself at him again and the passionate kissing continued for several minutes.
"M-Mary?" He asked when she looked around nervously.
"We shouldn't be doing this." She told him between kisses. "If we get caught we're both fired."
He looked at her longingly. "We don't have to tell anyone." He suggested as a cheeky grin broadened across his face. "It'll be our little secret."
She kissed him again and hastily began unbuttoning his uniform. She giggled when he suggested that he help her out of her wet clothes.
She moaned when he kissed her neck and his hands explored her breasts.
"What if we get caught?" She asked suddenly nervous.
He smiled. "Nothing to see here."
She embraced him and they made love in the back seat of his squad car in the middle of a raging thunderstorm. For the first time in a long time she felt there was hope for her after all.