"I have an odd request for you."
Henry and Elizabeth were on the phone, Elizabeth in her dorm building and Henry at his apartment. Their date had gone exceptionally well. They'd learned so much about one another, covering every topic they could think of at a rapid-fire pace, from politics and religion to their favorite colors and their siblings. While Elizabeth hadn't spoken of her parents, Henry hadn't thought much of it. She'd been animated and engaged throughout, as had he, and conversation had flowed easily. They'd spent a great deal of time in the corner booth of the restaurant, lingering well after their food was consumed. Henry was completely enamored; his thoughts since that evening were often of Elizabeth, and he was very hopeful that their next date would be equally successful. When his phone had rung and he'd picked it up to find that it was Elizabeth, he'd been unable to keep the smile off of his face.
"What's that?" he asked her now, wondering vaguely in the back of his mind if there was anything she could ask him for that he would refuse to do. He was sure there was something, but he couldn't come up with it just then.
"Well...I want you to come and vote with me," she said. Henry smiled slightly to himself at that; he took voting very seriously. It was among his civic duties, and he'd voted at every election since turning eighteen, after doing diligent research to ensure he was voting based on fact rather than any hearsay or impressions he'd mistakenly gotten from others. Judging by this hesitant invitation, he would guess that Elizabeth was much the same way- and that she'd probably gotten as much flack as he had for it from their less conscientious peers.
"I would love that," Henry replied sincerely.
"Really?" There was no small amount of surprise in Elizabeth's voice at his ready agreement.
"Really," he confirmed. "I take my civic duties very seriously." Elizabeth giggled and then her tone had taken on a teasing, lilting note that made Henry smile reflexively.
"Well I hope you've done your homework, McCord," she said, and Henry's heart skipped a beat in his chest.
"I'll have you know I'm an excellent student," he replied, and she laughed.
"Alright," she said. "You can prove it on Tuesday."
Henry and Elizabeth walked side by side in the direction of the polling place on campus, both of them pulling their jackets closer around themselves against the biting November air.
"So…" Elizabeth began with a sideways glance at Henry. "Who are you voting for?"
He laughed as he looked over to meet her eyes.
"Out of the gate with the telling questions," he remarked. Elizabeth shrugged.
"I think it's the answers which are telling," she fired back at him; Henry laughed again. He wondered briefly if he looked ridiculous, laughing at everything that she said. But when he glanced over and saw the small, satisfied smile on her face he was pretty sure he was okay.
"You know, I have a constitutional right to privacy at the ballot box," Henry reminded her.
"Telling answers," Elizabeth sang, and he grinned.
"Alright then who are you voting for?" he asked, and she laughed.
"Whoever supports my constitutional right to privacy at the ballot box," she answered and with a grin she was gone from his side and off to cast her vote. Henry watched her go for a moment, marveling at the existence of someone like Elizabeth Adams, and then he, too set off to vote.
When the two of them reunited a short time later, they were each sporting oval-shaped "I Voted" stickers, which they wore proudly displayed on their shoulders. Elizabeth smiled brightly at Henry as he joined her, leaning over the brick wall she was standing by to grin at him.
"So who'd you vote for?" she asked, and Henry laughed.
"I won't tell you who I voted for," he began, "but I will tell you who I think is going to win."
"Bush," the two of them said at the same time, and then, following a beat of silence, they both burst into raucous laughter that took them a moment to recover from. Elizabeth couldn't help thinking that it was so nice to laugh like that- she'd had her share of fun over the past few years, but there was still something different about being with Henry. Something more freeing, somehow. She was equally as terrified of it as she was thrilled by it, but something told her that the fear was worth it. She smiled at henry, both of them having composed themselves again.
"I guess I'll have to trust that you made an educated decision," she said, and Henry nodded solemnly.
"I assure you that I did," he answered.
"Well," Elizabeth shrugged with another smile, "that's all I can really ask for."
She looked up at him and Henry held her gaze, enamored just as he'd been at their first meeting by the way her eyes sparkled. There was some light there that he could not identify, but to which he was inexplicably drawn.
"So," he said, clearing his throat and dragging his gaze from elizabeth's to look down at his watch before glancing back up at her. "How do you feel about breakfast?"
Elizabeth glanced down at her watch, too, and then up at Henry, who was several inches taller than her.
"It's a little late for breakfast," she remarked, but was quick to add on to that when Henry's face started to fall. "But I could go for brunch."
Henry smiled at her, hoping she hadn't seen his disappointment. He didn't want to seem overly eager to spend time with her, despite the fact that he absolutely was.
"Brunch it is," he announced, and they fell into step side by side, with Henry guiding their course.
"Where are we going?" Elizabeth asked. Henry smiled at her.
"Back to the beginning," he answered in an attempt to sound mysterious which only made Elizabeth laugh.
"The coffee shop?" she guessed, though it sounded more like a statement than the question that it was.
"Yes," Henry admitted. "If that's okay with you." Elizabeth smiled, and with a glance down at her hand which was hanging close to Henry's, she deftly intertwined their fingers and smiled when Henry's palm rested against her own.
"Sounds perfect to me," she said, and just like that, election day took on a whole new meaning.