Sacrifices
She sent her kids out to finish her interrupted task of mucking out the stalls, so she and Henry could talk about The President's request. It wasn't easy getting Jason out of the house. The teenager threw questions at her left and right, wondering why The President of The United States had just shown up at their house. The kids hadn't seen the man since he had taken office, so Conrad turning up unannounced, to them, was a big deal.
After seeing the motorcade disappear down the long dirt path, Elizabeth slowly made her way to the kitchen. Henry had his back to her. She leaned against the door frame, watching her husband glare out the window. 'Uh your phone, it wouldn't stop ringing. Some lady says it's The President's office.' She thought her son meant the president of the PTA, but the idea was quickly put to rest when sirens began to sound and SUVs were in sight. She still couldn't wrap her head around The President's offer, or rather demand. 'I realize you'll need some time to discuss this with your family. I'll give you the rest of the day. But I won't take no for an answer.' His words replayed in her head.
"Henry." She called out. He turned, hearing her voice. One look into her eyes, and he could tell something…or someone had wound her up. Henry's stomach had fell, hearing POTUS was at their house. Now, he loved Conrad. He was a great friend to his wife, and to himself. He appealed to the kids greatly. Stevie even struck up a close relationship with his son. But the man always seemed to be luring his wife away from him with some new and enticing, yet dangerous line of work. Bess and Conrad had a great connection to one another. His wife looked up to the man a lot, considering him a mentor. But Henry couldn't help to think that Lizzie would do anything to please him.
"Henry." She said again, when it seemed that his attention was lost. He cocked his head to the side, silently asking her to talk. She let out a breath before blurting, "He wants me to be the new Secretary of State." Henry's mouth fell open in shock, his eyebrows furrowing together. He knew the leader of the free world wouldn't have stopped by to simply chat, but this was the last thing he expected. "That's a big deal." He murmured, not knowing how to respond. His mind was running in a million different directions. "Huge." She corrected. She couldn't hide the smile of excitement forming on her lips. "You actually want to do this?" He asked, seeing the smile on her face. He couldn't believe her.
She looked up from the ground to see his angry stare. Her smile fell, lips making an even line. "I don't have a choice. Conrad isn't taking no for an answer." She explained, taking a step closer to Henry. "That wasn't my question." He fought, crossing his arms over his chest. She ignored his last remark. "He wanted me. He wanted to nominate me right after he was elected. He was talked out of his choice by well-meaning advisors. He picked me, Henry." She repeated the words Conrad had told her just a short time ago. "I can't let him down again." She added.
He shook his head, irritated that she always felt the need to satisfy this man. "Think about our kids. Think about us… We'll be in the public eye. We won't have a normal life anymore." He pleaded. "I don't think we were meant to have a normal life." She reasoned. "You mean you." He fought. "That's not fair." Elizabeth said, sternly. "And don't worry, I haven't forgotten how much you hated the CIA. What I did, what I stood for!" She yelled. "Aren't you happy right now? We finally settled down." He told her. "It's been ten years, Henry… Aren't we supposed to encourage one another? Support one another in what we do? Not hold each other back." She declared. He laughed dryly. "So we're talking about the CIA again?" He argued, knowing what she was referring to. "I'm talking about moving on to bigger things." She fought. "And I'm talking about our family!" Henry shouted.
Her breath hitched in her throat and her mind flashed back to the memory of a similar disagreement. 'I don't want to fight about this.' He had announced. She had been angry, and the truth is deep down a small part of her still was. 'Well great. We'll just skip right to resentful silence.' She had responded. 'If you feel you have to go to Baghdad, then go. But I can't pretend it's not gonna affect the kids.' He had said. 'It's either take the position or quit. I can't go backwards. It's a year. I'll be back.' She had told him. 'If you…go to Baghdad I…I don't know what it's gonna look like when you come back.' He had given her an ultimatum, forcing her to choose between her work and her family. She quit the next day.
She bit her lip, deciding what to say next. "I'm not going to lie to you, and say that I don't want to do this. I left the company early…too early. I have some unfinished business, and I feel like I need to do more." She admitted. "Washington's going to be completely different. Secretary of State is going to become who you are." Henry replied. "Mom's going to be Secretary of State?" Jason asked.
The pair turned to see that their two kids had decided to join them in the kitchen. Both parents had surprise written on their faces. Neither had heard them reenter the house over their argument. Realizing that no one had answered their son, Elizabeth replied with, "We're discussing it."
"Sounds cool. Would we get to have perks, like floor seats to the Wizard's games?" The teenager questioned. Bess shut her eyes harshly, a bit overwhelmed. "Jason." She hissed. He wasn't helping the situation. His eyes widened as he held up his hands defensively, before he exited the room. "We can't move!" Ally yelled. Elizabeth sighed. This was the reason she hadn't wanted to involve her children in the matter just yet. "I'll have to change schools. I won't get to see any of my friends anymore! I'll be away from my boyfriend!" The young girl, pointed out. "Allison you're fifteen, you'll meet different people." Lizzie snapped. The teenager crossed her arms, protecting herself. "Nice to know that you belittle my relationships mom." She said teary eyed, before storming out of the room, crying. "Ally!" She called, but she was already up the steps. Elizabeth winced hearing the loud slam of the door. An awkward silence fell over the room. "Well I'm going to comfort our daughter and try to convince her you didn't actually mean what you said." Henry told her. 'Just great.' She thought as she stood alone in the kitchen.
He hadn't spoken to his wife for the remainder of the day. She had disappeared out into the stables to tend to the horses, and then she went out riding. Henry finally climbed the steps to go to bed just past midnight. His bedroom was dark and quiet. He could see a figure under the covers, so he assumed Elizabeth was already asleep. But after he climbed into bed she whispered, "I called Conrad and told him I couldn't do it."
He was surprised to hear her voice. But he didn't miss the sadness in her tone. He instantly felt guilty, realizing how excited she had been about the job. "You did?" He questioned. "Yeah." She mumbled, her back still towards Henry. There was a really long pause before he replied, "Well call him back."
"Henry…" She started, not knowing where she was going with this. "I don't want you to resent me." She whimpered, turning to face him. "I could never resent you for this. This is what you were made to do." He reassured her. "I'm not a politician." She stated, worried about being an outsider. "And that's exactly why you'll succeed in this position. I know the way you think, babe. You're perfect. And you have the heart. You'll be great." Henry proclaimed.
"What about the kids?" She feared. She couldn't stop thinking about how much this would affect them. "They'll adjust." He answered. "And us." Lizzie asked, barely above a whisper. "Elizabeth we'll get through anything and everything as long as we do it together." He assured her before gently placing a kiss into her hair. "We'll have to sacrifice a lot." Bess said. "And I'm willing to make all those sacrifices." Henry informed her. She turned her head to look into his eyes through the darkness of their bedroom. "I'm not pushing us into this?" Elizabeth asked. "You are. But change is good. Especially when you're going to change the world."